The horrific allegations against R. Kelly weren’t somehow revealed when Lifetime aired its six-part documentary on the hitmaker this weekend. They were common knowledge to anyone who’d paid even a cursory amount of attention to the music industry for the past two decades. And yet, even in an exhaustive expose, Lifetime could only find a couple of contemporaries willing to speak out against Kelly on camera? Why? 

Who could know about the allegations surrounding Kelly and still work with him? Almost everyone, apparently. But why haven’t any of his former peers publicly disowned him? What makes Kelly’s long reckoning different from the more rapid cancellations and public condemnations that have become a hallmark of the #MeToo movement? And will this finally, mercifully, be the last straw for Kelly’s ability to work in the industry?

GUEST: Dalton Higgins, author, journalist, publicist

Every day from now until Canada’s federal election, a new poll will be released somewhere. Some will be right, some wrong, but you won’t know which until October. Some will be biased, but maybe not intentionally so. Some will be good polls that get no coverage, and some will be bad ones that spawn giant headlines. If you ignore all of them, you won’t be an informed voter. If you pay attention to every new set of numbers, you’ll go crazy. 

So how can you tell a good poll from a bad one? When is it a party or leader’s jump a sign of a real shift and not an outlier? How can you tell which events are actually driving public opinion, and which ones will fade without a lasting impact on the race? Why do we like to talk about the polls being wrong when they’re right far more often than not? What do the reporters and analysts writing and talking about polls get wrong when new data lands? And how can you catch them in the act?

GUEST: David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data

Every day from now until Canada’s federal election, a new poll will be released somewhere. Some will be right, some wrong, but you won’t know which until October. Some will be biased, but maybe not intentionally so. Some will be good polls that get no coverage, and some will be bad ones that spawn giant headlines. If you ignore all of them, you won’t be an informed voter. If you pay attention to every new set of numbers, you’ll go crazy. 

So how can you tell a good poll from a bad one? When is it a party or leader’s jump a sign of a real shift and not an outlier? How can you tell which events are actually driving public opinion, and which ones will fade without a lasting impact on the race? Why do we like to talk about the polls being wrong when they’re right far more often than not? What do the reporters and analysts writing and talking about polls get wrong when new data lands? And how can you catch them in the act?

GUEST: David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data

For the past quarter-century, Ontario’s environment has had a voice in the provincial legislature. The environment commissioner takes questions from the public, writes independent reports on how well the province is protecting its natural resources and fighting climate change, and holds the government to account on environmental regulations. The office speaks for the trees, for the trees have no tongues. Or at least, that’s what it used to do.

A single line in a bill passed in December gutted that office, just as the province’s climate situation is becoming critical. So, what happens next? Investigative reporter Fatima Syed has been digging through the policy to figure out why the office was eliminated, what options citizens with pressing environmental concerns have now and why, just when environmental regulations are needed most, they’re being rolled back not just in Ontario, but in so many places in North America.

GUEST: Fatima Syed, National Observer

For the past quarter-century, Ontario’s environment has had a voice in the provincial legislature. The environment commissioner takes questions from the public, writes independent reports on how well the province is protecting its natural resources and fighting climate change, and holds the government to account on environmental regulations. The office speaks for the trees, for the trees have no tongues. Or at least, that’s what it used to do.

A single line in a bill passed in December gutted that office, just as the province’s climate situation is becoming critical. So, what happens next? Investigative reporter Fatima Syed has been digging through the policy to figure out why the office was eliminated, what options citizens with pressing environmental concerns have now and why, just when environmental regulations are needed most, they’re being rolled back not just in Ontario, but in so many places in North America.

GUEST: Fatima Syed, National Observer

Maybe Taquisha McKitty died in September, 2017 at age 27, when she was declared brain dead after a drug overdose. Or maybe she died just three days ago, 15 months later, aged 28 when her heart finally stopped beating. 

The legal fight around the Brampton mother’s diagnosis touched on everything that chills us about the ends of our lives, the chasm between modern medicine and religion and what happens to us when we’re at the mercy of the system—and the arguments in this case eventually made their way to Ontario’s highest court. 

What happens when doctors declare you dead, but you’re still moving? What happens when you claim that your faith dictates your loved one receive valuable medical resources, even though science shows that person is clearly beyond help? Even though McKitty is gone, a decision may be coming that sets a precedent about how we define death, and what—if any—rights we have once we’re “gone”.

GUEST: Cristina Howorun, CityNews

Maybe Taquisha McKitty died in September, 2017 at age 27, when she was declared brain dead after a drug overdose. Or maybe she died just three days ago, 15 months later, aged 28 when her heart finally stopped beating. 

The legal fight around the Brampton mother’s diagnosis touched on everything that chills us about the ends of our lives, the chasm between modern medicine and religion and what happens to us when we’re at the mercy of the system—and the arguments in this case eventually made their way to Ontario’s highest court. 

What happens when doctors declare you dead, but you’re still moving? What happens when you claim that your faith dictates your loved one receive valuable medical resources, even though science shows that person is clearly beyond help? Even though McKitty is gone, a decision may be coming that sets a precedent about how we define death, and what—if any—rights we have once we’re “gone”.

GUEST: Cristina Howorun, CityNews

Last year, you needed to be a skilled impersonator to fake a video of a public figure. This year, that will change. And when it does, anything is possible. Will trolls flood social media with fake videos of celebrities saying embarrassing things? Will it be used in dirty politics? Who will debunk what are becoming known as “deepfakes”? And will we trust them when they do? Fake videos aside, how can we trust “real” videos in a world where any video could be doctored? 

This is the start of a new era in misinformation. Just in time for a federal election! Welcome to 2019, everyone! The truth is…maybe…out there?

GUEST: Stephen Maher, Maclean’s

Last year, you needed to be a skilled impersonator to fake a video of a public figure. This year, that will change. And when it does, anything is possible. Will trolls flood social media with fake videos of celebrities saying embarrassing things? Will it be used in dirty politics? Who will debunk what are becoming known as “deepfakes”? And will we trust them when they do? Fake videos aside, how can we trust “real” videos in a world where any video could be doctored? 

This is the start of a new era in misinformation. Just in time for a federal election! Welcome to 2019, everyone! The truth is…maybe…out there?

GUEST: Stephen Maher, Maclean’s

As you have no doubt heard a million times, marijuana became legal this year. And as we told you in our year-end show, not much changed. The more interesting story is how it became illegal in the first place. If you’ve heard CityNews Reporter Shauna Hunt join us on this podcast, you know she also hosts The Legal Potcast, and this is the kind of stuff she does—deep dives into the stories behind the pot industry. So today we’ll give you a taste of that—an episode of The Legal Potcast, featuring Shauna’s sit-down with author, professor and PhD Dan Malleck on the long and winding road of pot prohibition. Meanwhile, we’ll be back with fresh daily episodes, starting next week.