The Big Story

When CPC leadership frontrunner Pierre Poilievre shook hands with Jeremy MacKenzie, a founder of the Diagolon movement, he likely had no idea who he was. But he soon found himself being asked to distance himself from the man. That's because although many in the movement will tell you that Diagolon is a joke, or a meme, the values it espouses are the opposite.

But is it really a call for a new nation? Is it just a way to justify being a troll online? What is it, actually, out in the real world? And why are people who cover hate groups worried about it?

GUEST: Peter Smith, investigative reporter, Canadian Anti-Hate Network

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It's called the Default Prevention and Management Policy. And for decades it was used to take control of budgets and finances away from First Nations leaders, and put them in the hands of "default managers" appointed by the government to supposedly better manage a community’s finances.

Now an expansive investigation has examined just what happened in those communities that had financial control taken away. And in the vast majority of them...things got worse. In some cases, much worse. The government promised in 2017 to replace this policy — so far, without much action. Why?

GUEST: Patti Sonntag, investigative and data journalist, working with a large team for Canada's National Observer

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Many of Canada's politicians spent their weekend condemning the behaviour of a man who angrily confronted Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in Alberta on Friday. The video, which includes screamed profanities as Freeland tries to board an elevator, went viral. But what Freeland experienced is just the tip of the iceberg.

There's currently a targeted hate campaign aimed at female journalists, many of them racialized. The abuse and threats they are subjected to is unprintable. There are health care workers leaving the profession in droves, tired of constant harassment. Canada has a real problem on its hands, and asking ourselves "Is this really who we are?" isn't enough to solve it.

GUEST: Fatima Syed, Vice President, Canadian Association of Journalists

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HBO is really, really hoping that you streamed House of the Dragon last night. And Amazon is desperate for you to do the same with its Lord of the Rings prequel, Rings of Power, in September. These shows cost tens of millions of dollars per episode, at a time when the future of streaming platforms has never been cloudier.

This year has seen layoffs, declining subscriber numbers for Netflix, a coming merger between HBOMax and Discovery+ and many other signs that after years of upward trends, the market is saturated. And what happens when the market saturates? Well, only the strongest survive.  It's a plot that wouldn't look out of place on HBO on Sunday nights.

GUEST: Brian Steinberg, Senior TV Editor, Variety

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It's one of the most beautiful places in Canada. It's also on a list of Places To Visit Before They're Gone Forever. But if the people who refuse to give up on their homes and businesses have anything to say about it, even soil erosion from rising sea levels won't claim their islands.

They're using everything from lobster traps to sea barriers, moving what needs to be moved, to prove that even in the middle of a climate crisis, humans are adaptable and creative enough to save the places they love.

GUEST: Taras Grescoe, writing in Hakai magazine

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Some United Kingdom supermarkets have done away with 'best before' dates on most of their products. Others are planning to follow their lead. Research shows that best before dates lead to food waste, as still-edible items are frequently tossed in the trash. And with food inflation making waste more costly, it seems like an idea worth considering...

So a new survey asked Canadians just that. Would they buy products without best before dates? Which ones? Do they ever consume products past those dates? The results illustrate Canada's culture of food safety, but also the hypocrisy in some of our food decisions.

(You can find the full survey right here.)

GUEST: Sylvain Charlebois, Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, co-host of The Food Professor podcast

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You've seen the little buttons right next to your 'checkout' box when you're shopping online. Would you like to break this payment up into four or six instalments, with no interest? With no interest? It's tempting! 

As online shopping skyrocketed during the pandemic, so did the new way to buy now and pay later, with companies like PayBright or Sezzle receiving increasing amounts of business. But what's the catch? Why offer no-interest loans? What do you need to know about how this business works, and what's coming next?

GUEST: Kelsey Rolfe, writing in Canadian Business

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It's a conversation nobody wants to have with aging loved ones. But right now Canada's Long-Term Care Facilities are struggling. They are crowded, conditions can be awful, and at least in Ontario seniors waiting in hospitals for beds can now be moved far from their families. It's urgent.

When we talk to older family members, they often say, "Just don't put me in a home." But unfortunately, in Canada's current system, that's the default. If we can't have honest conversations with our loved ones, we can't take our demands to the government effectively. If we really love our elders, we need to start speaking up, loudly.

GUEST: André Picard, Health reporter and columnist, The Globe and Mail, author of Neglected No More.

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Peacocks look beautiful. They sound horrible. They're unique and special and can bring some whimsy to a town. They're a nuisance, and they damage property, chase cars and ruin gardens. This is the story of a peacock named Pearl, who made a town fall in love with her, until she started having more chicks....

GUEST: Lyndsie Bourgon, writing in The Walrus

CORRECTION: In this episode, Okanagan Lake is erroneously referred to as "Lake Kelowna". We apologize for the error. 

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It's no longer a question of if our comfortable lives will change as the climate does over the next few decades. The questions are how much will they change, and where will they change the least?

People with lots of money are already buying property in places they believe will be safe from disaster. You can Google "Best places to live in climate crisis" and find a lot of listicles. But very few of us have the money to buy everything we'll need, or move across the world. So how can you prepare for whatever comes next in the safest and most sensible way possible?

GUEST: Alex Steffen, climate futurist, author of The Snap Forward

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