BIG Exclusives

Generation Z (born 1997-2012) connects energy production and consumption with climate responsibility and their own values. Many see the energy transition as an opportunity for new technologies and greater global stability. For Gen Z, energy is more than just an industrial resource. However – and we are obviously generalizing – a desire for faster progress makes them susceptible to believing in technically or economically infeasible approaches. Many Gen Zs know that energy is central to...

Proponents of the idea that we (humanity, the biosphere, the Earth) are experiencing a climate crisis hold that our only salvation is to drastically reduce anthropogenic (human-made) greenhouse gas emissions – with the ideal solution being “net zero” emissions. Some even appear to feel that net zero will return global climates to some ideal condition where bad weather events, forest fires, biodiversity loss (and maybe even Donald Trump) are minimized or eliminated. Over the past...

In a publicly funded healthcare system already strained by wait times, staffing shortages, and an aging population, the emergent normalization of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) was never going to remain constrained. Once a procedure enters the bureaucratic and budgetary machinery, incentives emerge – quiet, structural, unspoken. And denied. What began as a compassionate response to irremediable suffering becomes entangled with the cold, objective logic of resource allocation. This is the financial reckoning Canadians have...

Most enterprise AI failures are commonly attributed to weak models, insufficient computational infrastructure, unrealistic executive expectations, or poor implementation strategy. Across healthcare, finance, insurance, government, and critical infrastructure sectors, however, a different operational reality is increasingly emerging. Many organizations attempting to deploy AI at scale are discovering that their greatest vulnerability is not the model itself, but the condition of the underlying data environment upon which the system depends. This realization is arriving later than...

The Iranian flashpoint does not merely test missiles, air defences, and proxy networks. It accelerates the shift from human-paced warfare to machine-speed conflict. Striving to pierce the dense information fog, I wrote of the growing influence of battlefield lies, fellow BIG Media contributor Grant Wilde documented how intelligent machines are taking over on the front lines, and we shared a CNN piece on the United States’ urgent push for laser weapons. Autonomous systems, AI-driven targeting, and...

BIG Media boss Rob Driscoll asked me why I had not given him any articles lately, and I said I was out of ideas! Knowing that I am an avid guitar player, he suggested an article on musical instruments. That was a bit too general a topic to tackle, but it did motivate me to produce an article on my favourite instrument, the guitar. Like most guitar players I know, I have a large collection...

Tensions between the United States and Iran have raised fears of a prolonged oil supply shock, increasing volatility in global markets. In theory, higher oil prices should lead to higher inflation and lower real output. China’s case is more complex. Theoretically, as shown in Diagram 1, an oil shock is a negative supply disruption that causes cost-push inflation and a fall in real output. Because oil is a key input in transportation and manufacturing, an...

In the early 1990s, Sue Rodriguez captured a nation’s conscience. A woman in the Canadian province of British Columbia diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), she fought publicly for the right to a physician-assisted death as her body failed. Her articulate, dignified, and powerful plea – “I want to die with dignity” – resonated deeply because it was bounded. It was about unbearable, irremediable physical suffering in a life’s final chapter. The Supreme Court of Canada...

Nigeria’s economy is once again under major pressure due to rising global oil prices related to geopolitical tensions. While higher crude prices often suggest economic gains for an oil-producing country, Nigeria’s situation is more complex. The country stands at a crossroad where it can benefit from increased revenue, yet remains exposed to serious economic risks that come with structural weaknesses. At the heart of Nigeria’s vulnerability is its economic structure. The country relies heavily on...

As the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) hurtle toward an era of intense great-power rivalry, a fundamental shift in the global balance of power is under way. For decades, China has leveraged its near monopoly on critical minerals to exert strategic influence over the West. Today, under its 47th president (POTUS 47) or President Donald Trump’s second term, the U.S. is aggressively countering that leverage by weaponizing its dominance in global...