Wednesday, August 2nd 2023

Guest: Kate Allen, Climate change reporter for the Toronto Star

The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has dubbed it a “cruel summer." A blistering heatwave is sweeping across North America and Europe with record high temperatures triggering other travesties like devastating wildfires and flash floods with July being declared the world’s hottest month on record. Climate change has been explicitly blamed for some of what we’ve seen recently, and scientists are saying this is a terrifying glimpse of the future with the worst yet to come. Meanwhile, for many Canadians, climate change has gone from feeling like a remote scientific term; and beginning to impact their lives in a very tangible way.

Audio sources: The Guardian

Tuesday, August 1st 2023

Guest: Megan Ogilvie, heath reporter for the Toronto Star

More than three years after the COVID-19 pandemic that took tens of thousands of Canadian lives, a group of the country’s top medical experts have published a scathing indictment of Canada’s COVID response. In a sweeping set of research papers and editorials published in the British Medical Journal, these experts are calling on the government for a national inquiry into its COVID response — something that’s already happening in other countries. They say this process is imperative to learn from what was lost, because it is only a matter of time before we face the next big pandemic. We take a deep dive into “the COVID papers."

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz and Sean Pattendon.

Friday, July 28th 2023

WARNING: This story includes sensitive subject matter, including discussion of gun violence, gender-based violence and intimate partner violence, that could be triggering for some listeners.

Guest: Michele Henry, staff reporter

It was an unthinkable act of violence: a lone gunman, seemingly angry at fellow residents in his Vaughan condo building, unleashed a torrent of bullets that left five people dead and others injured. It was the deadliest mass shooting in the GTA’s recent history and now, we understand more about the man behind the crime. Our country’s worst killers do not need notoriety. That’s not why we are here today, but it is important to understand motivations and the reasons why. As the Star’s Michele Henry found, there are connections to our notorious criminals who have perpetuated violence and we must pay attention to what those things are.

This episode was produced by Brian Bradley, Sean Pattendon and Crawford Blair.

Thursday, July 27th 2023

Guest: Susan Delacourt, national columnist

Wednesday’s oath-taking ceremony at Rideau Hall marked one of the most significant cabinet shuffles of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s eight-year tenure, a move that’s being framed as a game changer ahead of a pivotal moment. Seven newcomers were welcomed to the front bench, seven were dropped and almost 30 out of 38 ministries saw big changes. The Liberals have positioned it as a crucial reboot of a team that will lead them to their fourth re-election. The opposition is not buying it, as ordinary Canadians are focused on the economy, health, and housing among other serious issues. Will this be enough to satisfy Canadian voters? We try to untangle the political knots.

Audio sources: CTV News, CPAC

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz and Sean Pattendon.

Tuesday, July 25th 2023