Enjoy this special feed drop from our sister show 'In This Economy?!'.

The economy started off 2026 in what economists called a 'technical recession', but a huge bounce-back at the start of the second quarter has raised some eyebrows about the validity of the Statistics Canada numbers in the first place.

Host Mike Eppel speaks to LJ Valencia, an economist at Desjardins and co-author of a study called 'Diagnosing the Data Quality Crisis'. They discuss the cutbacks at the government data agency, the implications of questionable information for policy makers, and just how much we could trust the data.

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca

Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

Almost 14 years ago, Canada was reeling from the loss of its men's national team losing 8-1 to Honduras and crushing its dreams of qualifying from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Fast forward to the 2026 World Cup, and Canadian fans get to watch their team compete for a spot in the quarterfinals against Morocco. it's been a wild ride, to say the least!

Guest host Devang Desai speaks with Footy Prime’s James Sharman about how we’ve reached the biggest game in the Canadian men’s national team history, the challenge presented by Morocco and overall feelings about the 2026 FIFA World Cup so far.

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca

Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky