Latest podcasts
- Pierre Poilievre’s populist appeal
Tuesday, April 19th 2022
Pierre Poilievre has been known as the federal Conservative’s attack dog. He’s often hyper partisan in Parliament, not afraid to pander to the base and support controversial movements, like the truckers convoy that occupied Ottawa earlier this year.
And yet the career politician has tapped into a populist vein and is gaining attention by talking about issues like housing, inflation and cryptocurrency. But is it enough to allow him to win the Conservative leadership race? And then, resonate with the wider public? Globe and Mail columnist Robyn Urback talks about why Poilievre’s messaging is finding its audience right now.
- Baking a birthday cake in a war zone
Monday, April 18th 2022
When your country is invaded, how do you keep your family’s spirits up? In besieged Kharkiv, Ukraine, Natalie Slyusar focused on trying to give her son a regular 16th birthday – complete with a homemade chocolate cake. But baking’s a lot easier said than done while a war rages around you.
This beguilingly simple story reveals a lot about how we get ourselves and our loved ones through the hardest parts of life. Natalie recounts what it’s like for a family to cope with an invasion.
- The pandemic surge in sexually transmitted infections
Thursday, April 14th 2022
Sexual health testing took a nose dive during the pandemic, as health care workers and resources were diverted towards the fight against COVID-19. And as Globe reporter Zosia Bielski tells us in this episode, when it comes to sexually transmitted infections: “Less detection equates with more spread.”
Now, we’re paying the price: the rate of STIs, from gonorrhea to HIV, has risen precipitously in many places across Canada. Zosia explains why the conditions of the pandemic – from the shame of breaking lockdown rules, to online schooling – have accelerated a decades-long trend of rising STIs in Canada.
- Separatism’s new shape in Quebec
Wednesday, April 13th 2022
On Monday, a by-election in a Montreal suburb ended in defeat for the Parti Quebecois, the province’s champion of separatism for the last fifty years. And yet 35 per cent of Quebeckers still believe in independence for Quebec.
The Globe’s Quebec correspondent Eric Andrew-Gee explains why that isn’t translating into support for the PQ anymore.
- Why Canadians aren’t getting their COVID booster
Tuesday, April 12th 2022
On Monday, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer Kieran Moore gave a COVID-19 update after being silent for almost a month. The province will expand PCR testing and antiviral drugs for certain people, Dr. Moore said, while the current surge in cases will likely continue into mid-to-late May.
Ontario is not alone. Much of the country is facing a sixth wave of the pandemic. While vaccines remain an important tool for preventing serious disease, less than half of Canadians eligible for a third shot have bothered to get one.
Health reporter Carly Weeks has been following the vaccination uptake in Canada since the beginning of the pandemic. She tells us how there’s been a lack of clear messaging around boosters, why more Canadians should be getting a third (or even fourth) dose and what a COVID-19 vaccination schedule may look like in the future.