The Big Story

We realized recently that we've done an awful lot of climate coverage this summer, and that it's been overwhelmingly depressing. So, as we take a brief hiatus for this long weekend Monday, we thought we'd dig this old episode out of the vault, where climate scientist, Katharine Hayhoe, outlines a better way to do climate discourse. 

We hope you enjoy! 

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ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES:

Reports on the impact of a rapidly warming globe make some people depressed. They make some people angry. And they make others deny scientific research altogether. They don't make anybody hopeful...but maybe they should?

Today's discussion with climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe—guest editor of this month's issue of Chatelaine—is an answer to the despair you might feel when reading the latest news stories. It's also a lesson in how to talk to your friends and family who either don't believe in climate change or aren't willing to take any action because "it's too small to make a difference." You don't have to go vegan, sell your car, or move to the forest to make a difference—even though it might feel you do. There's a better way.

GUEST: Katharine Hayhoe, climate scientist, guest editor of Chatelaine

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It turns out Taylor Swift is coming to Canada after all! And if you're hoping to see her, you already know you'll be forking over hundreds of dollars. But in the past few years, even mid-tier concerts have crossed well into three-digit territory, and if smaller acts can afford to tour at all, they're taking a huge financial gamble to head out on the road.

What's driven these prices through the roof? How has the streaming era impacted the life of a non-superstar musician? Will live music eventually end up with Taylor, Beyonce and Drake raking in billions, and everyone else fighting for the scraps? And if it does, what happens to the industry as a whole?

GUEST: Soraya Roberts, culture reporter

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On Tuesday Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, made good on a threat to block all news from Canadians on its platforms. Google is promising to do much the same thing, and has already tested its capacity to do so. Whatever side of the political debate over Bill C-18 you might be on, it's time to look at what the tech companies' retaliations to the bill will do in practice.

How do Canadians find specific news without Google, Facebook and Instagram? If they're not encountering reliable news sources on those platforms, what will they find in their place? What does this do to smaller, independent publishers who rely on discoverability to grow their audience and what are some of them trying to do to get around the blocks?

GUEST:  Sarah Krichel, social media manager, The Tyee (read Sarah's analysis of the Meta/Google blocks here)

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First it was fires. Then floods. Now the province, already devastated by two extreme events, will wait to see what kind of impact unusually warm ocean temperatures will have on this year's hurricane season. 

As the Earth heats up, the impact of the climate crisis is speeding up. Nowhere is safe, but places like Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada, surrounded by so much ocean, might bear a heavier load. What can this summer of extremes teach us about the future of Eastern Canada? What comes next, and how should we prepare for it?

GUEST: Dr. Kent Moore, professor of atmospheric physics at the University of Toronto, joins us from Nova Scotia

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Recently a feature story in Maclean's magazine described parents who were "losing their kids to Fortnite." While some gamers may hear that and see the kind of rhetoric that has followed video games around since their inception, others heard recognition and acknowledgement.

Many behaviours, including video games, can be addicting, usually to a very small subset of people. But what makes video games different is that they are constantly evolving, and rapidly—usually with the goal of increasing the time spent playing them. As technology has improved, so has game design, and games with an online element have a social aspect that can also offer Fear Of Missing Out. So are modern games more addicting than ever? And if they are, how do we recognize and deal with that?

GUEST: Luc Rinaldi, writing in Maclean's

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This is the story of a scam that lasted for decades, and cost its victims over $200 million. It was run by a Canadian man who now sits in an American prison. It sold the services of a psychic, but that wasn't the problem with it—the issue was that the scammer used a particular psychic's likeness without permission.

How did the scheme work, and who fell for it? Can you really scam people who are already voluntarily paying for a service that promises to tell you the future or make you rich? What can the saga of Patrice Runner teach us about the nature of deceit?

GUEST: Rachel Browne, an investigative journalist and documentary producer, wrote about Patrice Runner for The Walrus

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Since the last covid lockdowns ended in 2021, barely a month has passed without major job actions—union drives at huge companies, or massive strikes in the public or private sectors—making headlines. If you look at the numbers, we're seeing the kind of labour push we haven't seen in decades. From Hollywood's writers and actors, Canada's federal government workers, Ontario's education support staff and BC's port workers, employees from all over are fighting for what they see as long overdue gains.

Why is now the time, and will this moment last? Is this the return of a militant workforce ready to withhold their labour? A true generational shift? Or a brief moment that will be met with ferocity from employers trying to regain the upper hand?

GUEST: Dr. Stephanie Ross, associate professor in the School of Labour Studies at McMaster University

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Cabinet shuffles ahead of a fall session of parliament aren't unusual, but Wednesday's changes which saw most of Justin Trudeau's ministers switch roles or exit cabinet altogether definitely are. All told 30 of 38 positions were shifted in sweeping changes that clearly show the government is ... what?

Are they terrified by their recent drop in the polls? Chasing fresh voices and new perspectives? "Listening to Canadians," as Trudeau put it in his announcement Wednesday? Or even preparing for an election? We'll look at who's in, who's out and what it all means both for the upcoming session and for the next election, whenever that is...

GUEST: Cormac Mac Sweeney, Parliament Hill reporter, CityNews (You can find a full list of the new ministers and their portfolios right here)

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Last year, a man was arrested and charged with the murder of four Indigenous women in the Winnipeg area. When the charges were laid police said they believed the remains of two of the women would be found at the Prairie Green landfill, but that they wouldn't be searching for them.

This sparked outrage from the victims families and the Indigenous community, and a push for a search began. Experts weighed in, the federal government was petitioned, costs and concerns were cited and last week Manitoba's provincial government decided not to allow a search, and the protests began. Why would the government prevent a search? What impact could this have on the case, and on families and community? And with protests not stopping anytime soon, what happens next?

GUEST: Brittany Hobson, reporter, The Canadian Press

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Every so often, federal and provincial governments reexamine plans they have made in the event of a nuclear accident or missile exchange, which have existed in one form or another since the beginning of the cold war. Last week, we learned those plans had been updated very recently, at least in part due to Russian control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

These plans cover everything from trying to protect Canadians overseas who may be impacted by an accident, to more classified documents working out emergency preparations in the event of nuclear missiles being fired. How likely is either the former or latter? What do these plans entail? What would happen should Russia sabotage the plant? And should we really worry about an actual nuclear exchange?

GUEST: Ed Waller, Professor in the Faculty of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science at OntarioTechU, NSERC Senior Industrial Research Chair in Health Physics and Environmental Safety

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

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