- Fire rages near Halifax: "Their house was already burning"
Tuesday, May 30th 2023
It happened so, so fast. Less than an hour after the first spark, thousands were evacuating, and crews were racing to close thew roads behind them on their way out. One of the fastest fires the province has ever seen was just outside the city, in no time at all.
Since yesterday afternoon, more than 14,000 people have been evacuated, resources have been deployed fro other provinces—at least those that hadn't already been sent to Alberta—and a State of Emergency had been declared. Now hundreds of firefighters are digging in to halt the fire where it stands ... but a change in the wind could still change everything.
GUEST: Dan Ahlstrand, news director at CityNews 95.7 in Halifax
We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:
Through email at [email protected]
- Why some kids live with their moms in prison
Monday, May 29th 2023
It's a rarely used program—little-known and tough to qualify for—that allows children under five to live inside Canadian women's prisons with their mothers. And a look inside those prisons at the moms and their kids offers a glimpse we don't often get inside Canada's institutions.
How does this program work? Is it better for the kids than living outside prison, but without their moms? Who can qualify? And what is it actually like inside these places? Where convicted killers can be found living in small homes with private kitchens and bathrooms, choosing and cooking their own meals, wearing their own clothes and helping out with nap time and diaper changes?
GUEST: Cristina Howorun, CityNews reporter; host and writer of VeraCity: Prison Moms
We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:
Through email at [email protected]
- The Gravy Train, Episode 4: Headlines
Saturday, May 27th 2023
If you're a newer listener to The Big Story, you may not know aboutThe Gravy Train, a podcast we released in 2019 chronicling the meteoric rise, and tragic downfall of Toronto's most notorious mayor, Rob Ford.
With Toronto in the midst of its first wide-open mayoral race since 2010, we thought now would be an opportune time to revisit this narrative, which captures a moment in politics with some striking similarities to what we're seeing in the city today.
We'll be dropping an episode in this feed every Saturday for the next two months leading up to election day, but they're all available in The Gravy Train feed if you prefer to binge them.
Enjoy!
--------------------------
ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES:
As Rob Ford began his term as mayor by ending taxes and cancelling transit plans, his colleagues on city council and the reporters who covered them were starting to gossip. As his first weeks turned to months, Ford was around less and less, and people were starting to wonder: What was going on with the mayor? And then, two high-profile nights out added fuel to that fire…
We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:
Through email at [email protected]
- Safe supply and the overdose crisis: An FAQ
Friday, May 26th 2023
Harm reduction programs in general tend to be divisive, but safe supply might be the most controversial of them all. It involves providing drug users with, well, drugs—in the hopes they won't use more dangerous ones.
The programs have been criticized by politicians, "exposed" in long newspaper features and serve as an easy target for anyone focused on "getting users off drugs" as a strategy to fight the overdose crisis. The reality is complex, and there's still a lot we don't know. But as overdose deaths continue to break records, we can't afford not to explore every option. So, what is safe supply? Does it work or are the claims made by its opponents true? Or both?
GUEST: Dr. Lindsey Richardson, Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of British Columbia; Canada Research Chair in Social Inclusion and Health Equity
We love hearing from listeners! If you'd like to offer feedback, suggest an episode topic or have a question about this episode or any other, you can find The Big Story on Twitter @thebigstoryfpn, you can email us at [email protected], and you can call and leave a voicemail at 416-935-5935.
If you'd like to share The Big Story with a friend, you can send them this link, which will allow them to open the podcast in their favourite podcast player.
We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:
Through email at [email protected]
- How do we fight the bigger, hotter wildfires of the future?
Thursday, May 25th 2023
The climate is changing, so wildfires are changing too. The "unprecedented" fires of the past few weeks, won't be unprecedented when they happen again, and again. And the conditions that created them aren't going away. But we aren't helpless against them.
The way we fight fires is changing, too. From earlier detection, more accurate predictions, a different approach to management and ways to get boots on the ground faster in the places where they'll make a difference, the playbook is being written in real time. Here's what we're learning, how we'll use it and how to keep the fires of the future away from homes.
GUEST: Dr. Mike Flannigan, professor at Thompson Rivers University; BC Research Chair in Predictive Services, Emergency Management and Fire Science
We love hearing from listeners! If you'd like to offer feedback, suggest an episode topic or have a question about this episode or any other, you can find The Big Story on Twitter @thebigstoryfpn, you can email us at [email protected], and you can call and leave a voicemail at 416-935-5935.
If you'd like to share The Big Story with a friend, you can send them this link, which will allow them to open the podcast in their favourite podcast player.
We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:
Through email at [email protected]
