Ticks! The word tends to give Canadians of all stripes a sense of the creepy-crawlies-- and perhaps a touch of anxiety too. The small parasites that burrow into our skin and pose significant risk of Lyme disease are a regular summer worry for parents and pet owners-- and doubly so this year.

A wave of ticks coming from the United States is expected to hit the country this summer, dramatically increasing the threat they pose-- and this could be the new normal.

Host Catherine Jette speaks with Justin Wood, founder of 'Geneticks', Canada’s first private tick testing lab, about why this is happening, how you can protect yourself, and what a tick-filled summer might look like going forward.

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We're at a point where "record-breaking heat" has become a broken-record phrase. Year over year, we hear how many parts of the world have reached a new temperature high. And just days into summer 2026, things already ramped up, with intense and deadly heat waves gripping much of Europe, where temperatures pushed near 50 degrees. And North America hasn't been exempt, as July brings in a new wave of brutal heat.

Today on The Big Story, host Caryn Ceolin speaks with City News' Chief Meteorologist Natasha Ramsahai about why the heat is ramping up, how it's going to affect you, and what we can do, if anything, to stop it.

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