- The Ultimate Choice: A family's journey reveals the political and ethical stakes behind Canada's debate around MAID
Thursday, February 29th 2024
This Matters is pleased to publish the first episode of the Toronto Star, TVO and IJB collaborative podcast, The Ultimate Choice. The podcast follows the journey of Michael and his wife, Ann. Michael, housebound by pain and incurable disease, sees his choice for a medically assisted death (MAID) as a powerful solution to his suffering. The series explores Michael's motivations and how his decision affects his family, friends, and longtime doctor. Hosted by Toronto Star investigative reporter Rob Cribb, the podcast also challenges him to come to terms with his own family history as he dives into this highly charged story. Both a portrait of a family's autonomy and a hard-hitting exposé, The Ultimate Choice reveals the political and ethical stakes behind Canada's debate to expand MAID like never before.
In episode 1, The Request, Rob Cribb starts tracking down how Michael got to the point of wanting to end his life. Who will help him? Rob's own family history emerges. This story is more personal than he ever imagined.
You can listen to all six episodes at the Toronto Star, at TVO or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
The Ultimate Choice is a co-production of TVO Today, the Toronto Star, the Investigative Journalism Bureau, and Piz Gloria Productions.
- The first cobalt refinery in North America is in Canada
Saturday, February 24th 2024
This Matters is pleased to publish episodes of the Toronto Star's podcast, Road Trip: Electric Avenues, every Saturday. The next episode will be available next week here, or already in the Road Trip feed.
In episode 2, we visit a cobalt refinery in Cobalt, Ont. that’s running on renewable power and doubling as a battery recycling plant. Electra Battery Materials bought the plant in 2018 and five years on, they’ve got the first cobalt refinery in North America, the only alternative for EV manufacturers who currently get their cobalt refined in China.
Toronto Star photographer Steve Russell and climate change reporter Marco Chown Oved went on a road trip through northern Ontario in the dead of winter. It was cold, blizzarding and icy. They travelled 2,300 km during the coldest week of the year. And they did it in an electric vehicle (EV).
- ‘Law & Order’ and porn and politics
Friday, February 23rd 2024
The first episode of "Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent" aired this week, and we agree the city not only looked like itself, but looked beautiful too. But beautiful or not, this is still a very expensive place to live, and a new report shows it’s dragging down quality of life across the board. Does the Chow/Ford announcement this week offer any hope of change? Meanwhile, we discuss Emma's column about Pierre Poilievre’s pathetic porno politics. Plus, clarifying some comments on the police department and the budget issue.
What would you like to hear on Toronto Star podcasts? Let us know in this survey and you can enter to win a $100 gift card.
- Facing our smartphone addiction
Wednesday, February 21st 2024
Guest: Richard Warnica, Toronto Star feature writer
Richard Warnica sees it everywhere – business meetings, the subway, even at his own dinner table – the blank-eyed stare of someone mindlessly scrolling their smartphone. These devices, despite their increasingly documented negative effects on our mental health, have us firmly in their grips, and their utility and ubiquity makes it hard to envision how we’ll ever kick the habit. But once upon a time, most of us smoked, too, and virtually everywhere (on planes, trains, at work, in restaurants…). Will we one day look back on this the same way? PLUS: How Warnica deals with it at home by thinking inside the (locked) box.
This episode was produced by Paulo Marques, Julia De Laurentiis Johnston and Edward Keenan.
- Can EV batteries be made with Canadian minerals?
Saturday, February 17th 2024
This Matters is pleased to publish episodes of the Toronto Star's podcast, Road Trip: Electric Avenues, every Saturday. The next episode will be available next week here, or already in the Road Trip feed.
Toronto Star photographer Steve Russell and climate change reporter Marco Chown Oved went on a road trip through northern Ontario in the dead of winter. It was cold, blizzarding and icy. They travelled 2,300 km during the coldest week of the year. And they did it in an electric vehicle (EV).
Sudbury, Ont., has some of the richest nickel deposits in the world and is already supplying some battery makers. In the future, Canadian nickel could replace the critical minerals needed for the huge batteries that power EVs, which currently come from some pretty awful places.
Join us for Episode 1 and a trip 2.5 km underground in one of Canada’s oldest mines.
