This Is Why

By Global News / Curiouscast

What's This Is Why about?

“This is Why” is a weekly Global News original podcast that delves into Canada’s biggest news stories with a young and curious audience in mind. Complemented by original reporting, expert interviews, social reaction, and unique storytelling, this podcast is for anyone interested in going beyond the headlines to learn more about complicated stories.

CKNW Radio Producers John O’Dowd and Niki Reitmayer strive to answer difficult and sometimes controversial questions, giving their listeners unique insight into the stories that matter most to Canadians.

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LAST EPISODE

China Rising

08.28.2021

Napoleon is credited with comparing China with a sleeping dragon. But the country of more than 1 billion is now an economic and political force in the world. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at some of ...

This Is Why episodes:

08.28.2021 China Rising Napoleon is credited with comparing China with a sleeping dragon. But the country of more than 1 billion is now an economic and political force in the world. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at some of ...
08.28.2021 Indigenous child welfare Cowessess First Nation became the first of its kind to repatriate its child welfare system, under a federal bill made into law almost two years ago, but it's not likely to be the last. On this episode of This Is ...
08.27.2021 Climate change vs human health While it's easy to think that a one degree increase in average temperatures doesn't have a direct impact on our health, wildfire smoke and heat domes have proven how widespread effects of climate change can affect Canadians. On this episode ...
08.27.2021 The 'G-word' The definition of genocide goes back decades, but the debate rages on whether it applies to what the Canadian government and sponsored actors have done to Indigenous communities. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at the definition ...
07.09.2021 Canada's reckoning with Residential Schools Following the news that 215 unmarked graves in Kelowna and then 751 unmarked graves on Cowessess First Nation near sites of Indian Residential Schools, more Canadians have had to reckon with the country's history of residential schools, including calls for ...
07.01.2021 Reopening Stress On July 1, 2021, Alberta will become the first province to fully reopen following the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination effort. On this episode of This Is Why, we look back at why some are feeling stress ...
06.14.2021 AIDS at 40 On June 5, 1981, the US Centers for Disease Control published a report about a rare type of pneumonia affecting gay men in Los Angeles, CA. It would be the first reports of HIV and AIDS in North America. On ...
06.12.2021 Forests, Fire and Carbon With wildfire season underway, perennial concerns about forest fires have returned. And as the effects of climate change worsen, research is underway to understand the relationship between forests, forest fires and carbon in the atmosphere. On this episode of This ...
06.11.2021 The possibility of endemic COVID We've all become familiar with the term 'pandemic,' and may know what an 'epidemic' is, but the term 'endemic' is maybe less widely known. But it's certainly widely-experienced. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at the factors ...
06.11.2021 Vaccine Miscommunication With more jabs going into arms and the potential of some Canadians choosing between the AstraZeneca-manufactured viral vector COVID-19 vaccine and an mRNA-based shot from companies like Pfizer or Moderna, the advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) ...
05.14.2021 Another Roaring 20s? As the world begins to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic with shots going in arms, a growing sense of jollity is coming over more and more vaccinated people. There's an interesting parallel between the end of this pandemic and what ...
05.03.2021 Canada's carbon budget threat There's only so much carbon humans can put into the atmosphere before the earth's average temperature will rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius, a point at which major climate change will happen -- that's the opinion of the panel of scientists ...
05.02.2021 A new mental health plan for cities Calgary, like other cities across the country are seeing spikes in mental health calls, with the problem only being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. But the City of Calgary has formulated a plan, and it's sharing that plan with other ...
05.01.2021 COVID Zero With Canada in the grips of the third wave of the pandemic, seemingly fueled by growth of COVID-19 variants, the calls for more provincial governments to adopt a "Covid Zero" On this episode of This Is Why, we find out ...
04.30.2021 Climate change and Churchill With climate change continuing almost unabated, more and more places around the world are seeing the effects. But one corner of Canada that has a unique confluence of habitats, wildlife, civilization and tourism has a front seat to the effects ...
04.13.2021 Pandemic time warp More than a year has passed since the coronavirus pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization. For some, it's felt like COVID-19 arrived yesterday. For others, it's felt like an eternity. On this episode of This Is Why, we ...
04.01.2021 Vaccine Passports A passport is a way to see the world beyond your country's borders, and a vaccine passport is seen by some as a way to travel freely during the coronavirus pandemic. On this episode of This Is Why, we find ...
04.01.2021 The need for post-COVID immigration Canada faces a real conundrum in its post-pandemic recovery -- our population is set to shrink without outside help. On this episode of This Is Why, we find out why increased immigration will be increasingly important in the years following ...
03.16.2021 Tiki torch marches in Alberta A symbol connected to white nationalist and white supremacist movements has made its way into two back-to-back anti-lockdown protests in two Canadian cities. On this episode of This Is Why, we find out why mobs carrying torches is a sign ...
03.08.2021 Pandemic real estate With public health orders mandating everyone shelter in place, more and more Canadians have been looking at their shelters in a new light. And that's caused a run in real estate markets across the country. On this episode of This ...
03.08.2021 Pregnancy and COVID-19 vaccines Vaccines for the novel coronavirus are being rolled out around the world, addressing the most vulnerable members of society first. But the risk they pose to pregnant and lactating women is currently unknown. On this episode of This Is Why, ...
02.22.2021 Vaccine Nationalism With vaccines for the novel coronavirus viewed as the gateway for a "return to normal," some countries are putting themselves ahead of others, hoping to get back to normal faster. On this episode of This Is Why, we learn about ...
02.17.2021 Electric cars driving change More and more car manufacturers are pledging to have their fleets turn electric in as little as a decade. And those changes will affect more than just the new car lot. On this episode of This Is Why, we learn ...
02.08.2021 Coal in the Rockies A change to a 45-year-old coal policy in a province known for resource extraction has people from all walks of life up in arms. And the people are saying the government has gone too far. On this episode of This ...
02.06.2021 The need to care for long-term care homes The coronavirus pandemic has hit all of Canada but one group has been hit especially hard -- senior citizens. And through all of the waves of the pandemic, long-term and assisted living homes have been sites of outbreaks, resulting in ...
01.25.2021 New COVID-19 variants New variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been discovered around the world, and present new and different threats to public health. On this episode of This Is Why, we learn about the new variants and what could be done about them. Contact: ...
01.20.2021 Canada-US relations under Biden With a new president entering the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2021, a new era can begin in relations between the two countries who share the world's longest undefended border: Canada and the United States. On this episode of This ...
01.20.2021 Health and climate change While the coronavirus pandemic rages on, the climate change crisis continues to march on as another threat to the health of people worldwide. On this episode of This Is Why, we learn about why climate change will affect the health ...
01.16.2021 A changed relationship with death The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on more than 15,000 families, taking their loved ones from this world. And COVID-19 has brought a topic to the forefront that isn't usually brought up in polite society: death. On this episode ...
01.16.2021 Loneliness during the pandemic Staying at home has been one of the most powerful tools in preventing the spread of COVID-19 during this pandemic. But it has contributed to a parallel mental health pandemic. On this episode of This Is Why, we look at ...
01.16.2021 Stoicism and the Pandemic The coronavirus pandemic has brought up all sorts of emotions and feelings, as we all try to navigate this 'new normal.' But perhaps instead of asking 'Why is this happening?,' there are better questions to ask, like 'What can I ...
01.16.2021 The Future of Work after COVID-19 The coronavirus pandemic has had millions of Canadians work from home for months. Offices in office buildings have largely sat dormant and downtowns are closer to ghost towns. But whether that is a temporary or a structural change is up ...
01.16.2021 Contact Tracing Apps One of the differences between the 1918 influenza pandemic and COVID-19 is that a majority of citizens have radios and computers they can fit in their pockets -- smartphones. And apps run on smartphones could be an important tool in ...
01.16.2021 Contact Tracing Apps - bonus conversation The conversation we had with Calgary-based project manager Ziad Fazel about contact tracing apps went into such detail and went longer than we usually go, so we decided to put the whole conversation into a bonus episode for you. Enjoy! ...
01.15.2021 The Worst Case Scenario with COVID-19 With the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic raging in Canada, hospitalizations and admissions to intensive care units are at all-time highs, and that has a lot of people worried. On this episode of This Is Why, we find out ...
01.15.2021 The 1918 Influenza Pandemic It's not a stretch to say that the coronavirus pandemic is an historic event, but it's not without precedent. Epidemics have been a part of human history for as long as people have gathered together. So it's not uncommon to ...
11.17.2020 The Atlantic Bubble The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic is in Canada, with record numbers of new cases and deaths bearing that out. Except the wave hasn't hit Atlantic Canada in the same manner as the rest of the country, due to ...
11.17.2020 How COVID-19 affects women As the coronavirus pandemic wears on, inequalities in society are becoming clearer and clearer, like the inequalities facing women and gender-minorities. On this episode of This Is Why, we find out why women are facing challenges by the coronavirus and ...
11.10.2020 The Last Ice in the Arctic As global warming continues to melt Arctic ice, the threat to the Inuit of Canada and Greenland is becoming more and more dire. And that melting is leading to one last patch of Arctic ice. On this episode of This ...
10.26.2020 Cybersecurity threats during the pandemic The need to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic has driven more and more Canadians online, as we found out in an earlier episode of 'This Is Why.' And in October, Canada's privacy commissioner raised the flags around the laws ...
10.19.2020 COVID-19 and Misinformation With the science around the novel coronavirus changing so quickly, it's tough to determine what to follow and what to ignore. And the opportunity some charlatans are trying to seize on don't make things any easier. In this episode of ...
10.16.2020 Civil liberties & COVID-19 One of the most common arguments anti-mask advocates use is that mandating the use of face coverings is the government running afoul of rights and liberties. In this episode of This Is Why, we look at how civil liberties could ...
10.15.2020 The post-pandemic recovery The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted all areas of life. Early on in the pandemic, economic activity ground to a halt and economists say Canada is in a recession. In this episode of This Is Why, we look at two areas ...
10.15.2020 Moving from CERB to EI The Canadian Emergency Response Benefit was only designed to last for 6 months. As the pandemic reaches into the seventh month, what will millions of Canadians do if they can't find a job? In this episode of This Is Why, ...
10.08.2020 Introducing... Crime Beat - Season 3 Ride along with 25 year veteran Crime Reporter Nancy Hixt, from Global News, through some of Canada’s most high-profile criminal cases. Real People, Real Crimes, Real Journalism. Each episode takes you inside case she has worked to give you all ...
09.21.2020 Pro sports and social change Athletes and social movements have had a long history -- almost as long as pro sports itself. The Undefeated created a list that goes back to 1883. But in August, all of the major professional sports in North America went ...
09.14.2020 Getting to know COVID-19 - an update (part 2) It's been six months since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Since then, the scientific community has focused nearly all its efforts into understanding the disease in the hopes of creating a vaccine. In the second ...
09.07.2020 Getting to know COVID-19 - an update (part 1) It's been six months since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Since then, the scientific community has focused nearly all its efforts into understanding the disease in the hopes of creating a vaccine. In the first ...
09.07.2020 Lessons from handwashing The simple act of washing hands with soap and water is one of the best things to do in preventing the spread of COVID-19. But before 2020, it was also one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread ...
08.24.2020 Arctic ice collapse The last remaining permanent ice shelf collapsed in Canada's Arctic earlier this month, continuing the trend of the loss of Arctic ice. For climate observers and for Canada's insurance industry, it's a big concern. On this episode of This Is ...

Older episodes

This Is Why

What's This Is Why about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

This Is Why episodes:

China Rising

Indigenous child welfare

Climate change vs human health

The 'G-word'

Canada's reckoning with Residential Schools

Reopening Stress

AIDS at 40

Forests, Fire and Carbon

The possibility of endemic COVID

Vaccine Miscommunication

Another Roaring 20s?

Canada's carbon budget threat

A new mental health plan for cities

COVID Zero

Climate change and Churchill

Pandemic time warp

Vaccine Passports

The need for post-COVID immigration

Tiki torch marches in Alberta

Pandemic real estate

Pregnancy and COVID-19 vaccines

Vaccine Nationalism

Electric cars driving change

Coal in the Rockies

The need to care for long-term care homes

New COVID-19 variants

Canada-US relations under Biden

Health and climate change

A changed relationship with death

Loneliness during the pandemic

Stoicism and the Pandemic

The Future of Work after COVID-19

Contact Tracing Apps

Contact Tracing Apps - bonus conversation

The Worst Case Scenario with COVID-19

The 1918 Influenza Pandemic

The Atlantic Bubble

How COVID-19 affects women

The Last Ice in the Arctic

Cybersecurity threats during the pandemic

COVID-19 and Misinformation

Civil liberties & COVID-19

The post-pandemic recovery

Moving from CERB to EI

Introducing... Crime Beat - Season 3

Pro sports and social change

Getting to know COVID-19 - an update (part 2)

Getting to know COVID-19 - an update (part 1)

Lessons from handwashing

Arctic ice collapse

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