The Big Story Frequency Podcast Network

The Paris games kicks off with the Opening Ceremonies today, but the Canadian women's soccer team has already given the thousands of media covering the event something to talk about. Earlier this week, a team analyst was caught using a drone to spy on the New Zealand team's practice, sparking immediate consequences that have included removal from the team, multiple investigations and even police charges.

Why would anyone associated with the team try to do this, or think they'd get away with it? How far up the Canadian soccer ladder does this scheme go? How bad will the fallout be? And has Canada tainted its games before they even begin?

GUEST: Sid Seixeiro, sports commentator, co-host of Breakfast Television, formerly of Tim and Sid

A month ago President Joe Biden was about to debate former President Donald Trump. Everything since then has been a series of shocks that dramatically upset a race that had been static for years. Now Vice President Kamala Harris assumes the Democratic candidacy and will take on a Republican machine that had been preparing to run against the oldest candidate in history.

How does Harris' ascention impact the race? How will republicans try to define her and will it work? How has she managed to reinvigorate a party wherre morale was at a critical low? And what does this mean for the coming remaining weeks and months of the race? What twists are still to come?

GUEST: Melissa Haussman, professor of political science, Carleton University

Last Friday, a bad update from a cybersecurity company managed to give an estimated 1 percent of the world's computers the blue screen of death. Not only that, but the initial fix was a manual procedure, meaning someone had to physically get ahold of each computer that needed a reboot.

The global impact was profound, grounding airlines, halting businesses and generally providing a wake-up call to everyone who takes the digital infrastructure most of our lives are built on for granted. Why weren't we prepared for this? How did it happen? And are we really ready for a world that could go offline at any moment?

GUEST: Jesse Hirsh, futurist, technologist and cybersecurity expert

Canada's dental plan, the first national model in the country's history, opened earlier this year. And it's already quite different than it was at launch. For starters, it's expanding eligibility—most recently to children under 18. But the government is also tweaking it on the fly, in the hopes of getting more dentists and dental associations on board.

Why has it been so hard to convince dental practitioners to sign up? Are their concerns valid and what's the government doing about them? Who does the plan cover, and how do you get access? And compared to what advocates have long fought for, how does the current model stack up?

GUEST: Dr. Brandon Doucet, dentist, founder of the Coalition for Dentalcare

If you get outside to enjoy Canadian nature, you've probably been warned about ticks and their potential to spread Lyme disease. But you may not have been warned about the other illnesses ticks can spread, like Anaplasmosis, which is currently on the rise in Canada.

The tick problem this year, is worse than last year, and much much worse than even a decade ago. Is there anything we can do to curb their spread? And what can you do to keep yourself safe?

GUEST: Dr. Laura Ferguson: Biologist and Associate Professor at Acadia University

For more tick-related resources, visit: https://www.etick.ca/

No we haven't been hacked—today's story has all of these things and more. It's a tale about what happens when a Canadian crypto company wants to add to its portfolio, an American sex doll manufacturer wants to be taken more seriously and artificial intelligence progress convinces everyone involved that this is possible.

Welcome to Canada's strangest business tech story of the year. Burt it's not fiction, it has investors and prototypes and big plans for everything from hospitals to research to ... AI sex robots.

GUEST: Claire Brownell, digital currency reporter, The Logic