The Big Story

This week marked 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has updated Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine in response to Joe Biden authorizing long-range missiles for the Ukrainian military. Experts say the world’s nuclear temperature just went up. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is set to take back the Oval Office in January. He has threatened to pull U-S support for Ukraine entirely. He has said he will end the war on his first day in power. The fate of Ukraine hangs in the balance. Professor Elliot Tepper is Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University.

The clock is ticking towards the holiday season, but what's casting a pall is the strike at Canada Post. One labour lawyer suggests people should start thinking about alternate arrangements for cards and presents. Our Cormac Mac Sweeney digs into how long it will last and what the impact could be.

According to the former and future US President, Canada's water is like a 'very large faucet' that one could turn on, say, to help California in a drought, or any other Pacific Northwest state that might need it. According to scientists, it's ... not like that at all. But still, Canada has water. And increasingly, the United States needs it. Does Trump actually intend to ask for, buy or even take Canadian water? Would it even be possible if he wanted to? What do Canadians need to know about their abundant natural resource as the climate crisis makes it scarcer around the world? How worried should we be about Canadian water? GUEST: Dr. Jay Famiglietti, hydrologist and Global Futures Professor at Arizona State University; former Executive Director Emeritus of the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan

For decades, it's been the dream that children will grow up to have more opportunities and a better life than their parents did. Not many young people see that as possible anymore. Wealth and income inequality, combined with the affordability and housing crises, have created a world in which a majority of them don't believe they'll be able to own a home. There are some who are sure that they will, though: The Jackpot Generation, a subset of Millennials and Zoomers who will be on the receiving end of valuable property inheritances, worth far, far more than their parents ever paid for them. That equity gives them a gigantic head start as they move into adulthood or middle age—and it's creating a system that's the opposite of the equality we've been striving for. GUEST: Katrina Onstad, reporting in Maclean's

We've had an update to one of our most popular episodes -- the counterfeit toonie. Enjoy! --------------------------------- They call it the "camel-toe toonie", and you will understand why as soon as you look at the front right paw of the polar bear on it. Since they were first discovered in circulation in 2020, estimates range from at least tens of thousands to likely millions of them reaching circulation. But who is behind it? How do you counterfeit toonies at scale and get them into the banking system? And ... why toonies? GUEST: Brent Mackie, creator of cameltoetoonies.ca, numismatist, treasurer of Waterloo Coin Society