The Big Story

Plus: The Ontario government is moving to ban unlimited ticket resale prices ahead of the FIFA World Cup, and the first day of spring doesn't really feel like it.

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Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston announced more than $130 million in budget cuts to several supports and programs, including sports, healthcare, climate change, and Black, Mi'kmaw and Gaelic communities. Although he's reversed more than $53 million in grant cuts, the arts and culture are still left to fend for themselves.

Protest against the cuts overall have broken out across the province, even making their way to the Oscars following Tamara Deverell's production design win.

Host Caryn Ceolin speaks to the Oscar winner herself, a BC native who lives in Nova Scotia, to discuss how government grants to the arts help put Canada's name on Hollywood's map. Then, Caryn is joined by Sébastien Labelle, a Nova Scotian actor and the artistic director of Mayworks Kjipuktuk/Halifax, about the ripple effect of Houston's proposed cuts, and why he's calling the move 'smoke and mirrors'.

Learn more about Mayworks Kjipuktuk/Halifax here: https://mayworkskjipuktukhfx.ca/

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A recent investigation exposed several members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) had accounts on a whites-only dating site that worked to promote white supremacy ideology. It comes almost a year after the RCMP arrested four men, including CAF members for plotting to forcibly take over land in Quebec using military weapons.

Host Caryn Ceolin speaks to Dr. David Hofmann, the Director of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Program at the University of New Brunswick and an expert on far-right extremism and violence, to discuss how - or if - the CAF is able to sift out white supremacists from their recruitment, why militaries are so attractive to white nationalists, and how the CAF takes action once an extremist is identified.

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

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It's been an emotional rollercoaster of a week so far for US President Trump.

First he was greatly disappointed that none of his allies wanted to donate their military resources to guard commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Then he said he wasn't surprised that NATO worked on what he called a 'one way street' basis.

Host Caryn Ceolin speaks to Willy Lowry, one of the hosts of Two Blocks from the White House - a CBC podcast about US politics from a Canadian context - and a correspondent for CBC News in Washington. The two discuss where Trump's calculations went wrong for on ally support, how Canada could use a 'get out of jail free' card, and how much deeper the war could expand.

You can listen to Two Blocks from the White House here: https://app.magellan.ai/listen_links/2BFTWHxTBS

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

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It's like brain-rot but for babies. And all of a sudden, it's not funny anymore.

AI baby slop, a form of content that consists of highly stimulating audio and video of random objects and sounds, posted on YouTube, and found by children whose algorithm cues it up after their parent chose a separate video.

Host Catherine Jette speaks with Dr. Keri Ewart, Chair of the Bachelor of Education program and assistant professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, to discuss how these videos are produced and for whom. They also dig into what kind of content children should be consuming, and how AI can help in childhood development, but with close supervision.

You can find the New York Times article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/us/ai-videos-children-youtube.html

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

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The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently announced its AI Strategy as part of the AI Strategy for the Federal Public Service 2025-2027. Included are measures to streamline the ministry's administrative tasks using AI without allowing the technology to make executive decisions on applications.

According to the IRCC, AI has been used since 2013, although only for what it calls 'if-then' models, but starting this year, it says it will be used to triage applications and respond to inquiries.

Host Maria Kestane speaks to Joshua Schachnow, a family lawyer and the CEO of Visto.AI to learn more about the technology's potential to help the ministry become more efficient, but also what dangers we should be on the lookout for.

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

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