Front Burner
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19 hours ago
Front Burner Presents: How Russia is selling the war on Ukraine
Peering inside Russia – and it’s complex web of state propaganda – presents a very different view of the war in Ukraine and who the real victims are.
As nations around the world condemn Russia’s invasion, many within Russia are supporting Russian president Vladimir Putin. How is Putin selling the war to the Russian people? Will thousands of anti-war protesters challenging the Kremlin make a difference to the government?
This week, Nothing is Foreign takes you inside the alternate reality being created by Russian state propaganda, explores how fear and new laws have choked off dissenting voices and listen in on the difficult conversations between a Ukrainian son and a Russian father in the war over disinformation.
Featuring:
Alexey Kovalev, investigative editor of Meduza.
Sergey Utkin, researcher and head of strategic assessment at Primakov Institute of World Economy and International relations.
Misha Katsurin, Kyiv resident and creator of Papapover.com.
Yulia Zhivtsova, anti-war protester in Moscow.
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1 day ago
What a ban on Russian oil means for Canada
Oil prices in Canada skyrocketed this week as sanctions on Russian energy effectively shut the world’s third largest oil supplier out of the market following its invasion of Ukraine. The United States and the United Kingdom moved to ban Russian oil imports. Even the European Union, Russia’s biggest oil customer, announced its plan to slash Russian oil imports by two-thirds this year.
Although Canada has never really relied on Russian oil, the impact of sky-high oil prices is already being felt in Canada, as prices at the pumps remain at record highs across the country. It’s forcing a moment of reckoning inside Canada’s oilpatch, an industry facing a choice — transition away from fossil fuels or ramp up production. Today on Front Burner, we speak with CBC’s Kyle Bakx about the fork in the road for Canada’s energy future.
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2 days ago
How Putin is weaponizing Ukraine's far-right fringe
As he declared his war on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an odd promise to a country with a Jewish president and an annual Pride parade: He said he was doing this to "de-Nazify" the country.
Sam Sokol, a reporter with Israeli newspaper Haaretz, was taken back to a time moments eight years ago — when Russian media advanced fictitious stories about Jewish communities targeted in Ukraine, around the time that Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula.
Sokol is the author of Putin's Hybrid War and the Jews: Antisemitism, Propaganda, and the Displacement of Ukrainian Jewry. He has covered Ukrainian far-right movements in depth — and explained how those groups have been weaponized by Russian propaganda to legitimize the mass violence we are seeing today.
He's joining us to separate Putin's rhetoric from Ukraine's reality, and to break down what all this means for Ukrainian Jewish communities.
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3 days ago
Some good news on COVID-19 in Canada
As pandemic restrictions continue to lift across the country, we’re joined by Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton, for a look at where we are with COVID-19 in Canada, and how to weigh the risk factors for yourself. (And we promise — there’s plenty of good news!)
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4 days ago
The Ukrainians fleeing and resisting in Lviv
In a flash, a view of Ukrainian civilians fleeing down a street in Irpin becomes only concrete dust.
The scene captured in a video Sunday shows a mortar shell falling in the street, killing three family members and a family friend — including two children.
This is the kind of danger looming over the people of Ukraine. Some have decided to leave their homes and loved ones behind to risk an escape. Others who must stay are helping to ready a resistance to the overwhelming Russian military power.
CBC senior correspondent Susan Ormiston is in the city of Lviv in Western Ukraine, where she’s been talking to Ukrainians, both those who are fleeing and those getting ready to fight. Today, she brings us to a train station, a border crossing, a bomb shelter and a barricade, and explains how Ukrainians have made these impossible choices — if they had any choice at all.
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5 days ago
The information war in Ukraine
A new battlefield in Ukraine has opened up as each side fights to control the narrative of the ongoing war.
Some experts say Ukraine and its allies are winning the information war by implementing a multifaceted strategy that includes pushing David and Goliath stories – even ones that may not be true – and creating a phone line where Russian parents can check in on their conscripted sons.
On the other side, Russia – a country known for its relative success in shaping international media narratives – is clamping down.
Today on Front Burner, Peter W. Singer, a senior fellow with the New America think tank, takes us to the front lines of the information war and explains why this fight matters.
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Mar 5, 2022
Front Burner Presents: Compassion, hypocrisy and racism in the Ukrainian refugee crisis
More than a million people have fled Ukraine into countries to the west, as Russian attacks continue. The refugee crisis has spurred an outpouring of international support, as neighbouring European countries open their borders and homes. But the support this time is strikingly different from how some countries have responded to refugees from other conflicts — like Syria and Iraq — who were kept out, in some cases with violence.
The distinction is especially stark, after stories have emerged of some Black and Asian refugees fleeing Ukraine facing violence, harassment and racism at the border.
This week on Nothing is Foreign, CBC’s new, weekly world news podcast, we hear from people on the ground including those who have experienced discrimination and explore how governments can treat skin colour as a visa.
Featuring:
Tatiana, Alexandra, Nastia, Rubi, Ahmed, all refugees from Ukraine.
Sara Cincurova, a journalist covering humanitarian issues at Ukraine-Slovakia border.
Chris Melzer, the senior spokesperson of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Poland.
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Mar 4, 2022
Putin’s Wars: A history in conflict (Part 2)
You can’t understand the chaos in Ukraine without understanding Vladimir Putin. The Russian president rose to power as a wartime leader, and that legacy has shaped his approach through decades.
Ben Judah is the author of Fragile Empire: How Russia Fell In and Out of Love with Vladimir Putin, and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center. He spoke to us about how Putin sees the world and what his past could tell us about Ukraine’s future.
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Mar 3, 2022
Modern Ukraine: A history in conflict (Part 1)
Before launching his latest military attack on Ukraine last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin waged a counterfactual war on a century of the country’s history.
In a nearly hour-long address, Putin claimed that modern Ukraine was an invention of founding Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, and that Soviet Moscow gave Ukraine its independence in a historic mistake. Ukraine overwhelmingly voted for its own independence in a referendum in 1991.
While Ukraine’s modern history has since been marked by corruption, Russian influence and episodes of violence, its people have also staged protests and even revolutions to protect their independence.
Today on Front Burner, what two decades of Ukraine’s struggles with Russia tell us about why Ukrainians are still fighting today. Former NPR Moscow correspondent and current Wilson Center fellow Lucian Kim brings us the key events, many of which he reported on from Russia and Ukraine.
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Mar 2, 2022
Russia’s economy in the crosshairs
Since Russia invaded Ukraine last Thursday, Western powers have remained steadfast on one point: They will not engage Russia in a hot war to defend Ukraine. Instead, they are piling on an increasingly punishing slate of economic penalties.
Today, we’re going to break down some of the key sanctions, and look at their current and potential impacts.
First, Giles Gibson, a correspondent for Feature Story News, will give us a view from Moscow, where people are already starting to feel the effects of the penalties. Then, we’ll speak to Ian Talley from the Wall Street Journal about what exactly these sanctions are — and whether they’ll work to limit Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions.
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Mar 1, 2022
Epstein-linked modelling agent found dead in prison
On Feb. 19, Jean-Luc Brunel, a top French model scout and longtime associate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead in his Paris prison cell. The 75-year-old was being held on suspicion of sexually abusing minors and sex-trafficking.
Allegations against Brunel date back to his time as the head of top-ranked modelling agency Karin Models in the '80s and '90s, when he had close personal relationships with Epstein and other powerful figures. The long-running investigation into Epstein revealed ties to Brunel and the role he may have played in a global sex-trafficking ring that potentially targeted thousands of underage women.
Today on Front Burner, we hear from former models Heather Braden and Thysia Huisman, who say they were among Brunel’s victims while they were underage and living in New York and Paris in the ‘80s. Then, we talk to The Guardian’s Jon Henley about the circumstances surrounding Brunel’s death, which echo that of Epstein’s, who died by suicide in prison.
Brunel's death has ignited a firestorm of questions, even conspiracy theories, as another purported sex trafficker dies before anybody gets answers.
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Feb 28, 2022
Volodymyr Zelensky, from comic to wartime president of Ukraine
On Saturday morning, as war shook his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a defiant video to his Facebook page. Standing outside, on the streets of the capital, Kyiv, he said: “There has been a lot of fake information online that I am calling on our army to lay down their arms and to evacuate. Listen, I am here. We are not going to lay down anything. We will protect our country. Our weapon is truth. And the truth is, that it is our land. Our country. Our children. And we will protect it.”
Today on Front Burner, with BBC World Service’s Kateryna Khinkulova, we trace Zelensky’s path from playing the president on TV to leading the country through a Russian invasion.
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Feb 26, 2022
Front Burner Introduces: The Next Call - The Case of Nadia Atwi
From David Ridgen, the creator of Someone Knows Something, comes the new investigative podcast The Next Call. Tackling unsolved cases through strategic phone calls. In the case of Nadia Atwi, on December 8, 2017, Salwa Atwi arrived at her daughter Nadia’s home in Edmonton as part of their regular carpooling. But Nadia didn’t come outside, and the 32-year-old kindergarten teacher was never seen again. Edmonton’s Muslim and Lebanese communities pulled together to search in the days following. Initial searches seem promising, as Nadia’s car is found in a park with her phone inside, but four years later there is still no sign of her. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/thenextcall
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Feb 25, 2022
The view from Ukraine as Russia invades
Early Thursday morning, Russia launched a broad-scale invasion of Ukraine, attacking the country from three sides and targeting major urban centres.
Today, we hear from two people on the ground there.
First, we’ll speak to freelance journalist Olga Tokariuk, sheltering in an undisclosed location. And then BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet describes how the first hours of the invasion unfolded in the capital of Kyiv, and what may happen next.
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Feb 24, 2022
The Ukraine-Russia crisis escalates
NOTE: This episode was recorded before Putin’s declaration on Wednesday evening that Russia would conduct what he called a “special military operation” in Eastern Ukraine.
For months, tensions have been escalating between Russia and Ukraine. But this week, they ratcheted way up after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the expanded territorial claims of two Russian-controlled breakaway regions in Ukraine and ordered troops into the two territories.
Today, Andrew Roth, The Guardian’s Moscow correspondent, joins us to break down a major week in the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
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Feb 23, 2022
Elden Ring and an unlikely video game phenomenon
The video game phenomenon set to release Friday isn’t a U.S. military shooter, a space epic or even a carjacking simulator.
FromSoftware’s Elden Ring, a fantasy game from an auteur Japanese video game director, is part of a series known for its unwelcoming gameplay and frustrating difficulty. The cult following of previous games like Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls has exploded into mainstream popularity, with trailers for the series showing up on network television and before movies.
To write the background for Elden Ring's world, FromSoftware managed to recruit author George R.R. Martin, who wrote the A Song of Ice and Fire novels that became the basis for Game of Thrones. Fans on the game's Reddit forums have said — some satirically, some genuinely — that they fear they might die before they get to experience Elden Ring.
Today, to understand how a challenging niche game captured the world's attention, we'll talk with GameSpot managing editor Tamoor Hussain as he explains t…
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Feb 22, 2022
Will the political fumes of the convoy protest linger?
The streets in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa are now mostly cleared after more than three weeks of intense protest. But the debate inside Parliament carried on into Monday night as MPs voted to pass the Emergencies Act.
Still, the impact of those convoy protests that led to the unprecedented use of this emergency law could last beyond just this week.
Today, Aaron Wherry, of CBC's Parliamentary Bureau, talks about the potential effects of the convoy protests on the Conservative Party, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the health of our political discourse writ large.
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Feb 21, 2022
Overreach at centre of Emergencies Act lawsuit
As police clashed with protesters near Parliament this weekend, a different fight was playing out inside the House of Commons: a debate over the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act.
The federal Liberals invoked the act last Monday, granting temporary powers to the government to handle ongoing blockades and protests against pandemic restrictions, including clearing protesters and freezing associated bank accounts. The Liberals say it was a necessary move to end illegal protests; some opponents, meanwhile, argue it was an overreach that sets a dangerous precedent for cracking down on future protests.
The House of Commons is set for a vote that could strike down the emergency powers tonight. But the Canadian Civil Liberties Association is one of multiple groups taking the federal government to court over the act’s use. Today, executive director and general counsel Noa Mendelsohn Aviv on what the CCLA fears the normalization of emergency powers could mean for Canadian democ…
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Feb 19, 2022
Front Burner Introduces: Welcome to Paradise
Anna Maria Tremonti has been keeping her past a secret for over 40 years. As one of Canada’s most respected journalists, she has a reputation for being fearless. She’s reported from some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones. But there’s one story she’s never made public: when she was 23 years old, she married a man who became physically abusive. This is the first time Anna Maria has told anyone—including family or close friends—the details of what she endured. Working with her therapist, she reveals the intimate details of a past she’s kept to herself for most of her life. If you or someone you know is affected by intimate partner violence, you can find a list of resources at cbc.ca/WTPresources. More episodes are available at: hyperurl.co/welcometoparadise
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Feb 18, 2022
Inside the Ottawa convoy protest as police move in
In this special edition of Front Burner, we take you to the heart of the convoy protest that has been choking our national capital.
Jayme Poisson goes inside a key supply camp in Ottawa and accompanies Steve Day, former head of the Canadian Armed Forces’ JTF-2 special-operations task force, to other protest sites to examine the challenges law enforcement could face.
We also talk to protesters about why they’re digging in.
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Feb 17, 2022
The enduring appeal of Jackass
Twenty-two years ago, an aspiring actor named Johnny Knoxville teamed up with a group of filmmakers, misfits and daredevils from the underground skateboarding scene — including Jeff Tremaine, Spike Jonze, Bam Margera, Ryan Dunn, Steve-O, and many more.
They dared each other to do a series of wild pranks and captured the whole thing on camera and the Jackass universe was born. Their meteoric rise to superstardom is the stuff of legend — and controversy. Now, two decades and many injuries later, they’re still at it. Even as the rest of the world has changed around it, Jackass has managed to stay relevant. Last week, the fourth and potentially final instalment hit theatres and quickly became the number one movie in North America.
Today on Front Burner, we talk to senior editor at Rolling Stone, David Fear, to bring you the story of Jackass — a tale of everlasting friendship and chaos.
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Feb 16, 2022
Skepticism around inquiry, charges in N.S. massacre
After multiple delays, public hearings finally begin next week as part of the inquiry into the largest mass shooting in Canadian history. From 10 p.m. on April 18, 2020, well into the next day, a man disguised as a Mountie stalked across nearly 200 kilometres of rural Nova Scotia shooting neighbours, strangers, acquaintances and torching houses. He ultimately killed 22 people.
One survivor of the rampage was Lisa Banfield, the killer’s common-law spouse, who — along with her brother and brother-in-law — has since been criminally charged with supplying the shooter with ammunition. Now, the brother-in-law’s lawyer says the charge against his client is “an effort to distract attention away from the incompetence of the RCMP.”
Today, CBC Nova Scotia reporter Elizabeth McMillan is here to discuss those charges, which will soon be going to trial, and the looming inquiry, which some families are worried will continue to keep them in the dark.
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Feb 15, 2022
Taking the public temperature on COVID-19
Nearly two full years have passed since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Now, from the Coutts border-crossing blockade in Alberta, to the streets around Parliament Hill, it’s obvious that there are some people with very strong opinions out there about how the disease is being handled.
But beyond the noise of these chaotic protests, how exactly do Canadians feel about how we’ve weathered COVID-19? And how do they feel about the protests?
David Coletto is the CEO of the polling firm Abacus Data, which has been asking people across the country for their thoughts. He breaks down what the numbers tell us so far.
The margin of error for the data discussed in today’s episode is about 2.5 to 2.6 per cent.
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Feb 14, 2022
Russia, figure skating and a doping scandal
Russian prodigy Kamila Valieva made figure skating history last week, becoming the first woman to land a solo quadruple jump at the Olympics.
In fact, Valieva landed two quadruple jumps as she led Russia to the women’s team gold.
But just two days later, the medal ceremony for the event was suddenly delayed — and we’ve since learned that Valieva tested positive for a banned heart medication in December.
The Court for Arbitration in Sport has now ruled Valieva can still compete in the women's individual event, but there will be no medal ceremony if she lands on the podium. Shortly before the ruling, we spoke to freelance journalist Gabby Paluch about how this case fits into a history of Russian doping, and about the story behind the notoriously tough coach that’s both making and breaking young stars like Valieva.
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Feb 12, 2022
Front Burner Introduces: Nothing is Foreign
World news, local voices. Nothing is Foreign is a weekly trip to where the story is unfolding. Hosted by Tamara Khandaker. This episode takes you inside El Salvador to hear from locals to see how the promise of a cryptocurrency paradise by a self-professed 'world's coolest dictator' is running up against the reality of regular people just trying to survive. More episodes are available at: http://hyperurl.co/nothingisforeign
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Feb 11, 2022
U.S. right-wing media adopts the ‘Freedom Convoy’
Canada’s trucker’s and the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests have inspired similar protests around the world, from France to New Zealand to Australia. But it’s especially drawing the adoration of Conservative commentators in the United States -- like Fox News’ Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson. The ‘anti-mandate’ and ‘anti-lockdown’ movement has also become the obsession of the darker, more alt-right corners of the internet.
Today on Front Burner, a conversation with CBC’s Washington correspondent Alex Panetta on how the trucker protest is playing out in the U.S. media, and Jared Holt, a domestic extremism researcher at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, on how it’s manifesting in right-wing online spaces.
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Feb 10, 2022
Amir Locke: Minneapolis grapples with another police killing
Minneapolis streets are once again filled with protesters demanding justice after the Feb. 2 police killing of a 22-year-old Black man. Amir Locke was fatally shot by police who were executing a no-knock search warrant unrelated to Locke.
Since the death of George Floyd in May 2020, Minneapolis has been at the forefront of the movement to radically reimagine policing and community safety. But after Locke’s death, many in the city are asking how much has really changed.
Today, Solomon Gustavo, a reporter for the MinnPost and a contributor to The Daily Beast, explains what we know about the killing of Amir Locke and where efforts to reform or disband the Minneapolis Police Department stand now.
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Feb 9, 2022
How police responded to Ottawa's 'unprecedented' protests
For nearly two weeks, a core group of protesters has refused to leave Ottawa’s downtown core. Police estimate more than 400 trucks remain parked in the so-called “red zone.” Some businesses in the area have had to close their doors and some residents describe feeling intimidated. Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly has called the situation “unprecedented.” The mayor, Jim Watson, has called the situation “out of control,” and said the protesters are “calling the shots.”
Today on Front Burner, CBC Ottawa reporter Judy Trinh talks about how police initially responded to the protest in the capital, how the response has changed and where things could go from here.
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Feb 8, 2022
Under the big tent: Conservative division in Canada
Just over a week ago, Conservative centrist Erin O’Toole was ousted after just 18 months as party leader. His sudden departure has triggered the third leadership race since Stephen Harper lost in 2015. This upheaval is in line with the party’s long-standing power struggles.
For decades, the Conservatives have fought among themselves for the soul of the party. Between populists and elites, town and country, east and west. Today on Front Burner, we’re talking to Macleans writer Paul Wells on the complicated push-pull of the modern Canadian Conservative movement and what’s next for the party.
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Feb 7, 2022
Artists on Spotify are mad about more than Joe Rogan
Since Neil Young stepped away from Spotify over allegations that the platform was peddling COVID-19 misinformation, other artists have begun to speak up about their problems with the platform — problems that go right to the heart of the digital gig economy. Artists on the platform are paid fractions of a penny per stream. And during the pandemic, when touring is near impossible, many are fed up. We hear from Belly’s Gail Greenwood and Polaris Prize-winning artist Cadence Weapon about why there’s so much frustration with Spotify. Then Ben Sisario, music industry reporter for the New York Times, breaks down why artists are speaking up now — and what the alternatives are.
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Feb 4, 2022
Recordings reveal duelling realities of trucker protests
Protesting truckers and their supporters have been communicating via a walkie-talkie app called Zello. On the show today, we bring you the sound of their actual conversations, which reveal a wide gulf between how they see themselves, and how their critics view them.
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Feb 3, 2022
Erin O’Toole turfed as Conservative Party leader
Erin O’Toole is no longer leader of the Conservative Party after a caucus vote on Wednesday afternoon: 73 members of the 119-member caucus voted for his removal.
Candice Bergen will take over leadership of the party in the interim.
The ouster comes just 18 months after the last Conservative leadership race brought O’Toole to power.
Today, CBC’s John Paul Tasker explains what happened, how the party got to this point, and the challenges ahead
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Feb 2, 2022
Inside Beijing’s ‘closed loop’ Olympic Games
In 2015, Beijing won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Since then, COVID-19, deteriorating relations with the West, allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and a resulting diplomatic boycott put a damper on the Games.
Yet China plowed forward, promising to put on a spectacular show while keeping out COVID-19, through the use of tight, non-negotiable safety measures.
Today, we’re talking to The National’s Adrienne Arsenault from inside the rigid operation created to keep Beijing’s 21 million residents safe from COVID-19 — and to keep the world’s athletes, journalists and Winter Olympics' staff fenced in.
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Feb 1, 2022
A patent-free vaccine for the world
Texas-based scientists Maria Elena Bottazzi and Peter Hotez won't make a cent off the vaccine they developed — and they don't want to.
Dubbed "the world's COVID-19 vaccine," Corbevax is cheap and relatively easy to manufacture, and there's no patent on it. After multiple hurdles in the team's efforts to fund and develop the jab, Corbevax was recently approved for emergency use in India.
Today, we're speaking to Bottazzi and Hotez about the story behind Corbevax, what the skeptics have to say, and why they believe their shot can be a powerful tool in the fight for vaccine equity.
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Jan 31, 2022
Thousands protest COVID-19 restrictions in Ottawa
There were raucous protests in Ottawa this weekend as thousands of protestors converged on the capital calling for an end to vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions.
The protest was loud, filling the city's centre with the sounds of honking vehicles, and disruptive: the Rideau Centre shopping mall closed early on Saturday and will remain closed into Monday as crowds of maskless protesters showed up in defiance of public health orders.
There were also some displays of disturbing imagery: swastikas and Confederate flags were spotted in the crowd, and Ottawa Police say they're investigating incidents of desecration at the National War Memorial.
Today, CBC senior parliamentary reporter Travis Dhanraj is back to break down what he heard and saw on the scene.
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Jan 29, 2022
Front Burner Introduces: Sorry About The Kid
How do you forget your favourite person in the world? Alex remembers everything about the day a speeding police car killed his brother. But his brother, alive? Those memories are lost. And now, 30 years later, Alex wants them back. In this emotional four-part series, Alex unearths his childhood grief — with help from family, friends, and a therapist who witnessed his brother’s death. What happens when trauma and memory collide? Sorry About The Kid is a deeply personal meditation on the losses that define us. Hosted by Alex McKinnon. Produced with Mira Burt-Wintonick (WireTap, Love Me). More episodes are available at hyperurl.co/sorryaboutthekid
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Jan 28, 2022
The trucker convoy heads to Ottawa
Across Canada this week, groups of truckers opposed to a vaccination mandate for cross-border truck drivers have been making their way to Ottawa to protest. But as the convoy has gained momentum, others — some with violent messages — have latched onto the movement.
Today, we'll first hear from Harold Jonker, a trucker leading one of the convoys to Ottawa. Then, we'll speak to CBC senior parliamentary reporter Travis Dhanraj about the broader context around this story, and how it's playing out politically.
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Jan 27, 2022
Why Spotify chose Joe Rogan over Neil Young
Neil Young's music is being pulled from the streaming platform Spotify. That's after he told the platform to either remove his music, or take action on vaccine misinformation — specifically from podcast host Joe Rogan.
Spotify ultimately sided with Rogan, saying Wednesday it would begin removing Young's catalogue but that it hoped he would come back soon.
"We want all the world's music and audio content to be available to Spotify users," the company said in a statement. "With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators."
The Joe Rogan Experience is the world's biggest podcast, famous for its long-format, wide-range interviews with eccentric and sometimes controversial guests. But its host has come under fire for his relentless questioning of widely shared scientific agreement about COVID-19.
Nicholas Quah, podcast critic for Vulture and New York Magazine, joins us to explain the rise of vaccine skepticism on Rogan's show — and…
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Jan 26, 2022
Dangerous crossing: The winter path to asylum
They looked like a family.
Four people, including a baby, were found dead in a snowy Manitoba field last Wednesday, just metres from the North Dakota border, where they were believed to be heading.
Authorities believe they had been part of a larger group travelling to the United States, in temperatures that felt like –35 C. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called their deaths "mind-blowing” and "tragic," and said he was working with the United States to crack down on people who facilitate undocumented travel over the border.
But two people who’ve travelled the route — in the opposite direction — say what the system really needs is more compassion for people who are out of options.
Razak Iyal and Seidu Mohammed, two former refugees from Ghana who now have the right to stay in Canada permanently, share their stories of making it to Canada from the United States in 2017. And CBC Manitoba reporter Ian Froese tells us what questions we’re still trying to answer about the fo…
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Jan 25, 2022
Boris Johnson’s ‘partygate’ scandal
For over a month now, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been embroiled in a scandal involving gatherings at 10 Downing Street while the country was under lockdown restrictions due to COVID-19.
One Conservative MP has crossed the floor to the Labour Party, while another has called for his resignation, saying to Johnson in Parliament, "In the name of God, go."
Senior civil servant Sue Gray has been conducting an inquiry into the alleged rule-breaking, and that report looms.
Today, CBC's Europe correspondent Margaret Evans explains what's led up to this point, and whether it could cost Johnson his job.
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Jan 24, 2022
A path for Halifax to defund the police
A Halifax committee tasked with defining what it means to defund the police has released its final report: a 219-page document that recommends numerous reforms and reimagines our communities' relationship with law enforcement.
Last week, committee chairperson El Jones presented the report to Halifax's Board of Police Commissioners. While the document doesn't recommend a specific amount of money to be cut, it takes an in-depth look at shifting some responsibilities away from police — namely sexual assault reporting and responses to mental health crises.
Today, Jones walks us through the report's rethink of how to keep our communities safe and examines the common ground between supporters and opponents of defunding.
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Jan 21, 2022
Rhetoric and reality in the fight for Ukraine
Today, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after a week of escalation over the future of Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly was in Ukraine earlier this week, expressing Canada's support for the country. But Ottawa Citizen defence reporter David Pugliese says Canada's military actions paint a different picture. In fact — Canada's moves on the ground reveal a limit to the government's willingness to help in Ukraine's looming fight.
We're also joined by Eilish Hart, the English-language news editor for the Latvia-based news site Meduza, who explains why that means Ukraine is getting ready to go it alone — and how regular Russians may curtail the Kremlin's actions.
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Jan 20, 2022
Microsoft’s $70B bet on the future of gaming
If you've played Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, or even Candy Crush, you're among the 400 million people who play a game from Activision-Blizzard every month. On Tuesday, the company was purchased by Microsoft for $68.7 billion US. It's the biggest tech deal in history, over 15 times what Disney paid for the Star Wars franchise and LucasFilm.
And the cost for Microsoft could be more than just cash. Activision-Blizzard has become notorious for allegations of discrimination and abuse. Last year, the company got hit with lawsuits from state and U.S. federal employment watchdogs, over its "frat house" culture.
Today on Front Burner, we're talking to Polygon's Nicole Carpenter about how this unprecedented mega-deal will change the gaming landscape as we know it, and how the video game giant itself is trying to outrun its own toxic history.
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Jan 19, 2022
Cannabis vs. COVID: What the research is showing
A study last week from two Oregon universities has generated a lot of buzz, after findings suggested that some cannabis compounds may be able to block the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering human cells.
It adds to a growing body of research on cannabis and the coronavirus, as studies from around the world — including from Canada — have found that the cannabis compound CBD may be effective in helping treat some of the virus’s most deadly symptoms.
Today, Katie MacBride, a health science reporter at the online magazine Inverse, joins us for a deep dive into what the research says — and doesn’t say — about cannabis and COVID-19.
CORRECTION: This episode misstated that mRNA vaccines are designed to attach to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. To be clear, mRNA vaccines instruct the body's cells to make harmless copies of the spike protein, causing the body to produce antibodies which then attach to the proteins.
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Jan 18, 2022
Sex abuse lawsuit looms for Prince Andrew
As a U.S. judge has ruled a sex abuse lawsuit can proceed against Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth, who last week was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages.
The lawsuit is being brought by Virginia Giuffre, who has long claimed she was sex-trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and that she was raped by Andrew as a teenager. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking late last year.
The prince denies the allegations against him.
Today, ITV royal news editor and host of the Royal Rota podcast Chris Ship explains what's led up to this moment, what can be expected as the case moves forward, and what it means for the legacy of the Royal Family during the Platinum Jubilee year.
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Jan 17, 2022
A landmark conviction for Syrian war crimes
On Thursday, a former Syrian colonel in Bashar al-Assad’s forces was convicted in a court in Germany for crimes against humanity.
Anwar Raslan was sentenced to life in prison for overseeing the murder of at least 27 people and the torture of at least 4000 in a Damascus prison. The case marks the world’s first criminal prosecution of state-sponsored torture in Syria.
Today, we hear from Wafa Mustafa, the daughter of one man believed to be forcibly disappeared by the Syrian regime, and Sara Kayyali, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch who has been investigating human rights abuses in Syria, who says while this conviction is important, “justice doesn’t start and end in European courts.”
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Jan 14, 2022
Pros, cons of Quebec’s proposed anti-vax tax
This week, Quebec Premier François Legault announced a new reason for people to get their jabs: His government would place a significant tax on the unvaccinated. The announcement came a day after Legault accepted the resignation of the province's public health director, Dr. Horacio Arruda — leading some to ask if this bold plan was merely a distraction from the political strife within the province.
CBC Montreal’s Sarah Leavitt explains what exactly has been going on in Quebec under the Omicron wave. We then talk about the tax and if it’s even a good idea. For some frustrated with people who won’t get the shot, the controversial proposal was welcome news. But bioethics scholar Bryn Williams-Jones at Université de Montréal disagrees. He tells us why, in his view, this kind of tax is a legal and moral minefield.
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Jan 13, 2022
No-vax Djokovic vs. Australian immigration
On Monday, world tennis No. 1 Novak Djokovic won a legal battle to stay in Australia and defend his title at the Australian Open — for now. The unvaccinated player's visa was revoked when he arrived at the border despite a vaccine exemption granted by Tennis Australia.
His visa was ultimately reinstated but Australia’s immigration minister reserves the power to overturn that decision, revoke his visa and kick him out. If deported, Djokovic could be banned from Australia for up to three years.
Djokovic’s personal stance as “anti-vaccine” isn’t winning him any friends in a country hit hard by the pandemic, with strict vaccine protocols and seemingly endless COVID-19 lockdowns.
Today on Front Burner, we’re talking to Canberra-based journalist Kishor Napier-Raman on how the tennis star’s decision to stay unvaccinated has turned into a massive political headache for the Australian government and has triggered a fierce debate about whether he should be allowed to stay.
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Jan 12, 2022
The Base Tapes: recordings from inside the neo-Nazi group
When an anti-fascist infiltrator left The Base in 2020, he took 80 gigabytes of files with him.
Those screengrabs, videos and audio detail the neo-Nazi organization from its beginnings, including around 100 hours of vetting calls with white supremacists hoping to join.
Today, The Fifth Estate host Gillian Findlay guides us through that audio, the first-ever interview with the infiltrator who calls himself Tradian and what the recordings all tell us about "accelerationist" ideology.
Plus, FBI recordings of Base member and former Canadian Armed Forces reservist Patrik Mathews after he fled to the U.S.
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Jan 11, 2022
‘Deflated, defeated’: a nurse’s view from the front lines
After working as a nurse — in a job she loved — for more than 20 years, Nancy Halupa says she now thinks about quitting every day.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated nursing shortages, and at the Toronto hospital emergency department where Halupa works, she says experienced nurses like herself are being stretched too thin.
And there's more. Patients swear at her. She's been called a Nazi. Sometimes, tears come when she doesn't expect them, and other times, she finds her emotions walled off.
Today, Jayme Poisson hears Halupa's perspective on the difficulties of being a nurse in a Toronto emergency department now.
"I just don't know how much longer I can work like a robot," Halupa says. "And I feel like that's what we're doing, we're just robots and we're doing an assembly line of patients."
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Jan 10, 2022
Will the NFT boom last?
The NFT market is booming in early 2022, with estimates easily surpassing a billion dollars in transactions. But hype from a die-hard community is colliding with concern for the tech’s impact.
Celebrities are both boosting digital tokens and laughing at the very concept of NFTs. Projects are providing access to exclusive clubs and selling virtual land, but also scamming buyers and disappearing.
Meanwhile, concerns about energy usage by blockchains are causing groups such as BTS fans to erupt in protest. As investors speculate over JPEGs while some struggle for necessities, social media discussions are devolving into class warfare.
Today on Front Burner, we look at what's driving the hype and the hate. Andrew Hayward, senior writer for crypto-focused news site Decrypt, explains how NFT culture has grown and changed, and why we can expect the tech to have a more mundane — but more useful — future.
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Jan 7, 2022
The 15 year fight to treat Indigenous children as equals
For decades, First Nations children on reserves had to live with less child welfare funding than other kids in Canada.
And that led to kids being taken from their communities at higher rates, often for problems that could have been solved with better supports.
This week, after years of court battles, the federal government made a $40 billion promise to First Nations leaders. $20 billion of that will go to compensate kids who were unnecessarily removed from their homes on reserve or in the Yukon. The other $20 billion will go to long-term reform of the on-reserve child welfare system.
Cindy Blackstock, the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and a professor at McGill University's School of Social Work, has made it her mission to make sure First Nations kids get care that matches up with care received by other kids in Canada.
Today, she talks about the long fight for this agreement, and why she’s still waiting to celebrate.
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Jan 6, 2022
Dozens die in custody after public intoxication arrests
“Alcoholism is an illness, it’s not a crime and it certainly shouldn't be punishable by death.” That’s a message from Jeannette Rogers, whose son, Corey, died in police custody in Halifax in 2016.
He is one of 61 people that a CBC investigation found had died after being detained for public intoxication or a related offence since 2010.
In many cases, the investigation found that those arrested weren’t properly monitored, or their deteriorating health conditions were not addressed.
Today, CBC investigative reporter Kristin Annable shares some of the stories of those who died, and talks about how deaths like these might be prevented.
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Jan 5, 2022
The U.S. Capitol riot and American democracy one year later
On Jan. 6, 2021 — the same day Joe Biden’s presidential win was to be certified — an angry mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. At least four people died, dozens were injured and the country's worsening political divisions were exposed.
In the days and months that followed, the events of Jan. 6 have been debated, disputed and broadly characterized as a threat to American democracy. To get to the bottom of how it happened and who was responsible, a bipartisan committee made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans was established to investigate.
Today on Front Burner we’re talking to longtime Washington correspondent Paul Hunter about what that investigation hopes to accomplish and to take the pulse of American democracy one year later.
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Jan 4, 2022
Schools move online as parents, Omicron rage
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 appears to be less severe than previous variants. But it's wildly contagious, so many more people are getting it, meaning hospitalizations are going up.
It was in this context on Monday that Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a series of new measures, including shutting down indoor dining, cinemas and gyms. Social gatherings will be limited to five people indoors and 10 outside.
Ontario schools are also moving online until at least Jan. 17. Quebec had already announced a similar measure.
Today, host of CBC's White Coat, Black Art and The Dose, and emergency room physician Dr. Brian Goldman on Omicron, school closures and what such restrictions might actually accomplish.
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Jan 3, 2022
Debt jubilee: The case for cancelling debt
Canadians have loaded up on personal debt through more than half a century of financial crises — and it’s happening again.
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, cash from federal benefits allowed many people to pay down their credit card balances. Last year, however, huge mortgages pushed Canada’s household debt-to-income ratio back toward its all-time high, rising above 177 per cent in the third quarter of 2021.
Economist Michael Hudson says this kind of debt buildup chokes economic growth and gives undue power to creditors like banks. He also says it demands a reset: cancelling our debts.
Today, Hudson explains the millennia-old practice of debt cancellation and how it could help modern economies.
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Dec 30, 2021
How AEW changed the wrestling landscape in 2021
We all know what pro wrestling is: scripted stories, exploding barbed wire death matches, and very real athleticism and danger. And for the last four decades, WWE has stayed in the cultural lexicon as the biggest name in the pro wrestling world. But now, a new contender is rising. All Elite Wrestling, founded in 2018 by 38-year-old Tony Khan, is gaining serious momentum — thanks to the help of the new generation of Canadian wrestlers like Winnipeg’s own Kenny Omega.
Today on Front Burner, managing editor at Fightful.com Sean Ross Sapp on the legacy of WWE and the changing face of wrestling with the rise of its adversary, All Elite.
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Dec 29, 2021
Front Burner Introduces: Boys Like Me
Why are lonely, young men a growing threat to our safety? In 2018, a Toronto man drove a van down a busy sidewalk, killing 11 people and injuring many more. He was linked to the "incel" movement, a dark online world fueled by violent misogyny, extreme isolation and perceived rejection. In the wake of the attack, Evan Mead discovers a disturbing connection to the perpetrator. They were former high school classmates; both outcasts, existing together on the fringes of social acceptance. How did two young men who started in similar circumstances, end up on such drastically different paths? More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/boyslikeme
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Dec 28, 2021
Encore: Wellness culture's link to COVID denialism
This episode originally aired Oct 4, 2021.
Journalist Matthew Remski explains why new age spirituality is such fertile ground for anti-vaccine movements.
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Dec 27, 2021
Encore: The Mighty Ducks, Inspector Gadget and the search for crypto billions
This episode originally aired Oct 18, 2021.
Cryptocurrency traders are relying on a stablecoin — a digital cryptocurrency backed with real-world assets — with ties to a Mighty Ducks star and the co-creator of Inspector Gadget. Today, we look at the search for the supposed billions of dollars backing its value, and what a shortfall could mean for the entire financial system.
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Dec 24, 2021
Encore: Pandemic burnout is real
This episode originally aired April 5, 2021.
Today on Front Burner, Anne Helen Petersen explains the forces behind burnout and why more and more Canadians are struggling with it one year into a global pandemic that has altered the way many of us work and live.
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Dec 23, 2021
A volunteer’s tragic end, his killer’s remorse
For those using drugs in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Thomus Donaghy was a lifeline, committed to saving those on the brink of overdose.
On the night of July 27, 2020, Donaghy, a volunteer at the Overdose Prevention Society, had just saved another life. Moments later, he lost his own.
Today, the stories of two men whose lives were shaped by a city in the grips of an overdose epidemic, the tragic circumstances that brought them together that night, and why Maximus Roland Hayes, the man who killed Donaghy, wants to make sure his life wasn't lost for nothing.
Our guests are CBC Vancouver reporter Jason Proctor, and Sara Blyth, the executive director of Vancouver’s Overdose Prevention Society.
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Dec 22, 2021
A pre-holiday Omicron update
Omicron is spreading rapidly in Canada. Barely two weeks after the first cases of the coronavirus variant were identified in Ontario, it became the dominant strain in the province, and experts say that will soon be the case across the country. Even as Canada is reporting some of the highest daily case counts seen throughout the whole pandemic, some doctors say the real numbers could be several times higher because of the difficulties many people face in accessing tests.
Today, Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, explains the latest research on Omicron from around the world — and how that research can help inform your choices around holiday gatherings.
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Dec 21, 2021
Why The Matrix still resonates today
The Matrix was a blockbuster hit when it came out in 1999. Now, more than 20 years later, the film still feels relevant — whether it’s people talking about “taking the red pill” or theorizing that we’re all really living in a computer simulation — the movie starring Keanu Reeves as Neo and Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus permeated the culture.
With the Matrix Resurrections opening in Canada on Wednesday, Jayme Poisson speaks with John Semley about why the film made such an impact then, and how its influence is still felt today. Plus, Charley Archer explains why the original movie, made by two trans women Lilly and Lana Wachowski, is an iconic piece of trans art.
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Dec 20, 2021
Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial
Longtime Jeffrey Epstein companion Ghislaine Maxwell is on trial in New York City this month, facing decades in prison over allegations of sex trafficking and conspiracy, all related to her relationship with the convicted sex offender and financier. Maxwell maintains that she is innocent.
Victoria Bekiempis is reporting on the trial for the Guardian. As the trial approaches its conclusion, she explains the prosecution’s case, the accuser’s testimony, and how the defence pushed back.
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Dec 17, 2021
Toxic tailings: Oilsands water could be released
Extracting bitumen from Alberta’s oilsands requires water — lots of it. And for decades, oilsands companies in Canada were banned from releasing the used water back into the environment. So as the industry skyrocketed, the reservoirs of water grew.
There are now more than 1.4 trillion litres of toxic wastewater stored in these tailings ponds. Experts say that could be a disaster waiting to happen.
The federal government is working on regulations that would eventually allow companies to treat and release the water back into rivers and lakes. Business reporter Kyle Bakx explains why some are questioning the safety of that plan — while others say it’s absolutely necessary.
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Dec 16, 2021
As Omicron spreads, governments scramble
With the holidays approaching and the Omicron variant spreading rapidly in Canada, people are reconsidering their response.
In a busy week of Omicron warnings, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said cases are expected to “rapidly escalate”; in her fiscal and economic update, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland committed a $4.5 billion “variant response” contingency; and Canada advised against all non-essential international travel. Provinces are expanding testing and booster access.
Today on Front Burner, a discussion with Globe and Mail health columnist André Picard about our pandemic cycle of delay and panic, and the lessons and tools that still might make us better prepared for Omicron.
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Dec 15, 2021
How Succession keeps winning
HBO’s Succession came out of the gate quietly back in 2018. And even as critics raved over its stylish production, intricate plotting and viciously sharp humour, it took a while to catch on. Now, it’s easily one of the most influential and discussed TV shows in a long time.
Structured like a chamber drama set in the corridors of elite power and influence, it revolves around the highly successful but highly dysfunctional Roy clan and their sprawling right wing media empire. The central conflict is between the brilliant and ruthless patriarch Logan Roy and his ambitious but flawed children, each vying for his love and attention while at the same time plotting to dethrone him.
This week, its third season came to a dramatic end so today on Front Burner we talk to writer and showrunner of CBC’s Pop Chat podcast, Amil Niazi and Vulture’s Jackson McHenry on what makes Succession so compelling, and how it’s become a cultural institution. Warning: this episode contains major spoile…
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Dec 14, 2021
Quebec teacher removed from classroom over hijab
The debate over Quebec’s controversial secularism law, known as Bill 21, has been reignited after a teacher was told she can no longer teach her Grade 3 class, because she wears a hijab.
Fatemeh Anvari was hired this fall at Chelsea Elementary School, during a period of confusion over whether English school boards had to enforce the religious symbols ban. Now, in the wake of a recent court decision on the ban, Anvari has been forced out of classroom teaching.
Today, we’re speaking to Montreal teacher Maha Kassef about the far-reaching consequences of Bill 21 for both teachers and students. Then, CBC reporter Jonathan Montpetit gives us the latest on the court and political battles surrounding the law — and how they call into question our understanding of how much Canada’s constitution really protects individual rights and freedoms.
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Dec 13, 2021
A fake nurse’s long history of impersonation
For a year, a 49-year-old woman in B.C. posed as a nurse at a Vancouver hospital, even assisting in gynecological surgeries, despite not actually being a nurse. Brigitte Cleroux has since been criminally charged, but it turns out she has a long history of impersonations dating back decades and spanning multiple provinces.
Now, former patients are left with serious questions about the care they received, and how she was able to even get the job in the first place.
Today, CBC Vancouver’s Bethany Lindsay tells us more about those patients, and CBC Ottawa’s Shaamani Yogaretnam explains Cleroux’s decades of impersonations.
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Dec 10, 2021
Drake’s out. What now for the Grammys?
On Monday, as the Recording Academy began its final round of voting for the 2022 Grammy winners, people learned Drake was off the ballot.
Drake and his management had asked the Academy to pull his two nominations.
He still hasn’t offered an explanation, but this is the latest in a series of tensions between Drake and the Grammys: he’s questioned their relevance in his lyrics, defended The Weeknd after a snub and even criticized the Academy while accepting a trophy.
Today on Front Burner, music journalist and host of Marvin’s Room A. Harmony joins us to explain why so many Hip Hop artists are expressing frustration with the Grammys, and whether a show with limited recognition of Black talent can remain relevant.
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Dec 9, 2021
Did NATO make a mistake in Ukraine?
Russia has sent almost 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border in recent weeks. Observers believe the state is trying to extract certain concessions from Europe, particularly assurances from NATO that Ukraine will never be able to join the security group.
Janice Gross Stein was a founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs in Toronto. She argues that NATO’s "strategic ambiguity" toward Ukraine gave the country false hope we had its back — so now, we’re partly seeing the fallout of promises we couldn’t keep.
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Dec 8, 2021
Europe reels under latest COVID-19 wave
Just when Europe thought it had beat COVID-19, it’s once again an epicentre of the pandemic. As countries struggle to fight off yet another wave of the virus many governments in the E.U. are bringing in strict new lockdowns, and in some cases contemplating vaccine mandates. But these efforts are meeting fierce — and sometimes violent — resistance.
Today, the host of the Berlin podcast Common Ground Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson walks us through what’s fuelling this latest surge across Western European countries — vaccine hesitancy, a more aggressive variant, general distrust in government, or all of the above?
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Dec 7, 2021
What’s really driving inflation? Politics vs. reality
You’ve probably noticed that prices of practically everything — food, gas, haircuts, housing — have been going up lately. Canada’s inflation rate is now the highest it’s been in 18 years.
In Parliament, the Conservative party has been pointing fingers at Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, and calling on them to quit racking up deficits. They’ve even come up with a nickname for the problem: #Justinflation.
But economists say this isn’t a normal inflation problem and warn normal solutions may not work.
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Dec 6, 2021
Canada’s QAnon ‘Queen’ and her escalating rhetoric
For months, a B.C.-based QAnon conspiracy influencer named Romana Didulo has been amassing followers online, declaring herself the “Queen of Canada.” In the summer, her audience began distributing cease-and-desist letters across North America on her behalf, demanding a stop to COVID-19 restrictions. Recently, her rhetoric escalated when she urged her followers to “shoot to kill” anyone who administers vaccines to children. The RCMP have visited her since, and one of her followers in Laval, Que., was arrested after allegedly posting threats about his daughter’s school. Today on Front Burner, Vice World News reporter Mack Lamoureux discusses this influential QAnon figure, her active base of followers and law enforcement’s response.
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Dec 3, 2021
Ontario’s election looms, and parties are staking ground
$210-million dollars went out the door and into the pockets of businesses who shouldn’t have received it. That was the assessment of Ontario’s auditor general in an annual report this week that looked, in part, at the pandemic support of Doug Ford’s Conservative government.
And it definitely got the opposition parties in Queen’s Park talking. The audit comes as each party stakes out their pre-election ground and try to build a narrative that will lead to a win in June.
To help us take a bite of the pre-election stew bubbling in Ontario politics, we’re joined by CBC News’ Mike Crawley.
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Dec 2, 2021
Omicron: New variant, new tactics?
Canada and a growing list of more than 20 countries have confirmed cases of omicron, the latest version of the COVID-19 virus to be labelled a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization.
Despite omicron's global reach, dozens of nations are enforcing travel bans on mainly southern Africa, where the variant was originally detected. Some countries have celebrated South Africa's identification of the variant mere moments before announcing restrictions.
Meanwhile, vaccine stockpiling by outside nations has contributed to spotty supply and high hesitancy on the continent. Africa faces a looming wave of omicron, with a full vaccination rate in the single digits.
Today on Front Burner, infectious diseases physician Dr. Zain Chagla explains how measures by countries like Canada have put Africa into this precarious position with omicron, and why vaccines are more important in regions that are currently seeing far fewer doses.
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Dec 1, 2021
Workers could shut down one of Canada’s biggest beef plants
In the spring of 2020, the Cargill meat-packing plant in southern Alberta became the site of the largest COVID-19 outbreak tied to a single facility in all of North America. Approximately 950 workers were infected, and three died.
A year and a half later, COVID-19 appears to be under control at the slaughterhouse. But workers say the underlying working conditions that were laid bare by the pandemic are still there. And now, they’re demanding changes.
Workers are currently negotiating a new contract with management, and if their demands aren’t met by Dec. 6, they’re prepared to strike. And since this one facility is responsible for 40 per cent of the beef processing in Canada, that’s put a lot of people on edge.
Today, CBC reporter Joel Dryden on what Cargill workers want, and what it could mean beyond this one facility.
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Nov 30, 2021
B.C., climate change and what's coming for Canada
British Columbia is still struggling with the fallout from record-breaking rains that caused floods and mudslides that killed six people and displaced thousands more. This, after the fatal heat dome of the summer, and the third worst fire season on record.
While experts say it’s impossible to determine whether this year’s extreme weather resulted directly from climate change, they will say climate change made these events worse.
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan agreed to strike a joint provincial-federal committee to address disaster response and climate resilience.
Today, environmental journalist Arno Kopecky on how B.C. is experiencing so many of the big climate change issues of our time.
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Nov 29, 2021
Roe v. Wade at stake in Mississippi abortion case
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in one of the most important cases on reproductive rights in decades. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the last remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi, has challenged a state law that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Supreme Court case could determine not just the fate of the clinic, but of the monumental 1973 ruling Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide.
Today, legal historian Mary Ziegler breaks down the Mississippi case, and explains what its potential impacts could be for reproductive rights across the United States.
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Nov 27, 2021
Introducing: Stuff The British Stole
Throughout its reign, the British Empire stole a lot of stuff. Today those objects are housed in genteel institutions across the U.K. and the world. They usually come with polite plaques. This is a series about the not-so-polite history behind those objects. Hosted by Marc Fennell. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/stuffthebritishstole
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Nov 26, 2021
COVID-19 vaccines for kids: what you need to know
Since the first pediatric Pfizer vaccines landed in Canada last weekend, provinces have been moving fast to get them into arms. Children got their first jabs in Ontario on Tuesday; more kids started being vaccinated in Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan on Wednesday; and the rollout continues to expand.
Today we’re joined by Dr. Fatima Kakkar, an infectious diseases pediatrician at the research centre of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine and an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Université de Montréal. She breaks down what’s happening with these shots, how they work on kids and what to expect from the rollout.
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Nov 25, 2021
Where — and how — is Peng Shuai?
After Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai posted a sexual assault allegation against a former top Communist Party official on social media, the post — and Peng — disappeared.
In the weeks that followed, the Women's Tennis Association and the sport's top athletes joined the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai, including Naomi Osaka, Roger Federer and Serena Williams. Even the UN called for proof of her safety.
Now, Chinese state-run broadcasters have tweeted a supposed email along with photos and videos as evidence of her safety. The International Olympic committee says it had an interview with Peng where she reassured them of her wellbeing.
Today on Front Burner, Racquet publisher and co-founder Caitlin Thompson explains why China's moves have done little to calm fears for Peng's autonomy, and why this is a crucial moment for sports to re-examine their relationship with China.
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Nov 24, 2021
WE Charity misled donors about building schools in Kenya
Marc and Craig Kielburger's WE Charity routinely misled school-aged children and wealthy philanthropists across North America for years as it solicited millions for schoolhouses in Kenya in its Adopt-A-Village program, an investigation by CBC's The Fifth Estate has found. WE denies it has misled donors.
Today, Mark Kelley explains what the team found over the course of the investigation, and the obstacles they faced while reporting the story.
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Nov 23, 2021
Tensions swell on Wet'suwet'en territory
Yesterday, demonstrators and journalists appeared in a northern B.C. court after spending the weekend in jail for their presence at a resistance camp in Wet’suwet’en territory.
The RCMP arrested dozens of people and cleared the camp last week. It had been blockading a key work site for the Coastal GasLink pipeline project. Hundreds of workers had been stranded after the blockade was erected. The police were enforcing an injunction from a civil court that said Coastal GasLink should be able to continue its work.
Today, attorney Kris Statnyk explains that the legal battle happening over the land is incredibly complex, because even the Canadian legal system holds contradictory positions on this issue. And the Tyee’s northern B.C. reporter Amanda Follett Hosgood explains what’s been happening on the front lines.
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Nov 22, 2021
Minority Report: What to watch for as the House returns
The Conservative Party is objecting to Parliament’s new mandatory vaccination policy. Its leader, Erin O’Toole, is fending off attacks on his leadership. And the Liberals are being accused of benefiting from unfair advantages in the House. This is just some of what’s playing out as Parliament returns for the first time since June and the federal election. CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton breaks down the new political season for us.
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Nov 19, 2021
Canada’s road to the World Cup
Canada’s men’s soccer team is closer to going to the World Cup tournament than it has been in decades, after a historic win against heavyweight team Mexico. The last time they qualified was in 1986. They didn’t score a single goal.
But now with coaching from John Herdman and star players like Alphonso Davies, the team has started to believe in itself — and this week, won an important qualifying event against Mexico. After scoring their second goal, team members leaped into a snowbank in the –10 C Edmonton weather to celebrate. This iconic moment comes only a few months after Canada’s women won their first Olympic gold for soccer in Tokyo.
Shireen Ahmed is a regular contributor to TSN, and a co-host of the Burn It All Down podcast. Today, she takes us through the game, what it means for Canada, and what comes next for soccer in this country.
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Nov 18, 2021
How a catastrophic climate event unfolded in B.C.
British Columbia declared a state of emergency Wednesday after days of extreme flooding and mudslides destroyed major highways and cut off entire communities in parts of the Lower Mainland. Mass evacuations were ordered in places like Merritt, Princeton and parts of Abbotsford, a city of nearly 100,000 people, but the full scale of the devastation still isn't known.
These kinds of climate events are becoming all too familiar in B.C. It was just four and a half months ago that a crushing heat dome killed nearly 600 people in the province, and a wildfire burned the town of Lytton to the ground.
Today on Front Burner, how this week's weather event, known as an atmospheric river, unfolded, and how other recent extreme climate events may have made it worse. If this is the new normal for B.C., what does the future look like for the people in the province? Finally, a conversation with CBC Vancouver reporter Justin McElroy about how the B.C. government responded and what needs to change movi…
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Nov 17, 2021
The cyberattack throttling N.L's health-care system
Since the end of October, a cyberattack on the health-care system in Newfoundland and Labrador has caused thousands of delays and cancellations for services.
Patients have missed appointments and procedures, including chemotherapy. With their IT networks knocked out, facilities resorted to pen and paper. The CEO of a cybersecurity firm in Fredericton, David Shipley, called it “the worst cyberattack in Canadian history.”
Disruptions to health services are easing. But while the province has now confirmed that both patient and employee data was stolen, it is still offering little information on the attack. Today on Front Burner, St. John’s-based CBC reporter Peter Cowan joins us to explain what this attack was, why the province isn’t saying more, and why health breaches like this are happening so often.
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Nov 16, 2021
Migrants 'trapped' in Belarus-Poland border crisis
A crisis is unfolding at the border of Poland and Belarus, where thousands of migrants are stranded in freezing temperatures, hoping to reach Europe.
Belarus, under authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, is accused of deliberately creating this crisis by shepherding migrants from the Middle East to the Polish border as revenge for sanctions imposed on his regime. Poland, with the support of the European Union, has responded by fortifying its border in a massive show of force. Almost 20,000 police and soldiers have been deployed to the area, and there are claims that they have illegally pushed people back across the border into Belarus.
Today, Guardian correspondent Lorenzo Tondo on the geopolitical standoff and the people trapped in the middle of what is increasingly looking like a humanitarian disaster.
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Nov 15, 2021
What happened — and didn’t — at the COP26 climate summit
COP26, the UN’s annual climate summit in Glasgow, was touted by many as the “last best chance” for the world to come together and make a plan to stave off the worst of climate change. Today, Time magazine senior correspondent Justin Worland delves into what the summit did and didn’t achieve.
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Nov 13, 2021
Introducing: The Next Call with David Ridgen - The Case of Terrie Dauphinais
From David Ridgen, the creator of Someone Knows Something, comes the new investigative podcast The Next Call. Tackling unsolved cases through strategic phone calls. In the case of Terrie Dauphinais, a 24-year-old Metis woman is found dead in her Calgary home in the spring of 2002. New investigative efforts have held out promise, but the case still remains cold almost two decades later. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/thenextcall
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Nov 12, 2021
The next phase of COVID-19 in Ontario
In Ontario, COVID-19 cases are rising again — but unlike before, the Greater Toronto Area isn’t bearing the brunt of this wave. Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti explains why.
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Nov 11, 2021
What went wrong at Travis Scott’s Astroworld
As lawsuits, a criminal investigation and social media try to assign blame for the fatal crowd surge at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, a look at the warning signs before the concert, and the long history of festival disasters.
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Nov 10, 2021
Ethiopia’s war with itself
Ethiopia’s deadly war in Tigray province is now threatening to engulf the entire country as rebels move toward the capital and a humanitarian crisis intensifies. Reporter Zecharias Zelalem explains how the conflict got to this point and where it could go from here.
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Nov 9, 2021
The Democrats are in trouble
Less than 10 months into his presidency, Joe Biden’s popularity is plummeting, Democratic in-fighting has put some of the most ambitious parts of his agenda on life support, and recent elections in several states are spelling even more bad news for his party. Susan Ormiston joins us to take the pulse of the Democratic party.
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Nov 8, 2021
COP26: A reality check on Canada’s climate targets
As the international climate change conference COP26 continues, we take a look at Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction target, and whether or not we’re actually on track to hit it.
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Nov 5, 2021
Carrie Bourassa and false claims of Indigeneity
A CBC News investigation into a prominent University of Saskatchewan professor found no evidence to support her claims to Indigeneity. Reporter Geoff Leo breaks down the story, and Veldon Coburn tells us how to address the issue.
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Nov 4, 2021
Violent vigilantism or self-defence? Kyle Rittenhouse on trial
At Kyle Rittenhouse’s homicide trial, which began this week, there are two very different versions on display of what happened in Kenosha, Wis., on the night of Aug. 25, 2020.
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Nov 3, 2021
COP26: A carbon capture reality check
Over 50 nations arrived at COP26 with net-zero emissions targets, but many rely on high hopes for carbon capture tech. Today, a reality check — will carbon capture help us, or provide excuses for more pollution?
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Nov 2, 2021
Kyle Beach and the NHL's sex assault scandal
The fallout and the calls for accountability continue in the NHL's Chicago sexual assault scandal. Lawyer and abuse survivor Greg Gilhooly on how the league needs to change so its players are protected.
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Nov 1, 2021
A medical mystery in New Brunswick
Suspected neurological illness is debilitating and even killing patients in New Brunswick, but provincial health officials are questioning whether a mysterious brain disease is really behind it.
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Oct 30, 2021
Introducing: White Hot Hate
The new investigative series White Hot Hate follows the extraordinary case of young Canadian journalist Ryan Thorpe who infiltrated an international neo-Nazi extremist network. While host Michelle Shephard explores the rise of white supremacist accelerationism: the ultra-violent ideology that drives believers to create chaos, in order to seize ultimate control. More episodes are available at: hyperurl.co/whitehothate
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Oct 29, 2021
Facts contradict Chrétien’s residential school claims
Jean Chrétien says he never heard about abuse in residential schools when he was minister of Indian affairs. As Jorge Barrera and Cindy Blackstock explain, documents suggest otherwise.
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Oct 28, 2021
Labour shortage or short-changed labour?
Canada’s worker shortage in industries like retail, food and tourism is more complex than it’s been chalked up to be. We hear from those fighting their way back from unemployment and from economist David Macdonald.
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Oct 27, 2021
A Succession-style spectacle at Rogers
The family behind the telecom giant Rogers Communications is in a bizarre public spat over control of the company. Today, CBC business reporter Pete Evans explains the unusual infighting.
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Oct 26, 2021
Behind the Amazon union drive
As Amazon’s profits soar during the pandemic, The Fifth Estate’s Mark Kelley gives us an inside look at the dire conditions inside its warehouses that are driving workers’ to unionize.
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Oct 25, 2021
The rhetoric and reality of the anti-Alberta energy report
An inquiry into alleged anti-Alberta energy campaigns wasn't able to determine if foreign funding had an impact on derailing energy projects in the province, and found no evidence of wrongdoing. Today, we look at how that final report differs from the province’s rhetoric — past and present.
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Oct 23, 2021
Introducing: Carrie Low VS.
Carrie Low trusted police when she reported her horrific rape. But she says they failed to investigate properly, and only succeeded in traumatizing her further. Now she’s setting out on a mission to hold these institutions to account. This all-new investigation is hosted by award-winning investigative journalist Maggie Rahr. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/carrielow
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Oct 22, 2021
Kids at the centre of anti-vaxx movements
The anti-vaccine movement has long revolved around children. As the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine rollout approaches, what can we learn from this phenomenon to improve uptake in kids? Sociologist Jennifer Reich shares her insights.
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Oct 21, 2021
A humanitarian catastrophe looms over Afghanistan
When the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, much of the foreign aid to the country was suspended. Today, CBC’s Susan Ormiston tells us about what she heard on the ground about the looming humanitarian crisis.
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Oct 20, 2021
How Iqaluit’s water crisis is connected to climate change
After traces of fuel were confirmed in Iqaluit’s drinking water last week, the city has been under a state of emergency. Journalists Pauline Pemik and Jackie McKay explain what it will take to get the city’s taps flowing safely — for good.
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Oct 19, 2021
Tension and trauma for refugees in Greece
CBC’s Margaret Evans tells the stories of a coroner, a mufti and a fisherman all living through a border crisis in northern Greece — a country taking steps to keep refugees out.
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Oct 18, 2021
The Mighty Ducks, Inspector Gadget and the search for crypto billions
Cryptocurrency traders are relying on a stablecoin — a digital cryptocurrency backed with real-world assets — with ties to a Mighty Ducks star and the co-creator of Inspector Gadget. Today, we look at the search for the supposed billions of dollars backing its value, and what a shortfall could mean for the entire financial system.
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Oct 15, 2021
The KGB and Chrystia Freeland
Unearthed journals that were once the top-secret communications of the KGB — the Soviet Union’s secret police — shed new light on an early chapter of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s life, and give us a window into the dying days of the USSR.
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Oct 14, 2021
Skepticism over Catholic compensation for residential schools
As Canadian Catholic bishops say they will give $30 million to support survivors of residential schools, CBC’s Jason Warick explains why some are skeptical about the pledge.
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Oct 13, 2021
Flashpoint Taiwan: Tensions escalate between China and the West
Today Brian Hioe explains how Taiwan became a pawn in a global competition between China and the West — and what that means for the island’s people.
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Oct 12, 2021
321 days of protest — India’s farmers deepen resolve
CBC’s Salimah Shivji takes a closer look at India’s farmer protests, where a fatal collision has ignited more anger in the 300-day standoff with the government.
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Oct 11, 2021
Encore: The reporter who brought down Jeffrey Epstein
Miami Herald reporter and author of Perversion of Justice Julie K. Brown on Ghislaine Maxwell’s upcoming trial — and her bombshell investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 plea deal that brought global attention to the case.
This episode originally aired on July 20, 2021.
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Oct 8, 2021
Facebook’s bad week
After a major outage and stinging whistleblower testimony, NPR tech reporter Bobby Allyn breaks down Facebook’s bad week.
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Oct 7, 2021
Pandora Papers reveal ‘shadow economy’ of the rich and powerful
Today we’re digging into the massive Pandora Papers leak: What it reveals about how the world’s wealthy and powerful are benefiting from tax havens — and whether Canada is doing enough to rein it in.
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Oct 6, 2021
Squid Game's not-so-subtle message about capitalism
The survival drama Squid Game has gotten international attention for its focus on economic inequality. But UCLA’s Suk-Young Kim explains that this globally relatable horror show is also uniquely Korean in its approach.
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Oct 5, 2021
The wild saga of Ozy Media
New York Times journalist Ben Smith discusses his bombshell investigation into U.S. media organization Ozy Media and its defiant founder, Carlos Watson.
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Oct 4, 2021
Wellness culture's link to COVID denialism
Journalist Matthew Remski explains why new age spirituality is such fertile ground for anti-vaccine movements.
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Oct 2, 2021
Introducing: Unlocking the Fountain
What if there were a pill that could add decades to your life? Would you take it? For thousands of years, people have searched for elixirs that could delay death and extend human life. Could new advances in medicine finally make this a reality? From madcap medicine to cutting-edge science, the quest to unlock the fountain of youth is teeming with dreamers, skeptics and charlatans alike. More episodes are available at: hyperurl.co/unlocking
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Oct 1, 2021
Inside the push to decriminalize drugs in Canada
The views from two Canadian cities where the opioid crisis is driving a new movement for decriminalization, with the Ontario Harm Reduction Network’s Nick Boyce and Chief Const. Mike Serr of the police force in Abbotsford, B.C.
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Sep 30, 2021
Renamed, shamed. Searching for an Indigenous boy’s true identity
On the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the story of a quest to find the true identity of a boy who died at residential school, and was identified only by a cruel nickname.
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Sep 29, 2021
Stories from inside Canada’s hospital crisis
Even with 80 per cent of eligible Canadians fully vaccinated, hospitals in many parts of the country are facing an unprecedented crisis. Today, we speak to doctors and nurses about how the fourth wave is pushing Canadian health-care systems to their breaking point.
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Sep 28, 2021
Auf Wiedersehen, Chancellor Merkel
Angela Merkel will step aside after 16 years as Germany’s chancellor, but Sunday’s election leaves questions over who will lead next. Today, how Merkel built her legacy of stability, and the forces that threaten to reverse it.
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Sep 27, 2021
The day that set the Michaels free
After 1,020 days in Chinese jail cells, the two Michaels — Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — came home. CBC’s Jason Proctor and the University of Ottawa’s Errol Mendes break it down.
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Sep 24, 2021
From Hotel Rwanda to a Kigali prison
Hotelier Paul Rusesabagina once won the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, for protecting Tutsis from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. This week, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for terrorism charges. What happened?
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Sep 23, 2021
The mystery surrounding Gabby Petito
New York Times’ Katie Rosman on the internet’s obsession with the murder of Gabby Petito and the online sleuths trying to crack the case.
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Sep 22, 2021
Conservatives lose again. What now?
Leader Erin O’Toole brought a moderate strategy to the Conservative election campaign, but his loss was nearly identical to his predecessor's. What went wrong, and what that means for the party’s future.
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Sep 21, 2021
Election changes little, Liberal minority continues
After a day of voting and with some ballots still left to be counted, Justin Trudeau will remain Canada's prime minister, and the Liberals will continue ruling with a minority. CBC's Aaron Wherry breaks down the results of the election so far.
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Sep 20, 2021
Alberta’s path to a state of emergency
CBC’s Carolyn Dunn on Alberta’s fourth wave after what Premier Jason Kenney promised to be the “best Alberta summer ever.”
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Sep 17, 2021
Undecided voters grill leaders face to face
The CBC’s senior political correspondent Rosemary Barton on how the national federal party leaders did on tough questions from undecided Canadian voters.
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Sep 16, 2021
Election platform primer (Part 2 of 2)
The CBC’s Ryan Maloney returns for Part 2 of our back-to-back platform primers for the major parties. This episode: the NDP, Green Party, and People’s Party of Canada.
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Sep 15, 2021
Election platform primer (Part 1 of 2)
Election day is just around the corner, so CBC’s Ryan Maloney is here to provide back-to-back platform primers for the major parties. First up: The Liberals and Conservatives.
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Sep 14, 2021
Afghanistan's refugee crisis: The view from Pakistan
As food prices rise and the currency falls in Taliban-held Afghanistan, many are fleeing to neighbouring Pakistan in search of a better life. CBC senior correspondent Susan Ormiston takes us there.
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Sep 13, 2021
A disappearance at ‘The Pit’
Nearly six years after her disappearance, Sheree Fertuck’s husband is on trial for murder in Saskatoon. Today, Front Burner explores the controversial undercover police sting operation at the heart of the case.
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Sep 11, 2021
Introducing: The Flamethrowers
The Flamethrowers captures the punch-you-in-the-mouth energy and sound of right-wing talk radio. Host Justin Ling takes us from the fringe preachers and conspiracy peddlers of the 1920s to the political firestorm that rages today. With humour and candour, Ling examines the appeal of broadcasters like Rush Limbaugh, who found a sleeping audience, radicalized it, and became an accidental kingmaker — culminating in the election of Donald Trump. More episodes are available at smarturl.it/theflamethrowers
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Sep 10, 2021
Recapping a crucial election debate
Last night was the only English-language federal leaders’ debate of this election cycle. And with Justin Trudeau and Erin O’Toole neck and neck in the polls, the stakes couldn’t be much higher. CBC senior writer Ryan Maloney joins us for a look at the night’s most significant moments
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Sep 9, 2021
‘What are they hiding?’ 9/11 families fight for U.S. documents
As the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, ProPublica’s Tim Golden fills us in on why families of those killed are suing Saudi Arabia, and what secrets are contained in documents they want released.
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Sep 8, 2021
On the court with Raptors President Masai Ujiri
Masai Ujiri recently signed on to become vice-chairman of the Toronto Raptors, in addition to his role as the NBA team's president. Today, he talks to host Jayme Poisson about what it means to rebuild the team after Kyle Lowry's departure, his commitment to growing African basketball, and why he wants to stay in Toronto.
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Sep 7, 2021
Where the major parties stand on climate change
The major parties are all promising big action on climate change, but their plans and targets look different. Today on Front Burner, we compare the parties’ strategies and take a closer look at their credibility.
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Sep 6, 2021
Encore: 'Suddenly, this is all he'd want to talk about.'
One woman’s story of how two of her loved ones got pulled into conspiracy theories — and how she fought to bring them back from the brink.
This episode originally aired in January 2021.
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Sep 3, 2021
Mysterious noise sparks discovery of crypto power plant in Alberta
A mysterious noise frustrating an affluent Alberta community sparked the discovery of a secretly set up bitcoin-mining operation. CBC Calgary’s Sarah Rieger explains.
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Sep 2, 2021
Election watch: Anger on the campaign trail
In the third week of the federal election campaign, Althia Raj describes the vitriolic protests seen at campaign events and the newly released Liberal platform.
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Sep 1, 2021
Horse dewormer the latest trend in COVID-19 misinformation
False claims about COVID-19 have people calling up Alberta farm supply stores looking for a livestock dewormer called ivermectin. Vera Bergengruen tells us why.
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Aug 31, 2021
After chaotic US withdrawal, a view from Kabul
After 20 years, the last U.S. troops have left Afghanistan. Ali M. Latifi, a correspondent for Al Jazeera English, brings us a view from the ground in Kabul.
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Aug 30, 2021
Theranos’s Elizabeth Holmes goes on trial
Once a darling of Silicon Valley, Theranos’s Elizabeth Holmes is now facing prison time for fraud. Host of ABC’s The Dropout podcast Rebecca Jarvis on what you need to know about the upcoming trial.
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Aug 27, 2021
Where the major parties stand on housing affordability
Housing affordability is shaping up to be a top issue for voters in the upcoming federal election. What are parties promising to do about it? And will it actually work? We ask senior director at the Smart Prosperity Institute Mike Moffatt.
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Aug 26, 2021
A fourth wave for whom?
As case counts rise across the country, health experts warn that the COVID-19 fourth wave is very much here. But who will bear the brunt of it?
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Aug 25, 2021
‘I feel very hopeless that I’m stuck here’
Today, the harrowing story of an Afghan doctor — currently in hiding from the Taliban — and his Canadian wife, who are desperate for the Canadian government to help them escape Afghanistan.
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Aug 24, 2021
Election watch: The major parties’ early days
As we roll into the second week of this federal election campaign, Éric Grenier and Althia Raj look at where things stand in the polls, and break down how the major parties are faring thus far.
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Aug 23, 2021
One company’s dominance over rental housing in Canada’s North
In Yellowknife and Iqaluit, as much as 80% of private, multi-unit rental housing is owned by one company: Northview Canadian High Yield Residential Fund. Today, why some tenants say that’s a big problem, and what this story says about the challenges facing renters across Canada.
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Aug 20, 2021
What to do about climate anxiety
From record-breaking heat waves to droughts and floods — people are acutely experiencing climate change this summer. Many are struggling with ‘climate anxiety’ as a result. Stanford Planetary Health Fellow Britt Wray explains why, and what can be done about it.
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Aug 19, 2021
‘Not again’: Haitians cope with another earthquake
An earthquake, overflowing hospitals and critical supply shortages have Haitians remembering the fallout from past disasters. Two guests from the community reflect on what’s happened, and what recovery should look like.
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Aug 18, 2021
Fear, frustration after police shoot Black man in Repentigny, Que.
In the wake of the fatal police shooting of Jean René Junior Olivier, CBC Montreal reporter Antoni Nerestant offers a closer look at the strained relations between police and Black residents in Repentigny, Que.
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Aug 17, 2021
'Leaving them behind is a betrayal'
As civilians try to flee a Taliban-held Afghanistan, Canadian veteran Ryerson Maybee reflects on our country’s historic role there, and what our government’s responsibilities should be to the Afghans who risked their lives to help Canadians during the war.
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Aug 16, 2021
It’s official: A federal election is upon us
A federal election has been called for Sept. 20, less than two years after the last one. Today, Aaron Wherry of CBC's Parliament Hill bureau on why now.
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Aug 13, 2021
DaBaby, Lil Nas X and homophobia in hip hop
DaBaby’s recent homophobic rant at a major music festival has set off a conversation about anti-gay sentiment and toxic masculinity in hip hop. Today, two rappers reflect on the controversy around DaBaby, the rise of Lil Nas X and the lack of queer representation in their industry.
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Aug 12, 2021
A ‘completely unjustified’ verdict
Canadian Michael Spavor, who’s been detained in China since 2018, has been given an 11-year prison sentence by a Chinese court. Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau called the verdict “completely unjustified.” Today, Toronto Star reporter Joanna Chiu on what this means for Canada-China relations.
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Aug 11, 2021
The front lines of the Taliban's offensive in Afghanistan
The Taliban continues to gain territory at a rapid pace, as the U.S. army and NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan. Journalist Akhtar Mohammad Makoii takes us to Herat, a city contested by Taliban and government forces.
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Aug 10, 2021
‘A code red for humanity’
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is calling a major new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change "a code red for humanity." Today on Front Burner, we break down what's in the report, its potential impact and why there might be reason to feel hopeful about it.
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Aug 9, 2021
How to get tough with the unvaccinated
As a potential COVID-19 fourth wave looms, epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan talks to guest host Jonathan Montpetit about frustrations with those who have opted out of a COVID-19 vaccine thus far, and options for getting tougher on their access to public spaces.
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Aug 6, 2021
‘Confusion, fear or anger’ over Alberta’s COVID-19 restriction rollback
There is growing anger around Alberta’s rollback of COVID-19 restrictions. Today on Front Burner, Macleans’ Alberta correspondent Jason Markusoff digs into what might be behind the controversial move.
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Aug 5, 2021
A country in crisis: Lebanon one year after the Beirut blast
A year after Beirut’s deadly port explosion, Lebanon’s economy is in freefall and protesters have hit the streets. Journalist Rebecca Collard gives us the backstory.
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Aug 4, 2021
The end of an era: Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors
Kyle Lowry’s Toronto Raptors career is coming to an end after nine seasons. Sports writer Alex Wong looks back at his legacy on and off the court, through victory and defeat.
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Aug 3, 2021
‘Magic mushrooms’ and therapy in Canada
One woman’s experience using magic mushrooms therapeutically, and why some are now pushing for greater legal access to the drug in Canada.
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Aug 2, 2021
Encore: The end of Hong Kong?
The first Hong Konger to be charged under China’s National Security Law has been found guilty. Today on Front Burner, two pro-democracy activists from the city-state reflect on China’s tightening grip on Hong Kong.
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Jul 30, 2021
Duterte, the drug war and the Philippines’ future
This week, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his final state of the nation. He’s been called the “vigilante president” for his handling of the illegal drug trade, and his treatment of dissenters. Today on Front Burner, veteran investigative journalist Sheila Coronel reflects on what his legacy might mean for the future of the Philippines.
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Jul 29, 2021
Why Simone Biles said ‘no’
The 24-year-old champion Simone Biles surprised the world this week by pulling out of the Olympics, saying she needed to look after her mental health. As historian Amira Rose Davis explains, that decision is a momentous shift in the culture of sport.
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Jul 28, 2021
Investigating the Capitol insurrection
The armed insurrection in Washington, after Donald Trump lost the presidential election, shook many. This week, U.S. lawmakers heard from the police officers who tried to hold it at bay — as a committee pieces together what happened.
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Jul 27, 2021
Victims of communism memorial received donations honouring Nazi collaborators
Another controversy for the Memorial to the Victims of Communism in Ottawa as some donations were made to it in honour of fascists and Nazi collaborators.
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Jul 26, 2021
Kris Wu and China’s #MeToo moment
Chinese-Canadian pop superstar Kris Wu is caught in a #MeToo firestorm over allegations of predatory sexual behaviour with an underage girl now sweeping Chinese media.
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Jul 23, 2021
The Deepfaking of Anthony Bourdain
Deepfake technology — the use of algorithms to create realistic copies of people in video, audio, or photography — is once again in the spotlight. That's after Morgan Neville's documentary Roadrunner used the technology to copy the voice of the late Anthony Bourdain. MIT Technology Review's senior A.I. editor, Karen Hao, breaks down the risks for how we perceive our reality.
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Jul 22, 2021
The Olympics: Tokyo’s unwelcome guest
Tokyo 2020 is forging ahead inside a host city effectively locked out of its own event. CBC senior correspondent Adrienne Arsenault brings us the view from Tokyo, where rising COVID-19 cases, a state of emergency and brewing resentment toward the International Olympic Committee is hanging over these unprecedented Olympic Games.
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Jul 21, 2021
Have the Liberals met the climate change moment?
The Liberal government has been criticized for not acting substantially enough on the climate crisis. Former environment and current Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna defends her party’s actions on the issue, and explains why she believes Canada is on track to meet its emission targets.
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Jul 20, 2021
The reporter who brought down Jeffrey Epstein
Miami Herald reporter and author of 'Perversion of Justice' Julie K. Brown on Ghislaine Maxwell’s upcoming trial and her bombshell investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 plea deal that brought global attention to the case.
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Jul 19, 2021
What’s behind Cuba’s protest movement
Cuba’s historic protests — and the government crackdown that followed — have shone a new light on the crisis currently facing the island. But questions about how to fix that crisis, and who’s to blame, are hotly disputed. Journalist Ed Augustin on what the protesters want, and how Cuba got to this point.
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Jul 16, 2021
What's next for the victims of Kamloops Indian Residential School?
In late May, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation shocked Canadians with a preliminary finding of unmarked graves near the former site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Yesterday, the nation released more details. An expert said some 200 possible graves have been identified, but added that number might rise since 64 hectares remain unsurveyed and more forensic investigation and excavation work is needed. CBC Vancouver's Angela Sterritt breaks down what we now know — and tells us what's next.
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Jul 15, 2021
The fight for voting rights in the U.S.
As Republicans push voting laws widely seen as suppression, Texas becomes the next battleground. Today on Front Burner, CBC Washington correspondent Paul Hunter on what — if anything — U.S. President Joe Biden will do to fight back.
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Jul 14, 2021
Who killed Haiti’s president?
Following President Jovenel Moïse's assassination last week, Haitian police have arrested more than 20 people and say they’re beginning to piece together a fuller picture of who carried out the killing — and who ordered it. But many people are questioning the official narrative.
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Jul 13, 2021
The last 22%: Vaccine access and hesitancy
Nearly 78 per cent of eligible people in Canada have at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. What’s stopping the rest? Today, Dr. Naheed Dosani and Dr. Jia Hu discuss.
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Jul 12, 2021
The billionaire space race is on
Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are promising a new era where anyone will have access to space. But not everyone’s on board. Today, we speak to science writer Shannon Stirone about the promises and perils of the billionaire space race.
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Jul 9, 2021
'The war isn’t over': U.S. leaves Afghanistan
As U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years, the Taliban is gaining ground. Today, former journalist Graeme Smith on what lies ahead: “We’re leaving behind the bloodiest war on the planet.”
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Jul 8, 2021
The assassination of Haiti’s president
After months of rising political violence, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated by heavily armed gunmen in the presidential residence. Widlore Mérancourt, a Haitian journalist, joins host Jayme Poisson for the latest from Port-au-Prince.
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Jul 7, 2021
‘I’m done’: Britney Spears fights back against conservatorship
As Britney Spears fights for her legal freedom, Dominic Patten, senior editor for Deadline Hollywood, joins us to explain the latest revelations on the 13-year conservatorship that controls every aspect of the pop icon’s life.
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Jul 6, 2021
The human toll of B.C.’s wildfires
As nearly 200 fires continue to burn in British Columbia, we hear stories of the people most affected, from CBC reporters Susana da Silva and Brady Strachan. They’ve been covering the devastating Lytton fire, and the ongoing firefighting efforts in B.C.
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Jul 5, 2021
Montreal’s historic playoff run at stake
Montreal’s Cinderella playoff run is at stake on Monday as the Canadiens head into a do-or-die Game 4 in the Stanley Cup finals against the reigning champs, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sean Fitz-Gerald, senior national reporter with The Athletic, and Arpon Basu, editor-in-chief of The Athletic Montréal, share their thoughts on the history-making series.
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Jul 2, 2021
Introducing: The Village: Season 2
Transgender women, and trans sex workers in particular, know what it means to be marginalized, overpoliced, and underprotected. In season two of The Village, host Justin Ling investigates the stories of two women, Alloura Wells and Cassandra Do, whose deaths remain unexplained, and whose cases expose the systems that failed them. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/thevillagecbc
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Jul 1, 2021
Cryptocurrency’s wild ride
As cryptocurrencies experience “bonkers” volatility, The Logic’s Claire Brownell explains why some regulatory crackdowns are happening, and where cryptocurrency could go from here.
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Jun 30, 2021
Heat waves and climate change in action
An extreme heat wave has taken over Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest this week. Today on Front Burner, climate journalist Eric Holthaus on why he thinks this weather is a clear call to action on the climate emergency.
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Jun 29, 2021
Confronting the dark side of Canadian history
Indigenous people have spoken of deaths and unmarked graves at residential schools for years. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission also wrote a whole volume on the issue. Still, many Canadians are shocked. Today we look at why that is, with the hosts of The Secret Life of Canada.
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Jun 28, 2021
Some UFOs can’t be explained: U.S. intelligence report
The truth is out there. Today, we dig into a new U.S. intelligence report that sheds light on unidentified aerial phenomena, a.k.a. UFOs, with help from science writer and UFO expert Chris Rutkowski.
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Jun 25, 2021
An abused woman, a homicide, and a long prison sentence appealed
In 2011, after years of abuse, Helen Naslund shot her husband Miles dead as he slept. Now, she’s appealing the 18-year prison sentence for her crime, her lawyer arguing it’s a “miscarriage of justice.” Edmonton Journal reporter Jonny Wakefield explains the case.
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Jun 24, 2021
Inside the die-hard camp at Fairy Creek
Old-growth logging at B.C.’s Fairy Creek watershed has been temporarily deferred, but activists aren’t leaving the blockades. CBC reporter Kieran Oudshoorn brings us an inside look at the hardest-to-access Fairy Creek protest camp — and why activists are staying put.
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Jun 23, 2021
Defence minister criticized over sexual misconduct ‘inaction’
Canada’s military ombudsman Gregory Lick criticizes leaders’ ‘inaction’ on sexual misconduct crisis and demands true independent civilian oversight.
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Jun 22, 2021
Half a million COVID-19 deaths in Brazil, no end in sight
COVID-19 deaths have surpassed half a million in Brazil. Over the weekend, thousands of Brazilians took to the streets to protest President Jair Bolsonaro’s pandemic response. Today on Front Burner, how will Brazil find its way out of this crisis?
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Jun 21, 2021
Infighting, allegations of racism plague Green Party
Federal Green Party Leader Annamie Paul made allegations of racism and sexism against some inside her own party after a tumultuous week that saw a potential challenge to her leadership and a Green MP leave to join the Liberals. With a possible federal election looming, CBC’s Rosemary Barton and David Thurton join us to explain what this all means for the future of the Green Party.
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Jun 19, 2021
Introducing: The Next Call with David Ridgen
From David Ridgen, the creator of Someone Knows Something, comes the new investigative podcast The Next Call. Tackling unsolved cases through strategic phone calls. From the victim's family members to potential suspects, the investigation unfolds with The Next Call. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/thenextcall
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Jun 18, 2021
Frenemies: Biden, Putin meet in Geneva
Cyberattacks, dissidents in jail and military escalation near Ukraine loomed over the high-stakes summit between U.S. President Joe and Russian President Vladimir Putin. CBC Moscow correspondent Chris Brown and CBC Washington correspondent Susan Ormiston unpack what happened.
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Jun 17, 2021
When big money buys up homes to rent
A real estate developer in Toronto is planning to spend a billion dollars buying Canadian houses and turning them into rentals. Today, former UN special rapporteur on housing Leilani Farha on what she’s seen when big money gets into residential rentals.
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Jun 16, 2021
Mystery at Canada’s highest security virus lab
Questions still surround why two scientists were marched out of a Winnipeg lab in 2019, and why they’re being investigated by the RCMP. But the story has links to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and many experts suspect Chinese espionage. Now, pressure is mounting on the federal government to explain.
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Jun 15, 2021
Stories from the Kamloops Indian Residential School
From drownings to suicides in broad daylight, a new CBC investigation reveals a horrific picture of what life was like at the Kamloops Indian Residential school. Today on Front Burner, the stories of some who lived and died there.
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Jun 14, 2021
Delta variant: What you need to know
As much of Canada begins easing pandemic restrictions, we look into the delta variant. It’s a COVID-19 strain that’s concerning experts and emerging all over the country, from a hospital in Calgary, hotspots in Ontario and a mine in Nunavut. Global health epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan weighs in on the latest.
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Jun 11, 2021
A wild housing market: what’s the solution?
As Canada’s housing prices continue to rise we take a closer look at the political and economic tools that could be used to help cool it down with the help of Bloomberg News reporter, Ari Altstedter.
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Jun 10, 2021
Why won’t the Pope apologize for residential schools?
The calls for Pope Francis to fully apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential schools, including the one in Kamloops, B.C., where what are believed to be the unmarked burial sites of children's remains have been found, continue to grow. Why won’t he? Columnist Michael Coren, who’s covered the Catholic Church for decades, explains.
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Jun 9, 2021
Grief, fear after the killing of a Muslim family in London, Ont.
In the wake of the hateful attack that left four Muslim family members dead and a young boy in hospital: voices from the grief-filled London, Ont., Muslim community.
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Jun 8, 2021
Lawrence Wright takes on The Plague Year
Today, Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright joins us to talk about The Plague Year, his new account of the biggest failures and successes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Jun 7, 2021
Death-bed COVID denial in southern Manitoba
A doctor and a mayor describe COVID-19 denial and anti-vaccine attitudes they’re seeing up close in their small southern Manitoba communities.
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Jun 4, 2021
Kamloops residential school: what happens next?
After the revelation of unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, former Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Marie Wilson speaks to us about what needs to happen next.
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Jun 3, 2021
Naomi Osaka vs. the French Open
Tennis star Naomi Osaka announced last week that she wouldn’t go to postmatch news conferences over mental health concerns and this week she dropped out of the tournament altogether. Caitlin Thompson of Racquet Magazine walks us through how this led to controversy in the tennis world and highlights broader problems surrounding the media culture in the sport.
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Jun 2, 2021
Joyce Echaquan’s final days: A fuller picture
Last year, a video of Atikamekw woman Joyce Echaquan being taunted by nursing staff in a Quebec hospital, shortly before she died, sparked global outrage. Now, a dramatic coroner’s inquest is shedding more light on what happened — and why generations of Atikamekw people have feared that hospital.
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Jun 1, 2021
Residential school survivors mourn after discovery of unmarked graves
An outpouring of grief and demands for accountability are following in the wake of a horrific discovery of unmarked graves of children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. CBC’s Angela Sterritt reports.
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May 31, 2021
Anti-Asian racism in Vancouver’s Chinatown
In the last year, there has been a tremendous uptick in reports of anti-Asian hate crimes across North America. In Vancouver, police in February reported a 717 per cent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes over the past year. Today on Front Burner, producer Elaine Chau’s documentary shows how these incidents have changed one neighbourhood in the city: Chinatown.
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May 29, 2021
Introducing: A Death in Cryptoland
When the young CEO of Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is reported to have died while honeymooning in India, it sets off a cataclysmic chain of events that would leave about 76,000 people out of a quarter of a billion dollars and a trail of conspiracy theories around whether Gerald Cotten is dead or alive. A Death in Cryptoland is an original podcast series about a crypto-tycoon, his secret past, his sudden demise, and an online sleuth’s obsession to unravel the truth behind QuadrigaCX. More episodes are available at smarturl.it/cryptoland
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May 28, 2021
Prime Time: Amazon's MGM streaming bid
Rocky, Legally Blonde, The Hobbit and even part of the James Bond franchise could soon be under the ownership of Amazon. Film critic John Semley joins host Jayme Poisson for a closer look at what the tech giant's bid to buy MGM Studios could mean for the shows and films that end up on your screens.
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May 27, 2021
Avi Lewis on a Green New Deal for Canada
Filmmaker and activist Avi Lewis has just announced he’ll be running to be an NDP MP in the next federal election. He speaks to Jayme about why he’s decided to enter the political ring, and whether the NDP — and Canadians — are ready for his ambitious vision of a Green New Deal.
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May 26, 2021
A 'hijacking' in Belarus, a dissident arrested
After the shocking interception of a commercial flight to arrest a dissident journalist, CBC’s Moscow correspondent explains Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko’s escalating crackdown on opposition.
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May 25, 2021
U.S. forces tackle sex assault: lessons for Canada
As Canada’s military continues to fail victims of sexual misconduct in its ranks, the U.S. may be on the cusp of reform. CBC reporters Murray Brewster and Alex Panetta discuss a just-introduced U.S. Senate bill that says it will address the “sexual harassment epidemic” in the military, and what that might mean for Canada.
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May 24, 2021
Habs vs Leafs: A short history
As the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs face off in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1979, CBC Montreal reporters Jonathon Montpetit and Antoni Nerestant break down the historic rivalry between the two teams.
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May 21, 2021
The divestment from Alberta’s oilsands
As pressure mounts to address global warming, some financial institutions are grappling with whether or not to divest from the Canadian oilsands. CBC’s Kyle Bakx explains.
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May 20, 2021
A mother, and a doctor, in Gaza
Najla Shawa is getting her young daughters to count the sounds of bombs at night — turning it into a game to try to soothe their fears. Dr. Mohammed Abu Mughaiseeb is navigating rubble-strewn streets to deliver medical aid — made harder now that one of his clinics was damaged in an airstrike. Today, a view from the ground in Gaza.
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May 19, 2021
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole (part two)
Would Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole support a union at Amazon? Why isn’t he resonating with younger Canadians? Ahead of a looming federal election, hear more in part two of a wide-ranging interview.
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May 18, 2021
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole (part one)
Erin O’Toole says he supports a ban on conversion therapy, but that doesn’t mean everyone in his party has to share his beliefs. Ahead of a looming federal election, hear more in part one of a wide-ranging interview with the federal Conservative party leader.
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May 17, 2021
Alex Gibney: Big Pharma created the opioid crisis
Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney’s scathing new documentary, The Crime of the Century, looks into how Big Pharma created and profited from the opioid crisis.
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May 14, 2021
“Bamboo ballots”, UV light and a bizarre election recount in Arizona
How do a treasure hunter, claims of bamboo fibres in ballots and QAnon-related conspiracies all come into play in the official “audit” of the 2020 U.S. election currently underway in Maricopa County, Ariz.? The Daily Beast’s politics reporter Will Sommer explains.
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May 13, 2021
Understanding the latest Israel-Hamas fighting
As violence escalates between Israel and Hamas, we’re joined by journalist Irris Makler for a run-down of some of the major events of the past few days, as well as some context on the last month of tensions that led to this week’s eruption.
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May 12, 2021
Metro Vancouver’s gang wars
Gang violence is on the rise again in Metro Vancouver, fueling worries about recruitment in the region’s South Asian community. Today on Front Burner, host Jayme Poisson talks to two people working in anti-gang intervention, with a focus on South Asian youth and families.
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May 11, 2021
Trudeau's chief adviser grilled over sexual misconduct in the military
The prime minister’s most senior adviser has been called to task about who knew what when regarding allegations of sexual misconduct against the former head of the Canadian Forces. CBC senior defence writer Murray Brewster shares his analysis.
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May 10, 2021
Summer 2021: Expectations vs. reality
Canada's vaccine rollout is speeding up, raising the possibility of COVID-19 restrictions loosening in the next few months. Today on Front Burner, infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Lynora Saxinger talks about the kind of summer we could expect to have.
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May 7, 2021
The debate over vaccine passports is here
As European countries make plans to reopen tourism, this week the federal government promised certification to get Canadians travelling again. We look at the massive practical and ethical implications of vaccine passports with help from Maclean’s writer Marie-Danielle Smith.
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May 6, 2021
Big money is buying up big songs. Lots of them
Some of the best-known names in music are selling the rights to their entire catalogues of songs, netting tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars. Today, why so many artists are cashing in now, and why investors are betting billions on music.
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May 5, 2021
Regulating streamers and a free speech fight
Could your YouTube videos be subject to government regulation? A change to a bill designed to bring online streaming services under the purview of the Broadcasting Act has sparked controversy. The Logic’s Murad Hemmadi explains.
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May 4, 2021
Inside a slaughterhouse COVID-19 outbreak
Today, an inside look at a COVID-19 outbreak that tore through an Alberta slaughterhouse, as seen through the eyes of the plant’s employees — and what their stories reveal about the situation facing essential workers across Canada.
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May 3, 2021
Meet Vaccine Hunters Canada's volunteers
As multiple websites, crowded waiting lists and lines hundreds of people long impede some Canadians' attempts to get COVID-19 vaccine appointments, a community of volunteers is stepping in to help. Today, Vaccine Hunters Canada co-founders Andrew Young and Josh Kalpin on guiding thousands through the rollout.
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May 1, 2021
Introducing: Life Jolt
Life Jolt - prison slang for a life sentence - examines the lives of women navigating Canada’s correctional system. The team gained unprecedented access to the Grand Valley Institution prison, the federal pen for women in Ontario, for a full year. They followed women going into prison for the first time, spoke with lifers who have been there for years, and parolees as they left. Hosted by Rosemary Green, a former inmate herself, Life Jolt focuses on individual women’s stories and the realities of prison life, and explores a wide range of issues including parenting behind bars, segregation, the over-representation of Indigenous women, addiction, trauma and the many obstacles of reintegration. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/lifejolt
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Apr 30, 2021
Rare COVID-19 vaccine blood clots explained
With the news that a woman in Quebec died of a rare blood clot after receiving the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, some people may feel concerned about the vaccine. Epidemiologist Maria Sundaram unpacks what you need to know about these extremely rare blood clots and the COVID-19 vaccines.
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Apr 29, 2021
The fight over paid sick leave
As the third wave dominates ICU across the country, this week Ontario and B.C. each finally buckled to pressure and announced the introduction of, at least some, mandated paid sick leave. But the urgent call remains in other provinces. So why is it such a fight to get it? CBC senior writer Aaron Wherry explains.
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Apr 28, 2021
What led to Alberta’s enormous COVID-19 surge?
Alberta leads Canada with a COVID-19 case rate nearly twice that of Ontario, and doctors warn Alberta is headed for a similar crisis in its ICUs. Today, what’s keeping Premier Jason Kenney from imposing tougher restrictions.
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Apr 27, 2021
The fight against Big Pharma's grip on vaccines
Led by South Africa and India, more than 100 mostly developing countries are calling on the World Trade Organization to temporarily waive vaccine makers’ intellectual property protections. Today, science writer Stephen Buranyi on why he believes this could boost global supply of COVID-19 vaccines, and save lives.
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Apr 26, 2021
‘Absolutely harrowing’: India’s calamitous second wave
In India, COVID-19 has reached catastrophic levels. The health-care system is so overwhelmed that the sick are lying on the ground outside hospitals, and doctors are begging online for oxygen. Amy Kazmin, the New Delhi-based South Asia bureau chief for the Financial Times, joins us for a view from the ground, and explains how things got this bad.
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Apr 23, 2021
Russia vs. Ukraine, the latest chapter
For weeks, tens of thousands of Russian troops have been within striking distance of Ukraine’s border. And then on Thursday came a sudden announcement of a partial de-escalation. Today on Front Burner, Moscow correspondent Chris Brown on the politics behind these moves.
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Apr 22, 2021
Universal child care: Is it for real this time?
Advocates have been calling for a national child care program for decades. Governments have even gotten close to enacting it a few times. Is this finally the moment the idea becomes reality? We’re joined by Martha Friendly, executive director of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit, for a look at the long, winding road toward universal child care in Canada.
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Apr 21, 2021
Rodney King lawyer on George Floyd, Derek Chauvin
Today we cover the Derek Chauvin guilty verdict in the killing of George Floyd and hear from a civil rights lawyer, who represented Rodney King, about the long history of police violence in America against Black people.
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Apr 20, 2021
$10-a-day child care and a big-ticket budget
After two long years, the Liberals have finally delivered a federal budget and boy is it a big one. Today we dissect the biggest ticket items, from a national childcare plan to a bucket full of green future promises with help from CBC’s Vassy Kapelos.
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Apr 19, 2021
How Ontario was led into a COVID-19 crisis
Military-style field hospitals in the middle of Toronto. A children’s ICU filling up with dying adults. Medical advisers at the end of their rope. Today, host Jayme Poisson looks at the choices Premier Doug Ford made in recent months and how they led Ontario down the path to what many doctors are calling a catastrophe.
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Apr 16, 2021
Liberals, Bloc silence military sex assault hearing
A parliamentary investigation into sexual misconduct in the military has been shut down, despite three high-ranking members of the Canadian Forces having allegations against them. Today on Front Burner, NDP defence critic Randall Garrison on why he thinks this lets the government off the hook.
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Apr 15, 2021
Fed up: Your pandemic breaking points
Many Canadians' lives are being stretched really thin in this third wave of the coronavirus pandemic — it can be hard not to buckle under the strain and fatigue. In this episode, Front Burner checked in with people across the country to see how Canadians are holding up, and what's keeping them going.
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Apr 14, 2021
Intensive care on the brink
Dr. Shelly Dev and Dr. Alex Wong, two physicians in two different provinces, describe the desperate situation unfolding inside Canada's hospitals where a record number of COVID-19 patients are being admitted into intensive care.
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Apr 13, 2021
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi hangs up his hat
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has seen the city through major change and shifted the world’s perceptions about the city he loves. He talks with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about why he’s leaving office after more than a decade.
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Apr 12, 2021
A tale of two virtual political conventions
As a federal election looms, two parties mustered over the weekend. Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos joins Jayme Poisson to break down what happened at the Liberal and NDP policy conventions.
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Apr 9, 2021
'Mama, I can't breathe': Witnesses recount George Floyd's last moments
George Floyd’s death under police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee sparked global protests over race and policing. Now, the world is watching Chauvin’s murder trial. Minneapolis Public Radio’s Brandt Williams breaks down the key moments so far.
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Apr 8, 2021
The end of Hong Kong?
From the arrest of pro-democracy legislators, to election law changes — Hong Kong has undergone extraordinary change after the implementation of Beijing’s national security law. Two pro-democracy activists, who recently fled to Canada, reflect on China’s tightening grip on the city-state.
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Apr 7, 2021
Ontario's vaccine plan dangerously off the mark, doctor says
Vaccinate those getting sick and bring vaccines to the factories and communal work settings — two changes Dr. Naheed Dosani says should happen to Ontario's vaccine rollout plan. Today, host Jayme Poisson speaks to Dosani about who is being left behind as dangerous COVID-19 variants take hold.
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Apr 6, 2021
Life after ISIS in Raqqa
Scarred by years of ISIS rule and fierce bombing campaigns by the U.S.-led coalition forces, CBC’s Margaret Evans gives a snapshot of life in Raqqa now, ten years into the Syrian civil war.
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Apr 5, 2021
Pandemic burnout is real
Today on Front Burner, Anne Helen Petersen explains the forces behind burnout and why more and more Canadians are struggling with it one year into a global pandemic that has altered the way many of us work and live.
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Apr 2, 2021
Winners and losers in Canada’s wild housing market
A closer look at the flaming hot Canadian real estate market that has defied expectations, through the eyes of one woman struggling to buy her first home far out from the big city, and Bloomberg News reporter Ari Altstedter.
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Apr 1, 2021
The final showdown? How to fight the 3rd wave
For epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan, the third wave of the pandemic is like the climactic battle scene of an action movie, when the foe is scariest and the hero is at their most tired. Here’s what he thinks it will take to win this last big fight against COVID-19.
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Mar 31, 2021
How, exactly did COVID-19 begin?
The release of a WHO report on the origins of COVID-19 is drawing both international curiosity and concern over China’s transparency. Nature senior reporter Amy Maxmen explains the investigation’s findings as well as criticisms over its access and independence.
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Mar 30, 2021
The Canadian MP targeted by China
Conservative MP and foreign affairs critic Michael Chong talks to guest host Vassy Kapelos about being sanctioned by China, and the growing international chorus that says China is committing genocide.
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Mar 29, 2021
‘It feels like I’m in jail’: Post vaccine isolation in LTC
Most long-term care residents have now been vaccinated, prompting BC to announce looser restrictions on visitors. But in Ontario, residents are still starving for human connection — and they’re calling for changes.
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Mar 26, 2021
The view from the U.S-Mexico border
The CBC’s Susan Ormiston takes us to the U.S-Mexico border where migrants are arriving in the hopes of easier entry under the Biden administration.
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Mar 25, 2021
AstraZeneca's self-inflicted wounds
The Oxford-AstraZeneca is hailed as a cheap and easy jab to fight COVID-19. But a series of corporate stumbles have clouded it's promise, and science backed results.
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Mar 24, 2021
‘They had the nerve to smell her breath’
Today we examine a scathing watchdog report — which condemned the RCMP for racially discriminating against Colten Boushie’s mother — and the narratives that shaped the case.
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Mar 23, 2021
The secretive trials of ‘the two Michaels’
In China, the trials for Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have started and ended in the span of a few days, completely in secret. Globe and Mail reporter Nathan VanderKlippe tells us what he saw outside those courthouses, and where things go from here.
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Mar 22, 2021
Climate change divides Conservatives as election looms
Erin O’Toole said he wants the Conservative Party to change at his first policy convention as leader, but is everyone on board? Senior Parliament Hill reporter Hannah Thibedeau explains.
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Mar 19, 2021
The Atlanta killings and anti-Asian hate
After a gunman in Atlanta shot eight people dead, including six Asian women, we cover the growing sense of grief and dread about the sharp rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. PBS correspondent and anchor, Stephanie Sy reports.
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Mar 18, 2021
Sarah Everard and a reckoning about violence against women
Sarah Everard’s killing in South London earlier this month has sparked protests and a renewed conversation about violence against women in the U.K. and beyond. Today, Guardian reporter Alexandra Topping on why her story is resonating.
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Mar 17, 2021
WE charity founders grilled, again
WE Charity co-founders Marc and Craig Kielburger faced another grilling by politicians this week, this time by the ethics committee. Today on Front Burner, CBC senior parliamentary reporter Catherine Cullen on new calls for an RCMP investigation.
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Mar 16, 2021
'I couldn't just stay silent': Sexual misconduct in the military
A former member of the Canadian Armed Forces who experienced a culture of sexual misconduct first-hand reflects on the latest onslaught of allegations that go straight to the top.
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Mar 15, 2021
Is Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan a one shot deal?
What can nearly two trillion dollars in a COVID stimulus package do for Americans who have been crushed by COVID-19? And could those supports morph into more permanent change? Today, CBC's senior news correspondent Paul Hunter explains.
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Mar 12, 2021
Election speculation grips Ottawa
Speculation in Ottawa that the Liberals are plotting the next federal election has us asking what the major parties stand to gain, and lose, from a spring or fall vote. CBC’s Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos reports.
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Mar 11, 2021
The trial for George Floyd's killing begins
This week, jury selection is underway for one of the most scrutinized court cases in recent history: the second-degree murder and manslaughter trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.
Floyd's killing sparked an enormous, international protest movement for racial justice.
Today, CBC senior correspondent Susan Ormiston takes us to Minneapolis to hear from the people there as they brace for this trial.
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Mar 10, 2021
The multimillion dollar NFT crypto market explained
Between Grimes, Kings of Leon and even NBA Top Shot, all of a sudden it seems like NFTs are everywhere. But what are non-fungible tokens, really? And why are they blowing up right now? CBC Business reporter Pete Evans explains. Find the links we talk about in this episode here: cbc.ca/1.5943429
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Mar 9, 2021
Meghan Markle, the monarchy, and racism
After a bombshell interview between Oprah and Meghan Markle watched by millions around the world, culture writer Kovie Biakolo discusses the revelations in the interview, and the issue of racism in the royal family.
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Mar 8, 2021
Are all COVID-19 vaccines created equal?
How solid is the science behind delaying second COVID-19 vaccine doses? Are the shots from AstraZeneca-Oxford and Johnson & Johnson effective enough? Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch answers our most pressing questions about the latest vaccine news.
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Mar 5, 2021
'The Mauritanian,' Canada, and torture at Gitmo
Mohamedou Salahi was detained in Guantanamo Bay for 14 years without charge. He was considered one of its most tortured prisoners. The new Hollywood film “The Mauritanian” portrays his detention and his fight for freedom, but does not touch on Canada’s connection to what happened. CBC senior correspondent Adrienne Arsenault spoke to Mohamedou Salahi about that connection, and today, describes what she learned.
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Mar 4, 2021
Dr. Seuss, and how to deal with racism in children’s classics
Dr. Seuss Enterprises will no longer publish six of the beloved author’s books because of their racist content and imagery. Philip Nel and Michelle H. Martin, two experts on children’s lit, discuss Dr. Seuss’s legacy, and how to engage with problematic children’s classics.
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Mar 3, 2021
Inside the bloody fight for Myanmar’s democracy
“Now we have no choice. We have to fight back.” Today we hear from a young pro-democracy activist in Myanmar who is risking her life on the streets of Yangon to fight back against the military coup.
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Mar 2, 2021
'Tiger Squad' and Saudi Arabia's brutal campaign to crush dissent
According to a newly declassified U.S report, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince approved the operation that led to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Today on Front Burner, how the Saudi regime’s campaign to crush dissent extends far beyond that murder.
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Mar 1, 2021
Sexual misconduct plagues military amid Vance, McDonald investigations
Today, CBC’s Murray Brewster examines the sexual misconduct allegation that led Admiral Art McDonald, Canada’s top military commander, to step aside, as well as the ongoing investigation into his predecessor, Gen. Jonathan Vance.
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Feb 26, 2021
Why the Golden Globes' shady reputation persists
On Sunday, Hollywood will celebrate the 78th annual Golden Globe Awards. The event is considered influential, even as it is dogged by persistent jokes that it's out of touch, and even corrupt. When this year's nominations were announced, many were puzzled that the fluffy Netflix series Emily in Paris received two nods, while the critically acclaimed I May Destroy You was shut out.
This week, a sprawling Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that some 30 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the awards, were set up in a luxury hotel and treated like "kings and queens" during a visit to the Emily in Paris set.
Today, the two journalists behind that investigation, Josh Rottenberg and Stacy Perman, explain Golden Globes, the small, secretive body behind them, and why the event's shady reputation persists.
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Feb 25, 2021
Cindy Gladue and the painful cost of justice
The death of Cindy Gladue became a flashpoint for the anger surrounding missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. Now, a manslaughter conviction for Bradley Barton closes the long legal saga — but as CBC reporter Jorge Barrera tells us, for Gladue's family, healing has just begun.
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Feb 24, 2021
Church as a COVID-19 battleground
As three B.C. churches get ready to head to court to fight the province's COVID-19 rules, CBC Vancouver reporter Jason Proctor explains how the pandemic is testing the limits of religious freedom.
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Feb 23, 2021
Why Facebook banned news on its platform in Australia
As Canada considers ways to make big tech pay for news, Wired digital editor James Temperton outlines some lessons it could take from Australia's fight with Facebook.
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Feb 22, 2021
How Bellingcat cracks some of the world’s biggest stories
Eliot Higgins, founder of the investigative collective Bellingcat, tells us how the group used online information to break some of its biggest stories — from the poisoning of Alexei Navalny to the downing of Flight MH17 in Ukraine — and why he wants others to follow in Bellingcat's footsteps.
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Feb 19, 2021
Should Canada boycott the 2022 Olympics in Beijing?
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are just a year away, and pressure is building for Canada to take a stand by boycotting them in response to China’s imprisonment of the “Two Michaels” and the ongoing human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority.
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Feb 18, 2021
A Montreal police officer was attacked, but the wrong man was arrested
Mamadi III Fara Camara’s lawyer says he called police to help an officer who had been attacked, and after trying to help, he was charged with attempted murder. Today, how this case of wrongful arrest fits into a wider debate about policing in Montreal.
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Feb 17, 2021
The joke that made it to the Supreme Court of Canada
More than a decade ago Canadian comedian Mike Ward told a joke about a disabled young singer named Jérémy Gabriel. Marie-Danielle Smith on the questions it raises about freedom of speech versus discrimination.
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Feb 16, 2021
The growing threat of variants in Canada
An unprecedented outbreak in Newfoundland of the coronavirus variant originally found in the UK holds lessons for the rest of Canada. CBC St-John’s reporter Peter Cowan on what those lessons are.
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Feb 15, 2021
What’s the point of impeachment?
Former president Donald Trump's second impeachment trial ended with another acquittal on Saturday. We ask CBC News senior correspondent Susan Ormiston why anger over the insurrection didn't lead to a conviction in the U.S. Senate and whether the impeachment process can produce accountability in the country.
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Feb 12, 2021
Why one MP wants companies like Bell to pay public money back
Profitable companies have accessed the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy while increasing dividend payouts to shareholders. And now both the companies and the program are under fire. Today, CBC’s Jonathan Monpetit explains how CEWS works, and Liberal MP Nathan Erskine-Smith who wants to see some companies pay part of that money back.
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Feb 11, 2021
With schools reopening, how do you keep kids safe?
As COVID-19 cases go down, pandemic restrictions are loosening across the country, including in Ontario, but concerns about variants remain. Today on Front Burner, what that means for the safety of kids at school.
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Feb 10, 2021
At one Amazon warehouse, a historic push to unionize
Jeff Bezos made Amazon into one of the world’s biggest retailers, but critics argue he did it at the expense of his workers. Now, one Alabama warehouse is voting on whether to unionize, a move that could spark major change, even here in Canada. Recode’s Jason Del Rey on how Amazon got here.
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Feb 9, 2021
Trump’s impeachment: Will history repeat itself?
Donald Trump is facing an historic second Senate impeachment trial. Will the former U.S. president avoid conviction once again? Politico reporter Andrew Desiderio explains why all signs point to an acquittal.
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Feb 8, 2021
‘Don’t say oil on stage’: A WE Charity investigation
Strong corporate ties. A lot of attention paid to make sure donors were happy. Those were just some of the concerns that former employees had about WE Charity, as told to the CBC’s The Fifth Estate. Today, more on that investigation.
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Feb 5, 2021
Proud Boys and the thorny definition of terrorism
The Canadian government recently listed the Proud Boys and three other far-right organizations as terrorist entities. They also moved to list nine other militant Islamist groups.
For some people, this is a huge win. But others worry it's a sign that the war on terror is continuing to expand, and they're concerned about who might get caught up in its dragnet.
Today, Ben Makuch a national security reporter for Vice, and Michelle Shephard, author of Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone, wade through the complex ramifications.
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Feb 4, 2021
A mutating virus and the need for global herd immunity
The Brazilian city of Manaus has been dealing with a raging outbreak of COVID-19, one that has left hospitals overrun and oxygen supplies dwindling; and not for the first time.
The city was hit so hard by the coronavirus in the spring, that researchers estimated that 75 per cent of the population had been infected, which makes the severity of this recent outbreak unexpected and concerning.
Today, Atlantic writer and Yale University public health policy lecturer Dr. James Hamblin explains the potential threat posed by new variants of the coronavirus popping up around the world, how they could upend expectations about herd immunity, and the need for a truly global vaccination response.
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Feb 3, 2021
'Anti-Alberta' investigation mired in controversy
In the summer of 2019, newly elected Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he was determined to blow the lid off of what he called a "shadowy," foreign-funded campaign to crush Alberta's oil and gas industry. He mentioned Russia, OPEC and the Rockefeller Foundation as possibly playing a role. And he announced an inquiry to get to the bottom of it.
But three delays and $3.5 million later, evidence of a shady international campaign has yet to materialize. And the still-ongoing inquiry has been mired in allegations of cronyism, climate denialism and conspiracy theories.
Jennie Russell and Charles Rusnell — investigative reporters with CBC Edmonton — join us to explain how the inquiry into "anti-Alberta energy campaigns" started and how it's going.
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Feb 2, 2021
Trickster cancelled after Michelle Latimer controversy
On Friday CBC announced it was ending Trickster, a well-received television show that aired both here and in the U.S. There will be no second season as previously planned. The cancellation follows scrutiny over showrunner Michelle Latimer and questions about her Indigenous identity.
Today, Anishnawbe playwright and humorist Drew Hayden Taylor joins us to share his thoughts on the cancellation and what it means to be Indigenous.
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Feb 1, 2021
Why has Canada's COVID-19 vaccine rate slipped globally?
As of Sunday, Canada had fallen to 27th in the world in vaccines administered, behind the U.S., the U.K. and smaller countries like Poland and Serbia, according to data aggregated by the University of Oxford.
Canada was one of the first countries in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for use and have reserved record doses per person — but the country is facing significant shipment delays. There are also growing questions about whether the vaccine contracts signed by the federal government are in the country's best interest, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assures the public that Canada is on track to meet its vaccination goals.
Today on Front Burner, CBC News senior writer J.P. Tasker discusses why Canada is falling behind and what might be done about it.
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Jan 30, 2021
Introducing: Evil by Design
More than 80 women from around the world have accused the fast-fashion mogul Peter Nygard of rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking in incidents across four decades and at least four countries. He denies it all, and claims his accusers are lying as part of a vast conspiracy. Nygard had built a sprawling international retail empire over the past 50 years — but now, his professional achievements are being overshadowed by a sinister personal life, earning him the moniker, ‘Canada’s Jeffrey Epstein’. Evil by Design is a new podcast that asks the key questions: Who are the women and men who have stepped forward? Which systems failed them? And how did Nygard get away with it for so long? More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/evilbydesign
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Jan 29, 2021
The GameStop stock saga, explained
Shares of the video game retailer GameStop soared by 1,000 per cent in less than two weeks, thanks in part to a popular subreddit called r/WallStreetBets. This, at the expense of several Wall Street investment funds that bet against GameStop and lost billions of dollars.
Today on Front Burner, business reporter Pete Evans is here to explain the GameStop saga, and what it reveals about the stock market writ large.
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Jan 28, 2021
The alleged Canadian drug lord who upended the meth trade
Following a massive international investigation led by Australia, an alleged meth kingpin was arrested by Dutch authorities at an Amsterdam airport.
Chinese-Canadian Tse Chi Lop is accused of running a syndicate that commands the $70 billion-a-year Asia-Pacific drug trade. He's been compared to Pablo Escobar and called Asia's El Chapo.
Today, we hear from Reuters chief correspondent in Southeast Asia, Tom Allard. He's been a leading reporter on the story and he's here to explain how Tse has allegedly revolutionized and dominated the underground industry.
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Jan 27, 2021
'Suddenly, this is all he'd want to talk about'
One woman’s story of how two of her loved ones got sucked into conspiracy theories — and how she fought to bring them back from the brink.
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Jan 26, 2021
Alexei Navalny, the 'anti-Putin'
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Moscow, St. Petersburg and across Russia to demand the release of prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny this past weekend. Police used force to break up the protests and detained more than 2,500 people.
Navalny is best known for his anti-corruption investigations and was recently the subject of an assassination attempt. After recovering from his poisoning in Germany, Navalny returned to Russia only to be arrested and imprisoned in Moscow.
CBC Russia correspondent Chris Brown talks to host Jayme Poisson about the growing movement in support of Navalny, and whether it might actually challenge President Vladimir Putin’s hold on power in Russia.
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Jan 25, 2021
‘The Storm’ never came, and QAnon believers are shook
QAnon believers are in turmoil. For years the baseless, wide-ranging conspiracy theory has gained steam, making serious inroads in Canada after exploding in the United States.
QAnon believers think a blood-thirsty, child-trafficking cabal is running the world and that Donald Trump will bring justice through a day of reckoning known as “The Storm”. But now, following Joe Biden’s inauguration, many QAnon followers are devastated and disillusioned — while others are doubling-down.
Today on Front Burner, Daily Beast politics reporter Will Sommer joins us to discuss what might happen to QAnon and its followers next.
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Jan 23, 2021
BONUS: Daniel Dale’s epic 4-year Trump fact check
For four years, Daniel Dale, a CNN reporter and former Washington bureau chief for the Toronto Star, fact checked every single word that Donald Trump said publicly. Now, he looks back on some of the strangest and most significant lies of Trump’s presidency, and the lasting impact they had on both American politics and our shared sense of reality.
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Jan 22, 2021
Governor General out amid claims of harassment, verbal abuse
Gov. Gen. Julie Payette has been accused of bullying, berating, and publicly humiliating staff at Rideau Hall. The allegations were substantial enough that an independent workplace review was ordered last year. On Thursday, it was revealed that that review had been completed, and that its findings were scathing. Late in the afternoon, Payette resigned from her position as the Queen’s representative.
Today, Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos explains Payette’s resignation.
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Jan 21, 2021
Biden’s unity message soon put to the test
Besides the police presence, the inauguration of Joe Biden on Wednesday as 46th president of the United States was a paired-down affair, thanks to the pandemic and the recent violence at the Capitol. CBC Washington correspondent Paul Hunter covered the inauguration from the roof of the Canadian Embassy. Today he joins Front Burner to report on the meaning behind the day’s pageantry, Donald Trump’s last day in power, and the most pressing problems facing this new administration.
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Jan 20, 2021
Italy’s secretive ‘Ndrangheta Mafia on trial
More than 350 people currently face trial for their alleged connections with one of Italy’s most powerful Mafia syndicates, the ‘Ndrangheta. The crime group is known for its secrecy. Bosses, accused of murder, money laundering, and drug trafficking, often hide in bunkers in Calabria, even though their business extends around the world. Italy has not held a Mafia trial of this scale since the late 1980s — when the Cosa Nostra was under fire for their operations in Sicily and abroad. Today on Front Burner, CBC Rome correspondent Megan Williams on the ‘Ndrangheta mafia, its evolution, and what this trial could mean for their future.
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Jan 19, 2021
Erin O'Toole's far-right line in the sand
"There is no place for the far right in our party." That's a quote from a statement released on Sunday by Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole, where he condemns the riot in the U.S. Capitol and paints a moderate picture of the Conservative Party under his leadership.
On the heels of the statement, PressProgress revealed that MP Derek Sloan accepted a donation from a notorious white supremacist, leading O'Toole to move to oust Sloan from the Conservative party.
Today, CBC parliamentary hill journalist Aaron Wherry on why O'Toole felt he had to declare the Conservatives to be "sitting squarely in the centre of Canadian politics" and what it says about him and the party he leads.
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Jan 18, 2021
The dark side of PPE: Allegations of exploitation, debt bondage
For sometimes as little as two dollars an hour, some migrant workers in Malaysia say they spend their days producing disposable gloves in sweatshop-like conditions in a factory — and spend their nights in dirty, overcrowded shared quarters.
As global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) surges, it would appear that so has the human cost for those making it overseas, an investigation by CBC's Marketplace has found. The investigation revealed allegations of exploitation, debt bondage and passport retention from across the disposable glove industry in Malaysia.
Marketplace host Asha Tomlinson and producer Eric Szeto join Front Burner to explain why we should be asking where Canada’s PPE comes from.
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Jan 15, 2021
The Proud Boys: A brief history
In the wake of last week's attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Proud Boys — a group founded by Canadian Gavin McInnes — has been under intense pressure. The FBI is arresting some of its members. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has called for the them to be designated a terrorist group, and the federal government is considering it. Today, how the Proud Boys started, and where they ended up, with Jared Holt — a visiting researcher at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab who studies domestic extremism
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Jan 14, 2021
Timothy Snyder on the present and future of Trump's 'big lie'
"Post-truth is pre-fascism." So wrote historian Timothy Snyder in his 2017 book, On Tyranny. He penned it in the lead-up to Donald Trump's inauguration, and he's been warning ever since: The United States is not exceptional, a coup could be attempted there, too.
Now, Trump's presidency is in its dying days. He has been impeached by the House again, this time for "incitement of insurrection." But the big lie, as Snyder calls it, that Trump seeded — that the 2020 election was stolen from him — what becomes of that lie now?
Today on Front Burner, Snyder explores that question.
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Jan 13, 2021
Her father died from COVID-19, and now the RCMP are investigating
Last Friday, 16-year-old Ariana Quesada walked into an RCMP station in High River, Alta., to file a formal complaint about the death of her father, Benito, who died eight months ago of COVID-19. He worked at the Cargill meat-packing plant, home to the largest coronavirus outbreak in the country, with at least 950 staff members contracting it last spring.
The RCMP have now opened an investigation into Benito Quesada's death.
Today, CBC investigative reporter Dave Seglins on Benito's story and larger questions about corporate responsibility in a global pandemic.
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Jan 12, 2021
Democrats scramble to remove Trump from power
On Monday, for the second time in his one-term presidency, Democrats introduced an article to impeach Donald Trump. Previously, Trump was impeached but not convicted by the Senate. But following last week's deadly riot at the Capitol building, Democrats are trying to hold Trump accountable.
Their tactics also include a resolution urging Vice-President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from power. Today on Front Burner, CBC Washington correspondents Lyndsay Duncombe and Alex Panetta explain what might happen next.
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Jan 11, 2021
Trump gets deplatformed
U.S. President Donald Trump was permanently banned from Twitter after the platform cited “the risk of further incitement of violence” following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week. Facebook previously banned him for the remainder of his time in office, and many other tech companies have followed suit.
Today on Front Burner, Julia Angwin joins host Jayme Poisson for a conversation about Trump’s ban from multiple social media platforms and what consequences that might have.
Angwin is editor-in-chief of The Markup, an American non-profit that takes on data-driven investigations about the ethics and impact of technology.
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Jan 8, 2021
Canada’s slow drip vaccine rollout
Canada has received more than 430,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. But as of Thursday, only about 45 per cent of those doses have gone into arms. Those numbers are sourced from the COVID-19 Canada Open Data Working Group, made up of public health experts and data scientists from the University of Toronto and the University of Guelph.
Provincial governments across the country have been roundly criticized for not administering the vaccines they got in mid December quickly enough. Today on Front Burner, Globe and Mail health columnist André Picard and scientist Krishana Sankar, on why the rollout has been so challenging and what can be done about it.
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Jan 7, 2021
Pro-Trump extremists storm Capitol Hill
Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump sowed chaos in and around the U.S. Capitol, forcing lawmakers to flee as they’d gathered to certify president-elect Joe Biden’s victory, after Trump himself encouraged them. CBC Washington correspondents Katie Simpson and Paul Hunter explain how pro-Trump extremists managed to breach Capitol security and storm the complex.
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Jan 6, 2021
How Ontario could have avoided the long-term care crisis
Last spring, Ontario Premier Doug Ford promised to move "heaven and earth" to prevent more long-term care residents from dying of COVID-19. But today, more than one-third of the province's long-term care homes are in an outbreak. More than 960 residents have died since the start of October.
And experts say it didn't have to be this way.
Today, we're speaking to Dr. Samir Sinha — the director of geriatrics at the Sinai Health System and the University Health Network, and the director of health policy research at the National Institute on Ageing — about what Ontario could have done, but didn't.
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Jan 5, 2021
Georgia's make-or-break election
On Tuesday, voters in Georgia go to the polls for a pair of pivotal run-off elections that will determine which party has control of the United States senate.
Meanwhile, outgoing President Donald Trump pressured and pleaded with the state's election chief to overturn Joe Biden's win in the state, according to a recorded phone call obtained by the Washington Post this weekend.
Today on Front Burner, CBC Washington correspondent Katie Simpson walks us through the high-stakes races in Georgia, and how Trump's baseless claims of election fraud loom over them.
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Jan 4, 2021
Anger grows over politicians’ pandemic travelling
You’ve probably heard the words “avoid non-essential travel” frequently since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in Canada.
But a growing number of provincial and federal politicians haven’t heeded that message. And as more stories emerge about vacations or travelling to see sick family members, many Canadians are furious.
Today, Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos discusses what we know so far and what the public health impacts of these revelations might be.
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Dec 31, 2020
The year the pandemic changed the world
It’s been one year since Chinese officials in Wuhan confirmed they were treating dozens of cases of a mysterious pneumonia. Since then, we’ve watched the world transform as this new novel coronavirus accelerated into the COVID-19 pandemic, killing more than 1.6 million people and infecting more than 75 million.
Today, CBC senior health writer Adam Miller and host Jayme Poisson look back on the long year of COVID-19.
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Dec 30, 2020
Encore: The downfall of NXIVM’s Keith Raniere
Three years ago, if you were one of the women who had been victimized by Keith Raniere, the man seemed untouchable. Raniere was the leader of the cult-like self help group NXIVM.
On October 27th, that all changed.
In a U.S. federal courtroom, Keith Raniere was sentenced to 120 years—having been convicted of a slew of crimes. During the trial and sentencing, victims came forward about how the self-professed empowerment “vanguard” had turned some of his followers into sex slaves and branded them with his initials.
Josh Bloch investigated Raniere in his podcast UNCOVER: Escaping NXIVM. He joined Jayme to break down the case. This is an encore of their October conversation.
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Dec 29, 2020
Encore: Never mind the deficit?
This holiday season, economists are watching how Canadians spend to see how deeply the pandemic has changed the way we shop, save and even give to charity. But differences in consumer spending have nothing on the tremendous amount of money the federal government continues to spend to get the country through the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the protests of deficit hawks, a growing movement says we can shed our old worries about the federal debt. In fact, modern monetary theory argues that since we control our own currency, the government can create more money and never go broke. Today, an encore of our examination into this controversial idea and how it relates to Canada.
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Dec 24, 2020
Encore: A son's extraordinary mission to care for his mother
Concerns about deadly outbreaks at long-term care homes continue to be top of mind for many Canadians during this second wave of COVID-19. Today, an encore of a conversation we had with a man who went to incredible and potentially life-threatening lengths to visit his mother at her nursing home in Toronto. Back in April, with the facility on lockdown and a resident with COVID-19, there was only one way Brian Corcoran could visit and check-up on his mom, Margaret — get a part-time job on staff.
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Dec 23, 2020
Pop culture and the pandemic
As 2020 comes to a close, we take a look back at the year in pop culture. From TV shows adjusting to the pandemic to the NBA bubble, Elamin Abdelmahmoud and Amil Niazi from the CBC podcast Pop Chat drop by to talk about what movies, TV shows, and music helped us make sense of this unprecedented year.
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Dec 22, 2020
Mutated COVID-19 sparks closures, questions
A new strain of coronavirus in the United Kingdom has triggered border restrictions internationally and in Canada. It’s also sparked many questions. Dr. Isaac Bogoch is an infectious diseases physician and a member of the Ontario government’s vaccine task force. Today, he shares his thoughts on the mutation and explains its potential impact on treatment and transmission of the virus — and even vaccine efficacy.
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Dec 21, 2020
Night shift at the crisis line
Suicide prevention lines are dealing with an enormous surge in calls, and crisis centres say COVID-19 is to blame. Crisis Services Canada says that calls between August and October increased 159 per cent compared to last year. That surge is being felt at distress centres across the country, including at the Crisis Centre of BC.
Front Burner producer Elaine Chau takes us there and talks to two people who are working directly with people in crisis.
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Where to get help:
Canada Suicide Prevention Service: 1-833-456-4566 (Phone) | 45645 (Text, 4 p.m. to midnight ET only) | crisisservicescanada.ca
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Dec 18, 2020
Vaccine hesitancy, the next pandemic hurdle
As the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine rolls out across the country, and other vaccines await imminent regulatory approval, many public health experts are focusing on the issue of vaccine hesitancy.
Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam has spoken out about the "moveable middle" and says it is critical that as many people get vaccinated as possible to protect themselves and others from risk.
But, since conversations about vaccines can be hard, today we're bringing in an expert to explain how to have more meaningful and productive discussions with people who have questions or fears. Maria Sundaram is an infectious disease epidemiologist who studies vaccines.
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Dec 17, 2020
A conversation with Canada’s environment minister
The Liberals released a new, long-awaited climate change plan last week that they say will meet Canada's commitments under the Paris Agreement and cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030. The plan includes $15 billion in federal investment and a gradual tripling of the carbon tax.
Today on Front Burner, host Jayme Poisson asks Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson about the plan, whether it goes far enough, and who it risks leaving behind.
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Dec 16, 2020
The arrest of Peter Nygard, disgraced fashion mogul
Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard was arrested Monday night in Winnipeg under the Extradition Act. He faces nine charges related to sex trafficking and racketeering in a New York court.
You may remember that Nygard has already been accused by dozens of women across the globe of sexual assault, rape and human trafficking. While he has denied all allegations, these charges out of New York are the first criminal charges he will contend with.
Today we are joined by Timothy Sawa. He's a CBC investigative reporter who has been covering this story for more than a decade and has a new CBC podcast about Nygard, Evil by Design, out this February.
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Dec 15, 2020
The problems with Pornhub
Pornhub, the Montreal-based streaming giant, is in trouble. They’ve dumped millions of videos from their platform, Visa and Mastercard have cut ties with the company, and they’re facing questions from Canadian MPs. This all happened after a recent New York Times article which exposed the platform’s insidious problem of hosting videos of rape, child abuse and sex trafficking — sometimes even after victims asked for the videos to be taken down.
But porn performers say that while they also want to fight abuse and non-consensual content on the platform, they’re now becoming collateral damage in the rush to tackle this serious issue — and that could affect their livelihoods and their safety.
Today, we’re speaking to Melissa Gira Grant, a staff writer at The New Republic and the author of Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex Work, about the changes shaking one of the world’s biggest porn sites, and why sex workers say they need to be included in the conversation.
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Dec 14, 2020
Inside China’s secretive Lop County Hair Product Industrial Park
The Chinese government says the Lop County Hair Product Industrial Park in the country's northwest is a place where people make wigs and other hair products that get shipped across the globe.
Others say what’s happening at the park is forced labour, and that it’s just the latest in a pattern of grave human rights abuses committed in recent years against the country’s Uighur Muslim population — including the use of detention camps, mass surveillance and even forced sterilization.
The Lop County Hair Product Industrial Park in Xinjiang province is an incredibly secretive, highly guarded place, yet Globe and Mail journalist Nathan VanderKlippe managed to travel there. Today on Front Burner, VanderKlippe discusses what he saw.
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Dec 11, 2020
From Fox to the fringes, a rift in Conservative media
On Monday evening, Newsmax TV beat Fox News Channel in ratings for the very first time.
Since Fox News accurately called the U.S. election for Joe Biden, Donald Trump has soured on the network in favour of smaller, more controversial outlets. And the outgoing president is urging his political base to join him.
Today, CBC senior Washington correspondent Susan Ormiston reports how this fissure is shaking the bedrock of American conservative media, and elevates networks that further promote opinion and conspiracy over real news.
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Dec 10, 2020
A vaccine's approved. What's in the shot?
Health Canada has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech after scientists wrapped up a two-month review of the company's clinical trial data. The approval is a crucial step in what will be the largest vaccination campaign in Canadian history. Today, host Jayme Poisson goes through what we know about the vaccine with Dr. Maria Sundaram, an infectious disease epidemiologist based in Toronto.
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Dec 9, 2020
The 'agonizing' front lines of Edmonton's 2nd wave
New restrictions have been announced in Alberta as the province struggles with the highest rate of new coronavirus infections in the country. As hospitalizations rise, we check in with two Edmonton doctors on the front lines of the pandemic, to hear about the impact they're seeing the virus have up close: Dr. Darren Markand is an intensive care unit physician, and Dr. Shazma Mithani is an emergency room physician and the spokesperson for the section of emergency medicine within the Alberta Medical Association.
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Dec 8, 2020
COVID-19 puts Big Tech under the microscope, again
The wildfire spread of misinformation about COVID-19 on social media is giving critics of Big Tech ammunition in their fight. It comes at a time when Facebook and Google face major antitrust lawsuits in the U.S., and some are calling on Canada to do more to regulate tech giants.
Our guest is Taylor Owen, director of the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University, and host of the Big Tech podcast.
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Dec 7, 2020
A gambler, cartels and a high-profile arrest inside the RCMP
It’s been more than a year since Cameron Ortis, the former director-general of the RCMP’s National Intelligence Coordination Centre, was arrested and charged under Canada’s Security of Information Act. The Fifth Estate’s Bob McKeown discusses the bizarre chain of events that led to Ortis’s arrest, including the vandalism of the graves of a high-stakes gambler’s parents.
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Dec 4, 2020
The dying days of Trump’s presidency
It's been a month since Joe Biden was voted in as the next president of the United States. But a lot has happened since then. There are the final weeks of Donald Trump's chaotic tenure, the importance of Georgia's runoff Senate race and the tensions that are dividing the Democrats even as they prepare to take power.
Today, former CBC Washington correspondent Keith Boag joins us to get us up to speed.
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Dec 3, 2020
The Bolshoi dances on amid record COVID-19 cases
Many world-renowned ballet productions, from Swan Lake to Romeo and Juliet, have graced the stage of the legendary Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow since the 1800s. No matter what wars and revolutions the Russians confronted, the Bolshoi would find a way to stay open.
That is, until COVID-19.
The theatre closed down for six months this year because of the pandemic. It relaunched in the fall, and it's getting ready for a busy Christmas season. Today on Front Burner, CBC Russia correspondent Chris Brown on how the Bolshoi is handling the threat of COVID-19, as Russia deals with one of the highest coronavirus case totals in the world.
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Dec 2, 2020
Politicians are Among Us
Last weekend NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and U.S. congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised over $200,000 US for charity by livestreaming a game called Among Us on the streaming platform Twitch for nearly six hours. Among Us is a popular space-murder-mystery multiplayer online game. About 100,000 people watched the livestream. Today, CBC senior writer and gaming columnist Jonathan Ore is here to fill us in on Among Us and Twitch and to explain how left-wing politicians are taking full advantage of these digital spaces. But can this tactic work for others?
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Dec 1, 2020
Liberals pledge $100B to heal the pandemic economy
On Monday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the Liberal government will spend up to $100 billion to support the post-pandemic economy. The priority is, as Freeland says, to do “whatever it takes” to help Canadians, despite the record-high $381 billion deficit.
CBC senior parliamentary reporter David Cochrane breaks down the details of the economic update, and tells us what critics had to say about it.
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Nov 30, 2020
A vaccine is coming to Canada, but when?
As Pfizer and Moderna's vaccine candidates get closer to being approved in countries around the world, many Canadians are wondering when they might be able to get a shot here. Prime Minister Trudeau has said most Canadians could be vaccinated by next September, but the details on when those vaccines may arrive in the country — and how they'll be distributed — remain hazy. The government is also facing questions about whether other countries could be way ahead of Canada.
Two parliamentary reporters — CBC's J.P. Tasker and the Globe and Mail's Marieke Walsh — break down everything we know, and don't know, about Canada's vaccine rollout plan.
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Nov 27, 2020
‘The Great Reset’, politics and conspiracy
Last week, after a video of one of his speeches went viral, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had to address a growing controversy over “The Great Reset”.
The term means different things to different people. To the World Economic Forum it’s a vague goal to make the world more equal and address climate change in the wake of the pandemic. To Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre it’s evidence of a “power grab” by “global financial elites”.
And to others, it’s part of a baseless and wide-ranging conspiracy theory. CBC senior writer Aaron Wherry has been covering this story in Ottawa. Today he helps us sort the real economics and politics at play… from the conspiracy gaining traction.
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Nov 26, 2020
A return to Wuhan
Last January, Wuhan became the epicentre of the coronavirus. The Chinese city went under a strict lockdown for almost two months. The conditions were so severe that buildings were sealed off, and barricades erected.
Today, the economy is booming again, but many people are still reeling from the trauma brought by the virus and the way it was managed. CBC Asia correspondent Saša Petricic travelled to Wuhan to better understand what life is like there now. He tells host Jayme Poisson about what he heard.
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Nov 25, 2020
13 deadly hours
New details revealed by The Fifth Estate question the RCMP's timeline about the worst mass shooting in modern Canadian history. It's been seven months since a gunman disguised as a Mountie went on a rampage, killing 22 people over 13 hours in Nova Scotia, travelling a distance of nearly 200 kilometres.
Gillian Findlay joins Jayme to describe the fuller picture of what happened in that time, how the RCMP was one step behind the killer, and how the public was left in the dark.
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Nov 24, 2020
Virus rages in 'precarious' Alberta
In the first wave of the pandemic, Alberta was one of the provinces that seemed to have things relatively under control. Now, the province has daily case rates three times as high as Quebec or Ontario, and ICUs in Calgary and Edmonton have been hitting 90 per cent capacity.
But Premier Jason Kenney hasn't addressed the province at a COVID-19 briefing for almost two weeks, and has resisted repeated calls for lockdowns from doctors and other experts. It's leading some Albertans to tweet the hashtag #WhereIsKenney. Today, Jason Markusoff of Maclean's Magazine joins us to talk about how Alberta got here, and what happens now.
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Nov 23, 2020
Never mind the deficit?
Canada is spending a tremendous amount of money to get the country through the COVID-19 pandemic, but a growing movement says we can shed our old worries about the federal deficit. Modern monetary theory argues that since we control our own currency, the country can create more money and never go broke. Today, Front Burner examines this controversial idea and how it relates to Canada.
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Nov 20, 2020
A bid to upend drug laws in Vancouver
Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart wants to decriminalize small amounts of illegal drugs. If he gets his way, Vancouver will be the first Canadian city to do so. The move comes as overdose deaths continue to surge in Vancouver and across the country. CBC Vancouver producer Jodie Martinson has been speaking to drug users in the city. She’ll explain the significance and limitations of the possible change.
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Nov 19, 2020
Pro-labour, pro-union Conservatives?
In recent public and media appearances, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole has talked up the need to fight inequality through labour rights, and lamented the decline of unionization in the private sector. He's also blamed the Liberals for favouring elites over workers, and trade deals over jobs in Canada.
These issues have become recurring themes as he introduces himself to Canadians after being elected leader of the Conservatives back in August.
Today on Front Burner, CBC senior parliamentary reporter Catherine Cullen on the reaction to this political shift, and what might be behind it.
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Nov 18, 2020
Update show: New vaccine, election conspiracy, fisheries fight
Today on Front Burner, we’re bringing you updates on three stories we’ve been following: the latest vaccine news, a new twist in the Mi’kmaq lobster dispute, and a Canadian company embroiled in a major U.S. voter fraud conspiracy.
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Nov 17, 2020
Lessons learned, forgotten from the 1st wave
The second wave of the coronavirus is battering much of the country right now. Over the weekend, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec all had record-breaking new case numbers. As some familiar issues re-emerge, like deadly outbreaks at long-term care homes, we're talking to Globe and Mail health columnist Andre Picard about what Canadians learned from the first wave, and what lessons we've missed.
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Nov 16, 2020
The trial of Alek Minassian
It was one of the most harrowing attacks in recent Canadian history. Alek Minassian plowed into pedestrians on a busy section of Yonge Street in Toronto with a rented van, killing 10 and wounding 16. Just before his attack on Facebook, he wrote of an 'incel rebellion,' aligning himself with the ideology of involuntarily celibate men who blame women for the fact they are alone.
Minassian has admitted he carried out the attack. But this week, as he faces trial for murder and attempted murder, his lawyers are expected to argue that their client was not criminally responsible for his actions. CBC's Ioanna Roumeliotis tells us how it could unfold.
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Nov 13, 2020
Free Britney?
This week, Britney Spears lost a legal battle to remove her father as her conservator — a court-ordered agreement that has put him and a lawyer in charge of her finances and daily life since 2008. Her conservatorship has spawned #FreeBritney, a sometimes-conspiratorial movement whose adherents believe Spears is essentially a prisoner in her own life. But it has also attracted the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union, who have offered Spears legal support and consider her guardianship a disability rights issue.
Today, Constance Grady, a culture writer for Vox, joins us to talk about Spears' conservatorship, how she got here, and why some people feel that this story is about a lot more than one pop star.
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Nov 12, 2020
Fake wolves and real military propaganda in Canada
For some time now, Ottawa Citizen journalist David Pugliese has been digging into the so-called ‘weaponization’ of the Canadian military’s public affairs branch. He’s recently obtained documents suggesting that the military had wanted to set up this new organization to influence Canadians using propaganda and other techniques. According to the office of the Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, this plan will not go forward. But it’s just the latest in a story that involves everything from dossiers on journalists to a fake pack of wolves. Today, David Pugliese explains what he’s learned.
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Nov 11, 2020
Everything you need to know about Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine
This week, as COVID-19 cases continue to climb across the country, there is a glimmer of hope for returning to normal life: a vaccine.
Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech say that results from a Phase 3 study of their vaccine candidate look promising and that immunity could last a year.
Today, we hear from CBC science and technology reporter Emily Chung on what we know about the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that early results suggest is 90 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19.
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Nov 10, 2020
The long road ahead for US President-elect Joe Biden
Joe Biden is now U.S. president-elect. But Donald Trump is still in the White House. And there are no signs of a co-operative transition on the horizon.
Today, longtime CBC Washington correspondent Keith Boag returns to explain the uphill battles Biden is facing on everything from the coronavirus response to uniting a divided country.
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Nov 9, 2020
I’ll take “Icons” for 400, Alex
For 36 years, Alex Trebek hosted the trivia show ‘Jeopardy!’ with gravitas and wit. On Sunday morning, Trebek died of pancreatic cancer. He was 80 years old.
Today, we discuss Trebek’s legacy and what he meant to his fans with Andy Saunders, a ‘Jeopardy!’ superfan and the operator of TheJeopardyFan.com.
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Nov 6, 2020
Is American democracy broken?
It’s been an eventful week following the U.S presidential election, as we continue to await the final results. From Trump’s demands to stop the vote count, to the lawsuits contesting ballots in several states, one key theme that’s emerged is that America’s democratic system is being tested.
This is an issue that Lawrence Lessig has been studying for a long time. He’s the author of “America, Compromised” and “They Don't Represent Us: Reclaiming Our Democracy”, and the founder of Equal Citizens, a non-profit dedicated to democratic reform. He joined host Jayme Poisson to reflect on what the 2020 election says about the state of democracy in the U.S.
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Nov 5, 2020
Trump takes to the courts as Biden makes gains
Two days after the U.S. election, we still don’t know who the next President of the United States will be as the vote counting continues in key battleground states. Today we are joined by CBC senior Washington editor Lyndsay Duncombe to help us sort through the growing legal battles and the narrowing paths to victory for both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
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Nov 4, 2020
A presidential waiting game
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election is still yet to be determined. Vote counting in crucial battleground states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan are still not completed.
Today, CBC’s Lyndsay Duncombe and Alex Panetta on what we know after a long night, and what we are still waiting to find out.
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Nov 3, 2020
What it takes to win the White House
Election day in the United States has finally arrived. More than 90 million people have already cast their ballots in advance — a historic high that signals just how consequential many Americans believe this election will be. And while polling shows that Joe Biden has maintained his lead over Donald Trump, in the key battleground states that decide elections Biden has a much slimmer edge.
Today, CBC Washington correspondents Susan Ormiston and Paul Hunter join us for a look at the strategies that could win Trump or Biden the election and whether Biden’s lead in the polls will translate to a victory.
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Nov 2, 2020
Lessons from Bush v. Gore election debacle
By the end of election night in 2000, the new president of the United States was not clear. The crucial state of Florida was finally deemed too close to call for either George W. Bush or Al Gore. What followed was 36 days of battles in the courts over ballots, whether or not to recount them and how.
In 2020, court battles over the U.S. election have already begun. Today, Fiasco host and Slow Burn co-creator Leon Neyfakh on the 2000 U.S. election, and what we can learn from it today.
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Oct 30, 2020
10,000 COVID-19 deaths, 3 lives remembered
This week, Canada hit a grim milestone: more than 10,000 people in the country have died from COVID-19 — although experts say the true number could be higher.
Today, we hear about three of the many who have been lost: Shawn Auger, the first recorded Canadian in his 30s to die from the disease; Gurinder Anand, who made his mark on Montreal with his cooking and community spirit; and Bontu Abdulahi, a personal support worker and devoted mom.
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Oct 29, 2020
What voter suppression looks like in the U.S. election
Hours-long lines, polling place closures, and voter roll purges are just a few of the ways that this upcoming U.S election is challenging voting rights in the country.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is also an unprecedented demand for mail-in ballots, adding many logistical challenges and complications to vote counting. Many voters are also concerned about the effectiveness of the post office.
Today on Front Burner, we explain voter suppression in this U.S election with CBC Washington correspondent Alex Panetta and CBC New York correspondent Steven D’Souza, and who is disproportionately affected by it.
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Oct 28, 2020
The downfall of NXIVM’s Keith Raniere
On Tuesday, after the painful victim impact statements of 15 people, disgraced NXIVM self-help guru Keith Raniere was sentenced to what amounts to life in prison. Today, reporter Josh Bloch tells Jayme how the trial unfolded.
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Oct 27, 2020
Borat walks through the 2020 looking-glass
Sacha Baron Cohen's new satire, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, uses the same kind of pranks and antics as his first Borat film to tackle sexism, anti-Semitism, conspiracy theories and politics. But a lot has changed in the world since the original movie came out in 2006. And thanks to social media and the current U.S. political climate, the satire in this new movie hits very differently.
Alissa Wilkinson, a film critic and culture reporter for Vox, joins us to talk about the mirror the new movie holds up to U.S. society.
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Oct 26, 2020
Renters brace for winter COVID-19 evictions
Hicham Alasbachi is a Syrian refugee who lives in a one bedroom, first-floor apartment on Weston Road in North York, Ontario. He’s been there for a couple years now, but he’s not sure how much longer he’ll be able to stay. Alasbachi’s had problems paying his rent for a long time, and now, seven months into the pandemic, he’s facing the possibility of eviction. As part of Year K, our ongoing series exploring how the pandemic could make Canada a less equal place, today we’re focused on evictions and why the COVID economic downturn is hitting renters so hard.
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Oct 23, 2020
Trump versus Biden: The final debate
With election day less than two weeks away, presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden debated for the second and final time on Thursday. CBC Washington correspondent Susan Ormiston discusses what happened and what it could mean for election day.
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Oct 22, 2020
B.C.'s pandemic election
This Saturday, British Columbians head to the polls in a snap provincial election. According to NDP Leader John Horgan, the intent is to maintain political stability in the next year as the province continues to deal with the threat of COVID-19. Today on Front Burner, CBC provincial affairs reporter Tanya Fletcher, who covers the B.C. Legislature, walks us through the issues and controversies that are capturing attention during the short but eventful campaign.
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Oct 21, 2020
A showdown in Ottawa, and a snap election?
The prospect of a snap election has been looming over Ottawa, all because of a fight over the most unlikely of controversies: a new committee.
Vassy Kapelos, host of the CBC’s Power and Politics, joins us to talk about how we got here, the latest on the WE affair, and what might happen next.
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Oct 20, 2020
36 years later: The truth about who murdered Christine Jessop
After 36 years, an infamous cold case involving the rape and mutilation of a little girl has finally been solved. The horrific mystery surrounding the abduction and murder of Christine Jessop captured the attention of the nation in the '80s and led to the wrongful conviction of an innocent man. Today, former CBC investigative journalist Linden MacIntyre has come out of retirement to explain why it took nearly four decades to uncover Jessop’s killer and what haunting questions still remain.
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Oct 19, 2020
Arson, violence and a decades-old fishing feud
Opposition to the launch of a Mi’kmaw lobster fishery in Nova Scotia last month has grown increasingly violent. Over the past week, two facilities storing Mi’kmaw catches were targeted and vandalized by several hundred non-Indigenous commercial fishermen and their supporters, one facility was burned to the ground and a man has been charged with assaulting the chief of Sipekne'katik First Nation.
But this is just the latest chapter in a dispute that stretches back at least two decades. APTN reporters Angel Moore and Trina Roache discuss the latest developments and explain the complex history behind this conflict.
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Oct 16, 2020
The problems pile up for Alberta
This week, the Alberta government detailed cuts to the province’s health service, including up to 11,000 layoffs. While all of Canada’s provinces have taken an economic hit because of COVID, Alberta in particular has been clobbered. Oil and gas revenues have tanked. Liquor sales are projected to bring in more than bitumen royalties from the oil sands this fiscal year. Support for United Conservative Party Premier Jason Kenney is down, too. According to a late summer poll, he’s got the second lowest approval rating of all the premiers in the country.
Today, CBC’s Carolyn Dunn in Calgary on how Alberta’s faring, and how Jason Kenney plans to bounce the province back.
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Oct 15, 2020
A fatal 12-story fall, and a no-knock police search
Anthony Aust died last week, after falling 12 storeys during a raid by Ottawa police of his home. He was out on bail and under the supervision of his family. His mother, stepfather, and brother spoke to the CBC about how traumatizing the no-knock search was, and how they’re looking for answers about why it happened in the first place.
The case is currently under investigation by Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit. CBC reporter Judy Trinh spoke to Aust’s family, and investigated the practice of no-knock searches. She told host Jayme Poisson about what she found.
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Oct 14, 2020
Who’s the GOAT: Michael Jordan or LeBron James?
On Sunday, L.A. Lakers star LeBron James took home his fourth NBA championship and his fourth finals MVP award. He also became the first player to have won a championship on three different teams. Those wins are reviving an old debate over who gets to claim the title of the greatest basketball player of all time: Is it LeBron now, or does His Airness, Michael Jordan, still reign?
Today Ben Golliver, the Washington Post’s national NBA writer, and Alex Wong, a freelance sports writer, debate it.
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Oct 13, 2020
COVID-19 update: Explaining rapid tests and experimental treatments
Parts of Canada are back in lockdown as cases of COVID-19 spike across the country, particularly in Ontario and Quebec. And with the cold weather setting in, it’s tough to imagine how we may be able to return to normal. But there are some developments: Health Canada has now approved and bought over 20 million rapid tests. And Donald Trump’s COVID-19 treatment is raising a lot of questions about the use of experimental drugs. Today we’ll be talking about how the testing and treatment of coronavirus has evolved since the first wave with Dr. Isaac Bogoch, a physician and an infectious disease expert in Toronto.
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Oct 12, 2020
The Central Park Five’s Yusef Salaam on life after wrongful conviction
When Yusef Salaam was 15, he and four other teenage boys were falsely accused of raping a woman in New York's Central Park. Salaam was imprisoned for nearly seven years before he was exonerated. His life story has inspired a new book called Punching the Air, which he co-wrote with young adult novelist Ibi Zoboi.
Salaam and Zoboi talk to host Josh Bloch about why the stories and perspectives of Black youth are so important right now, and how they connect to the global movement against anti-Black racism in America.
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Oct 9, 2020
Will a fix for racial bias in jury trials backfire?
In 2018, the public outcry around the Gerald Stanley case, where a white farmer was acquitted in the killing of Colton Boushie, a young Indigenous man, paved the way for the creation of Bill C-75. It's legislation meant to address racism in the jury selection process. But some say it actually does the opposite. The dispute made its way to the country's highest court this week. And while the court upheld the law, opinions remain divided on its usefulness.
Today, we hear from two lawyers with different points of view on this jury reform legislation. Peter Thorning and Caitlyn Kasper both intervened in this week's hearings. Thorning represented the Canadian Association for Black Lawyers, and Kasper represented Aboriginal Legal Services.
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Oct 8, 2020
Aging Presidential candidates loom over VP debate
Last night, Vice-Presidential candidates Mike Pence and Kamala Harris faced off in their one and only debate of the 2020 campaign. The debate comes less than a week after Donald Trump was diagnosed with coronavirus, and in a race between the two oldest presidential candidates in US history.
Today, CBC Washington Correspondent Katie Simpson recaps the unusually significant VP debate.
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Oct 7, 2020
New Green Party Leader Annamie Paul's vision for Canada
Annamie Paul, a Toronto-based human rights lawyer, was on Saturday elected leader of the Green Party of Canada — becoming the first elected Black leader of a major federal party. She takes over from Elizabeth May, who stepped down last year, after 14 years as leader. In her victory speech, Paul talked about how she believes the party is the one that Canadians need to guide them through, "the challenges of this time." Today on Front Burner, Paul on why that is, and how the Green Party plans to differentiate itself.
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Oct 6, 2020
Her mother survived the first wave in long-term care. Then the second wave came
Iona Guindon felt lucky that her mother Perriette's long-term care home in Ottawa was spared in the first wave of the pandemic. But an outbreak that began on Aug. 30 exposed Iona to horrifying scenes inside the home, and left her wondering why West End Villa wasn't better prepared to control the virus.
In the spring, long-term care companies and the Ontario government promised they would be far better prepared for a second wave. Now, as outbreaks rip through 50 such homes in the province, advocates say too little has changed.
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Oct 5, 2020
Donald Trump has COVID-19. Now what?
On Sunday, doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center briefed the media on the health of U.S. President Donald Trump. The news conference came after a whirlwind weekend where a growing number of the president’s inner circle, including first lady Melania Trump, tested positive for COVID-19, and where the president's doctors and team issued conflicting messages about his medical status. CBC’s senior Washington editor Lyndsay Duncombe joins us to explain what’s known about the president’s health, how this outbreak could impact the U.S. election and what this means for the nomination of the next U.S. Supreme Court justice.
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Oct 2, 2020
Indigenous woman records racist abuse in her dying moments
As she lay dying, Joyce Echaquan clicked on her phone to broadcast a Facebook Live video from her hospital bed, as staff hurled racist remarks at her. You can hear Joyce call out for her husband to come get her, but that would never happen.
The 37 year old Atikamekw mother of seven died on Monday. In response, one of the nurses captured on video has been fired, along with an orderly. Joyce's death has also sparked three investigations. Dr. Barry Lavallee, a physician CEO of Keewatinohk Innniniw Minoayawin, which works to advance the health care of First Nations communities in Northern Manitoba, spoke to host Josh Bloch about Joyce Echaquan's death, and what it says about the treatment of Indigenous peoples in Canada's health care system.
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Oct 1, 2020
Will Ontario’s second wave become a tsunami?
Like many places in Canada, summer felt a bit more normal in Ontario, at least by pandemic standards. But as Premier Doug Ford said earlier this week, the province is officially in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today on Front Burner, CBC's Ontario provincial affairs reporter Mike Crawley on what led us to this second wave of COVID-19 cases, the government's response, and what it might take to stop it from becoming a tsunami.
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Sep 30, 2020
U.S. President refuses to condemn white supremacists, militias in debate
While the interruptions made the debate hard to follow, it’s what U.S. President Donald Trump didn’t say that was most notable. When asked to condemn white supremacists and far-right militias, Trump would not. When asked if he would call on his supporters to remain calm if the vote wasn’t decided on election night, Trump railed against mail-in voting.
At times Trump drew insults from his exasperated opponent Joe Biden.
Today, CBC Washington correspondent Alex Panetta walks us through the highlights of the debate, and breaks down what each candidate’s performance tells us about the race.
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Sep 29, 2020
A Canadian said he killed for ISIS. The RCMP say it’s a hoax
The story was chronicled in detail in the mega-hit New York Times podcast Caliphate: a young Canadian man who claimed he had travelled to Syria to join ISIS, committing executions on behalf of the group before becoming disillusioned and fleeing.
Now, Shehroze Chaudry, a.k.a. "Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi" has been charged by the RCMP not for being a member of ISIS, but for allegedly lying about it. He's now facing a terrorism hoax charge.
Today, terrorism and radicalization expert Amarnath Amarasingam shares his perspective on the story. He's been in contact with Chaudhry for about four years, at first as part of his research into ISIS fighters and returnees, and later as someone who works to help reintegrate former extremists.
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Sep 28, 2020
Anti-mask conspiracy movement thriving in Quebec
Across Quebec, a COVID-19 conspiracy movement with ties to the far right is gaining ground — even as new cases continue to skyrocket.
Today, CBC Montreal digital reporter Jonathan Montpetit joins us to talk about what has caused this conspiracy movement to thrive in the province, and what it could mean for Quebec’s fight against COVID-19.
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Sep 26, 2020
Introducing: Brainwashed
Brainwashed investigates the CIA’s covert mind control experiments – from the Cold War and MKULTRA to the so-called War on Terror. It’s the story of how a renowned psychiatrist used his unwitting patients as human guinea pigs at a Montreal hospital, and the ripple effects on survivors, their families, and thousands of other people around the world. It also examines the cultural impact — how the CIA brought LSD to America and inadvertently created counterculture influencers such as author Ken Kessey and poet Allen Ginsberg. It’s an exploration of what happens in times of fear, when the military and medicine collide. And what happens when the survivors fight back. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/brainwashedcbc
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Sep 25, 2020
'Breonna Taylor's killing was an institutional one'
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron on Wednesday said there would be no charges against Louisville police officers for the killing of Breonna Taylor back in March. Only one of three men involved, who has since been fired from the force, was indicted, and faces three counts of "wanton endangerment" for shooting into Taylor's neighbour's home. After the grand jury decision was released, protests erupted in Louisville. Today, host Josh Bloch talks to USA Today politics reporter Phillip M. Bailey about the implications of the grand jury decision, and why Taylor's name continues to be a rallying cry for those fighting against police brutality in the U.S.
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Sep 24, 2020
Liberals promise child care, one million jobs and more
On Wednesday, the Liberals laid out what they called an "ambitious plan for an unprecedented reality" in the speech from the throne, pledging to extend some COVID-19 emergency supports, boost child care spending, create a million jobs, and more.
Today, host of CBC's Power and Politics Vassy Kapelos unpacks some of the ambitious promises and the opposition's response.
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Sep 23, 2020
Is COVID-19 airborne? The CDC said yes, then no
This weekend, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sparked a major controversy after updating, then removing, a warning about the airborne spread of COVID-19. Today, CBC senior health writer Adam Miller joins us to explain why this has re-ignited questions about just how easily COVID-19 travels through the air and whether the CDC is being influenced by the president’s political goals.
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Sep 22, 2020
Year K: The Canadian economic crisis enters phase two
On Wednesday, Justin Trudeau will lay out his plan to lead Canada through this next stretch of the pandemic. It comes at a pivotal moment, as CERB and other programs helping people stay afloat are winding down, more than a million Canadians are still out of work because of COVID-19, and infections are on the rise.
Today, the CBC’s economics reporter Peter Armstrong joins us to talk about the scope of the economic crisis right now, and what might be done to fix it.
This is part of our ongoing series Year K, about how COVID-19 could make Canada a more unequal place.
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Sep 21, 2020
Supreme Court vacancy a game changer for U.S. election
Just six weeks before Americans vote for their next president, the death of legendary Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has left a gigantic hole on the U.S. top court. Today, CBC’s senior Washington editor Lyndsay Duncombe explains how the vacancy has ignited a fight for legal dominance that could shape the election’s outcome and the country for decades.
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Sep 18, 2020
Tackling far-right activity in the Canadian military
The military has a problem with far-right extremism in its ranks. We've seen it rear its head before, most recently in a CBC News investigation into a Canadian Ranger unit, which found that a B.C. reservist who openly supported two far-right groups was allowed to continue serving even after being identified by military counterintelligence and interviewed as a potential threat.
Now, the commander of the army says he will issue a special order to specifically tackle the problem. But will it be enough?
Today, CBC senior defence writer Murray Brewster on far-right extremism in the Canadian Forces, and what's being done to address it.
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Sep 17, 2020
How we created the Western wildfires in more ways than one
At least 36 people have died as massive fires rip through the Western United States, engulfing towns and blowing noxious smoke north to Vancouver and other parts of Canada. Today on Front Burner, we talk about what’s to blame for this historic devastation and what we have to do to adapt to life with wildfires. Mike Flannigan is a professor with the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta and the co-host of the CBC Edmonton podcast “World on Fire”.
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Sep 16, 2020
'More than just a blip': Canada’s COVID-19 cases on the rise
Coronavirus cases are on the upswing in Canada's four most populous provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. On Tuesday, Ontario reported 251 new confirmed cases: the fifth day in a row of more than 200 new infections. To put that in perspective, the last time that happened was in early June, when the province's restaurants, hair salons and places of worship were still locked down.
Today, infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch on what these numbers mean, and what can be done to tamp them back down.
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Sep 15, 2020
Year K: A Canadian guaranteed income?
Just months ago, the idea of a guaranteed basic income wasn’t on the mainstream political radar in Canada. Now, the federal Liberal Party could make it a top policy priority for their November convention. The concept is gaining ground, but it remains highly controversial — on both sides of the political spectrum.
Today, freelance journalist Max Fawcett joins us for a primer on UBI.
This episode is the first in our ongoing series Year K, about whether the economic recovery from COVID-19 will make Canada more - or less - equal.
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Sep 14, 2020
WE Charity’s rise to prominence and unexpected fall
Back in 1995, a 12-year-old in Thornhill, Ontario, was so moved by a newspaper story about the death of a boy in Pakistan who fought against child labour, that he created a charity called Free the Children. Craig Kielburger, along with his brother Mark, went on to create a mass movement of youth activism. But 25 years later, and following a political controversy related to a student volunteer grant program, the Kielburgers announced they were stepping down and closing the Canadian arm of WE Charity. Today, Marie-Danielle Smith and Jason Markusoff of Maclean’s magazine report on the stratospheric rise – and the unexpected fall – of WE.
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Sep 12, 2020
Introducing: Recall: How to Start a Revolution
The 1950s & 60s saw a wave of radical movements. Che Guevara and the Cuban Revolution. The Black Panthers. Quebec and Canada had the FLQ — a showdown that dissolved into crisis. By October 1970, there were soldiers in the streets, communities on edge, kidnapping and terror in the headlines. But those frightening weeks were just the crescendo of a wave of terror and violence that was nearly a decade in the making. This series will reveal the stories of that time through immersive storytelling and the people who lived it: the bomb disposal expert on defusing live explosives, the survivors of terror, their families, and the radicals themselves. More episodes are available at http://hyperurl.co/recallcbc
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Sep 11, 2020
Mulan and China’s growing cultural reach
Activists are calling for a boycott of the newly released Mulan remake, after revelations that it was partly filmed in Xinjiang, a province of China known, through extensive reporting, for the detention and persecution of Uighur Muslims.
Today, freelance writer Frankie Huang on the controversy and what it reveals about China's influence on Western culture.
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Sep 10, 2020
“Shoot all that you see”
Justice has not come easy for the Rohingya Muslim victims of what serveral countries call a genocide in Myanmar. But a turning point could stem from the testimony of two men claiming to be deserters from the Myanmar army. Today, the CBC’s Nahlah Ayed on how these men say they committed acts of violence under orders from their military superiors.
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Sep 9, 2020
As B.C. overdose deaths soar, calls for fully regulated addiction treatment
In 2018, a BC Coroners Service panel called for provincial regulations to ensure evidence-based care at addiction recovery facilities. The panel said this system should be developed by September 2019. Now, one year later, more people are dying of overdoses than ever before, but the regulations recommended by the panel still do not exist.
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Sep 8, 2020
Race, income inequality, and back-to-school in Canada
The back-to-school season is in full swing this week across Canada. But this year, especially in a province like Ontario where in-class learning is completely optional, returning to school looks very different depending on your income and background.
While on one end of the income spectrum, some parents are investing in “learning pods,” on the other, many are keeping their kids home to study online because high COVID-19 rates in their neighbourhoods leave them with few other options.
Today on Front Burner, Globe and Mail reporters Dakshana Bascaramurty and Caroline Alphonso on those disparities, and what they might mean for the public education system more widely.
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Sep 7, 2020
Why India is lifting its lockdown as COVID-19 cases surpass 4 million
With over 4 million COVID-19 cases, and 70,000 deaths, India is set to surpass Brazil as the second most-affected country in the world by the coronavirus. But that hasn't stopped the country from reopening, because the pandemic has also taken a massive toll on India's economy and workforce.
Today on Front Burner, host Josh Bloch talks to the Washington Post's India Bureau Chief, Joanna Slater, about why the Indian government is lifting its lockdown, just as the country recorded the largest single-day jump of COVID-19 cases anywhere in the world.
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Sep 4, 2020
N.B. doctor says he wasn't 'patient zero' in his city's outbreak
In the spring, Dr. Jean Robert Ngola was singled out as the source of a COVID-19 outbreak in the city of Campbellton, N.B. More than forty cases would later be linked to the outbreak and two people died. But now, an investigation by CBC's The Fifth Estate and Radio-Canada casts increasing doubt on whether he was "patient zero." CBC reporter Judy Trinh tells us more on today's episode of Front Burner.
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Sep 3, 2020
Jacob Blake’s shooting, police violence, and Wisconsin’s history of segregation
U.S President Donald Trump visited Kenosha, Wis., this week, following Jacob Blake’s shooting by police, and days of protests. The unrest in the city has become a flashpoint for racial tensions in the U.S.
Today on Front Burner, Reggie Jackson tells us how that fits into Wisconsin’s history of segregation. He’s a journalist, educator and co-host of a new podcast called By Every Measure — a series on the history of race relations in Milwaukee.
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Sep 2, 2020
Schools reopen in Quebec amid rise in COVID-19 cases
While most Canadian students head back to school next week, classes in Quebec have already resumed. But, just a few days in, there are already COVID-19 cases being recorded in schools, and teachers and parents voicing frustrations and fears about the province’s back-to-school plans.
All this comes against the backdrop of rising coronavirus cases in the province.
Today, host Josh Bloch talks to Allison Hanes, city columnist with the Montreal Gazette, as we explore what Quebec’s experience so far might tell us about back-to-school challenges ahead for the rest of the country.
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Sep 1, 2020
Donald Trump’s re-election strategy
“No one will be safe in Biden's America.”
Donald Trump painted a calamitous picture of a Democrat-led U.S. as he accepted the Republican nomination on Thursday. Speaking for more than an hour, Trump also misrepresented his COVID-19 response before a crowd of around 1,500 people - few wearing masks.
As the 2020 election campaign begins in earnest this week, CBC Washington correspondent Paul Hunter and senior Washington editor Lyndsay Duncombe join us to explain what Trump’s framing of ongoing national crises means for his re-election strategy, and whether he can beat the polls again.
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Aug 31, 2020
“All the talent in the world”: Remembering Chadwick Boseman
Fans are grieving the loss of actor Chadwick Boseman, best known as the star of the groundbreaking blockbuster Black Panther. Boseman died on Friday, at the age of 43.
According to his family, he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2016. Boseman never spoke about that publicly, and the knowledge now of the diagnosis is giving new meaning to his work.
Today on Front Burner, Rolling Stone senior writer Jamil Smith on Chadwick Boseman’s legacy.
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Aug 28, 2020
The NBA players’ unprecedented protest
On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks refused to come out on the court, protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. Soon after, other NBA teams followed — and so did other athletes in other leagues, from the WNBA to MLS to Major League Baseball. Subsequently, the NBA postponed games on Thursday, but officials said in a statement that they hope playoffs would resume this weekend.
Today on Front Burner, Morgan Campbell, a senior contributor to CBC Sports, joins us to talk about the significance of this unprecedented act of protest in the sports world, and the pressure on Black athletes to push for social justice.
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Aug 27, 2020
The suspected poisoning of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny
Alexei Navalny is the most prominent opposition figure in Russia, an anti-corruption crusader and a frequent Kremlin critic. But right now, Navalny is comatose in a German hospital after a suspected poisoning.
Today on Front Burner, Chris Brown from CBC's Moscow bureau explains why Navalny might have been targeted, by whom, and the potential fallout.
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Aug 26, 2020
Why the WHO is worried about ‘vaccine nationalism’
The World Health Organization is urging the global community to join a pact by the end of this month, where wealthier countries would commit to sharing potential COVID-19 vaccines with developing countries, and with each other. It’s an attempt to stop countries from engaging in what the WHO calls “vaccine nationalism.”
Today, CBC science and health reporter Emily Chung joins us to talk about what vaccine nationalism is, and why many health experts worry it could threaten the global response to COVID-19.
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Aug 25, 2020
What it’s like being a performer during a pandemic
Over the weekend, German researchers held a concert with over 1500 music fans to study how COVID-19 could spread at big indoor events. Here in Canada, provinces are still capping numbers at indoor shows and many venues are staying closed. Some have permanently shut down. This has been a huge challenge for musicians, and performing artists more widely.
Today on Front Burner, we convene a panel with two Canadians who work in the arts, and depend on live audiences for their livelihoods. Miranda Mulholland is a Juno-nominated fiddler and singer, label owner, and a musician’s rights advocate. Nour Hadidi is a professional stand-up comedian who has written for This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
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Aug 24, 2020
Erin O’Toole elected next Conservative Party leader
Erin O’Toole was elected as the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada in the early morning, on the third ballot. O’Toole’s victory wraps up an unprecedented race. But despite the obstacles presented by campaigning in a global pandemic, Conservatives participated in record numbers. Today on Front Burner, Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos on O’Toole’s win and what it means for the future of the party.
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Aug 21, 2020
Lessons from B.C., as COVID-19 cases climb again
B.C. recently hit its highest daily COVID-19 case count since the start of the pandemic, but the province isn’t going back into lockdown. The CBC’s Tanya Fletcher on why that is and what lessons that could provide for other provinces.
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Aug 20, 2020
QAnon gains ground ahead of 2020 U.S election
On Wednesday, U.S. president Donald Trump thanked QAnon conspiracy theorists for their support. This follows his move last week to publicly back a QAnon supporter who just won a Republican primary run-off in Georgia. The endorsement drew widespread criticism because QAnon is a baseless conspiracy theory built on an unfounded belief about a deep state group of elites who exploit children and are united against Trump. Kevin Roose is a tech columnist for the New York Times and host of the podcast Rabbit Hole. Today he explains why QAnon is a dangerous source of misinformation with the makings of a national security threat.
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Aug 19, 2020
Inside Canada’s race for a COVID-19 vaccine
A global race for a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is underway. More than 160 of them are in different stages of testing around the world.
Canada is in this race too. A group of scientists at the University of Saskatchewan's VIDO-InterVac - the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatoon - are trying to get through a decade’s worth of testing and approvals as early as next year.
Today on Front Burner, CBC Saskatoon reporter Alicia Bridges takes us inside a lab working on a Canadian COVID vaccine, and inside the lives of the scientists trying to find it.
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Aug 18, 2020
Bill Morneau steps down as Canada’s Finance Minister
After days of speculation about a deepening rift between Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Morneau resigned on Monday. CBC Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos on why it might have happened, and what it could mean for the Trudeau government.
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Aug 17, 2020
Governor-General Julie Payette engulfed in controversy
When astronaut Julie Payette was chosen to be Canada’s new Governor General in 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said she’d “...inspire generations of Canadians.” Now, there are multiple allegations of bullying and harassment at Rideau Hall being investigated by the Privy Council’s Office, and reports of unusual spending to meet Payette’s demands for privacy. Today, CBC’s Ashley Burke talks about the growing revelations surrounding Julie Payette’s role as Governor-General and what they could mean for Justin Trudeau’s government.
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Aug 14, 2020
The roots of Lebanon’s anti-government protests
This week, Lebanon’s prime minister announced his resignation, along with his entire cabinet. The announcement follows massive anti-government demonstrations that erupted in the wake of the explosion that rocked central Beirut last week. But even with the government stepping down, the protests have persisted.
Today, reporter Rebecca Collard, who’s been reporting from Beirut for years, joins us to explain how the protests started long before the explosion, and why they’re raging on.
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Aug 13, 2020
Why influencers won’t stop partying during the pandemic
Canadian YouTubers Nelk, known for staging controversial pranks, recently threw a so-called “bro-test” to fight for gyms to open back up in California, a state still dealing with thousands of new coronavirus cases every day. The event sparked widespread criticism for drawing a crowd of people who weren’t wearing masks.
This “bro-test” is part of a larger trend involving influencers ignoring public health rules by having massive parties and group events. Kat Tenbarge is a digital culture reporter at Insider. Today, she explains why some internet stars won’t stop partying during the pandemic, and what it could mean for public health.
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Aug 12, 2020
Kamala Harris is Joe Biden’s V.P. pick
On Tuesday, Joe Biden named California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, making history by choosing the first woman of colour to compete on a major party's presidential ticket.
Today on Front Burner, Washington Post political reporter Eugene Scott on what Harris brings to the Democratic Party’s ticket, and what it might mean for Biden’s chances against U.S President Donald Trump come November.
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Aug 11, 2020
A prominent Saudi activist's detention and sudden silence
Loujain Alhathloul, a Saudi women's rights activist who studied in Canada, has been imprisoned for the past two years. And now, her family, who used to be able to talk to her regularly, hasn't heard from her in seven weeks.
Today, the CBC's Michelle Ghoussoub joins us to talk about how Alhathloul became one of the most prominent faces in the struggle for women's rights in Saudi Arabia, what her continued detention says about social reforms under the Saudi regime, and what her family thinks her silence means.
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Aug 10, 2020
Life under Melbourne’s stringent COVID-19 lockdown
The city of Melbourne, Australia, is currently under some of the world's strictest pandemic lockdown measures. Residents have to be home by 8 p.m., and anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 can expect frequent, unannounced visits by police to ensure they're staying home.
Today, on Front Burner, we speak to Melissa Davey, Australian bureau chief for The Guardian, to find out how a country — one that had so quickly flattened the curve early on in the pandemic — is now in the grips of a second wave of COVID-19.
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Aug 7, 2020
How the pandemic is shaping the future of dining
As provinces loosen COVID-19 restrictions, more restaurants are opening back up, in some capacity, all across Canada. Today, we hear from two restaurateurs about what the shutdown meant for their own businesses and how they think the pandemic will change the way we dine-out for years to come.
Robert Belcham is the chef and owner of Vancouver’s Campagnolo, Monarch Burger and Popina Canteen. He’s also the president of The Chefs’ Table Society of B.C. and host of the ‘Mise-En-Place’ podcast.
Samira Mohyeddin is the co-owner of Banu, an Iranian eatery and commissary in Toronto. She’s also an associate producer at the CBC Radio show The Current.
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Aug 6, 2020
The aftermath of the Beirut explosion
The explosion near Beirut’s port on Tuesday killed 135 people and injured thousands more, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Officials say 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate was the cause. According to public records, the chemicals were held at the port for six years, despite warnings about the danger they posed.
Today on Front Burner, we get a first-hand account of the explosion and aftermath from Hanna Anbar of Lebanon’s Daily Star newspaper, and discuss the challenge of rebuilding in a country already deep in economic crisis.
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Aug 5, 2020
What Trump’s threat to ban TikTok means for its users
U.S. President Donald Trump put TikTok on the clock this week.
On Monday, Trump said that if Microsoft, or another U.S. company doesn’t take control of the Chinese-owned TikTok by Sept. 15 - he’ll shut down the hugely popular social media app in the U.S.
Trump’s administration has expressed concerns about China’s influence and potential to demand data collected from the app - concerns that have also weighed on the diverse communities who use it. Today on Front Burner, MIT Technology Review senior editor Abby Ohlheiser tells us how TikTok users are grappling with the newest threats to their platform, and what’s at stake for them.
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Aug 4, 2020
Homeless encampments, COVID-19, and Canada's housing crisis
Since the start of the pandemic, homeless encampments have multiplied in parks across Canada. City officials are worried about safety and sanitation, and as a result, many have tried to dismantle such camps, with varying degrees of success. That's because some residents are fighting for their right to stay.
Today on Front Burner, you'll meet residents of one encampment in Toronto. And, Leilani Farha, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing and global director of the housing advocacy organization The Shift, talks to host Josh Bloch about the complexities of dealing with encampments, and why she thinks there's an opportunity now to make lasting change to Canada's housing crisis.
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Aug 3, 2020
The risks vs. rewards of sending kids to school
In September, schools across the country will reopen — many for the first time since the pandemic shut them down months ago. And while provinces have released their plans to keep students and teachers safe, parents are still struggling with whether to send their children to class.
Today on Front Burner, Emily Oster, an economics professor at Brown University and author of parenting books like Cribsheet and Expecting Better breaks down what the data says about the risks of opening up schools.
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Jul 31, 2020
Trudeau, Kielburgers grilled in hearings on WE controversy
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his chief of staff Katie Telford appeared before the House finance committee to answer questions about the government's decision to select WE Charity to run the federal government's $900-million student volunteer program. Earlier this week, WE co-founders Marc and Craig Kielburger also appeared before the same committee.
The choice to select WE Charity for the program is also being investigated by the federal ethics watchdog because of Trudeau's ties to the organization.
Today on Front Burner, CBC Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos breaks down the prime minister's testimony, and brings us up to speed on the WE Charity controversy.
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Jul 30, 2020
After backlash, a public inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass shooting
On April 18-19, a gunman went on a shooting rampage across central Nova Scotia, killing 22 people. Since then, families of the victims have been pushing for a public inquiry. That's because there are still questions about the RCMP's response to the shooting.
After initially opting for a review into the tragedy, which drew much criticism, provincial and federal governments have now committed to a joint public inquiry. This comes in the same week as the release of some previously redacted court documents that could reveal more about the case.
Today on Front Burner, CBC Nova Scotia's Brett Ruskin on these recent developments.
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Jul 29, 2020
The NHL returns, exclusively in Canada
There are daily COVID-19 tests, no fans and no going home.
For the 24 NHL teams in Toronto and Edmonton, however, the prize for spending two months in a “bubble” could be the Stanley Cup.
Last night, the NHL played its first exhibition games since pausing the season in March. It also showed fans how the sport will be different in the league’s hub cities. Today on Front Burner, The Athletic senior writer Dan Robson tells us about what’s changed, what life is like in these hub cities, and whether the playoffs are actually safe from COVID-19.
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Jul 28, 2020
Inside 60 nights of protests in Portland
For more than 60 nights, protesters have gone out on the streets of Portland, Ore. to fight anti-Black racism and police violence. It seemed like things were calming down, but then U.S. President Donald Trump sent federal agents into the city.
Today on Front Burner, we're joined by Tuck Woodstock, an independent journalist who has spent the majority of the last two months out at the protests. They tell us what it looks like on the ground, and how the violence has escalated since federal agents arrived.
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Jul 27, 2020
2020 on track to be Canada’s worst year for police killings
D'Andre Campbell. Ejaz Choudry. Chantel Moore. Those are just some of the names of people killed by police in Canada this year.
Until now, there hasn't been a national database to keep track of these deaths. The CBC recently made one called "Deadly Force." It goes back 20 years, and it found what many people have been saying: Black and Indigenous people are disproportionately killed by police.
Today on Front Burner, the CBC's Mark Kelley on what those numbers tell us and why 2020 is on track to be a particularly deadly year.
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Jul 24, 2020
‘Tenet’ postponement spells trouble for Hollywood blockbusters
Film buffs were still holding out hope that Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated movie “Tenet” could salvage what is left of the summer movie season. But when it was indefinitely postponed this week, it raised questions about how the pandemic will shape the future of Hollywood blockbusters.
Today, CBC Entertainment reporter Eli Glasner breaks down how COVID-19 is changing the industry, and what he misses most about going to the movies.
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Jul 23, 2020
The race for a COVID-19 vaccine, explained
There's new hope this week in the quest for a COVID-19 vaccine. Trials for two vaccines, one at Oxford University and another being worked on here in Canada, are showing some promising results. And they're just two possible frontrunners from scores of vaccines being tested around the globe.
Today, Emily Chung, the creator of CBC's vaccine tracker, tells us where we are on the path to approving vaccines, and what bumps may lie in the road ahead.
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Jul 22, 2020
B.C. admits harm in multimillion-dollar settlement for victims of disgraced social worker
While Robert Riley Saunders worked as a social worker in British Columbia, he was supposed to provide care and guardianship to some of the province’s most vulnerable foster children. Instead, he is alleged to have stolen from them, leaving many to fend for themselves. Now, the B.C. government has reached a proposed multimillion dollar settlement for more than 100 of his former clients, admitting harm done by their ex-employee.
Today, CBC reporter Jason Proctor walks us through the extraordinary case, and how it reveals cracks in a system that is supposed to keep young people safe.
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Jul 21, 2020
The return of MLB: No spitting, fans or games in Canada
After a four-month suspension due to COVID-19, Major League Baseball returns for a condensed 60-game season on Thursday. The old ball game, however, is going to look a bit different: there’s social distancing in the dugouts, no fans in the stands and no games in Canada.
This weekend, the federal government announced that the Blue Jays can’t play in Toronto during the pandemic. Today on Front Burner, The Athletic staff writer Kaitlyn McGrath tells us where the Jays could go, and what baseball’s tumultuous summer could mean for the future of the MLB.
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Jul 20, 2020
30 years later a Mohawk filmmaker reflects on the Oka crisis
It’s been 30 years since an explosion of violence and the death of a Quebec provincial police officer on an early July morning marked the beginning of the Oka Crisis. That summer, thousands of Canadian soldiers surrounded two Mohawk communities, just outside Montreal, who were trying to protect a forest and burial ground from the expansion of a golf course. Today on Front Burner, we speak to Mohawk filmmaker Tracey Deer who grew up in Kahnawake, Quebec. She shares what it was like living through a standoff that came to be a defining conflict in Canadian history.
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Jul 17, 2020
The enduring magic of iconic astrologer Walter Mercado
Puerto Rican TV personality Walter Mercado wasn’t just one of the world’s most famous astrologers — for his millions of viewers, he was a spiritual guide, motivational speaker, and a bedazzled fashion icon. And for generations of queer Latino kids, his refusal to conform to gender norms was a sign that they, too, could be adored and accepted.
Today, Kareem Tabsch, co-director of the new Netflix documentary Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado, gives us an intimate look at the larger-than-life performer in the last years of his life — and explores why, even after his death, Mercado is resonating with a whole new generation.
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Jul 16, 2020
Why B.C.'s former health officer wants to produce legal heroin
British Columbia's former provincial health officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, has been a harm-reduction advocate for decades. Now, he's planning to launch a company to produce a domestic supply of affordable, legal and pharmaceutical-grade heroin to be used "as a medication for therapy and treatment, but also … to try and cut down the number of unfortunate and preventable deaths that we're currently seeing."
Today on Front Burner, a conversation with Kendall about a safer supply of drugs and the overdose crisis.
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Jul 15, 2020
‘Above the Law’ chronicles police violence in Calgary
In the last few weeks on this show, we've talked about a number of police forces under scrutiny across the country. But there’s a city we haven’t talked about, one that frequently has the highest number of police-involved shootings in the country -- Calgary. A new documentary streaming on CBC Gem examines the issue of police violence in Calgary. It's called “Above the Law” and co-director Marc Serpa Francoeur joins us today.
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Jul 14, 2020
As Bolsonaro downplays COVID-19, Brazil nears 2 million cases
Brazil is nearing two million confirmed cases of COVID-19. The country is second to only the United States in its number of cases and deaths and, recently, Brazil's leader himself tested positive. Despite this, President Jair Bolsonaro continues to downplay the threat of the virus.
Today on Front Burner, we're joined by Gustavo Ribiero, a journalist with the Brazilian Report and host of the Explaining Brazil podcast. He'll tell us how COVID-19 overtook Brazil, and why he thinks its president is unlikely to acknowledge the danger.
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Jul 13, 2020
Trudeau’s WE Charity controversy deepens, and deficit 101
This is not your average quiet July in Ottawa. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is embroiled in a new ethics investigation, and now there are revelations about members of his family receiving payment for their appearances at WE Charity events.
On top of that, the Liberal government released an “economic and fiscal snapshot” showing the federal government’s deficit hitting an unprecedented $343 billion this year.
Today on Front Burner, CBC Parliamentary reporter J.P. Tasker updates us on the latest in the Trudeau WE Charity controversy, and gives a back-to-basics explainer of the deficit.
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Jul 10, 2020
The push for Canada’s green recovery
Canada’s Finance Minister, Bill Morneau, has just released a dramatic projection of the country’s deficit this year: $343 billion, largely due to pandemic-related support programs. The unprecedented amount of spending is a signal to many climate advocates that there is now an opportunity to fundamentally reshape the economy through something called a green recovery.
Today, climate reporter Geoff Dembicki on what that might look like in Canada, and the challenges it may face.
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Jul 9, 2020
Pro-democracy leader Nathan Law flees Hong Kong over ‘politics of fear’
The broad and ambiguous offences under China's new national security law have Hong Kongers censoring themselves, fearing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Pro-democracy protesters are holding up blank sheets. Cafes are stripping their messages of support. One of Hong Kong's most prominent and outspoken activists, too, has left the territory altogether.
Today on Front Burner, pro-democracy activist Nathan Law joins us from an undisclosed location. He'll take us through the years of unrest leading up to China's crackdown, and how these measures threaten the unique freedoms that came with living in Hong Kong.
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Jul 8, 2020
Families demand answers, six months after Flight PS752 downing
Today marks exactly six months since Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was shot down by two Iranian missiles near Tehran. The devastating tragedy killed 176 people, including 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents. It also left loved ones of the victims desperate for answers about what happened. Back in March, former longtime Liberal MP Ralph Goodale was appointed as special advisor for the federal government’s response to the tragedy. Today he explains why families are still waiting for the plane’s black boxes to be analysed, and what’s stopping the Canadian government from getting more answers.
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Jul 7, 2020
Justin Trudeau, WE Charity and a third ethics investigation
Federal Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion is investigating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the Liberal government's decision to task WE Charity with administering a $900-million student grant program. On Friday, WE Charity stepped back from the contract, which had faced criticism because of the Trudeau family's close association with the charity.
Today, CBC parliamentary reporter Catherine Cullen on the now-cancelled partnership, the surrounding controversy and why the ethics commissioner got involved.
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Jul 6, 2020
Can an ad boycott fix Facebook’s hate speech problem?
Over 800 companies, including Microsoft, Lululemon, Pfizer and Canada’s five biggest banks are pulling their ads from Facebook this month. They’re just a few of the companies responding to the Stop Hate for Profit boycott, led by civil rights groups who want white supremacist content and misleading climate and vaccine information off the platform.
Today on Front Burner, we talk to McGill’s Beaverbrook Chair in Media, Ethics and Communications and Big Tech Podcast co-host Taylor Owen on whether a threat to the tech giant’s bottom line is the right incentive to deal with hate speech on the platform.
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Jul 3, 2020
The politics of a dramatic COVID-19 surge in the U.S.
Today on Front Burner, CBC Washington correspondent Paul Hunter walks us through how the U.S. got to this point, President Donald Trump's role in it, and how even a mask has become a political statement.
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Jul 2, 2020
Maria Ressa on her conviction, press freedom and Duterte
On June 15, Maria Ressa, along with a former colleague of her news organization, Rappler, were convicted of ‘cyber libel’ in the Philippines. This, along with seven other charges, are widely seen as an encroachment on press freedom in the country by President Rodrigo Duterte’s authoritarian government. Today on Front Burner, a conversation with Maria Ressa on why she continues to pursue her journalistic work, despite possible jail time and the threats on her life.
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Jul 1, 2020
Canada’s top court just sided with Uber drivers. What now?
Canada’s Supreme Court has sided with a former Ubereats driver in his quest to pursue a class action lawsuit against Uber. At the heart of that lawsuit lies a long-standing question: Should drivers become employees or remain, as Uber maintains, independent contractors?
The latest ruling opens the door for that question to be answered - and with that, the potential for drivers to secure benefits that they are not entitled to right now.
Today on Front Burner, we speak with labour law professor Veena Dubal on what this could mean for Uber drivers and the wider gig economy.
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Jun 30, 2020
In Saskatchewan, a domestic violence prevention law hits roadblocks
Saskatchewan has just become the first Canadian province to enact Clare’s Law, which aims to help prevent domestic violence by allowing police to warn people about a partner's violent past. But it’s already hit a stumbling block: the RCMP says it won’t take part.
Bonnie Allen, a CBC national reporter based in Regina, walks us through the new law and talks about why it’s controversial – including among some anti-domestic violence advocates.
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Jun 29, 2020
Lawyer Julian Falconer on Dafonte Miller’s fight for justice
In 2016 a violent altercation with an off-duty Toronto police officer, and the officer’s brother, cost Dafonte Miller his eye. On Friday, officer Michael Theriault was convicted of assaulting the Black young man. An Ontario Superior Court Justice acquitted Theriault and his brother of aggravated assault and obstruction of justice, but called their justification of self-defence “razor thin.” Today on Front Burner, Miller’s lawyer, Julian Falconer shares his thoughts on the long path to that single conviction, and the fight Black Canadians face to get justice for police violence.
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Jun 27, 2020
Introducing This is Not a Drake Podcast
This is Not a Drake Podcast is a new series that uses seminal moments in Drake’s career to explore the history and evolution of hip-hop, R&B, and Black culture. It’s about the rapper who’s blurred genres and dominated the world stage, and the larger hip-hop movement that made him.The podcast dives deep into the evolution of gender dynamics in hip-hop, especially its relationship with Black women. More episodes are available at http://smarturl.it/notadrakepodcast
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Jun 26, 2020
The NBA to restart in a COVID-19 hotspot
This week, the Toronto Raptors touched down in Florida. Soon, 21 other NBA teams will join them in the state, as the NBA gears up to restart the 2019-20 season in Disney World. Meanwhile, coronavirus cases are surging in Florida. More than a hundred pages of health and safety protocols have been established, covering everything from prohibitions on doubles ping-pong, to intensive testing procedures. Today on Front Burner, freelance NBA reporter Alex Wong walks us through how this is all going to work, and whether it's worth it.
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Jun 25, 2020
One woman’s fight to free her husband from a Chinese jail
In an exclusive interview with the National’s Adrienne Arsenault, Michael Kovrig’s wife is speaking out for the first time.
Vina Nadjibulla says Ottawa could do more to get her husband - and Canadian Michael Spavor - out of jail in China. Both men were arrested in December of 2018 - just days after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was detained in Vancouver on behalf of American justice officials.
Today on Front Burner, Adrienne Arsenault brings us more on Nadjibulla’s fight for her husband’s freedom - and how she is helping him stay resilient.
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Jun 24, 2020
Should police be on mental health calls?
Ejaz Choudry. D’Andre Campbell. Rodney Levi. In the last few weeks, several Canadians struggling with their mental health have been shot and killed by police after authorities were called. Today on Front Burner, Jennifer Lavoie, a criminology professor who helps train police on how to handle mental health calls, talks to Josh Bloch about why this issue persists, and how it can be stopped.
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Jun 23, 2020
Covert calls for help – a hotline for migrant workers
COVID-19 outbreaks have ripped through farms in Canada, particularly in southern Ontario, taking a grim toll on migrant workers. Three have already died.
Desperate for help, workers have been calling a hotline staffed by the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change – usually in secret. Today, the two people who staff that hotline give us an inside look at this crisis, as it unfolded.
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Jun 22, 2020
COVID Alert: Canada’s incoming contact-tracing app
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants you to download an app. It’s called “COVID Alert” and it is a new voluntary contact-tracing app that will be available for download in just a few weeks. The app will first be tested in Ontario, before rolling out to the rest of the country. A lot of people are welcoming the app as a powerful tool to stop new coronavirus outbreaks. But it’s still too early to tell how many Canadians will be willing to sign-up to share their personal health information. Especially since companies like Google, Apple, BlackBerry and volunteers from Shopify were all involved in some way with its creation. Today, infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch talks about what a contact-tracing app means for Canada and shares his thoughts on privacy concerns.
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Jun 19, 2020
Conservatives face off in leadership debate
On Thursday night, Conservative leadership hopefuls faced off in the only English language debate of the campaign. Candidates went toe-to-toe on issues like expanding the party’s base, climate, race and more. Today, CBC’s Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos provides her analysis as the race to become leader of the party enters a crucial stretch.
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Jun 18, 2020
Quibi: Why the $2 billion video app is failing
In the midst of a pandemic, two veteran executives launched Quibi — a video-streaming app intended for watching on the go. With nearly $2 billion in cash invested and a huge roster of A-list celebrities creating content, it seemed like a recipe for success. But two months later, the app has largely missed the mark, with subscriptions way below expectations.
Today on Front Burner, we talk to Kathryn VanArendonk, staff writer for New York magazine, to find out why Quibi is failing.
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Jun 17, 2020
The ‘other’ public health crisis
There’s another public health crisis killing Canadians in record numbers. In May, 170 people died from illicit drug overdoses in British Columbia. It's the worst death toll in the province’s history. And it’s not just B.C., people are overdosing all over the country, particularly in Ontario and Alberta. Garth Mullins is a documentarian and host of the award-winning podcast Crackdown. It was created to cover the opioid crisis from the perspective of drug users themselves. We spoke with Mullins back in April about how COVID-19 was affecting people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Today, we talk about what’s driving the unprecedented number of deaths… and why this long-running public health crisis isn’t being prioritized.
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Jun 16, 2020
A riddle, a treasure hunt, and a mystery that may never end
Ten years ago, an eccentric Santa Fe art dealer named Forrest Fenn says he hid a treasure chest somewhere in the American Rocky Mountains – and then he wrote a poem with clues to tell people how to find it. Hundreds of thousands have tried. At least five have died on their search. And now, Fenn says the treasure has been found. But is the story really over?
Today we’re joined by Robert Nott, a reporter for the Santa Fe New Mexican who’s been on the Forrest Fenn beat for the past five years, and Zachary Crockett, a journalist who made a documentary for Vox about his own quest to find the Fenn treasure.
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Jun 15, 2020
Protesting and police in the age of surveillance
We are living in a time of ubiquitous recording. There are cameras are everywhere; capturing the last moments of George Floyd’s life; recording the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks by Atlanta Police on Friday night; and documenting another angle of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam being punched by an officer during an arrest in Fort McMurray. There are also live streams of protests and civilian footage of the police response on the streets. But with cameras everywhere comes surveillance, too. Today we talk with Washington Post technology reporter, Heather Kelly, about the double-edged sword of having digital eyes everywhere.
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Jun 12, 2020
'Cops' gets cancelled
After more than 1000 episodes, the reality television show COPS has officially been cancelled. For thirty years, COPS has broadcast police officers chasing down suspects and arresting them as entertainment. But according to Henry Molofsky, producer of the hit investigative podcast Running From Cops, the vision of crime and policing portrayed by COPS was often distorted. Today, Henry Molofsky discusses the legacy of the show.
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Jun 11, 2020
Bon Appetit, race and food culture
Bon Appetit editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport resigned on Monday over accusations of brownface. It involved a 2004 photo of Rapoport and his wife dressing up as Puerto Ricans. But according to more than a dozen former and current employees of colour who have since spoken out, the racism runs deeper than just that photo. Today on Front Burner, a conversation with culture writer Navneet Alang about this controversy, and what it says about who gets to tell stories about foods from different cultures.
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Jun 10, 2020
What ‘defunding the police’ means for Indigenous people
Last Thursday, a 26-year-old Indigenous woman was killed by a New Brunswick police officer. Chantel Moore was shot five times during what was meant to be a wellness check. Her death is one of several recent incidents of police violence against Indigenous people in Canada. As the Black Lives Matter movement shines a light on police brutality and calls into question the power and even necessity of police services across the world, today we talk about what defunding the police means for Indigenous people. CBC’s Angela Sterritt reports from Vancouver.
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Jun 9, 2020
Defunding police: what it means and how it could work
On the weekend, a majority of the Minneapolis city council declared their intention to disband the city's police force. The move comes in response to the killing of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin — a member of that force — and to other local instances of police brutality. Today on Front Burner, we talk about the growing "defund police" movement that says scaling down police budgets and spending the money on social services could be a way to protect civilian lives.
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Jun 8, 2020
Work-from-home goes ‘pandemic’ to ‘permanent’
Twitter says its staff can work from home as long as they want. The head of Shopify says “office centricity is over.” OpenText is shuttering half of its offices, reducing its workforce and shifting 2000 employees to remote work. COVID-19 forced hundreds of millions of employees to temporarily work from home, but companies are starting to change their remote work strategies from “pandemic” to “permanent.”
Today on Front Burner, NPR reporter Bobby Allyn explains what’s driving the enthusiasm for remote work in Silicon Valley, and the employee surveillance tools he calls a “morale destroyer.” Then, author and UN Happiness Committee member Jennifer Moss tells us who working from home is and isn’t working for.
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Jun 5, 2020
Black Canadians reflect on this week’s unrest
From the aggressive tactics of police at demonstrations in the United States, to the increasing demand to recognize systemic racism against Black communities and deal with police violence, to the ongoing threat of COVID-19 — it has been a chaotic and politically charged week. Today on Front Burner, we take a step back to listen to individuals who are deeply affected by the week’s events. Five Black Canadians share their reflections on worldwide protests following the death of George Floyd, who was killed by police, and the current attention towards issues of racial injustice and police brutality at home and abroad.
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Jun 4, 2020
State-sponsored hackers target vaccine research
While scientists worldwide are trying to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, reports show an uptick in state-sponsored medical hacking. Countries like China and Iran appear to be actively hacking vaccine research.
Today on Front Burner: We talk to cybersecurity expert Priscilla Moriuchi about the fears that are driving these hacking efforts, and how they could derail vaccine research.
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Jun 3, 2020
Trump’s response in an unprecedented time
Demonstrations across the US protesting the death of George Floyd are coinciding with a global pandemic and an economic crisis. And it’s a moment when many Americans are calling on the president for leadership.
Keith Boag, a longtime political correspondent and a contributor to the CBC on US politics, joins us to talk about how Donald Trump is responding to this critical moment — and what lies ahead as the November election date looms.
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Jun 2, 2020
DeRay Mckesson on how to stop race-based police violence
Despite making up only 13 per cent of the population, black Americans represent about a quarter of all people killed by police. Today on Front Burner, we speak to civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson about the concrete steps he thinks could be taken to deal with the problem of race-based police violence.
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Jun 1, 2020
Police crack down on protests against racism and police violence
This weekend, in at least 75 U.S. cities, demonstrators marched against racism and police violence in the wake of the video showing the last moments of George Floyd's life, with a Minneapolis police officer's knee on his neck.
North of the border, thousands of people rallied in Toronto, some holding signs demanding "Justice for Regis." Regis Korchinski-Paquet is a black woman from Toronto whose death last week is now being investigated by Ontario's police watchdog.
Today on Front Burner, we have three guests: journalist Ebyan Abdigir on the Toronto demonstration, CBC senior correspondent Susan Ormiston on the ground in Minneapolis and writer Joel Anderson on the American police response.
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May 30, 2020
BONUS: First ever charge against ‘incel’ terrorism
For the first time, police are treating an alleged incel-inspired killing as an act of terror. In February, a 17-year-old male was charged with murder and attempted murder in the broad daylight slaying of a woman at a North Toronto massage parlour. Last week, those charges were updated to terror charges. Today on Front Burner, former CSIS analyst Jessica Davis and University of Calgary law professor Michael Nesbitt on the significance of these new charges, what message they send, and what the potential consequences may be.
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May 29, 2020
Hong Kong’s uncertain future
China’s ceremonial parliament, the National People’s Congress, endorsed a national security law for Hong Kong on Thursday. Many residents are concerned that the law will undermine civil liberties and might be used to suppress political activity. Today on Front Burner, journalist and lawyer Antony Dapiran on what this might mean for Hong Kong’s future, and whether this could signal the end of “one country, two systems” in the former British colony.
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May 28, 2020
Tow truck wars: Police allege fraud, arson and murder
York Regional Police announced an enormous bust taking down alleged organized crime rings in Southern Ontario’s tow truck industry this week. Police say that for the last three years, rival companies have used violence and intimidation to carve out turf, alleging they caused and staged collisions, worked with auto repair shops and rental companies to carry out fraud, set fires, and even killed in cold blood. Four people are dead and the investigation is ongoing. And police say that's just scratching the surface. CBC senior reporter John Lancaster has been covering this story. Today, we sort through the violent wreckage of the ‘Tow Truck Turf Wars’.
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May 27, 2020
Military exposes disturbing conditions in Ontario's pandemic-struck nursing homes
Cockroaches, rotten food, improper feeding of patients. These are just a few of the disturbing details emerging from a military report into five long-term care facilities in Ontario that were hit hard by coronavirus outbreaks. Today on Front Burner, CBC News correspondent David Common, who has investigated long-term care facilities since before the pandemic hit, walks us through the report.
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May 26, 2020
Joe Rogan’s appeal and $100-million deal
Love him or hate him, Joe Rogan is one of the biggest names in podcasting. Now, he’s inked a $100-million deal with Spotify that could turn the podcasting industry on its head.
Nick Quah, writer of the newsletter Hot Pod, and Devin Gordon, a journalist who’s written about Rogan for The Atlantic, join us to speak about Rogan’s appeal, and why this Spotify deal could be such a game-changer.
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May 25, 2020
Ontario is moving in the wrong direction—why?
On Saturday, images of thousands of people at a crowded park in downtown Toronto went viral, infuriating people across Ontario for the flagrant disregard of social distancing. It was a bad look for the city, where the spread of the virus is increasing as Ontario fails to meet testing benchmarks. With some COVID-19 restrictions relaxed in the province, experts say Ontario is moving in the wrong direction. So, what will the Premier Doug Ford do to fix it? CBC’s Ontario Provincial affairs reporter Mike Crawley joins us to explain.
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May 22, 2020
Fan culture and #ReleaseTheSnyderCut
After years of fervent campaigning from fans, director Zack Snyder’s cut of the 2017 Justice League movie has been greenlit for release in 2021. Culture critics John Semley and Tina Hassannia on why this campaign struck a cultural chord, and what it says about fandom today.
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May 21, 2020
Alberta beef, outbreaks and the flaws of industrial farming
Canadian cattle farmers are having a hard week. The beef industry was already struggling after deadly mass outbreaks of COVID-19 hit the heart of Canada’s meat processing industry in Alberta, causing temporary closures, slowdowns in production and a backlog of cattle. Then on Tuesday, president Donald Trump mused about the possibility of terminating trade deals that allow for imports of live cattle into the U.S. Paula Simons is an independent senator from Edmonton and a former journalist who covered Alberta's cattle industry. She was also one of the first to speak out about food inspector safety during the pandemic. Today she shares her thoughts about Alberta beef, meat processing and why she thinks industrial farming needs to change.
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May 20, 2020
A practical guide to Canada's slow reopening
Across Canada, the economy is slowly reopening. This week, with physical distancing measures in place, restaurants can resume dine-in services in B.C., retail shops with street entrances in Ontario can open, and in some parts of Alberta, you can get a haircut again.
But as restrictions loosen, Canadians will be asked to use their judgment to limit the spread of COVID-19. Today on Front Burner, infectious disease expert Isaac Bogoch with some advice on how to navigate those complications.
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May 19, 2020
Amazon whistleblowers on their journey from inspired to fired
Amazon has seen an incredible demand for its products during the COVID-19 pandemic. But, it is also facing a wave of criticism over not doing enough to ensure the safety of its warehouse workers.
We speak with Maren Costa and Emily Cunningham - two former Amazon tech employees. They say they were fired, because they tried to raise awareness about the conditions at Amazon warehouses.
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May 18, 2020
How the 5G conspiracy makes COVID-19 fight harder
A series of cell phone tower fires in Europe and Canada have been linked to a conspiracy theory about 5G networks and the coronavirus — a theory that’s been boosted by celebrities and politicians, and that has deep ties to the anti-vaccine movement.
Today, CBC Senior Investigative Reporter Katie Nicholson joins us to break down the conspiracies, and talk about how they could have serious implications for the fight against COVID-19.
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May 16, 2020
Introducing Someone Knows Something: Donald Izzett Jr.
In Someone Knows Something Season 6, Debra has been searching for her son, Donald Izzett Jr. for 25 years. The last time she spoke with him was Mother’s Day. He had called from a road trip, but sounded upset, saying he needed money. Then the phone went dead. Donnie’s friend told police that he dropped him off in New Orleans. But Debra thinks he was murdered. And decides to investigate the case herself. Here's an excerpt from the first episode. Full episodes are available at hyperurl.co/skscbc
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May 15, 2020
‘Big companies getting bigger’: The post-pandemic future of retail
We're still a long way away from getting back to the pre-pandemic normal. As shutdowns drag on in some cities across North America, some business owners are starting to close up shop for good. Today, the owner of the Storm Crow Tavern in Vancouver on why he gave up one bar to save his two others. And, writer Derek Thompson with the Atlantic on how the pandemic now could change retail - and by extension, urban streetscapes - going forward.
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May 14, 2020
COVID-19 unlocks wave of loneliness
Loneliness posed a public health crisis for many countries years before anyone heard of COVID-19. But how does loneliness manifest at a time -- not sure that's exactly what we're trying to say; suggesting instead: how is loneliness exacerbated when we are forced to isolate for weeks and months? Who is most vulnerable? And what are some of the long-term emotional implications of this lockdown?
We explore the different types of loneliness this pandemic is unlocking with cultural historian Fay Bound Alberti.
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May 13, 2020
Bryan Adams backlash sparks conversation about xenophobia
Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams is facing a backlash after posting a rant about the origins of the pandemic on Instagram Monday. And although Adams doesn’t name China, or Chinese people, the comments are clearly about them. Today we focus on concerns about growing xenophobia towards East Asians in recent months, which include a series of racist attacks, with help from Susan Eng, director of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice, and dance artist Ziyian Kwan.
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May 12, 2020
Pro sports begin to climb back
This weekend marked the return of a major sporting event to North America, the first since the pandemic forced leagues into lockdown in mid-March. UFC 249 brought mixed martial arts fighters back into the octagon in an empty stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. As other major leagues make plans to open back up, Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur reports on the future of sports, post COVID-19. Will it ever be the same?
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May 11, 2020
Is COVID-19 an 'extinction event' for newsrooms?
Canadian newsrooms have had serious financial woes for years now. But since the coronavirus pandemic began, layoffs, cuts and closures across the country have left many teetering on the brink of survival.
Today, Craig Silverman, a Toronto-based media editor for Buzzfeed News, joins us to talk about how it got to this point and what can be done to stop the hemorrhaging.
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May 8, 2020
Who will be the next leader of the Conservative Party?
The race to become the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, previously paused by the COVID-19 outbreak, is back on. The party will select its new leader in August, by mail-in ballot. Today on Front Burner, Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos analyzes the campaigns, and talks about how this current pandemic has changed the dynamics of the race.
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May 7, 2020
Cargill: North America's largest single coronavirus outbreak
North America's largest single coronavirus outbreak started at Cargill, a meat-packing plant located in High River, Alta. Over 1,500 cases have been linked to it, with 949 employees testing positive, and one death. Despite the harrowing statistics, the plant reopened this week. CBC reporter Carolyn Dunn on what led to the outbreak, and why there's such a push to keep the plant open.
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May 6, 2020
Sex assault allegation lingers after Joe Biden’s denial
Former U.S. vice-president Joe Biden is denying an allegation that he sexually assaulted a Senate staffer twenty-seven years ago. The allegation was made by Tara Reade in March. Reade was among the women who came forward last year to accuse Biden of inappropriate touching. With the 2020 U.S. election coming up, CBC Washington correspondent Paul Hunter reports on how the Democratic Party is responding to the allegation against their presumptive presidential candidate.
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May 5, 2020
'Too big to fail': COVID-19 and Canadian real estate
Could the "wealth-conjuring machine" that is Canadian real estate grind to a halt after the COVID-19 crisis exposed its worst weaknesses? That's the concern many who watch a sector that makes up a bigger part of the Canadian economy than oil and gas.
Today on Front Burner, Bloomberg News' Vancouver bureau chief Natalie Obiko Pearson returns to explain how real estate became such a significant part of the Canadian economy, how Canadians went deeply into debt, and why now, the housing market in Canada could be "too big to fail."
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May 5, 2020
In Brief: How does COVID-19 affect kids?
As the world continues to socially distance - a few countries are easing restrictions for children. But, it’s still unclear how COVID-19 affects kids. Some doctors are raising concern over a mysterious illness in a small number of children, which could be linked to COVID-19. Meanwhile, public health experts in Australia say kids may not be superspreaders after all.
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May 4, 2020
The puzzling unknowns of COVID-19
Until about 5 months ago, no one had heard of COVID-19. And, despite the overflow of information and research since then, there is much we still don’t know about the virus itself and the disease it causes.
Today on Front Burner, we talk to special pathogens expert Dr. Syra Madad about some of the things we don’t know about COVID-19 and why this is such an unprecedented crisis.
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May 1, 2020
Canadian Peter Nygard, ‘pamper parties’ and rape allegations
Peter Nygard is a fashion mogul who made his fortune selling sensible clothing to middle-aged women. He was also known for throwing so-called “pamper parties” in the Bahamas and for a raging feud with a billionaire neighbour. Today, Fifth Estate co-host Bob McKeown and producer Timothy Sawa bring us their longtime investigation into Peter Nygard and report on the international rape lawsuit involving 46 women, including at least 17 Canadians. Nygard denies all allegations. None have been proven in court.
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Apr 30, 2020
Quebec’s high-stakes plan to re-open
Quebec’s premier, François Legault, has announced a plan to re-open the province in May, and he says the province’s COVID-19 crisis is now under control — at least, outside long term care facilities.
But is it really under control? And will reopening the province trigger deepen community transmission of the disease?
CBC Montreal’s Kate McKenna and Jonathan Montpetit join us to talk about what’s happening in the epicentre of Canada’s coronavirus pandemic.
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Apr 29, 2020
The Last Dance and the making of Michael Jordan
During the '90s, at the height of the Chicago Bulls' success, Michael Jordan was arguably the most famous athlete in the world. But in retirement, the basketball phenomenon has largely stayed out of the limelight. That's why there is such excitement over a new television series chronicling Jordan's rise as an athlete, and his last NBA championship run. Today on Front Burner, Washington Post NBA reporter Ben Golliver on Michael Jordan's legacy, and why we're still talking about him today.
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Apr 28, 2020
Lawrence Wright predicts a pandemic in “The End of October”
When Lawrence Wright started writing a novel about a deadly influenza virus, he delved deep into researching the 1918 Spanish Flu, and more recent epidemics like SARS and MERS. Little did he know that by the time he’d release the book, we’d be living through a new and viscous influenza pandemic. Today on Front Burner, he shares his unique insight on COVID-19 given the knowledge he gained writing “The End of October”.
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Apr 27, 2020
In Brief: Ontario’s reopening roadmap, herd immunity in Quebec
As Ontario lays out its plans to reopen, Quebec Premier François Legault pushes "herd immunity" as part of the strategy to reopen his province. But that strategy was tried elsewhere and led to rapidly climbing death rates. Tonight on Front Burner, we look into how this could play out in Quebec. Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch returns to help us out.
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Apr 27, 2020
13 hours, 22 killings: New details emerge in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is still coming to terms with the mass shooting that unfolded just over a week ago, taking the lives of 22 people. The RCMP has released a more detailed timeline, including information provided by a surviving witness — a woman who had been in a relationship with the gunman — speculation about how the gunman escaped a police perimeter, and more. But questions remain about the crimes and the RCMP’s response.
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Apr 24, 2020
When will this end?
Life began returning to German streets this week as the country took small steps to slowly re-open the economy. New Zealand is set to follow suit by bringing back businesses and school for young children next week. Here in Canada, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has announced plans to reopen his province in five stages starting in May, and many other political leaders are starting to talk about how and when strict COVID-19 restrictions might be phased out. Today we’re asking about what benchmarks need to be hit for Canada to re-open, with help from Jeremy Konyndyk, Senior Policy Fellow at the Centre for Global Development, and Dr. Michael Gardam, an infectious disease specialist and chief of staff at Humber River Hospital.
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Apr 23, 2020
ICU workers on the job, in their own words
Since January, the staff at Markham Stouffville Hospital in Ontario have cared for hundreds of COVID-positive patients.Through a series of self-recordings and interviews, CBC's Wendy Mesley was able to access what life is like inside the hospital's intensive care unit. Today on Front Burner, she shares stories of the physical and emotional toll faced by front-line workers there, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Apr 22, 2020
Family stories lead to revelation: 31 deaths inside care home
On Tuesday, Front Burner learned that Ontario's Orchard Villa long term care home has one of the highest COVID-19 death tolls in the country — 31 residents have been killed by the virus. We spoke to family members who say the sick weren't segregated, and that they were left in the dark about what was happening inside.
Advocates say there are serious systemic problems in Canada's long term care facilities, and that this pandemic is exposing the deadly consequences of allowing those problems to fester for years.
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Apr 22, 2020
In Brief: Why oil prices tumbled below $0
COVID-19 lockdowns have taken a major swipe at the dominance of oil…as the worth of a barrel of U.S. oil tumbled to less than nothing. That's the first time in history that the price has turned negative. So, what does that mean exactly - and how did it happen?
To explain it all, we talk to CBC News national business correspondent, Peter Armstrong.
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Apr 21, 2020
Nova Scotia grieves after shooting rampage
There are still so many unanswered questions about what happened in Nova Scotia this past weekend. What we do know is that a lone gunman went on a 12-hour shooting rampage across the province. He set fire to five structures, impersonated a police officer and left at least 18 victims dead. Today, CBC News reporter Brett Ruskin joins us from Portapique, N.S., to report on one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history.
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Apr 20, 2020
China’s ‘wet markets’ explained
Scientists are still trying to determine the origin of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, but a predominant theory is that it began in a "wet market" in Wuhan, China. This has put the spotlight on China's wet markets, with growing calls to shut them down entirely. But, what are these wet markets, what makes them so controversial — and why do some think a ban is the only answer?
Today on Front Burner, we take a deep dive into China's world of wet markets with Peter Li, China policy specialist for the Humane Society International.
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Apr 18, 2020
Introducing Unlocking Bryson's Brain
Bryson seems like a perfectly healthy baby. But soon doctors confirm his parents’ worst fears: something is wrong with Bryson’s brain. Despite dozens of tests over nearly a decade, doctors come up empty in their efforts to find a diagnosis.Then one day, everything changes. Scientists working at the cutting edge of genetics believe they know what's causing Bryson's disease — and think it could be reversed. Here’s the first episode of the new CBC podcast, Unlocking Bryson’s Brain. More episodes are available at hyperurl.co/unlocking
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Apr 17, 2020
Could COVID-19 survivor blood keep people safe?
As scientists worldwide scramble for COVID-19 treatments and cures, some see promise in antibody-rich plasma of survivors. In Canada and beyond survivors are donating their blood for new, fast-tracked, clinical trials. Today, CBC senior correspondent Susan Ormiston joins us from Washington, D.C., to explain why antibody-rich plasma could be useful in the fight against COVID-19.
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Apr 16, 2020
Flight 752 investigation paralyzed by COVID-19
For months, the families of those who died on Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 have been searching for more answers about what led to the downing of the plane. It’s been an uphill battle, made even more so by the spread of COVID-19 in Iran, and around the world. Today, CBC senior reporter Ashley Burke joins host Jayme Poisson to talk about the human impact of the delays.
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Apr 15, 2020
WHO under fire as U.S. halts funding
U.S. President Donald Trump has put the World Health Organization in the crosshairs, announcing Tuesday the U.S. would halt funding and accusing the agency of mismanaging the coronavirus crisis by being too deferential to China.
Today on Front Burner, we take a closer look at the UN body, the organization’s track record and its limitations, with Guardian science writer Stephen Buranyi.
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Apr 14, 2020
In brief: Global scramble for PPE is 'utter cutthroat chaos'
As desperate countries around the world compete to secure as much personal protective equipment as they can, Canada is establishing a new supply chain to bring in millions of N95 masks and other supplies. Today, on Front Burner, CBC senior reporter David Cochrane explains how Canada's diplomats and consultants in China are working to set up a new supply chain amid the pandemic.
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Apr 14, 2020
Documents: government played catchup as COVID-19 threat mounted
As Canada’s fight against COVID-19 continues, questions are being raised about whether the federal government acted fast enough to prevent the spread of the virus. Now, documents show Canada two steps behind as the pandemic spread across the country.
JP Tasker, a senior writer for CBC’s parliamentary bureau, joins us to talk about what he found in those documents — and what they reveal about the situation Canada finds itself in now.
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Apr 13, 2020
One doctor's view from the ER during the coronavirus pandemic
Dr. Brian Goldman is seeing more coronavirus cases at the emergency department of the Toronto hospital in which he works. Today on Front Burner, Dr. Goldman describes a shift in the pandemic, from the intense intubations, to the discomfort of the required personal protective equipment, to the compassion of younger colleagues concerned for his health.
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Apr 10, 2020
A son’s extraordinary mission to care for his mother
Concerns about deadly coronavirus outbreaks at long-term care homes are top of mind for a lot of Canadians. Today, we speak with a man who is going to incredible, and potentially life threatening, lengths to visit his mother at her nursing home in Toronto. With the facility on lockdown and a resident with COVID-19, there was only one way Brian Corcoran could visit and check-up on his mom, Margaret — get a part-time job on staff.
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Apr 9, 2020
After the lockdown: Life returns to Wuhan
It’s a historic moment in Wuhan, China: After 76 days, the city where COVID-19 first emerged has ended its extreme lockdown, allowing people to enter and leave the city. We speak to a Wuhan resident who has just been able to leave her apartment complex for the first time since January, and to a journalist who tells us how government authorities are trying to prevent future spikes of COVID-19.
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Apr 9, 2020
In Brief: Testing saves lives. Why isn’t Ontario doing more?
Ontario has fallen far behind when it comes to testing residents for COVID-19; Quebec and BC are testing about twice as many residents, per capita. Today on Front Burner CBC science reporter Kelly Crowe explains how Ontario found itself in this predicament and how the province is trying to catch up.
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Apr 8, 2020
Lessons from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic
The influenza outbreak of 1918 was the deadliest pandemic in recent history, killing an estimated 50 million to 100 million people aroundthe world. And it bears some striking similarities to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, Laura Spinney, science journalist and author of Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World, talks about what we can learn from this century-old tragedy.
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Apr 8, 2020
In brief: Remembering John Prine
Legendary singer-songwriter John Prine has died at 73 due to complications caused by COVID-19. He was celebrated for the way he wrote about the human condition — from thoughtful reflections on heartbreak and loss, to funny quips about life’s absurdities. We remember him with Tom Power, host of CBC's q.
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Apr 7, 2020
Overdoses and COVID-19 on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
Self-isolation and physical distancing are straightforward public health orders for most Canadians, but it's a near-impossible challenge for people without adequate housing. That's clear in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, a dense neighbourhood with a large population of homeless people, who are now at risk of COVID-19. But the challenges don't stop there — the community has been battling another public health crisis for years: drug poisoning and overdoses. Today on Front Burner, Garth Mullins, host of the podcast Crackdown, tells us what that means for drug users.
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Apr 6, 2020
In Brief: anti-malaria drugs vs COVID-19, hype or hope?
Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine - two drugs touted by U.S. President Donald Trump, who says they could be game changing treatments for COVID-19. But around the world health experts have tried to temper expectations for these medications. Today, on Front Burner, we talk to infectious disease specialist, Dr. Isaac Bogoch about these drugs and the testing being done to determine if they hold any promise at all.
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Apr 6, 2020
Pregnancy in a pandemic
Questions about the impact of coronavirus on pregnancy are running through the mind of many expectant parents. But there is scant research into how COVID-19 affects pregnancy: the disease is just so new. Today on Front Burner, we talk to the head of labour and delivery at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Dr. Wendy Whittle, about what we know so far about pregnancy and coronavirus, and what hospitals are doing to operate safely.
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Apr 3, 2020
A COVID-19 surge is coming for Ontario
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has admitted that things are not looking good for the province, saying, “right now, today, there is very little separating what we will face here in Ontario from the devastation we’ve seen in Italy and Spain." He’s right to be concerned: the number of patients in Ontario’s ICU beds is doubling every four days. And according to public health officials, this is just the beginning. A surge is coming for Ontario. Today, we cover how prepared the province is and why it got this bad, with help from Mike Crawley, CBC’s Ontario provincial affairs reporter.
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Apr 2, 2020
Voices from inside: COVID-19 in Canada's prisons
For weeks, inmates, correctional officers and penal reform advocates have been sounding the alarm that Canada's prisons are sorely underprepared for the arrival of COVID-19. Canada's chief public health officer, Dr Theresa Tam, has called correctional facilities a "high-risk setting" in which a mass infection could have grave consequences.
Three inmates and 18 employees in federal institutions have tested positive for the coronavirus, as have an inmate and a guard at the Toronto South Detention Centre. On today's Front Burner, freelance reporter Justin Ling walks us through how the government can stave off a prison outbreak, protecting both inmates and society at large.
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Apr 1, 2020
In Brief: Should you wear a mask?
The number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise around the world — and here at home. That has many wondering whether public health officials should revisit their policies on people wearing face masks. But as we learn, there are many questions with not so many definitive answers. Where is the science on wearing masks? Where should you wear a mask? How should you wear it? What about supply? Jayme Poisson tries to tackle some of these questions with Dr. Isaac Bogoch, on tonight’s Front Burner.
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Apr 1, 2020
Why ‘V’ beats ‘U’ in the post-COVID economy
By most measures, COVID-19 has devastated the global economy. But how much worse could it get? And what can be done to help it recover? Today, CBC senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong drops by to explain what’s being done globally to keep the economy moving and what kind of outcomes could be in store for Canada, and the world.
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Mar 31, 2020
Making rent during a pandemic
For many Canadians, rent is due on the first of the month. But nearly half of the households in this country have lost work due to the pandemic, and emergency government benefits are not yet in people’s pockets. Today on Front Burner, an anxious Vancouver tenant on her concerns about making rent, and Toronto lawyer Caryma Sa’d on what is being done to keep tenants housed as their incomes evaporate.
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Mar 30, 2020
In Brief: Breaking down Canada’s COVID-19 numbers
Early data is starting to give an indication of how Canada is doing in its fight against the spread of COVID-19. How deadly is the virus in Canada? How is the virus spreading across the country now? Who is most vulnerable to becoming seriously ill? And why are public health officials watching this week so closely? For answers, Jayme Poisson turns to CBC health writer Adam Miller on this episode of Front Burner.
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Mar 30, 2020
Government overreach during the pandemic crisis
Governments around the world are making extraordinary moves to get COVID-19 under control -- including the curtailing of individual freedoms. In most countries, people are willing to go along with these measures, as long as they’re temporary. But what about when leaders use the coronavirus to grab more power? Today, we’re joined by Anne Applebaum, a historian and staff writer at The Atlantic, who has concerns about the potential lasting consequences of some governments’ pandemic responses.
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Mar 27, 2020
How to deal with COVID-19 anxiety
Thanks to COVID-19, most of us are isolated, glued to the news and worried about how every little choice we make could spread the virus or get us sick. And while the threat of COVID-19 is very real, does that mean that we have to live in constant fear? Today on Front Burner, we talk to public health expert Tim Caulfield, professor at the University of Alberta and author of the upcoming book, Relax, Dammit! A User's Guide to the Age of Anxiety.
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Mar 26, 2020
Inside the COVID-19 'mayhem' at B.C.'s Lynn Valley Care Centre
The majority of B.C's 14 deaths related to COVID-19 have been from one place: the Lynn Valley Care Centre. As of Wednesday, 42 residents and 21 health care workers have tested positive for the illness and 11 people had died. Today on Front Burner, CBC Vancouver senior reporter Jason Proctor helps us understand how the outbreak there happened, and what impact it might have on other long-term care homes in the region.
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Mar 25, 2020
In Brief: Who qualifies for the COVID-19 aid package?
Parliament has approved a $107-billion aid package to help Canadians struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the prime minister has said people will be able to access those benefits within 10 days of applying. But who qualifies? And how long will this aid last? Meanwhile, stricter measures are being applied on those returning to the country, but how will they be enforced? CBC parliamentary reporter J.P. Tasker joins Jayme Poisson to talk about that, on this episode of Front Burner.
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Mar 25, 2020
Trump pushes the economy while experts warn of COVID-19 deaths
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he "would love to have the country opened up, and just raring to go, by Easter," which is two and a half weeks from now. But many public health experts say the result could be an increase in COVID-19 deaths. Today on Front Burner, CBC senior correspondent Susan Ormiston on the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. — Trump's hopes to see the economy reopened in mere weeks, and what it could mean for a country the World Health Organization warned could become the new epicentre of COVID-19.
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Mar 24, 2020
COVID-19’s other frontline workers: grocery store staff
Even as most businesses in Canada have shut their doors, grocery stores remain open. And workers in those stores – who are often in low-wage positions – are worried about their own safety as COVID-19 continues to spread. Today on Front Burner, CBC reporter Haydn Watters talks to guest host Michelle Shephard about how grocery store staff are coping with the crisis, and what their companies are aiming to do about it
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Mar 23, 2020
On careless social distancing Prime Minister says "enough is enough"
The prime minister is firing off a warning today to Canadians who are not abiding by social distancing measures. He said “enough is enough” and asked people to “go home and stay home.”
On tonight’s coronavirus episode, we will get you caught up on:
The increasingly tough language coming from the federal government on social distancing.
Questions about whether the Emergencies Act Measures act will go into effect.
And how Canada is handling the return of tens of thousands of Canadians who have been stranded abroad.
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Mar 23, 2020
COVID-19, Hong Kong, and a warning from the future
In the global fight against the spread of COVID-19, Hong Kong has been recognized for its success keeping the number of cases low despite its proximity to China. Today on Front Burner, Shibani Mahtani, the Washington Post’s Hong Kong and Southeast Asia bureau chief, talks to guest host Michelle Shephard about how they did it, and what preparations are underway now for a second wave of imported COVID-19 cases.
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Mar 20, 2020
A few moments of joy during the pandemic
Things are not great. But people still are. And some good is happening. For example: competitive marble racing has gone viral because of the void left by professional sports. Artists are live streaming free concerts for fans. And in one of the countries hit hardest by COVID-19, people are taking to their balconies to sing songs in solidarity. So today, a mental break from our serious coronavirus coverage to hear stories that might bring some relief.
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Mar 19, 2020
Laid off? Gig gone? Closed? Government says COVID-19 help is on the way
COVID-19 has sent an economic shockwave through this country with countless livelihoods impact in the short term, and maybe permanently. To help, the federal government announced an $82-billion aid package. Today, one woman who has been laid off tells her story. And CBC senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong unpacks how the federal response is intended to help.
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Mar 19, 2020
Coronavirus: mortality, beds and respirators
As deaths and confirmed cases rise the number of ‘Acute-care’ beds and ventilators in Canada is causing concern. On this episode of Front Burner we zero in on Canadian deaths and discuss whether hospitals are ready to cope with the rise in cases. Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch talks to host Jayme Poisson about the latest ‘outbreak modelling,’ and how many new cases, hospitalizations and critically ill patients we are prepared for.
**Case and death numbers change quickly with this story. Please take that into consideration.
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Mar 18, 2020
Coronavirus: The race to find a vaccine
With no clear end in sight, the urgent race for a vaccine is on across the world. This week, hopes for a vaccine grew as some biotech players are seemingly making progress. But, some experts caution that this process cannot be rushed - and that we are still far from seeing a vaccine on the market.
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Mar 18, 2020
Who gets the COVID-19 test, and why
Public health bodies like the World Health Organization tell us that widespread testing for COVID-19 is key to fighting the pandemic. But we’re also hearing that some provinces are planning to tighten criteria for who can get tested. Today on Front Burner, we speak to infectious disease specialist Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti about the testing strategy being used across Canada and how effective it is in flattening the curve.
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Mar 17, 2020
When social distancing is a matter of life and death
Government and public health officials are urging Canadians to practice social distancing. But what, exactly, does that mean?
We speak to a man with cerebral palsy who says that for him, social distancing could make the difference between life and death. Then, a public health expert answers some of our questions about how to do social distancing right.
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Mar 16, 2020
Coronavirus: Canada closing border to most non-citizens
Canada is barring entry to all travellers who are not citizens, permanent residents or Americans, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today. Will the prime minister’s new measures have a meaningful impact? Why are American citizens allowed to enter Canada, while some border states are grappling with widespread community transmission? Adam Miller from CBC’s health unit is back to discuss.
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Mar 16, 2020
Peter Mansbridge on COVID-19, 9/11 and the 2008 market crash
It’s been an overwhelming few days of developments around the COVID-19 pandemic. As cases tick upwards, and more drastic measures are taken to curb the outbreak - CBC’s former chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge helps us set it in historical context with other global crises.
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Mar 13, 2020
Before the storm: Is Canada ready for COVID-19?
From U.S President Donald Trump suspending most travel from Europe, to major sports leagues suspending their seasons — efforts to slow down the COVID-19 pandemic are ramping up. Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch talks to host Jayme Poisson about whether Canada is doing enough.
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Mar 12, 2020
MH17 jet attack murder trial begins — suspects still at large
A trial has begun in Amsterdam for the murder of the 298 people killed in 2014 in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash over Ukraine. But the four men charged are still at large, and although Russia has been implicated in the downing of the plane, the Putin government has denied any responsibility. CBC's Chris Brown joins Jayme Poisson to talk about the victims' families' search for justice – and why the stakes are so high for Russia.
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Mar 11, 2020
Coronavirus: WHO says COVID-19 is a pandemic
What does it mean that WHO is now calling COVID-19 a pandemic? And what’s behind the idea of “flattening the curve”? Plus, Prime Minister Trudeau has announced measures to fight the outbreak, including $1 billion in spending. So is Canada doing enough? We’re joined by CBC senior health writer Adam Miller to explain all that and to break down the latest news.
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Mar 11, 2020
Conservative kingmaker picks his candidate
The temperature of the federal Conservative leadership race has just been cranked up by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney. Kenney stepped out of Alberta’s legislature to give an unambiguous endorsement of Erin O’Toole, and a jab at rival candidate Peter MacKay. Vassy Kapelos, the host of CBC’s Power & Politics, joins us to discuss why Kenney is taking sides and how it might influence the race.
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Mar 10, 2020
COVID-19 comes for the stock market
It was a historically bad day for global markets. The twin factors of COVID-19 and a collapse in the price of oil led to widespread panic and one of the worst days in the stock market in years, with consequences still to come.
What just happened, and why are people freaking out? Manulife global chief economist Frances Donald is here to explain.
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Mar 9, 2020
A radical program to address the domestic violence crisis
In Canada, domestic violence has reached crisis levels. But in Saint Paul, Minnesota, a radical domestic abuse intervention project is showing the way forward, and how to save countless lives. Katie Nicholson joins Jayme Poisson to explain the “Blueprint for Safety” program and how it’s protecting victims of domestic violence.
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Mar 6, 2020
U.S. scrambles to contain COVID-19, and it's a problem for everyone
COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have reached double digits. As efforts to contain the coronavirus in the U.S. continue, certain factors make it even more difficult. First, there's a shortage of test kits. Then there's the question of cost for patients. We look at the U.S. public health response with Laurie Garrett, a Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist who built her career studying pandemics.
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Mar 5, 2020
Baby business Part 2: The parents
What happens when your fragile parenthood dream is not in your control? In the second part of our series on surrogacy in Canada, we look at how the surrogacy industry affects parents. The costs can reach more than $100,000. There’s a fear that they’re breaking the law. The pressure to not rock the boat is high. Jayme talks to Chris Glover and Chelsea Gomez about the ways surrogacy is not working for parents.
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Mar 4, 2020
Baby business Part 1: The surrogates
As infertility rates go up in Canada, desperate couples are turning to surrogacy. But a new investigation reveals that because there are few federal regulations on the surrogacy system, the process isn’t working for everyone. Jayme Poisson speaks with Chris Glover and Chelsea Gomez, who spent months investigating surrogacy in Canada, in the first of a two-part series.
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Mar 3, 2020
Police in Canada are using controversial facial recognition software
That photo you posted to Instagram? It might be a part of Clearview AI’s massive database of some 3 billion images, all scraped from the internet. The facial recognition app has experts worried about privacy overreach. Canadian police forces first said they’re not using Clearview — until it turned out they are. Toronto Star reporters Wendy Gillis and Kate Allen have followed this story closely, and they’re here to talk implications.
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Mar 2, 2020
Biden versus Sanders II: Setting up Super Tuesday
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders got off to a strong start in the early primaries and caucuses, but former vice-president Joe Biden is right behind him in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. After a major victory in South Carolina, Biden has momentum heading into Super Tuesday — when 14 states vote for their preferred candidate. Today on Front Burner, Alex Panetta from CBC's Washington bureau joins us to explain what’s at stake.
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Feb 29, 2020
Introducing The Dose with Dr. Brian Goldman
The Dose is a new weekly podcast that answers everyday health questions like: What vaccines do adults need? Does your Fitbit actually make you fitter? Or, should I bother taking vitamins? Dr. Brian Goldman and the team behind White Coat Black Art bring you the best science from top experts in about the same amount of time as an appointment with your GP. Subscribe to The Dose at smarturl.it/thedosecbc
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Feb 28, 2020
'The precipice of a pandemic'
From Iran to Italy to South Korea — there are new epicentres for the coronavirus. On Thursday, World Health Organization officials stressed the need for governments to have national preparedness plans and training in place for health-care workers.Today on Front Burner, infectious disease expert Isaac Bogoch returns to the podcast to talk about how the public health response needs to change to address the growing epidemic.
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Feb 27, 2020
A radical disability advocate's fall from grace
This week, a shocking report from L’Arche revealed Jean Vanier sexually abused at least six women. Less than a year ago, longtime Globe and Mail reporter Ian Brown wrote the obituary of Vanier. Brown wrote about how the beloved Canadian founder of L’Arche, an international network of communities for people with intellectual disabilities, will be remembered as a radical philosopher of disability. Today on Front Burner, Brown covers how the disturbing revelations have sent shockwaves through the disability and Catholic communities and beyond.
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Feb 26, 2020
Debating Canada's energy and climate future
The shelving of the Teck Resources Frontier project — an oilsands mine twice the size of Vancouver — has many arguing over the right balance between climate action and resource development.
Today on Front Burner, we get two viewpoints on Canada's energy future: former TransCanada executive Dennis McConaghy and Stand.earth program director Tzeporah Berman.
McConaghy says Canada is punishing itself while the rest of the world continues to profit off hydrocarbons. Berman believes markets and political leaders are turning the page on fossil fuels and Canada needs to do the same.
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Feb 25, 2020
Weinstein conviction: a watershed moment for #MeToo?
A New York City jury has found Harvey Weinstein guilty of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and of third-degree rape. Today, Megan Garber of The Atlantic joins Front Burner to unpack the court proceedings that led to Weinstein's conviction and discusses whether this trial is a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement
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Feb 24, 2020
The fight over public/private healthcare in Canada
A challenge to Canada’s public healthcare system resumes Tuesday in BC’s Supreme Court. Dr. Brian Day -- who runs two private healthcare clinics in Vancouver -- says Canadians should have the right to pay for private treatment and that a two-tier system will cut down on wait times for everyone. Critics say this could undermine the entire Canadian public healthcare system. The CBC’s Dr. Brian Goldman joins Jayme to explain.
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Feb 21, 2020
'No safe haven': The escalating crisis in Idlib, Syria
A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Syria's Idlib province. Nearly one million people have been displaced since a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive began in December, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee to ever-shrinking camps along the border with Turkey. Today on Front Burner, we talk to CNN senior correspondent Arwa Damon, who was just in Idlib, about what she saw on the ground. “These are families that have been displaced multiple times,” she tells Jayme. “What makes this time so much more different is that it’s almost as if there is a sense of finality to it … they’re going to reach a point where they can’t run anymore.”
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Feb 20, 2020
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' $10B climate pledge
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said this week he will donate $10 billion to fight climate change — working with others "both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting thedevastating impact of climate change." Today on Front Burner, we ask: What can $10 billion do for the environment? Guest host Michelle Shephard talks to David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth, which describes the frightening consequences of global warming.
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Feb 19, 2020
Rail blockades cause political impasse for Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is asking Canadians to show "resolve" as he seeks an end to the rail blockades locking up trains in Canada.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in goods are sitting idle on the tracks and CN Rail is laying off hundreds of workers as protesters demand police leave the territory of a B.C. First Nation. Trudeau is calling for dialogue, but offering few other details about his path to resolution.
Today on Front Burner, CBC senior writer Aaron Wherry tells us how Trudeau's record on reconciliation frames — and complicates — the way forward.
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Feb 18, 2020
Former Catholic priest alleges superiors covered up his sex crimes
In 2015, former Catholic priest Paul-André Harvey pled guilty to 39 counts of sexual assault and gross indecency against young girls. Before he died in 2018, he did something that sent shockwaves through his former Quebec diocese: he wrote a confession in which he alleged his superiors both enabled and covered up his crimes. Mark Kelley of CBC’s The Fifth Estate tells us about the role this confession is now playing in a class-action lawsuit, brought by Harvey’s alleged victims, against the church.
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Feb 17, 2020
2 lives shattered by airline tragedies, a conversation
Hamed Esmaeilion lost his wife and daughter in the downing of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 in Iran. Renée Sarojini Saklikar lost her aunt and uncle in the bombing of Air India Flight 182.
Today on Front Burner, they share a conversation about confronting grief, living with unanswered questions and looking for justice in the midst of tragedy.
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Feb 14, 2020
Wet’suwet’en: Why B.C. is a battleground for Indigenous land rights
It’s been a week of nationwide protests, blockades and arrests over the Coastal GasLink pipeline, a section of which would pass through traditional Wet’suwet’en territory in northwestern British Columbia. At the core of this conflict is a long-running dispute over who has authority over the land where the pipeline would be contructed. Today on Front Burner, CBC’s Duncan McCue offers a close look at the pivotal 1997 court case that set the stage for this dispute: Delgamuukw vs. British Columbia.
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Feb 13, 2020
Guantanamo Bay, torture and the long road to a 9/11 trial
It's been almost 20 years since four jets were hijacked mid-air and crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, the Pentagon in D.C., and a field near Shanksville, Penn., killing nearly 3,000 people. Pretrials have begun, and a full trial date for the surviving alleged plotters of the attack is set for January 2021, at Guantanamo Bay. But the legal case — and the logistics of holding it at the notorious U.S. military base — are complicated. Today on Front Burner, longtime national security reporter Michelle Shephard on the preparations for what could be the trial of the century.
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Feb 12, 2020
Trudeau’s UN charm offensive in Africa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicked off an eight-day charm offensive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this past weekend, attending a meeting of the African Union. Now, he’s Dakar, Senegal. And it’s all part of the government’s efforts to get Canada a seat on the United Nations Security Council. Today, CBC’s Catherine Cullen explains why the government’s gunning for this seat, and whether all the time and money put into this bid is really worth it.
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Feb 11, 2020
Wet'suwet'en RCMP standoff sparks national protests
The bitter fight over the construction of a natural gas pipeline in Northern B.C. continues to escalate. Over the last several days, the RCMP has moved in to enforce an injunction order to allow Coastal GasLink to get to work on the $6 billion project. Dozens of people have now been arrested, on Wet'suwet'en territory where the pipeline passes through, and at solidarity protests across the country. Today, CBC reporter Chantelle Bellrichard explains why the stakes are so high for everyone involved.
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Feb 10, 2020
Are taxpayer handouts over for Bombardier?
Today, the Canadian company Bombardier is more than $9 billion US in debt. Over the years, it has received billions in taxpayer bailouts. But after some big failures, layoffs and criticism over executive bonuses, this time around may be different.
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Feb 8, 2020
Front Burner Presents Uncover: Satanic Panic
Throughout the 1980s, Satanic cults were widely believed to be terrorizing and torturing children. There were hundreds of false allegations and countless lives torn apart — but never any real proof. Uncover: Satanic Panic from CBC Podcasts is out now. Subscribe at cbc.ca/uncover
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Feb 7, 2020
Canadian government emails defend herbicide linked to cancer by U.S. court
A CBC report has uncovered a series of internal government emails showing Canadian officials defending the use of glyphosate, frequently sold under the brand name Roundup. It's a herbicide that was at the heart of a landmark U.S. lawsuit in 2018 that linked the product to cancer. Monsanto, which makes Roundup, is appealing the decision, and its parent company Bayer says the weedkiller is safe when used as directed, citing more than 100 scientific studies backing that position. However, despite mounting concerns about its safety, glyphosate remains the most widely used herbicide in Canada. Today on Front Burner, CBC News writer Chris Arsenault talks to guest host Josh Bloch about why regulating glyphosate is so complicated.
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Feb 6, 2020
A controversial police probe into fatal BC train derailment
It’s been a year since a runaway train derailed near Field, B.C., killing the three crew members on board: Dylan Paradis, Andy Dockrell and Daniel Waldenberger-Bulmer. But questions remain about what led to the crash of Canadian Pacific Railway Train 301. The only formal police investigation into the derailment was done by CP Rail’s own police force. CBC investigative reporter Dave Seglins has dug into the crash for his Fifth Estate documentary Runaway Train. Today on Front Burner, he talks about what he found, and what it can tell us about safety and accountability on railways across the country.
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Feb 5, 2020
One family’s fight to get airlifted out of Wuhan
When Megan Millward and her husband Lie Zhang left their home in Montreal to visit family near Wuhan for Lunar New Year, they had no idea they would be putting their small family, and two young children, at risk. When the coronavirus hit, the family were trapped under quarantine in the countryside of Hubei province and left with no idea about how or when they could return home. This Thursday, the federal government plans on airlifting Canadians out of Wuhan. Millward and Zhang want their family on that flight, but there’s no telling what will happen. Today on Front Burner, we hear their story.
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Feb 4, 2020
A call to govern media giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime
A new federal report proposes sweeping changes to Canada’s broadcasting and telecommunications sector. The recommendations range from bringing online media platforms like Yahoo and Facebook under the scope of Canada’s Broadcasting Act to making sure that streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime are sufficiently promoting Canadian material. Today on Front Burner, CBC Entertainment reporter Eli Glasner joins host Jayme Poisson to explain what’s at stake.
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Feb 3, 2020
In the race to lead the Democrats, Iowa caucuses can make or break campaigns
Months of Democratic strategizing and in-fighting culminates on Monday in the first caucus of the party’s 2020 leadership race. Historically, the Iowa caucuses are the first hint of which candidate could take on the President in November. Today on Front Burner, Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel takes us to Iowa, where the momentum of caucusing could be the key to capturing the Democratic nomination.
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Jan 31, 2020
'There was no plan': The long road to Brexit
Tonight, at 11 p.m. local time, it finally happens: Brexit. It's been almost four years since Britain launched a referendum on whether to leave the European Union. To remember the highs and lows of how the U.K. got to this point, we're joined by the BBC World Service's political correspondent Rob Watson. He walks us through the big moments of Brexit, like the big red Brexit bus, the resignations of two prime ministers, and the stockpiling of food. Plus we look ahead to what might come next.
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Jan 30, 2020
The fight over witness testimony at Trump’s impeachment trial
As early as Friday the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on whether or not witness testimony will be allowed at Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. It could be a real game changer, especially in light of former national security adviser John Bolton’s new bombshell accusations against the president. Today on Front Burner, longtime CBC Washington correspondent Keith Boag explains the likelihood of testimony being heard and how it could possibly affect the outcome of the trial.
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Jan 29, 2020
An enormous open-pit mine and the future of the Alberta oilsands
Right now, there’s a proposal for a massive oilsands project awaiting approval from Justin Trudeau’s cabinet. The Teck Frontier mine is thought to be one of the largest oilsands mines ever proposed in Alberta. It’s projected to bring in billions of dollars of federal and province taxes. It’s also expected to have significant environmental impacts: from the destruction of old-growth forest, to an increase in carbon emissions. Cabinet has until next month to make a decision on whether or not to give it the greenlight. What happens next could act as a litmus test for the future of the Alberta oilsands. Today on Front Burner, Sharon Riley, Alberta energy and environment reporter with The Narwhal, explains the Teck Frontier oilsands mine.
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Jan 28, 2020
Contending with all of Kobe Bryant's legacy
NBA legend Kobe Bryant died on Sunday in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, California, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people.
The 41-year-old 18-time NBA all-star won five championships with the L.A. Lakers. His legacy is also complicated by the fact that in 2003 he was accused of sexual assault. The criminal charges were dropped after his accuser refused to testify in court.
Today on Front Burner, we talk about Bryant's career and complicated legacy with Slate writer and podcast host Joel Anderson.
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Jan 27, 2020
How to fight a viral disease outbreak
The coronavirus outbreak has come to Canada. A man in his 50s who’d recently been to Wuhan, China is Canada’s first “presumptive case,” and is being treated in a Toronto hospital. Today, on Front Burner, we speak to infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch to learn what’s happening in this country and around the world to combat the 2019-nCoV coronavirus. He explains everything from front-line measures being taken by health professionals, to the co-ordination of international public health authorities, to the lab research being done to help us better understand and better fight this virus.
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Jan 24, 2020
An inside look at white supremacist group The Base
Last week, former reservist Patrik Mathews was arrested by the FBI on firearms-related charges. Front Burner first covered his story last summer, when he was being investigated by law enforcement for suspected ties to a militant white supremacist group called The Base. After a raid by the RCMP, Mathews disappeared. Because of his arrest, we have access to a trove of court documents from the FBI's investigation of Mathews. Today on Front Burner, we talk to Vice national security correspondent Ben Makuch about what we've learned from these documents, and what they might say about efforts to stop the growth of white supremacist groups.
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Jan 23, 2020
Putting the brakes on facial recognition technology
A leaked draft memo revealed recently the European Union is considering a temporary ban on the use of facial recognition technology in public spaces. And in the last few days, Google's CEO and the editorial board of the Financial Times have called for a moratorium on the burgeoning technology. Facial recognition is evolving and disseminating so quickly, that some are saying it's time to pump the brakes. Clare Garvie thinks that's the right idea. She studies facial recognition technology at the Georgetown Center on Privacy and Technology. Today on Front Burner, she explains how it's being used and its potential for abuse.
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Jan 22, 2020
As Wuhan virus spreads, fears about pandemic readiness
A new virus spreading out of China has caught the attention of infectious disease experts around the world. That's because it bears some strong similarities to SARS, the respiratory disease that killed hundreds of people including 44 Canadians in 2003. Whether this new coronavirus turns out to be more or less dangerous than SARS, experts say we need to better prepare for pandemics because they are coming for us — ready or not. Today on Front Burner, we talk to Dr. Kamran Khan, who heads up a medical data analytics firm that's trying to set up an early warning system for infectious diseases so doctors like him can spread information about pandemics faster than diseases can spread themselves.
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Jan 21, 2020
Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou extradition fight begins
Meng Wanzhou’s extradition hearing finally kicked off this week. It’s been just over a year since the Huawei chief financial officer was arrested on fraud charges. The arrest ignited a massive diplomatic rift between Canada and China, and a lot of international attention is focused on the Vancouver courtroom where a judge now must decide whether Canada will send the heiress to face the U.S. justice system. CBC Vancouver senior reporter Jason Proctor has been covering this story closely. Today on Font Burner he explains how extradition hearings work and how these proceedings might affect Canada’s already tense relationship with China.
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Jan 20, 2020
Miracles and money: A look inside televangelist Benny Hinn’s ministry
For decades, televangelist Benny Hinn has travelled the world, reportedly performed miracles on stage and raked in cash. In that time, CBC’s Bob McKeown has done several investigations into the controversial pastor’s so-called miracle healing as well as his finances. In The Insider: Tales from Inside the Benny Hinn Ministries, a new documentary for The Fifth Estate, McKeown spoke with Benny Hinn’s nephew, Costi, who’s left the ministry. Today on Front Burner, McKeown discusses what he learned about Benny Hinn’s ministries from his former followers.
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Jan 17, 2020
World’s biggest money manager sees profit potential in climate change action
Today on Front Burner, host Jayme Poisson talks to business professor Sarah Kaplan about the decision by the world’s biggest money manager, BlackRock, to make climate change central to its investment decisions, and whether corporations can lead on climate change action.
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Jan 16, 2020
One man’s fight for his right to die
Ron Posno knows how he wants to die: on his own terms and with help from a healthcare professional. He’s an advocate for people with dementia and a volunteer with Dying with Dignity Canada from London, Ontario. But he doesn’t qualify for a medically-assisted death right now. That could change. Starting this week, the federal government has launched two weeks of public consultations asking Canadians how they would like to amend the existing medically-assisted dying laws. This follows a Quebec ruling last September that found people should be able to access assisted dying even if death is not imminent. Today on Front Burner, we ask if dementia patients should be able to consent to an assisted death in advance.
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Jan 15, 2020
Who wants to lead the Conservative Party of Canada?
The race to become the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada has officially started. There have been a lot of questions about who might run ever since Andrew Scheer quit last December. Today on Front Burner, host Jayme Poisson talks to Maclean's senior writer Paul Wells about how this isn't just about the leader the Conservative party wants — but also what kind of party it wants to be.
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Jan 14, 2020
Flight 752 fallout: the view from Iran
Today on Front Burner, as anti-government protests erupt in Iran over the shooting down of Flight 752, reports are coming out that live ammunition is being used in the police crackdown. We speak to a journalist on the ground in Tehran.
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Jan 13, 2020
Royal family tested by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s ‘Megxit’
Today the top members of the royal family will meet to discuss Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s future role inside the British monarchy. It’s the first time the Duke of Sussex will be in the same room as his grandmother, the Queen, since the couple announced plans to step back as senior royals, gain financial independence, and split their time between Britain and North America. There’s a lot of anger in the United Kingdom about this, fueled by reports that the Queen was surprised by the news. So, today on Front Burner, we talk ‘Megxit” with former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt. He explains what the announcement means for the future of the British monarchy and what Canada has to do with it.
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Jan 10, 2020
Questions swirl after passenger jet ‘shot down’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that intelligence now indicates that a missile likely brought down the Ukrainian airliner that crashed in Iran - killing 176 on board, including 63 Canadians. Today on Front Burner, host Jayme Poisson talks to arms control expert Jeffrey Lewis about missile detection, and CBC senior writer Aaron Wherry about how the Canadian government might seek accountability.
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Jan 9, 2020
Tragedy in Iran: Canadians mourn enormous loss of life in jet crash
As the world sat on edge Tuesday night, fearful that increasing violence and belligerence between the U.S. and Iran could escalate into war, tragedy struck. But not the tragedy anyone was expecting. In an instant, 176 lives were lost when a Ukrainian International Airlines flight crashed just outside of Tehran, less than two minutes after takeoff.
Sixty-three of those victims were Canadian. Today, on Front Burner, we hear from victims' loved ones from across the country and learn more about what might have caused the plane to go down.
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Jan 8, 2020
Life inside Australia’s devastating wildfires
Australia's eastern coast has been ravaged by wildfires that have killed at least 25 people, decimating precious ecosystems, and left an estimated 500 million animals dead. Today on Front Burner we hear from someone who knows what it’s like to see the sky burn orange and watch ash drop like rain. Jessica Friedmann, author of Things That Helped, hales from Braidwood, a small town in New South Wales, Australia. She’s written about her family’s experience with the wildfires. We speak to her today about why this wildfire season is so devastating and how she feels the government should be responding.
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Jan 7, 2020
Harvey Weinstein, NDAs and living in silence
Harvey Weinstein's criminal trial starts this week. The former movie producer faces charges of predatory sexual assault and rape, and has pleaded not guilty on all counts. Today on Front Burner, The National's Adrienne Arsenault brings us the stories of two women, not involved with the criminal case, who were both assistants to Weinstein. They've accused him of sexual misconduct, and allege he has used non-disclosure agreements to keep women silent for years.
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Jan 6, 2020
U.S. killing of top Iranian general stokes worries over wider conflict
In the days since the Trump administration ordered a lethal drone strike in Baghdad on Iran’s second-most powerful man, Qassem Soleimani, Iranian officials have promised “vigorous vengeance” against the U.S. and chants of “death to America” were heard in the Iranian parliament. On Sunday, as anti-war protests broke out across the United States, a funeral for Soleimani brought thousands of mourners to the streets in the Iranian city of Ahvaz. Today on Front Burner, as tensions ratchet up, we talk with national security expert Heather Hurlburt about what could happen next.
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Jan 3, 2020
Guns, gangs and racism in a Prairie city
Regina’s crime rate is nearly triple that of Toronto. The neighbourhood of North Central Regina is considered one of the most dangerous in the country. CBC’s Duncan McCue, along with the Fifth Estate, wanted to find out why. And so, this past autumn, he went to North Central and held a townhall, welcoming community members, grassroots activists and police. Today on Front Burner, Duncan McCue shares what he learned about the current impacts and root causes of Indigenous gangs in the Prairie city.
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Jan 2, 2020
Quebec begins controversial 'values' test for newcomers
Quebec Premier François Legault came to power saying he would protect the province's cultural identity by reducing its intake of immigrants. On Jan. 1, Legault fulfils part of his controversial plan — the implementation of a "values" test some potential immigrants will have to complete. Today, we talk with CBC reporter Ben Shingler about the policy, how it will likely play out, and the message it sends.
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Dec 31, 2019
A neo-Nazi connection, the U.S.-Mexico border, and beauty YouTubers
In over a year, Front Burner has covered a lot of stories. But we haven’t had time to follow up on all of them. Today, we revisit a handful, from the Canadian link to a militant neo-Nazi group called The Base, to the treatment of migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border and the fallout from a feud between two incredibly famous beauty YouTubers.
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Dec 30, 2019
K-pop's promise and peril
This was a banner year for K-pop. South Korean pop music — known for aggressively catchy hooks, flawless choreography and highly photogenic performers — had been popular in the West for decades. But 2019 seemed to be a turning point, as the biggest acts conquered the market outside Asia. The boy group BTS broke a Beatles record, with three Billboard number one albums in a single year. They sold out stadiums like London's Wembley, and performed on Saturday Night Live. The quartet Blackpink became the first female K-pop act to play Coachella. But at home in South Korea, the industry was tarnished by multiple scandals involving sexual assault, corruption and suicide. Today on Front Burner, Jayme Poisson talks to the Asia editor of Bloomberg Businessweek, Matthew Campbell, about what he learned seeing the K-pop machine up close.
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Dec 27, 2019
Greta Thunberg and the rise of the youth climate movement
She's the teenager who skipped school — and sparked a global protest. Today, Greta Thunberg is instantly recognizable by her stern demeanour and singular message: When it comes to climate change, listen to the scientists. But it was only last year that she was an unknown 15-year-old, protesting outside Swedish parliament. In the time since, she's dressed down heads of state at the UN, inspired millions of people to march in the global Climate Strike, and been named Time magazine's Person of the Year. But in 2019, it wasn't just Greta and the youth movement she inspires — there were other large-scale protests, led by groups like Extinction Rebellion. Today on Front Burner, Jayme Poisson talks to the Washington Post science and environment reporter Sarah Kaplan about whether these movements can produce real change in the year to come.
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Dec 26, 2019
Front Burner’s 2019 news quiz
This December, Front Burner hosted a live show at the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. In this second part, host Jayme Poisson was joined by CBC personalities Peter Armstrong, Elamin Abdelmahmoud, Piya Chattopadhyay and Tom Power for a freewheeling news quiz.
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Dec 24, 2019
The year in news — live!
This December, Front Burner hosted a live show at CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. In this first part, host Jayme Poisson was joined by CBC personalities Peter Armstrong, Elamin Abdelmahmoud and Piya Chattopadhyay to talk about the biggest news stories of the year.
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Dec 23, 2019
Taking stock of Amazon's enormous ambition
Amazon is a giant company, but in reality, it's probably far bigger and involved in far more activities than most people are aware — think cancer research and police surveillance. Today on Front Burner, Wired writer Louise Matsakis, explains just how vast Amazon is and helps us grasp the implications of such a giant business. She brings insight into challenges that face Amazon, how the company could evolve in the future and why owner Jeff Bezos wants to colonize space.
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Dec 20, 2019
Could suing over ‘smart guns’ curb Canadian gun violence?
In July 2018, a man went on a shooting rampage in downtown Toronto, killing two people and wounding 13 others. Now, a class-action lawsuit has been launched to sue gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson, alleging the company did not follow through on an earlier U.S. agreement to equip its handguns with smart gun technology that would restrict who can use the weapon. Today on Front Burner, we hear from one of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs and get a crash course in smart guns.
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Dec 19, 2019
Behind impeachment: Life in a Ukrainian war zone
The war in Ukraine and U.S. military aid was central to this week’s impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump. That war has left roughly 13,000 people dead with many more injured and internally displaced. Today on Front Burner, CBC’s Russia correspondent Chris Brown will take us inside the conflict to explain why the U.S. military aid Donald Trump withheld had life and death stakes for the people who have lived through six long years of war.
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Dec 18, 2019
Impeachment, a Senate trial, and the 'dead chicken' strategy
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the articles of impeachment. President Donald Trump is expected to become just the third U.S. president in history to be impeached. But after the House vote, the proceedings move to the Senate, where there will be a trial. Today on Front Burner, CBC Washington correspondent Alex Panetta explains how some Republicans want the trial to be swift, while others are hoping for a full-on spectacle.
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Dec 17, 2019
Canada and the 'Afghanistan Papers'
The "Afghanistan Papers," released last week by the Washington Post, contain hundreds of interviews with high-ranking officials involved in the ongoing 18-year war in Afghanistan. The documents reveal that many insiders knew the war was dysfunctional and unwinnable. That comes as no surprise to CBC's Murray Brewster, who spent 15 months on the ground in Afghanistan covering the war. Today on Front Burner, he describes Canada's role in the war, the challenges the Canadian military faced there, and why he thinks there are still important questions to be answered about this country's involvement.
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Dec 16, 2019
One year in Chinese detention: What life is like for 2 Canadians
It has now passed the one-year mark since two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, were arrested and detained in China. Both were accused by Chinese authorities of charges related to spying and stealing national secrets. Both were picked up mere days after Meng Wangzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese tech company Huawei, was arrested at a Vancouver airport in 2018. The ‘Two Michaels’ are still being held in detention centres where conditions are a far cry from Meng’s house arrest. Today on Front Burner, Jayme Poisson talks to the Globe and Mail’s Asia correspondent Nathan VanderKlippe about visiting the prisons where Spavor and Kovrig are being held, and what happens next with their cases.
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Dec 13, 2019
Andrew Scheer out amidst private school payment controversy
Andrew Scheer is stepping down as leader of the federal Conservative party amidst a controversy over his use of party funds to send his kids to private school and growing criticisms over his election performance. Today, Jayme Poisson speaks with Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos for insight on Scheer’s resignation and to find out what, and who, could be next for the party.
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Dec 12, 2019
Former hockey pros describe the sport's dark side
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has responded to a string of allegations about racism, bullying and physical abuse in the league, declaring "we will not tolerate abusive behaviour of any kind." The fallout began when player Akim Aliu described being called the n-word by his then-coach Bill Peters, who has since resigned as head coach of the Calgary Flames. So, is this a moment of reckoning for hockey?
Today on Front Burner, former NHLer Daniel Carcillo and former OHLer Brock McGillis talk about their experiences with the dark side of hockey culture, and how they think it can change.
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Dec 11, 2019
New NAFTA: What you need to know
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has signed the new free trade agreement with the U.S. and Mexico. Today on Front Burner,Globe and Mail reporter Adrian Morrow explains what the new Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) accomplished for Canada and why it took so long to get signed.
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Dec 10, 2019
Fall from grace: Aung San Suu Kyi defends Myanmar against genocide charge
Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle for freedom and democracy in Myanmar.
But now — as the current leader of her country — she's in The Hague, before the International Court of Justice, defending her regime against charges of genocide against Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim population. Today, on Front Burner, Mark Farmaner of the Burma Campaign U.K., brings us the story of the violent attacks against the Rohingya and why a once-revered human rights icon is now being called an apologist for ethnic violence.
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Dec 9, 2019
Amidst ‘profound political crisis,’ UK heads to the polls
The UK election campaign is entering its final days. On Thursday, the country will head to the polls for the third time in under five years. The incumbent Tory, Boris Johnson, is promising to “get Brexit done.” Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is proposing another referendum. Both leaders are grappling with grim popularity ratings. Today on Front Burner, BBC’s Rob Watson lays out the high stakes, saying “the UK has never faced a peacetime challenge like Brexit.”
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Dec 6, 2019
Throne speech signals priorities, problems for minority government
On Thursday, Justin Trudeau kicked off Canada's 43rd parliamentary session with his government's speech from the throne, delivered by Gov. Gen. Julie Payette. Today, on Front Burner, Vassy Kapelos, host of CBC's Power & Politics, joins Jayme Poisson to discuss the speech, how it was received by the other party leaders and how likely the prime minister will be able to fulfil his promises considering his government's minority status.
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Dec 5, 2019
What an alleged 'prolific' fraudster reveals about identity theft in Canada
Today on Front Burner, the story of an alleged “professional” identity thief who is facing over 50 fraud-related charges, and accused of stealing the identities of some 20 women by creating forged identification documents and racking up big bills. In this episode, guest host Elamin Abdelmahmoud speaks with CBC senior reporter John Lancaster about how prevalent identity theft is, and how devastating it can be for Canadians.
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Dec 4, 2019
What Canadian universities gain, and lose, by accepting Huawei funding
The Chinese tech giant Huawei is in the news again. This week is the one-year anniversary since the company's CFO, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested at a Vancouver airport, which triggered a massive diplomatic crisis between Canada and China. Also this week, Meng Wanzhou's father, the founder and CEO of Huawei, said the company's centre for research and development will be relocated from the United States to Canada. But that move isn't such a surprise. Huawei currently funds $56 million of academic research at Canadian institutions, a fact that worries tech and national security experts. Today on Front Burner, guest host Elamin Abdelmahmoud is joined by Peter Armstrong, CBC's senior business reporter, to talk about the risks and rewards of accepting Huawei's money.
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Dec 3, 2019
United premiers could spell trouble for Trudeau
This week, provincial and territorial leaders from across the country gathered in a Toronto suburb to decide on a collective agenda to present to the federal government. On Monday, the premiers came out of the meeting striking a tone of unity, with a list of agreed-upon priorities to assist struggling resource-dependent provinces. Today on Front Burner, CBC's J.P. Tasker reports on what came out of the meeting, why Alberta Premier Jason Kenney won big and what a united group of conservative-leaning premiers might mean for the Liberals' legislative plans.
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Dec 2, 2019
Canada’s rules on e-cigarettes based on ‘unproven hypothesis’
There are fewer restrictions on vaping devices in Canada than on tobacco, cannabis or even alcohol. Health Canada made e-cigarettes widely accessible based on an understanding that they could be used as a smoking cessation tool. Now, Canada is investigating almost a dozen possible or confirmed cases of vaping-related lung disease and the U.S. is tallying up thousands of lung injuries and over 40 deaths.
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Nov 29, 2019
Understanding TikTok: From viral teen videos to Chinese political censorship
This week, TikTok was in the news for pulling a video critical of China's mass detention of Uighurs. Most of the popular Chinese-owned social media app's users are children and teens who share lip-syncing videos, dance crazes and comedy skits. But in today's episode, Alex Hern, technology editor at the Guardian, explains why — behind the memes and music — there are some real concerns about censorship, privacy and foreign influence.
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Nov 28, 2019
Liberals fight payments ordered for First Nations children
This week, the Liberal government was in a federal court, as part of its fight against an order to compensate First Nations children affected by the on-reserve child welfare system. The order is part of a Canada Human Rights Tribunal ruling that took nearly a decade to achieve. The government says the order is an unfair over-reach, and that it plans to deliver payment through a class-action lawsuit instead. Today on Front Burner, CBC Indigenous unit's Jorge Barrera on the long backstory to this week's court hearings, and the discrimination First Nations children face on-reserve.
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Nov 27, 2019
Secret documents show scope of China’s mass detention of Uighurs
The systematic detention of a Muslim minority for surveillance, indoctrination and psychological modification is taking place at re-education camps in China, according to leaked official documents revealed this week by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and CBC News . Today on Front Burner, The National’s Adrienne Arsenault delves into China’s crackdown of Uighurs, its aggressive international surveillance of the minority group and how the world is responding to these revelations.
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Nov 26, 2019
How ‘alternative’ autism therapies lure in frustrated parents
In 2008, Sandra Hart wanted to get her son Christopher some extra help. He lives with autism and has limited verbal skills, and his mother was frustrated by mainstream medical treatments. Christopher saw a chiropractor for cranial adjustments, and later went for electro-dermal testing. Sandra Hart is not alone: alternative therapies are getting so popular, the Canadian Pediatric Society has created guidelines to help doctors deal with questions from patients. Today on Front Burner, CBC health reporter Vik Adhopia on the boom in “pseudo-scientific” treatments advertised to treat autism.
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Nov 25, 2019
Céline Dion’s surprising next chapter
Céline Dion is one of Canada’s most successful recording artists — and according to some, the country's most culturally unappreciated star. But lately, she has found herself in a strange new place: people aren't snickering at her music or even hiding the fact that they like her. In fact, she's become a meme-able national treasure, an even bigger LGBTQ icon and a fashion plate for cutting-edge designers — a veritable "Célinaissance." On Front Burner, guest host Elamin Abdelmahmoud is joined by Carl Wilson, a music critic for Slate and the author of Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, to discuss the Canadian icon.
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Nov 22, 2019
Jason Kenney’s government to fire man investigating his leadership race
A bill to fire Alberta's election commissioner has passed in a legislature dominated by United Conservative Party MLAs. That's while the commissioner is investigating the UCP leadership race, won by Premier Jason Kenney. The opposition is outraged. Today on Front Burner, we talk to Maclean's Alberta correspondent Jason Markusoff about how Kenney has been using his strong majority, and how the electorate may respond.
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Nov 21, 2019
Trudeau’s new cabinet trades sunny ways for damage control
On Wednesday, Justin Trudeau’s new cabinet was sworn in at Rideau Hall. The scene was a lot different from 2015 when Trudeau was coming in with a majority mandate and coming off a campaign based on hope and change. This time around the days of “sunny ways” are gone thanks to some high-profile scandals and deepening regional divides. Today on Front Burner, CBC’s John Paul Tasker analyzes how the government tried to address some of it’s biggest issues through it’s 2019 cabinet appointments.
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Nov 20, 2019
Understanding the 'Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself' meme
A conspiracy theory about the death of millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been turned into a meme. The phrase "Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself" is appearing in tweets, TikToks, on live television, even on ugly Christmas sweaters. The New York City Medical Examiner's Office conclusively ruled Epstein's death in jail was a suicide. But that hasn't stopped the conspiracy theory from thriving on both the left and right sides of the political spectrum. Today on Front Burner, Anna Merlan, author of Republic of Lies: American conspiracy theorists and their surprising rise to power, on why she thinks this conspiracy theory has morphed into a widely shared, macabre meme.
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Nov 19, 2019
They see no future': Hong Kong pro-democracy leader
Violent confrontations at Hong Kong’s universities are yet another escalation in almost six months of demonstrations. Today on Front Burner, we talk to the former head of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong, Emily Lau, about the longstanding tensions between Hong Kong and China, what’s at stake for the protesters, and whether there’s an appetite for a peaceful solution.
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Nov 18, 2019
Don Cherry, hockey and Canadian identity
Hockey Night in Canada aired Saturday night without Don Cherry, while his firing stoked a national debate about hockey’s place in this country. Today on Front Burner, we talk to hockey fan Noha Beshir and retired sportswriter David Shoalts, who wrote Hockey Fight in Canada: The Big Media Faceoff Over the NHL.
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Nov 15, 2019
From Nixon to Trump: How public opinion shapes impeachment proceedings
This week marks the first time in 20 years that public hearings could result in the removal of a U.S. President from office. In question is a whistleblower’s complaint alleging the U.S. President attempted to pressure the Ukrainian president into investigating his political rival by threatening to withhold military aid. Today on Front Burner, CBC’s Washington correspondent Alex Panetta preps us for day two of the Donald Trump public impeachment inquiry by explaining why these hearings are so important, and what we can learn from past examples like Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.
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Nov 14, 2019
Is Canadian content a casualty of the 'streaming wars'?
Disney Plus is the latest streaming service on the block, with a library stretching from those classic animated movies from your childhood, to new Marvel blockbusters. It joins Apple TV, Netflix and Amazon Prime. But this ever-growing number of digital companies don't play by the same set of rules as traditional broadcasters. They are largely tax exempt, and they don't have to follow Canadian content regulations. Today on Front Burner, Jayme talks to Tina Hassannia and John Semley, two culture critics who disagree on what streaming services mean for the home-grown screen industry.
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Nov 13, 2019
Judges toss cases over police credibility concerns
Over the last five years, more than 50 criminal cases have fallen apart after a judge found a police officer gave false or misleading testimony, according to a CBC News investigation. Today on Front Burner, we talk to reporters Chris Glover and Stephen Davis about what they found when digging into judges' rulings in these cases, and what the possible consequences are.
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Nov 12, 2019
Don Cherry’s divisive legacy
On Monday, Sportsnet let go of Don Cherry after the hockey broadcaster called immigrants "you people", and claimed they don't wear poppies to honour Canadian veterans. This comes after a career filled with controversy, from anti-Quebecer sentiments to Cherry’s advocacy for fighting in hockey. Today on Front Burner, host Jayme Poisson talks to Postmedia sports columnist Scott Stinson about Cherry’s career, his controversial legacy, and what might happen next for Hockey Night in Canada.
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Nov 11, 2019
How an Indigenous man’s murder forced a community to confront racism
Kristian Ayoungman, from Siksika First Nation in Southern Alberta, was shot and killed on a rural highway in March. CBC investigative journalist Connie Walker travelled to meet with the young man’s friends and family, as well as the leaders of the two communities he straddled. As she tells host Jayme Poisson, what she found was unexpected. Connie also reflects on her time at the CBC covering Indigenous communities across the country.
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Nov 9, 2019
Introducing Hunting Warhead
A new investigative series from CBC Podcasts and the Norwegian newspaper VG. Hunting Warhead follows an international team of police officers as they attempt to track down the people behind a massive child-abuse site on the dark web. Listen at hyperurl.co/huntingwarhead
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Nov 8, 2019
Digital stick-ups: The evolution of ransomware
Ransomware attacks are changing. Cyber criminals are learning to target the most vulnerable systems including our municipalities, schools and hospitals. Today on Front Burner, tech journalist and friend of the podcast Matt Braga tells us why just changing passwords isn’t enough to keep critical data and services safe from cyber crime.
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Nov 7, 2019
From rallies to re-election: Trump’s path to victory
He’s a president under pressure. He’s facing impeachment, fending off lawsuits, and his approval rating is consistently below 50 per cent. But Donald Trump is also presiding over a strong economy, and a low unemployment rate. Today on Front Burner, CBC Washington Correspondent Paul Hunter on Trump’s next challenge… re-election. One year from voting day -- we look at Trump’s path to victory.
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Nov 6, 2019
Western Alienation, Part Two: Climate collision
Today on Front Burner, the final installment of a two-part series exploring the growing political anger in Alberta and Saskatchewan. This time, Maclean’s Alberta correspondent Jason Markusoff explains how climate change has put Ottawa on a collision course with the West.
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Nov 5, 2019
Western Alienation, Part One: Now and Then
Today on Front Burner, the first installment of a two part series exploring the growing political anger in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Part one: deja vu. Jayme Poisson and political science professor Loleen Berdahl guide you through the history of western alienation. They explore how Trudeau senior, set the stage for the deep schisms Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is dealing with today.
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Nov 4, 2019
Deadspin and the zombification of news
Every member of the popular sports and culture website Deadspin’s editorial staff has resigned, after the firing of the site’s interim editor-in-chief. But tensions have been rising between Deadspin’s journalist and its executives since a private equity firm took over in April. Those executives issued an edict last week to “stick to sports.” Today on Front Burner, Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley discusses the mass exodus at Deadspin and what it says about the future of independent digital media.
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Nov 1, 2019
California’s fiery future
There are multiple wildfires burning in California right now as they did last year, and the year before. Six of the state’s ten most destructive wildfires have taken place in the last two years. And as the state gets hotter, and dryer, the fires are expected to get even more destructive. Today on Front Burner, the west coast bureau chief with the Atlantic’s CityLab, Laura Bliss, on her home state’s increasingly fiery future.
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Oct 31, 2019
'Flying coffins': Boeing CEO faces grilling over 737 Max
Two devastating crashes, five months apart, left 346 people dead. Both Ethiopian Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610 went down shortly after take off. The victims' families are still looking for answers. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg testified in front of two committees in Washington this week about the 737 Max. Today on Front Burner, CBC correspondent Susan Ormiston tells us what he said, and how the families responded.
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Oct 30, 2019
Doug Ford returns from political exile
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is back in the public eye and is striking a more diplomatic tone in a bid to improve his dismal approval rating. Today on Front Burner, CBC’s Ontario legislature reporter Mike Crawley explains how Ford’s government plans on turning things around and what’s changed.
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Oct 29, 2019
Money, misinformation and Facebook’s plans for the future
On Monday, Facebook employees wrote an open letter to the company’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, protesting the decision to let politicians run false claims on the platform. Reporter Adi Robertson on where the company goes from here.
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Oct 28, 2019
The rise and fall of ISIS leader al-Baghdadi
On Sunday President Donald Trump announced that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died during a U.S. raid in Syria. Today on Front Burner, Joby Warrick explains the significance of Baghdadi’s death and what this means for the future of ISIS. Warrick is a national security reporter for the Washington Post and Pulitzer-prize winning author of Black Flags: The Rise Of ISIS.
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Oct 25, 2019
2 generations of conservatives on the Conservative Party's future
In the aftermath of the election, two generations of conservative voices on what they think is threatening the Conservative Party, and what needs to happen if they want to win majority governments.
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Oct 24, 2019
The view from the conflict zone in Syria
On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced a permanent ceasefire on the Syrian border with Turkey. But can the peace be stable? The CBC’s Margaret Evans on her experience travelling there last week.
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Oct 23, 2019
Election fallout: A divided Canada
Monday’s election results reveal stark regional divides in this country, from a Conservative blue Alberta and Saskatchewan to a resurgent Bloc in Quebec. Meanwhile, the Liberals eked out their win in part thanks to support in urban centres. Today on Front Burner, Parliament Hill writer Aaron Wherry on these different regions’ interests, and how can a fragile Liberal government balance these competing, and at times conflicting, interests.
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Oct 22, 2019
Liberals win minority government, now what?
"We're left with a more divided country than ever...it's going to be a really hard thing for the government to address." On Monday night, Canadians voted in a Liberal minority government led by Justin Trudeau. Today on Front Burner, Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos lays out what the election results mean, and what to expect next.
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Oct 21, 2019
Raptors preview and the NBA's China problem
It may be election day. But it’s also the eve of the Toronto Raptors season opener. So we’re putting Canadian politics aside for one day to talk to sports writer Alex Wong.
The last time we spoke to Alex, it was the night of the Raptors NBA Championship victory. Today, he brings us a preview of the Raptors season to come. Plus, he explains the ongoing tensions between the NBA and China.
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Oct 18, 2019
What you need to know before election day, Part 2
Today, the Conservative and Green platforms are laid out in the second of our two-part series in preparation for voting day. Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos joins host Jayme Poisson to bring together what you need to know to cast an informed vote.
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Oct 17, 2019
What you need to know before election day (Part 1 of 2)
Today, the Liberal and NDP platforms are dissected in the first of our two part series in preparation for voting day. Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos joins host Jayme Poisson to bring together what you need to know to cast an informed vote. Stay tuned for the Conservative/Green edition on Friday.
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Oct 16, 2019
Why the UN is going broke
The United Nations is facing a severe shortage of cash, according to Secretary-General António Guterres. The cash flow problem is so dire that the UN is begging member states to pay their dues and have started austerity measures. Today on Front Burner, CBC’s UN reporter Melissa Kent explains why the UN is going broke and what the United States has to do with it.
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Oct 15, 2019
Please Explain: The strategic voting edition
With one week to go before Canadians head to the polls, words like “strategic voting” and “coalition government” are dominating the news. CBC poll analyst Éric Grenier answers listener questions about Canada’s electoral system.
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Oct 14, 2019
Consent, false accusation fear and #MeToo
Journalist Robyn Doolittle has a new book out called ‘Had it coming.’ It’s been two years since the first stories alleging sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein were published, sparking an unprecedented conversation about sexual assault. Now, what’s fair in the age of #MeToo? It’s a question Doolittle tackles in the book.’ Today on Front Burner, she talks about the #MeToo movement, what came before it, and why she thinks we need to talk about consent as a moral and ethical issue, not just a legal one.
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Oct 11, 2019
Inside a Russian 'propaganda tour' of Syria
A Turkish military assault on Kurdish fighters is underway in northeastern Syria. It was made possible by a U.S. decision to withdraw American military personnel in that area. Today on Front Burner, CBC Moscow correspondent Chris Brown discusses how Russia, a country with a large military presence in Syria, looks to fill the gap left by the United States. He talks about his recent trip to Syria, escorted by the Russian military, on what he says was, "effectively, a propaganda tour."
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Oct 10, 2019
How Hamilton became a 'cautionary tale' for hate
Hamilton, Ontario, has the most hate crime per capita in the country. Along with that, it has ongoing weekly protests at city hall by members of the yellow vest movement and far-right groups. CBC News reporter Samantha Craggs has been covering this story in Hamilton, as part of an ongoing series called “Exposing Hate”. Today on Front Burner, she explains why Hamilton has become a flashpoint for hate in Canada.
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Oct 9, 2019
Salman Rushdie's journey across the U.S.
The last time Salman Rushdie won the Booker Prize, it was 1981. It's been 24 years since his last nomination. After his new book, Quichotte, came out, he was pleasantly surprised to find himself back on the list of nominees. "It's like, finally!" says Rushdie. "They remembered I was around." The new book is a retelling of Don Quixote, with an Indian-American salesman travelling across the United States on a quest. His journey touches on issues like the opioid crisis, our addiction to reality TV, and the end of the world. Rushdie joins Jayme Poisson to give his unique perspective on these hectic times.
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Oct 8, 2019
Recapping a crucial federal leaders debate
On Monday night, the six major federal party leaders faced off in an English-language debate for the only time in the 2019 election campaign. And the stage was packed: There were more leaders on stage in Gatineau, Que., than at any other point in Canadian political history. Today on Front Burner, Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos on the debate's highs, lows and takeaways.
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Oct 7, 2019
Why ‘Joker’ is a polarizing film
This weekend, a new Joker movie hit theatres, polarizing critics and audiences with a gritty take on the DC super-villain’s origin story. The film also caught the attention of intelligence and law enforcement agencies who fear it could trigger public violence. Today on Front Burner, film critic Tina Hassannia unpacks the iconic character and the different sides of the rhetoric surrounding the movie.
Warning: There won’t be major spoilers, but this episode will cover some of the film’s plot.
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Oct 4, 2019
Face to face with Canada’s party leaders
This week — as part of the CBC series Face to Face — five undecided voters got five minutes each with federal party leaders to ask the questions that matter most to them. The National's Rosemary Barton hosted the events, and followed up with questions for Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.
Today on Front Burner, Barton reflects on what she learned from the exchanges, and what they might tell us about what's at stake with the upcoming federal election.
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Oct 3, 2019
The controversial political life of Maxime Bernier
In the sixth and final Canadian leadership profile, Jayme Poisson speaks to the CBC’s Jonathan Montpetit about Maxime Bernier, the controversial head of the People’s Party of Canada.
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Oct 2, 2019
Law forces NCAA to let some athletes finally get paid
U.S. college sports generated at least $14 billion last year. And while coaches get paid multi-million dollar salaries, players aren't paid at all, beyond the cost of attending the university. Now, a new law in California will allow student athletes to profit from the use of their name, likeness and image — essentially, to get endorsements. The NCAA has said the law will "erase the critical distinction between college and professional athletics." But today on Front Burner, the Toronto Star's Morgan Campbell explains why he thinks these athletes are acting like professionals already, and should be compensated accordingly.
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Oct 1, 2019
The refugees of Roxham Road, Canada's busiest 'irregular' border crossing
In 2017 an unprecedented number of people were crossing into Canada illegally from the United States at Roxham Road to claim asylum. And in just two years, about 50,000 migrants have entered Canada through this unofficial entry point. Today on Front Burner, CBC’s Susan Ormiston returns to Roxham Road to unpack how it became internationally known as a de facto border crossing for those seeking refugee status in Canada.
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Sep 30, 2019
One doctor’s fight against the ‘Wellness Industrial Complex’
Wellness is a multi-trillion-dollar industry. Vague assertions about detoxification and restoring balance can be used to sell everything from juice cleanses to coffee enemas. But obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Jen Gunter says a lot of these products are snake oil, and their claims are pseudoscientific. Today, Dr. Gunter on misinformation in the "wellness" industry, how it persists, and why she insists on debunking it wherever she can.
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Sep 27, 2019
The underdog: A profile of NDP leader Jagmeet Singh
When Jagmeet Singh became the leader of the NDP in 2017, he was the first person of colour to lead a major Canadian political party. There was a great deal of excitement around Singh, who is known for his ability to communicate genuinely and effectively - as demonstrated last week in the aftermath of Justin Trudeau’s brownface controversy. But the NDP leader has also been criticized for being ill-prepared for the job.Today, as part of our federal election profile series, Front Burner digs into the life and political career of Jagmeet Singh with the CBC’s Hannah Thibedeau.
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Sep 26, 2019
Election panel: The promises and limits of ‘affordability’
Affordability policy pledges are front and centre in the Canadian federal election campaign. We’ve seen Conservatives and Liberals promise tax cuts. The Liberals and NDP promise to lower your cellphone bill. There are national pharmacare pledges from the NDP, the Liberals and the Greens. The Greens even propose a guaranteed annual income. And these are just a few of the policies on offer from the major parties. Today on Front Burner, Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos and national business correspondent Peter Armstrong on what these affordability promises accomplish, what they don’t, and the tradeoffs they may require.
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Sep 25, 2019
Democrats launch Trump impeachment process
On Tuesday, U.S. Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump. Today on Front Burner, CBC's senior Washington editor Lyndsay Duncombe explains what happens next and what Joe Biden's son and Ukraine have to do with it.
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Sep 24, 2019
Vaping sickness: what we know and what we don't
A young man in London, Ont., was recently put on life-support with a respiratory illness that's been linked to vaping. He was the first with that diagnosis in Canada, after more than 450 Americans fell ill, and eight died, also from vaping-linked respiratory illnesses. How much do we actually know about the health impacts of vaping nicotine or marijuana? Andre Picard is the health reporter for the Globe and Mail. He says the jury is still out. "Smoking is like jumping off the hundredth floor of a building," says Picard. "Vaping is like jumping out, we just don't know which floor yet."
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Sep 23, 2019
Naomi Klein on climate strikes, Greta and the Green New Deal
Millions of climate strikers all across the world took to the street on Sept 20th. And there’s another strike scheduled on Sept 27th, as well. Today on Front Burner, we talk to Naomi Klein, author of the new book “On Fire: The Burning Case for the Green New Deal” about Greta Thunberg, the Green New Deal, and why she thinks mass mobilization around climate change may be the only thing that can help us avoid global warming’s most devastating effects: “If you don’t believe in social movements, and if they make you kind of queasy and they seem kind of messy, then you should feel really pessimistic, because it’s actually our only hope.”
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Sep 21, 2019
BONUS: Alleged RCMP spy case rocks intelligence services
Late last week, a director-general with the RCMP was arrested and charged with breaching Canada’s secrets law, for allegedly preparing to share a cache of classified intelligence material with a foreign entity or terrorist organization. Today on Front Burner, we speak with CBC reporter Catherine Tunney on what we know so far about what Ortis is alleged to have done, including his alleged contacts with a shady encryption company based in BC that was used by murderers and drug traffickers, and with former CSIS analyst Stephanie Carvin about what this could mean for national security.
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Sep 20, 2019
Trudeau, blackface and experiencing racism in Canada
Today on Front Burner, we talk to the National Observer’s Fatima Syed, and to doctor Ritika Goel, about Justin Trudeau’s blackface scandal, and why for so many Canadians of colour, it’s a familiar sort of racism.
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Sep 19, 2019
Photo shows Liberal leader Justin Trudeau in brownface
A photograph of Justin Trudeau in brownface and wearing a turban at a 2001 “Arabian Nights”-themed costume party was published in TIME Wednesday night. Soon after, Trudeau apologized, saying he now realizes it was “racist.” Today on Front Burner, Vassy Kapelos, host of Power & Politics, joins us talk about the reaction to the news and political fallout for a leader who has positioned himself as a champion of diversity and inclusion.
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Sep 18, 2019
Loneliness, suicide, substance abuse: Mental health in Alberta’s oilpatch
Today on Front Burner, an intimate look at mental health struggles amongst workers in Alberta’s oilpatch with the co-producer of a new documentary on the subject, ‘Digging in the Dirt.’
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Sep 17, 2019
Controversial candidates and big campaign promises
Not even one week into the federal election campaign and the major parties are already struggling with controversial candidates. Today on Front Burner, host of Power and Politics Vassy Kapelos and CBC senior reporter Katie Simpson join us to break down how the leaders are reacting and go through the latest platform promises.
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Sep 16, 2019
Please Explain: Where the major parties stand on climate change
In Please Explain, voters come on Front Burner to ask their biggest questions about the election. First up: Marieke Walsh from the Globe and Mail explains the party platforms on climate change, and how the carbon tax is doing for Canada.
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Sep 13, 2019
Understanding Vladimir Putin’s grip on power
Today on Front Burner, CBC’s Moscow Correspondent Chris Brown takes us through Vladimir Putin’s decades-long grip on power, and whether or not a popular protest movement and falling approval numbers could signal change for Russia's political future.
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Sep 12, 2019
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale and its much-hyped sequel
This week, hundreds of fans gathered in London to celebrate the launch of The Testaments, the much-anticipated sequel to Margaret Atwood's best-selling novel, The Handmaid's Tale. Similar events took place around the world, and the novel has already been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Today on Front Burner, Slate's book critic Laura Miller on the political and cultural relevance of The Handmaid's Tale, and why there's been so much anticipation for its sequel.
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Sep 11, 2019
The paths to Canadian election victory
The federal election campaign is set to kick off today, and so does our weekly election panel. Today on Front Burner, Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos and CBC’s polling analyst, Éric Grenier.
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Sep 10, 2019
‘It's all or nothing for her’: From environmental lawyer to Green Party leader, a profile of Elizabeth May
With the next federal election just around the corner, and environmental issues top of mind for many Canadian voters, the Green Party is riding high on a rise in support. With this momentum comes a lot of pressure on the party’s long-time leader to deliver gains at the polls. Today, as part of our federal election profile series, we’re digging into the life and political legacy of Elizabeth May with Mia Rabson, an energy and environment reporter for The Canadian Press.
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Sep 9, 2019
Bianca Andreescu Brings a Tennis Grandslam to Canada
Tennis analyst Caitlin Thompson on how Bianca Andreescu won the U.S. Open this week, becoming the first Canadian to take a singles championship.
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Sep 7, 2019
Front Burner presents: Party Lines
Jayme introduces Party Lines, a new CBC podcast and a political primer for every kind of concerned citizen. The National’s Rosemary Barton and BuzzFeed News’ Elamin Abdelmahmoud are here to take you beyond the talking points and provide the insights you need to navigate the upcoming federal election. Head to cbc.ca/partylines for more.
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Sep 6, 2019
After the storm: two portraits of hurricane recovery
This week, Hurricane Dorian delivered catastrophic damage to the Bahamas. It was a Category 5 storm when it hit the island nation, with winds of up to 295 km/hr, and Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said it left "generational devastation." Today on Front Burner, in the age of intensifying storms, two very different portraits of hurricane recovery. Janise Elie of the Guardian describes the devastation of the Caribbean Island of Dominica by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Then, Rice University assistant professor Max Besbris talks about how Houston, Texas rebuilt after Hurricane Harvey that same year.
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Sep 5, 2019
A conversation with the 'Berlin patient,' the first person cured of HIV
In 2007, a man known as the "Berlin patient" was cured of HIV through a stem cell transplant.
It was an incredible accomplishment that researchers all over the world scrutinized for years to come. He was the first and only documented case of a person who has been cured of HIV until March of this year, when a second patient was declared HIV-free from a similar treatment. Today on Front Burner, a conversation with Timothy Ray Brown, the "Berlin patient."
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Sep 4, 2019
The fight to control the Arctic
Who owns the Arctic? There are several countries who think they have a right to the North Pole or the rich territory around it. Russia has a military presence close by, and recently fired two missiles from the Arctic Ocean as a show of strength. Mike Pompeo, the U.S. secretary of state, has called the Arctic "the forefront of opportunity and abundance" for the United States. And Canada is among the countries that have submitted scientific evidence bolstering a claim of sovereignty over the North Pole. Neil Shea recently travelled to the Arctic for National Geographic, and spent time with a group of Canadian Rangers responsible for bolstering Ottawa's claim.
"There's a lot of oil and gas, and on the land, there's a lot of minerals," says Shea, who notes the Arctic land rush has been the result of climate change. "There's trillions of dollars of stuff that hasn't been accessible. But now that everything is melting, you have more opportunity to get at it."
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Sep 3, 2019
Justin Trudeau’s record vs rhetoric examined by Netflix’s ‘Patriot Act’
Today on Front Burner, with the federal election expected to be called soon, Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos joins us to talk about Justin Trudeau’s gamble on an interview with a U.S. comedian, Andrew Scheer’s position on gay marriage and abortion, and Maxime Bernier’s tweets about teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg.
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Sep 2, 2019
Meet Justice Abella, the judge called Canada's Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella was the first Jewish woman to serve on Canada’s Supreme Court, has an internationally-recognized legal legacy, and is the longest-serving judge on the bench. So why don’t more Canadian’s know who she is? Pulitzer prize-winning journalist David Shribman got a rare interview with the judge, as her time on the top bench winds down. Today on Front Burner, David tells us about the judge who’s been called Canada's Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
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Aug 30, 2019
Can the Bloc Québécois return from the brink?
The Bloc Québécois was once a powerful federal political party, forming the official opposition in 1993 and holding around fifty seats in the House in the mid to late 2000's. But the last two elections have nearly wiped the Bloc from existence, and the party has had a revolving door of leaders. This year, Yves-François Blanchet took over the reins. Today on Front Burner, as part of our series on the federal party leaders, we take a look at who Blanchet is and what he stands for with Martin Patriquin, a freelance political journalist based in Montreal.
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Aug 29, 2019
What a landmark ruling means for the opioid crisis
This week, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $572 million US to the state of Oklahoma, in a landmark case that saw the court find the company liable for the state's opioid crisis. Johnson & Johnson says it will appeal the ruling. Purdue Pharma is also proposing to settle thousands of cases.
These developments are the beginning of a far-reaching legal effort, in both the U.S and Canada, to hold drug makers accountable for the opioid epidemic. Today on Front Burner, we talk to journalist Zachary Siegel about what this ruling might mean for the thousands of cases soon to be before the courts.
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Aug 28, 2019
How Andrew Luck's retirement might shape the NFL's future
Over the weekend, star NFL quarterback Andrew Luck retired at the prime age of 29, citing his many injuries as the reason. The past few years have seen revelations about the physical toll NFL players face, including CTE and other potential brain injuries. Today on Front Burner, Globe & Mail sports columnist Cathal Kelly joins us to discuss how this shock retirement might shape pro football, and whether the sport is viable in the future.
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Aug 27, 2019
Why is the Amazon rainforest burning?
On Monday, Canada pledged $15 million to help fight fires in the Amazon rainforest. That's on top of the $26.5 million the G7 pledged at the conclusion of this weekend's gathering in France. But why are so many of these fires ablaze in the first place? Today on Front Burner, we talk to Jake Spring. He's a Reuters correspondent based in Brazil and the host of the Foreign Correspondence podcast who has reported on the fires from up close.
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Aug 26, 2019
Depression in the first person
Anna Mehler Paperny first tried to kill herself when she was 24 years old, just as she was finding success as a journalist. In her new memoir, Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me: Depression in the First Person, she talks unflinchingly about her experience with depression and tries to better understand the illness.
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Aug 23, 2019
What is the militant neo-Nazi group ‘The Base’?
An army reservist from a town near Winnipeg is being investigated by the RCMP and the Canadian Military for suspected ties to a shadowy militant neo-Nazi group called “The Base.” Today, we’ll talk to VICE national security correspondent Ben Makuch and VICE senior reporter Mack Lamoureux about the tactics and inner workings of the group, including its similarities to al-Qaeda. We’ll also touch on the Canadian military’s stance on extremism in their ranks.
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Aug 22, 2019
The 2 sides to Justin Trudeau: A pre-election profile
Elected on a campaign of "sunny ways" and "real change," the expectations were high for Justin Trudeau when he came into power in 2015. But after a series of scandals, the public perception of Canada's prime minister might be shifting ahead of the fall election. Today, we continue our series on the federal party leaders by speaking to CBC News political reporter Aaron Wherry. He has a new book out called Promise and Peril: Justin Trudeau in Power.
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Aug 21, 2019
A veteran mob reporter on organized crime in Canada today
Last week, a gunman in a white SUV pulled up to a restaurant on a busy Toronto street in broad daylight and shot the restaurant's owner dead. Police are saying the fatal shooting was targeted. And according to the Toronto Star's crime reporter, the victim may have had links to the mob. Today on Front Burner, Peter Edwards shares his thoughts on the brazen drive-by shooting, the connection to another shocking death from 2012, and the state of organized crime in Canada today.
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Aug 20, 2019
Climate change at centre of Elections Canada partisan ad controversy
This week, Elections Canada is at the centre of a firestorm over what it classifies a partisan issue during the federal election campaign period. Today on Front Burner, Elections Canada spokesperson Natasha Gauthier explains why the agency may deem climate change a partisan issue. Katie Gibbs, executive director of the non-partisan, non-profit Evidence for Democracy also shares her perspective on the controversy.
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Aug 19, 2019
Women's lives upended after cancer diagnosis linked to Biocell breast implants
In Canada and around the world, women who’ve been struck with a rare form of cancer are joining class action lawsuits against the manufacturer of the Biocell textured breast implant. Today, on Front Burner, CBC investigative journalist Valérie Ouellet explains how this particular breast implant flew under the radar for so long.
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Aug 16, 2019
Kenora, ON, closes sole homeless shelter in the midst of a drug crisis
Kenora Ontario, a small city in the province’s northwest, is in the midst of a drug crisis. In an attempt to address the situation, the city has temporarily shut down the only homeless shelter in the area. Some see it as a positive move, others see NIMBYism. Today on Front Burner, TVO reporter Jon Thompson, helps us understand the roots of the city’s drugs crisis and how it’s affecting the local population.
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Aug 15, 2019
“Troubling tactics” and the ethics report on Prime Minister Trudeau
A report from the Ethics Commissioner Wednesday said Justin Trudeau and his office used “troubling tactics” in the SNC-Lavalin case. The CBC’s Vassy Kapelos breaks down what it all means, two months before the election.
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Aug 14, 2019
Boris Johnson's U.K. hurtles toward Brexit deadline
As the United Kingdom hurtles towards the October 31 Brexit deadline, newly-appointed Prime Minister Boris Johnson is playing hardball with the European Union, saying the UK is leaving deal or no deal. Today on Front Burner, CBC’s senior correspondent Susan Ormiston pops by to explain what could be next for Brexit.
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Aug 13, 2019
A former neo-Nazi on El Paso shooting and rise of white supremacy
Joining the neo-Nazi movement was a choice that Christian Piccolini says cost him his livelihood, his wife, and his sense of self. Following the mass shooting in El Paso, he speaks out about his former community, to warn people about the wide reach of white supremacist extremism around the world.
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Aug 12, 2019
Jeffrey Epstein’s death: The conspiracies and the fallout
It was already a story mired in controversy, but with the apparent suicide of accused sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, the scandal has only deepened. Today, on Front Burner, we turn to Marc Fisher, senior editor at The Washington Post, to unpack the conspiracy theories that have erupted around Epstein’s death and what the latest developments mean for his victims.
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Aug 9, 2019
Why the China-U.S. trade war matters
Today on Front Burner, we sit down with the CBC’s Peter Armstrong to talk about the escalating U.S.-China trade war, and how it could affect the global financial market.
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Aug 8, 2019
Beyond the dimples: A profile of Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer
He's called, "the smiling Stephen Harper," and he's known for his knack of bringing people together. But beyond his dimples, what do you really know about Andrew Scheer?
Today, with the federal election fast approaching, we talk to Maclean's Ottawa bureau chief, John Geddes about the leader of the Conservative Party. We'll get insight into how he became such a unifier (hint: his favourite book is the self-help classic How to Win Friends and Influence People) and how that squares with his more divisive moments, such as his hardline stance on the United Nations migration pact.
This is the first in a series of pre-election profiles we'll do about Canada's federal party leaders.
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Aug 7, 2019
'Pick up the book and read': Canadian poets on the legacy of Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison's literary and academic career was honoured with a Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her writing explored, celebrated, questioned and critiqued the space of black lives in America, up until her death on Monday at the age of 88.
Today on Front Burner, we speak with Halifax's former poet laureate El Jones and former poet laureate of Canada George Elliott Clarke about the importance of her work, both as a source of art, and form of activism.
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Aug 6, 2019
‘A sickening déjà vu’: Two US mass shootings in one weekend stuns reporter
This past weekend saw two back-to-back mass shootings in the United States: one in El Paso, Texas, and one in Dayton, Ohio. At least thirty-one people are dead. Dozens more injured. Today on Front Burner, we talk to writer Jennifer Mascia about gun violence and reform in America. She’s a reporter with The Trace, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to covering gun-related news.
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Aug 5, 2019
A Crucifix, A Mystery Illness and a Refugee
In nine months, Front Burner has covered a lot of stories. But we haven’t had time to follow up on all of them. Today, we revisit a handful, including the mystery illness that befell Canadian diplomats in Cuba, the law in Quebec to outlaw religious garb for public servants, and the odyssey of a Syrian refugee who moved to Canada after living in an airport for months. Plus, how a country rap oddity became the biggest song of 2019.
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Aug 2, 2019
Flying cars, an artificial moon and Saudi Arabia's $500 billion vision for the future
Saudi Arabia's "Neom" is a planned futuristic city-state in the desert. The project is said to include flying cars, gene editing, an island of robot dinosaurs, an artificial moon — and the most comprehensive surveillance state on earth. The Wall Street Journal has viewed planning documents that provide unprecedented access into the Gulf nation's plan to turn a formerly barren strip of desert into the most lucrative plot of land on earth.
Today we'll talk to the Wall Street Journal's Justin Scheck, who broke the story about the Saudi Crown Prince's vision for the future, and what it tells us about the kingdom's place on the world stage.
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Aug 1, 2019
Who is the alleged Capital One hacker?
A massive data breach at Capital One has led to the arrest of a Seattle-based woman who allegedly stole the private information of more than 100 million people, including 6 million Canadians. Today on Front Burner, Greg Otto, Editor-in-Chief of CyberScoop, brings us the story of accused hacker Paige Thompson and explains how the crime was done and why experts say a trail of clues was left for the FBI.
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Jul 31, 2019
Why B.C.’s orcas are at risk, and what’s at stake
There are, at most, only 76 southern resident killer whales left in the world. Right now, there’s growing concern about the fate of J17 - the matriarch of one of the most studied orca families, J pod - as she was recently spotted emaciated. Killers: J pod on the brink is a new CBC podcast that dives deep into what’s putting B.C.'s orca population at risk - from climate change to politics. Today on Front Burner, producer Catherine Rolfsen on why these marine mammals matter.
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Jul 30, 2019
How a failed terrorism case derailed one Canadian's life
In 2007, Hassan Diab was an unassuming sociology lecturer at Carleton University, when he was suddenly told French authorities were investigating him for committing a terrorist act in Paris in 1980. Diab has always claimed innocence — but the revelation was just the beginning of an 12-year ordeal, including a lengthy court case, extradition to France and three years spent in prison. An external review was ordered into his case, but Diab and his legal team are less than satisfied with its findings. On Front Burner, CBC senior reporter David Cochrane breaks down one of the most intensely fought extradition cases in Canadian history.
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Jul 29, 2019
What’s the big deal about Beyond Meat?
Beyond Meat, the popular meat substitute, can be found in at A&W, Tim Hortons, and most grocery stores these days. The company’s stock is at an all-time high. Today on Front Burner, writer Michael Grunwald analyzes why that is, how it relates to the climate crisis, and how all of this is inspiring pushback from industry and politicians alike.
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Jul 26, 2019
Fear, isolation and a cross-Canada manhunt
Today on Front Burner, the CBC’s Jason Proctor tells why the ongoing manhunt for two B.C. murder suspects has left many residents of Canada’s north feeling vulnerable and afraid.
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Jul 25, 2019
The key takeaways of Robert Mueller’s marathon testimony
Today on Front Burner, the CBC’s Paul Hunter on Robert Mueller’s very reluctant testimony on Capitol Hill, and why both sides of the aisle are claiming victory.
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Jul 24, 2019
Why do illegal weed dispensaries still exist?
It's been nine months since marijuana was legalized in Canada, and illegal dispensaries are not only prevalent across the country — but in many cases, thriving. Today on Front Burner, CBC investigative reporter Zach Dubinsky and Sol Israel from The Leaf News on illegal pot shops that brazenly defy the law and why they exist in the age of legal weed.
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Jul 23, 2019
The perpetual Marvel machine
Marvel Studios has announced plans for the latest phase of the Marvel cinematic universe, setting the world of deep superhero fandom abuzz. On Front Burner, we speak to Eli Glasner, CBC's national entertainment reporter and film critic, about what Western cinema gains and loses.
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Jul 22, 2019
A portrait of the mysterious Kim Jong-un
“He’s such a puzzle...and we don’t have all the answers.” As the world continues to try and figure out the puzzle that is North Korea, guest host Chris Berube talks to Anna Fifield, the Washington Post reporter who’s put together the most complete portrait leader Kim Jong-un yet. Her new book is “The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un”.
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Jul 19, 2019
Donald Trump, and the debate over the term “racist”
At a rally on Wednesday night, supporters of Donald Trump broke out in a chorus of "send her back!" chants, targeted toward Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born congresswoman from Minnesota.
The chant came just days after the U.S. president took to Twitter, to attack four congresswomen of colour, suggesting they "go back and help fix the broken and crime-infested places from which they came."
All of this has set off a debate in the media, on how to cover Trump and racism.
On today's Front Burner, we talk to Adam Serwer, staff writer with The Atlantic, about journalistic objectivity, Trump, the media and the term "racist."
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Jul 18, 2019
FaceApp: Fact, fiction and fears
It's the AI-assisted photo editing app that has entertained millions of users around the world. Open FaceApp on your smartphone, upload of a photo of yourself, and you — like Drake, the Jonas Brothers and Steph Curry — can see what you might look like in your golden years. But just like everything we do online, when you take a closer look, it's more complicated than it seems. On Front Burner, we speak to Kaleigh Rogers, CBC's senior reporter covering disinformation online, about the facts and fears about FaceApp.
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Jul 17, 2019
The battle for green voters begins
With three months to go before the federal election, two parties on the left are trying to plant their flag as the party of environmentalists. The NDP recently introduced its "Canadian New Deal" which promises aggressive carbon targets and investments in energy efficiency. Meanwhile, the Green Party is surging in the polls, with its promise to double Canada's emission reduction targets. With the two parties battling for green voters on the left, analysts are beginning to wonder if there's room for both parties to thrive. Althia Raj is the Ottawa bureau chief for the Huffington Post. She's been speaking to voters in British Columbia about which party should get the environmentalist vote this fall.
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Jul 16, 2019
Canadian teacher home after ‘nightmare in Indonesia’
Neil Bantleman was teaching at a school in Jakarta, Indonesia when he and seven others were accused of sex crimes against students. He maintained his innocence despite being convicted in an Indonesian court. CBC's The Fifth Estate co-host Mark Kelley travelled to Indonesia to look into the case and found the serious flaws in the investigation and evidence presented against him. Now, Bantleman is back in Canada after being granted clemency. Today on Front Burner, Kelley talks to guest host Michelle Sheppard about what he found in the course of making The Fifth Estate's 2016 documentary Nightmare in Indonesia.
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Jul 15, 2019
What did Canadian peacekeepers accomplish in Mali?
“Organized crime, smuggling, drug trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism - you can sort of name it, and Mali is afflicted by it.” Swept up in part by Islamist extremism, the U.N’s peacekeeping mission in Mali is one of the deadliest in recent history. Canada has been part of this larger effort since last year. As it draws to a close, journalist Richard Poplak talks to guest host Michelle Shephard if it made good on Canada's promise to return to peacekeeping.
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Jul 12, 2019
The World Cup champions tackle equal pay
After their record-setting fourth World Cup win, the U.S. women's soccer team has found themselves at the centre of an ongoing debate about pay equity in sport. The team has been followed by a chorus of "equal pay" from the pitch to their celebration parade in New York City. These calls for equal pay have been heightened by the fact that the team generates more revenue than their male counterparts — selling more jerseys, tickets and signing more sponsorship deals. So how does a pay difference of as much as $730,000 persist? On today's Front Burner, we talk to writer and podcast host Shireen Ahmed for answers.
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Jul 11, 2019
‘Conversion therapy’ survivor shares his story
In 2014, Belleville, Ont. native Matt Ashcroft decided to attend a conversion therapy camp in the U.S. He says his father was homphobic and he wanted to mend their relationship. Now he’s a fierce advocate for a nationwide ban on the practice in Canada. Matt Ashcroft speaks to host Jayme Poisson about his experience and why he thinks conversion therapy should be scrapped.
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Jul 10, 2019
A conversation with Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Democracy versus dictatorship” in Venezuela. Why Canada should not release Meng Wanzhou. These are just some of the topics we cover in a feature interview with Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. She tells us about how she formed her political worldview, and how that worldview shapes Canada’s foreign policy: “Small-l liberalism … does also require that we stand up for the rules-based international order and multilateral institutions because only in a world where those rules exist … can our own liberal Canada thrive.”
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Jul 9, 2019
From memes to TV ads, how political third parties get their message out
You may not have heard of political third parties like Engage Canada or Canada Proud, but you’ve likely already encountered their messaging through a traditional television ad, a Facebook meme, or maybe even a person in a banana costume. Today on Front Burner, we talk to iPolitics reporter Marieke Walsh about who’s behind these groups, what kind of influence they may have, and the new rules governing their spending in the leadup to the federal election.
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Jul 8, 2019
A reporter’s long, failed fight to keep his work on ISIS from the RCMP
For the last four years, Vice reporter Ben Makuch has been fighting to keep communications he had with a suspected ISIS fighter from the RCMP. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, and last week, Makuch and Vice lost their final appeal on this case. Ben Makuch talks to host Jayme Poisson about that journey, and what it might mean for press freedom in Canada.
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Jul 5, 2019
A primer on the Green New Deal in the U.S. and Canada
This week a new government report outlined the most pressing threats facing Canada due to climate change. The report warned of infrastructure failures, flooding and storm surges on the coasts, and melting shorelines and permafrost in the North. Global warming is a massive problem for Canada and the world. But some big solutions are being debated. One idea is the Green New Deal, an ambitious and controversial plan in the U.S. Today on Front Burner, Geoff Dembicki explains the Green New Deal and how the movement is translating here in Canada. He’s a Vancouver-based journalist who writes for The Tyee and Vice, and the author of "Are We Screwed? How a New Generation is Fighting to Survive Climate Change".
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Jul 4, 2019
Dumpster diving, forged signatures, and alleged immigration fraud
CBC News has learned about an alleged massive immigration scheme involving illicit job offers, hundreds of Chinese nationals, and dozens of business people in Saskatchewan. The story follows an investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency and court documents relating to a criminal trial for a married couple from the province. CBC investigative reporter Geoff Leo unravels the story.
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Jul 3, 2019
What the Taylor Swift controversy tells us about who really profits from recording artists' work
This weekend, pop superstar Taylor Swift penned a distraught Tumblr post in which she took the news of a business deal very, very personally. Her former record label, Big Machine, was sold to music mogul Scooter Braun's company for a reported $300 million U.S. The acquisition essentially hands Braun control of Swift's masters from her entire back catalogue. She claims this is her "worst case scenario," as she accuses Scooter Braun of "incessant, manipulative bullying." Today on Front Burner, Emily Yahr, pop culture reporter with the Washington Post, breaks down the origin of this feud, and explains why some of the most successful recording artists in the world are powerless when it comes to owning their own music.
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Jul 2, 2019
What’s the toll of tough U.S. sanctions on Iranians?
On Monday, news broke that Iran violated a key part of the 2015 nuclear agreement. This comes about a year after the U.S. unilaterally pulled out of the deal. Iran says it breached the agreement because Europe hasn’t done enough to counter the heavy U.S. sanctions imposed on the country. Today on Front Burner, The Independent’s Negar Mortazavi explains how the heavy sanctions are affecting regular Iranians and shares her opinion on the strategy of the United States.
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Jul 1, 2019
Families grieve, seek justice, after Ethiopian Air plane crash
This March, a Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crashed in Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board. 18 of them were Canadian, and several more were permanent residents. Now, six families from Canada who lost relatives are suing Boeing for alleged negligence in the Ethiopia Airlines crash. The CBC’s Susan Ormiston spoke to three of them, and brings us their reflections and lingering questions about what happened.
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Jun 28, 2019
“The place is a jail”: How kids are treated at the U.S.-Mexico border
There has been renewed attention on the treatment of migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border over the last two weeks. First, accounts of inadequate food, water and sanitation at U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities where unaccompanied children are held awaiting shelter space sparked outrage. Then, a horrible photograph of the drowned bodies of a father and his young daughter in the Rio Grande river offered a stark reminder of the perils of crossing into the United States. Today on Front Burner, Bob Moore has reported on immigration and the border from El Paso, Texas for more than 30 years. He walks us through what kids go through on their way to the border and how they’re treated once they get into the country: “These are human beings who are paying the price of all this political failure.”
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Jun 27, 2019
The fight to make handguns illegal in Canada
Today on Front Burner, we speak to Toronto Liberal MP Adam Vaughan, who says he disagrees with his party’s stance to rule against a handgun ban. Is the fight to ban handguns in Canada over?
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Jun 26, 2019
After thirty horses die, questions about racing’s future
The death of 30 horses at the famed Santa Anita racetrack in California this season has sparked a public outcry over animal welfare. The facility is owned by The Stronach Group, a wealthy Canadian company. Today on Front Burner, L.A. Times contributor John Cherwa explains what it all means for the future of horse racing, and the Stronach family business.
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Jun 25, 2019
Sidewalk Labs offers a futuristic vision for Toronto, but at what cost?
After 18 months of consultation, Google sister company Sidewalk Labs has released its master draft proposal to develop a portion of Toronto’s waterfront. The proposal includes everything from an affordable housing plan, to sensored pneumatic garbage shoots, to a data privacy framework in the form of an independent urban data trust. Today on Front Burner, we talk to The Logic’s editor-in-chief David Skok about what’s in the report, and what questions we need to ask ourselves when we consider building smart cities.
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Jun 24, 2019
What issues will shape the 2019 federal election?
With the House of Commons adjourned and the federal election just months away, summertime hours mean Members of Parliament and hopeful candidates will be out campaigning on the BBQ circuit. The writ drop is expected for September and voting day is slated for on or before October 21. So what issues are shaping the election so far? Today on Front Burner, CBC’s Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos joins us to explain.
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Jun 21, 2019
Canadian corporations dodged up to $11-billion in taxes
According to a new report from the Canada Revenue Agency, in just one year - 2014 - Canadian corporations did not pay up to $11-billion in taxes. That amount is part of the “tax gap”. It’s the difference between the taxes Canada knows it's owed and the taxes that are actually collected. Today on Front Burner, Toronto Star investigative reporter Marco Chown Oved explains how corporations get away with this, and why it’s such a persistent issue.
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Jun 20, 2019
Facebook’s plan for a new global currency
This week, Facebook announced it will launch a cryptocurrency in 2020. A new global currency, available to billions of people - is something like that legal? Or a good idea? Jon Porter from The Verge breaks it down.
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Jun 19, 2019
Controversial Trans Mountain pipeline approved, but will it get built?
The federal Liberal government has now approved the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline for the second time.This is a key step for the much-delayed pipeline project that’s meant to carry nearly a million barrels of oil from Alberta to B.C each day. But will approval actually mean construction? CBC Vancouver reporter Angela Sterritt and CBC Calgary business reporter Tony Seskus explain.
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Jun 18, 2019
What would it take for Canada to meet its climate targets?
The Canadian government has already admitted that it probably won’t be able to meet its Paris climate targets, the international agreement Canada signed promising to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. As part of a new CBC News project called In Our Backyard, reporter Connie Walker has been using climate modelling to investigate different policy options to find out what it would actually take for Canada to meet its goals. Today on Front Burner, she shares her findings.
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Jun 17, 2019
Your Guide to Canada’s Edible Pot Rules
The Canadian government has introduced rules around the sale of edibles and other weed products, like topicals. Sol Israel from The Leaf News walks us through what these new regulations look like, and why the new rules around edibles may have unexpected consequences.
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Jun 15, 2019
BONUS: Hong Kong protests and fears of China’s long reach
Throughout the week hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents took to the streets to protest a proposed extradition bill. Many fear it will be used to target dissidents who speak out against the Chinese state. Protests escalated to violent clashes between police and young demonstrators. Today on Front Burner, Hong Kong Free Press reporter Jennifer Creery on what this means for the region’s fight to resist China’s influence.
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Jun 14, 2019
Raptors Win! Raptors Win! Raptors Win!
For the first time in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championships. They beat the Golden State Warriors Thursday night in game six of the championship, 114-110. It was a remarkably tense game, with sixteen lead changes throughout. Today on Front Burner, CBC reporter Devin Heroux from Oakland, California on what it was like to witness the incredible game, and sports writer Alex Wong on how it feels to finally see the Toronto Raptors become NBA champions.
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Jun 13, 2019
How a far-right hate group operates in rural B.C. and across the country
Far-right group Soldiers of Odin has been developing chapters across Canada and popping up at anti-immigration protests throughout the country. It’s a group that Canadian border security officials have said is not afraid to use violence and Facebook has recently banned in Canada for being engaged in “organized hate” online. Today on Front Burner, CBC’s Raffy Boudjikanian explains what the Soldiers of Odin are, how they are operating in Canada and why communities like Dawson Creek, B.C., are struggling to deal with them.
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Jun 12, 2019
The Uninhabitable Earth: A grim portrait of the future of climate change
Author David Wallace-Wells on his matter-of-fact book, “The Uninhabitable Earth,” and what happens if we don’t slow the pace of climate change.
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Jun 11, 2019
Is Ontario Premier Doug Ford a problem for the federal Conservatives?
In a rare move, the Ontario legislature will take a break until October 28th, one week after the federal election. So why the extended break? Political watchers say that might have to do with Premier Doug Ford’s dismal poll numbers, and how they might affect federal Conservative leader Andrew Scheer’s chances this coming election. Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos explains.
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Jun 10, 2019
Decades of sexual abuse at one Ottawa high school
Over the course of decades, dozens of students were sexually abused by three different teachers at one Ottawa high school. Some students spoke up and told other teachers. But it wasn't until 2016 that any criminal charges were laid. Senior reporter Julie Ireton has been investigating this story of historical sexual abuse for more than a year, for the new CBC podcast, 'The Band Played On.' Today on Front Burner, she describes what happened to these students, how it was allowed to go on for so long, and what can be done to prevent similar kinds of abuse today.
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Jun 7, 2019
Will Boris Johnson be the next UK Prime Minister?
UK Prime Minister Theresa May resigns as leader of the Conservative Party on June 7th. But she will stay on as a lame duck Prime Minister until her successor is chosen. Today on Front Burner, CBC Europe Correspondent Margaret Evans on who that successor might be, and what they'll have to grapple with as the country faces down Brexit: "It's a huge, huge mess in this country. People are angry, they're scared, they're tired of it."
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Jun 6, 2019
The lessons of the Central Park Five
A Netflix miniseries has rekindled interest in the case of the Central Park Five who became poster children for bias in the justice system and served decades for a crime they did not commit. Filmmaker Sarah Burns on why the case is critically important today.
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Jun 5, 2019
Why Kawhi Leonard is more than just a stoic NBA superstar
The Toronto Raptors face the Golden State Warriors for game three of the NBA Finals tonight. It's an exciting time for fans of Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard. Today on Front Burner, freelance sports writer Alex Wong helps us understand the man behind the calm exterior and shares his thoughts on whether Leonard will stay in the North when this historic series ends.
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Jun 4, 2019
Is Canada ready to combat election meddling online?
Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould on Canada's plan to deal with interference and disinformation ahead of the fall election.
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Jun 3, 2019
Inquiry calls murders and disappearances of Indigenous women 'Canadian genocide'
Today on Front Burner, CBC's Chantelle Bellrichard and Jorge Barrera report on the findings of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and explain why the report says this violence is part of a "Canadian Genocide".
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May 31, 2019
Will Canada's new air travel protections actually help?
This summer, Canada's new air passenger protection regulations will begin to come into effect. The regulations apply to all flights to, from and within Canada, and include specific financial entitlements for things like delayed flights and damaged luggage. Today on Front Burner, CBC National Business Correspondent Peter Armstrong explains Canada's new air passenger protections, which some critics say don't go far enough.
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May 30, 2019
Robert Mueller breaks his silence
After two years of silence, Robert Mueller delivered his first public statement since being appointed as Special Counsel. He announced his resignation from the United States Department of Justice and reiterated the central findings of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, saying "If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so." Today on Front Burner, Mueller biographer Garrett Graff on the man at the helm of the Trump-Russia investigation.
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May 29, 2019
'I don't know if I can do this again,' says Everest climber as death toll hits 11
Elia Saikaly has climbed Mount Everest eight times. He's reached the top three times. But after his most recent climb, Saikaly is wondering if he can ever go back again. He was one of many climbers caught in the 'traffic jam' at more than 8000 meters elevation - and the deaths he saw along the way made him ask himself if the suffering is worth it. Today on Front Burner, Ottawa-based filmmaker Elia Saikaly on his latest Everest climb and what he thinks can be done to prevent more deaths.
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May 28, 2019
Why Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott are running for re-election as Independent MPs
Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott are advocating for a less partisan political system and will run as independent candidates in the next election. Co-host of CBC's The National, Rosemary Barton, explains why they're doing it and what challenges might be ahead for them.
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May 27, 2019
What the Cindy Gladue case exposes about the justice system
The Supreme Court of Canada has ordered a new trial for a man accused of killing Cindy Gladue. CBC's Kathleen Harris explains why the first trial raised so many questions about how Indigenous women are treated by the Canadian justice system.
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May 24, 2019
Where do abortion rights in Canada stand today?
With the United States in a renewed fight over abortion rights, it's led many to ask: where exactly do we stand in Canada? Today on Front Burner, we speak to reproductive health historian and pro-choice advocate, Shannon Stettner, about Canada's history with legal abortion, and whether reproductive rights are as protected as many think.
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May 23, 2019
Environmental rollbacks and Jason Kenney's 'summer of repeal'
A new legislative session just started in Alberta, under the leadership of Premier Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party. They're looking to introduce about a dozen bills, most of which will serve to dismantle climate initiatives implemented by the previous NDP government. Premier Kenney has even named this time ahead as the 'summer of repeal'. CBC Calgary's Allison Dempster explains what's at stake for Albertans, and how this might set up a much greater confrontation between the province and the federal government.
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May 22, 2019
Could Iran and the U.S. be headed for armed conflict?
On Tuesday Iran's foreign minister accused the U.S. of playing a "very dangerous" game. He was referring to America's decision to move warships and bombers to the Persian Gulf and, more broadly, to the serious escalation of tensions between the two countries. Could the U.S. and Iran be headed for war? Today on Front Burner, Nader Hashemi, the director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver, shares his thoughts on how relations took such a serious turn
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May 21, 2019
$2-billion and counting. How the federal Phoenix pay system failed
The IBM-built Phoenix pay software was supposed to save millions of dollars a year by simplifying payroll for federal workers. Instead, it wreaked havoc on workers' T4s and pay stubs -- while the costs for taxpayers ballooned. Parliamentary reporter Hannah Thibedeau explains how we ended up here.
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May 20, 2019
Modi, Hindu nationalism, and what's at stake with India's election
The election in India, the world's largest in history, has just wrapped up after a month of voting. Many see it as a referendum on sitting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's last five years in power. New Delhi journalist Murali Krishnan explains who Modi is, and why his brand of populism raises the stakes of this election.
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May 17, 2019
Beef, bucks and beauty on YouTube
An online feud between two "beauty influencers," James Charles and Tati Westbrook, has racked up tens of millions of views on YouTube this week. Maybe you've never heard of them, but plenty of people have, and, according to Washington Post internet-culture reporter Abby Ohlheiser, this world is more influential than you might think: "Whether you like it or not, the future of entertainment and the future of industries touched by robust online communities ? are being shaped and changed by what's happening right now on these platforms."
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May 16, 2019
Abortion rights under attack in the U.S.
On Tuesday, Alabama's state legislature voted for a measure that would outlaw almost all access to abortion. Political watchers say this is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that legalized abortion in the U.S. Legislation to restrict abortion in the U.S. has been on the rise since President Donald Trump appointed two conservative-leaning Supreme Court judges. CBC's Lyndsay Duncombe has been covering this story from St. Louis, Missouri, and today on Front Burner she explains why pro-choice advocates worry that a woman's right to choose in America is at risk of being overturned.
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May 15, 2019
What ISIS can teach us about fighting far-right violence online
Today on Front Burner, professor Taylor Owen helps us understand the changing nature of online extremism and what we learned from dealing with ISIS.
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May 14, 2019
Two Newfoundlanders on the province's confounding election
With an election this week, two Newfoundlanders, CBC reporter David Cochrane and radio host Tom Power dig into the many issues facing the province, and how voter apathy has spread during the campaign.
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May 13, 2019
'Racist' letters on Senator's website trigger suspension
Last week Senator Lynn Beyak was suspended by her colleagues without pay for the remainder of this parliamentary session. Her punishment came after posting letters on her official Senate webpage that many, including the Senate's ethics watchdog, deem racist towards Indigenous people. Beyak says she's being punished for exercising freedom of speech. CBC's JP Tasker has been following this story from the very start and today on Front Burner he gets us up to speed.
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May 10, 2019
Quebec's secularism bill praised and denounced as hearings begin
This week, hearings were held on Quebec's secularism bill - which aims to ban public workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols. There were fiery exchanges: some say the bill institutionalizes discrimination, while others think secularism is crucial to keeping Quebec's distinct identity. Today on Front Burner, the CBC's Jonathan Montpetit brings us highlights from the debate - and we hear from a young Muslim woman who worries her livelihood will be affected by the bill.
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May 9, 2019
How humanity put one million species at risk of extinction
Canadian co-author of the new UN report on extinction, Kai Chan, on how the loss of one species can ripple out to affect an entire ecosystem in ways that we often "don't know until it's too late"
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May 8, 2019
Taking stock of Doug Ford's spending cuts
Today on Front Burner, CBC Queen's Park reporter Mike Crawley on the cascade of cuts in Doug Ford's Ontario and how they might be felt in the province.
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May 7, 2019
How the Mark Norman trial could be "a huge political circus"
CBC defence reporter Murray Brewster on the upcoming trial of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, and why it might turn into a political circus, right before the next federal election.
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May 6, 2019
Huawei exec back in court as China dispute escalates
As Huawei's Meng Whanzou returns to court, CBC Vancouver's Jason Proctor on the repercussions from her arrest in December.
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May 3, 2019
Who gets to compete as a woman in sports?
Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya, from South Africa, has lost her appeal against proposed rules from track's governing body that require some female runners to lower their naturally high testosterone levels. It's a ruling that's expected to have huge implications on the future of women's sports. Today on Front Burner, Katrina Karkazis helps us understand why. She's a bioethicist who's been studying the regulation of hormone levels in women's elite sports for years.
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May 2, 2019
The push for regime change in Venezuela
Today on Front Burner - we speak to the CBC's Evan Dyer about an attempt to oust Nicolas Maduro as well as Columbia University Professor, Jeffrey Sachs, who says the United States, and others, need to stay out of this conflict.
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May 1, 2019
Liberals under fire for accepting Illegal SNC Lavalin donations
Journalist Harvey Cashore on the revelation of SNC Lavalin employees who made illegal campaign donations worth more than $100,000 to the Liberal Party of Canada.
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Apr 30, 2019
Severe flooding afflicts Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, again
"We can't go through this again." Thousands of people across Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick are dealing with serious floods this week. And not for the first time. Today on Front Burner, we hear from one Quebec mother on her family's difficult decision to leave their flood-ravaged home for good -- and a disaster prevention expert who thinks governments should buy homeowners out of their flood-prone houses.
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Apr 29, 2019
Inside Canada's alt-right forums
Reporter Shannon Carranco got access to over 150,000 chat logs from a Canadian alt-right forum. What she found is frightening.
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Apr 26, 2019
The unlikely rise of the Toronto Raptors
Twenty four years ago the Toronto Raptors were named the newest team in basketball - and the first franchise outside of the United States. In the years that followed, the team would go from widespread public indifference, to one of the most successful teams in the NBA.
The Raptors are in the middle of their most successful period as a franchise; with six straight playoff berths under their belt, and a prospective finals push on the horizon.
Today on Front Burner, we sit down with longtime voice of the Toronto Raptors, Jack Armstrong, to track the teams unlikely rise. For more about Armstrong visit https://hellojack.entripyshirts.com/
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Apr 25, 2019
One year after the van attack "incels" are unrepentant
One year after the deadly van attack in Toronto, the misogynistic online community that inspired the attack remains unchanged, says reporter Zack Beauchamp who spent a year investigating incels.
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Apr 24, 2019
Understanding the Sri Lankan attacks
Ever since Sri Lanka was hit by eight coordinated bomb blasts, there have been questions about who could be behind an act of terrorism that targeted churches and hotels and left more than 320 people dead. And while a local group was initially blamed, ISIS is now claiming responsibility. Sri Lanka's Prime Minister says there is some evidence linking the attacks to ISIS. Today on Front Burner, Amar Amarasingam, senior research fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, breaks down what led up to this attack and explains why he fears that local divisions have been exploited by forces outside Sri Lanka's borders.
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Apr 23, 2019
How mistrust and fear make fighting Ebola more difficult
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than 800 people, and infected hundreds more. The crisis has worsened due to a local mistrust of the government and aid workers. Ebola treatment centres have been burned to the ground and many people are reluctant to see a doctor. Canadian doctor Vinh-Kim Nguyen tells us what he saw on a recent mission to the DRC for Doctors Without Borders.
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Apr 22, 2019
Will P.E.I. be the first province to go Green?
Across Canada, there's never been a Green Party government federally or provincially. But on Tuesday, that could all change when people on Prince Edward Island cast their ballots. If the polls are right, the P.E.I. Green Party is out in front, beating out the ruling Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives. Kerry Campbell is CBC's P.E.I. provincial affairs reporter. Today on Front Burner, he joins guest host J.P. Tasker to walk us through how a Scottish-Canadian dentist leading a party that's never won before? could end up the next Premier of P.E.I.
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Apr 19, 2019
Why the Mueller report doesn't exonerate Trump for obstruction
The Mueller Report identified a series of episodes involving Trump that the special counsel considered potential obstructions of justice. But Robert Mueller chose to not charge Trump with a crime. CBC's Washington correspondent Keith Boag walks us through the long-anticipated report.
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Apr 18, 2019
How Notre-Dame Cathedral survived centuries of war and change
On Monday, as Parisians and tourists watched in horror, a fire ravaged Notre-Dame Cathedral, destroying much of the historic church and its famous spire. Despite worries that the church will never be the same, about a billion dollars has been raised to pay for extensive renovations of the landmark. Today on Front Burner, as France mourns, French historian Paul Cohen explains how Notre-Dame Cathedral survived centuries of change in its over 850 years of history.
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Apr 17, 2019
Who is Jason Kenney, Alberta's next premier?
Jason Kenney will be Alberta's next premier after leading the United Conservative Party to a majority government in the province.Today on Front Burner, CBC Calgary's Allison Dempster breaks down last night's election results, and Maclean's Paul Wells shares a deep look at Jason Kenney's career so far, and how he came to be a driving force behind conservative political ideas in this country.
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Apr 16, 2019
Sex assault reforms held up by senate "old boys," says former Tory leader
Today on Front Burner, former Conservative leader Rona Ambrose on why she thinks her bill on judges sexual assault training must pass, and soon.
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Apr 15, 2019
Winter is ending: Game of Thrones' impact on pop culture
HBO's Game of Thrones has just launched its eighth and final season. Since 2011, it has shaped everything from the way that television is broadcast to conversations about gender, politics, and power. Today on Front Burner, we break down the cultural significance of the show with Vox critic-at-large Todd VanDerWerff.
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Apr 12, 2019
Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney on the Julian Assange arrest
On Thursday, Julian Assange was arrested and taken out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Oscar winner Alex Gibney made a film about Assange in 2013, and talks to us about the Wikileaks founder's last few years.
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Apr 11, 2019
The long fight over a "secular" Quebec
Yet another Quebec government is proposing a bill designed to affirm the province's religious neutrality. The Coalition Avenir Quebec's Bill 21 seeks to ban public workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols. Thousands of people have turned out in protest -- but the idea is popular amongst the province's francophone majority. CBC Montreal's Jonathan Montpetit explains the long fraught history of legislating secularism and reasonable accommodation in Quebec.
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Apr 10, 2019
NXIVM's Allison Mack pleads guilty to role in alleged sex cult
On Monday, NXIVM member and former Smallville actress Allison Mack pleaded guilty in a New York court to racketeering charges for her role in a cult-like group called NXIVM. Mack is one of several high-ranking NXIVM members who have been charged with manipulating women into becoming sex slaves for Keith Raniere, the group's leader, among other charges. Today on Front Burner, Josh Bloch, host of CBC podcast Uncover: Escaping NXIVM, reports on what we've now learned about the secretive organization.
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Apr 9, 2019
Former Facebook insider's wake-up call to the "catastrophe" of big tech
The Canadian government is considering regulating social media giants like Facebook. This comes after the release of a report by Canadians electronic spy agency, showing how Canadians are vulnerable to foreign interference in this upcoming election. Today on Front Burner, Roger McNamee, the author of "Zucked: Waking up to the Facebook Catastrophe" explains how the business model of big tech is inseparable from its most negative effects.
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Apr 8, 2019
The political longevity of Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu is put to the test
Benjamin Netanyahu has been the Prime Minister of Israel for ten years. If he is re-elected and stays on in the job through the summer, he'll be longest serving Prime Minister in the country's history. But he faces a tough opponent in former military general Benny Gantz. Today on Front Burner, CBC's Derek Stoffel on Benjamin Netanyahu's political staying power.
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Apr 5, 2019
A controversy over race, rap and country music
For weeks, the song "Old Town Road" by rapper Lil Nas X had been climbing the country music charts. After Billboard disqualified the hit saying it wasn't "country" enough, there's been a big conversation about genre, authorship and race. Brittany Spanos from Rolling Stone breaks it down.
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Apr 4, 2019
Frustration, hypocrisy and the SNC scandal
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was protested by dozens of young women with political aspirations who were visiting the House of Commons. This came just hours after expelling Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott from caucus. It's just one example of the kind of frustration that's surrounded the SNC-Lavalin controversy. CBC opinion columnist Robyn Urback and freelance journalist Jen Gerson share their thoughts on that, and what it means for Canadians' expectations of government.
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Apr 3, 2019
How do anti-carbon tax provinces plan to fight climate change?
This week a new federal carbon tax on fossil fuels came into effect in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. These are all provinces that took a hard pass at creating their own version of a carbon pricing plan that would meet the Liberal government's standards. They're being called "The Holdouts". Today on Front Burner, CBC's J.P. Tasker walks us through how each province proposes to fight climate change without a carbon tax.
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Apr 2, 2019
The story behind unsolved murders in Toronto's gay village
In this season of Uncover: The Village, reporter Justin Ling reveals the history of unsolved murder and missing persons cases in Toronto's gay village.
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Apr 1, 2019
A secretly-recorded phone call, and the growing SNC-Lavalin scandal
CBC Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos breaks down the secretly-recorded phone call between former Attorney-General Jody Wilson-Raybould and former Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick - as the SNC-Lavalin controversy grows.
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Mar 29, 2019
White supremacist and homophobic posts force UCP candidates out
Since the writ dropped in Alberta, two candidates have resigned from the United Conservative Party over Islamaphobic, white supremacist, homophobic and transphobic messages on social media. This is only the latest controversy for the party. The Jason Kenney campaign has been accused of supporting a 'kamikaze candidate' to help him win the leadership race in 2017, and the RCMP is looking into allegations of voter fraud. Maclean's Alberta correspondent Jason Markusoff says the scandals may not prevent Jason Kenney from winning the premiership. "This is an economically anxious province," says Markusoff. "Albertans are frustrated and anxious, they're looking for some change to make to liberate themselves from the status quo."
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Mar 28, 2019
The woman who hid Edward Snowden
When Edward Snowden showed up at her door, Vanessa Rodel had no idea who he was. Then she saw his face of the front page of the newspaper. Rodel and her daughter have just arrived in Canada as privately sponsored refugees. Vanessa tells the story of how she hid Snowden, who at the time was the subject of an international manhunt for leaking top secret information that exposed a global US spy program. She also talks about the price she paid to help him.
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Mar 27, 2019
Why Disney Absorbed Fox, Apple Wants to Make TV
After the merger of Disney and Fox, one movie studio controls almost 40% of the box office. The merger puts Disney in a position to compete with big tech companies like Netflix and Apple in the streaming game. But is it good for moviegoers and TV watchers? Film critic David Sims says 'bigness' can lead to bad outcomes for less profitable content like local news and art movies, but will increase our diet of superhero blockbusters. "It seems that these companies that have always existed in the movie business are looking at this industry and saying, we can only make a few kinds of movies anymore that can make money," says Sims.
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Mar 26, 2019
He survived a massacre and became living evidence
In 1982 a brutal massacre in a small farming community during the Guatemalan civil war left over 160 men, women and children dead. Over thirty years later, one of the men responsible for the horrific murders has been sentenced to more than 5000 years in prison by a Guatemalan Court. His name is Santos López Alonzo. Today on Front Burner, CBC's Nahlah Ayed explains how a little boy that Santos López kidnapped from the village after the massacre? would one day grow up and help put him behind bars.
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Mar 25, 2019
Mueller: no collusion, no obstruction, no exoneration
A summary of Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion with Russia during the 2016 election is out. CBC Washington correspondent Keith Boag breaks down what we know so far, and the implications for the Trump administration.
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Mar 22, 2019
How far right influencers thrive on YouTube
The Christchurch mosque shooter formed his radical views online. Today, an examination of how far right communities spread their toxic messages on the Internet and how they use YouTube to do it.
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Mar 21, 2019
Could pharmacare in Canada be a reality?
This week's federal budget laid some initial groundwork for the possibility of a national pharmacare plan in Canada. But with a contentious election year ahead, there are still plenty of questions around how a strategy could be implemented. Today on Front Burner, Globe and Mail health reporter Kelly Grant explains how the pharmacare debate is unfolding and what we can expect from the Liberals in the coming year.
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Mar 20, 2019
Who will take on Trump in 2020?
CBC Washington reporter Lyndsay Duncombe guides us through the growing list of Democratic presidential candidates vying to run in 2020.
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Mar 19, 2019
Inside Alberta's 'House of Cards' scandal
Rachel Notley is expected to declare the date of the provincial election any day now. And within a matter of weeks, voters will cast their ballots to pick the next provincial government of Alberta. At the same time, one of the key parties in this race, the United Conservative Party, is at the center of a mounting political scandal. There are allegations that during the party's leadership race, Jason Kenney's campaign engaged in illegal practices.
Over the weekend, Charles Rusnell and Jennie Russell, investigative journalists at CBC Edmonton, reported on a cache of documents that show collaboration between Jason Kenney's campaign team and the campaign team for another candidate, Jeff Callaway.
Today on Front Burner, Charles Rusnell breaks it down.
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Mar 18, 2019
The aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings and the rise of far-right extremism
Mass shootings at two mosques on Friday evening in Christchurch, New Zealand, were felt around the globe. We hear from Adrienne Arsenault, who is in Christchurch. And from Stephanie Carvin, a former analyst for CSIS, on the steady rise of far-right extremism in Canada.
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Mar 15, 2019
Brexit is still a mess
A few months ago we did an episode on Brexit. We talked about how the whole Brexit process has been a mess. Well, it's still a mess. This week there were three votes in the UK parliament. First, MPs voted down Prime Minister Theresa May's new Brexit deal with the EU. Then they said no to leaving the European Union without a deal in place. Then they voted to delay making a decision. Today on Front Burner, CBC's London reporter Thomas Daigle breaks down what is going on and what is at stake for the United Kingdom.
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Mar 14, 2019
Why your cell phone bill is so high and what can be done about it
Canada has some of the most expensive cell phone plans in the developed world. It has to do, in part, with access to the country's wireless spectrum. As another round of wireless spectrum gets auctioned by the Canadian government, CBC National Business Correspondent Peter Armstrong helps us understand why cell phone plans are so expensive, and what can be done about it.
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Mar 13, 2019
Is the Boeing 737 Max 8 safe?
A growing list of countries have grounded the Boeing 737 Max 8 following a crash that killed 157 people, including 18 Canadians. Not even six months ago the same type of airplane plunged into the Java sea near Indonesia. Today on Front Burner, an aviation expert explains the mounting concerns over this Boeing model and CBC's Susan Ormiston reports from the Ethiopian crash site.
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Mar 12, 2019
Inside Canada's Crypto Mystery
Reporter Alex Posadzki on how the death of a Canadian cryptocurrency entrepreneur has caused the disappearance of about $180-million in digital currency.
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Mar 11, 2019
Five lingering questions about the SNC-Lavalin scandal
We've heard from the key players in the SNC-Lavalin scandal. There's former Attorney-General Jody Wilson-Raybould, who said she was subjected to inappropriate pressure by the Prime Minister's office to intervene with the corruption case against engineering giant SNC-Lavalin. On the other side, Prime Minister Trudeau, his former principal secretary Gerry Butts and the Clerk of the Privy Council, all of whom say nothing outside the normal functioning of government happened. Today, we take a step back and navigate five lingering questions about the SNC-Lavalin scandal with CBC senior reporter David Cochrane.
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Mar 8, 2019
Despite reported 'cure', the fight against HIV continues
This week, a major milestone in HIV/AIDS research made headlines worldwide. A man known as the "London Patient" has seemingly been "cured" after receiving a bone marrow transplant from a donor with an HIV-resistant genetic mutation. It's only the second time in history a procedure like this has been executed successfully. But while some doctors are inspired by this week's breakthrough, others are more cautious in their optimism. Today on Front Burner, we track the historical battle against the virus and what it means for future progress with help from Canada Research Chair in HIV Pathogenesis and Viral Control, Eric Arts.
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Mar 7, 2019
'Nothing happened here beyond the normal operations of government.'
In his much anticipated testimony Gerald Butts, the Prime Minister's former principal secretary, laid out a counter-narrative to the allegations of political interference in the SNC-Lavalin case.
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Mar 6, 2019
Accused of espionage, how a Canadian couple survived Chinese detention
On Monday, Chinese authorities accused two Canadians who have been detained since December of being spies. This news comes as Canada proceeds with a U.S. extradition request for Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou. But this isn't the first time Canadians have been caught in the middle of an escalating diplomatic dispute with China. Kevin and Julia Garratt know what it's like to live in Chinese custody under suspicion of espionage. Today on Front Burner, they describe what happened to them and share what they learned about China's judicial system during their two-year ordeal.
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Mar 5, 2019
What 'Leaving Neverland' means for Michael Jackson's legacy
"It's something we'll have to grapple with in an ongoing way," says Slate music critic Carl Wilson about the challenge of coming to terms with the sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson in the HBO documentary "Leaving Neverland". He, along with Exclaim! magazine contributor A. Harmony, talk to host Jayme Poisson about what that might mean for Jackson's legacy as a pop music icon.
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Mar 4, 2019
The secret network that helped Rahaf Mohammed escape
Reporter Nahlah Ayed discovered a private group chat where women are helping each other flee repressive regimes
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Mar 1, 2019
How tensions grew between India and Pakistan
The relationship between India and Pakistan has historically been troubled, but this week, tensions escalated with both countries launching airstrikes against one another. "There's of course the larger significance of these two countries being nuclear states," says UBC professor M.V. Ramana, an expert on nuclear energy in India. He traces the historical conflict between India and Pakistan, and sets up what's at stake globally.
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Feb 28, 2019
'They did not stop.' Jody Wilson-Raybould details alleged political pressure
On Wednesday, Jody Wilson-Raybould told the Justice Committee she had been pressured by the PMO to get a deferred prosecution agreement for SNC Lavalin. "I experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion," said Wilson-Raybould in her testimony. Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos explains how Wilson-Raybould says it all culminated in her removal from the office of attorney general.
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Feb 27, 2019
Why R. Kelly's Charges Were a Long Time Coming
After years of allegations, singer R. Kelly faces ten charges of aggravated sexual assault. Music critic Lindsay Zoladz talks about the case, and why #metoo moved more slowly in the music industry.
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Feb 26, 2019
Jagmeet Singh wins divisive race in B.C.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has won a seat in the riding of Burnaby-South. It's just one of three byelections that took place across the country. The CBC's Briar Stewart and Hannah Thibedeau break down the political stakes of the Burnaby-South byelection, and what it might tell us about the upcoming federal election.
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Feb 25, 2019
Should Tech Companies Pay Us For Our Data?
Our behaviour online creates a lot of data that's useful for tech companies - what we buy, what videos we watch on YouTube, what movies we see on Netflix. Author Glen Weyl says if tech companies make money off this information, we should get paid for it.
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Feb 22, 2019
Why residential school survivors want an apology from the Pope
An unprecedented summit on the sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church is taking place at the Vatican. For many victims, it's a chance to seek justice. That includes Evelyn Korkmaz, a residential school survivor calling on the Pope to apologize for the Church's involvement in residential schools. She tells host Jayme Poisson why and CBC reporter Jorge Barrera helps us understand the historical relationship between the Catholic Church and Canada's residential schools.
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Feb 21, 2019
Explaining the Vancouver Measles Outbreak
With eight confirmed cases, Vancouver is facing Canada's worst measles outbreak in years. Dr. Natasha Crowcroft on why the infectious disease is having a worldwide comeback.
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Feb 20, 2019
What does United We Roll stand for?
On Tuesday a convoy of trucks arrived in Ottawa. The rolling protest is driven by Canadians who want pipelines, hate carbon taxes and are calling for more help for the Alberta economy. But there is another element: some in the group have also been protesting immigration and using hateful, racist, language. Today on Front Burner, CBC's David Common and Rosemary Barton explain the complicated politics around this protest.
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Feb 18, 2019
Trudeau's right-hand man resigns amid SNC-Lavalin scandal
On Monday afternoon one of the most powerful men in Ottawa resigned. Following allegations of political interference in a court case involving engineering giant SNC-Lavalin, Gerald Butts stepped aside as the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. Today on Front Burner, CBC Parliamentary reporter John Paul Tasker explains why Justin Trudeau's most senior adviser-and longtime friend- would resign while denying any wrongdoing.
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Feb 18, 2019
Should Canadian ISIS fighters be allowed to return home?
Two Canadian women have surrendered to US-backed forces after spending years in ISIS-controlled territory. Journalist Michelle Shephard made a documentary about a similar case last year. She says repatriation is a thorny subject for the Canadian government. "It really feels like the Canadian policy has been not to have a policy," says Shephard.
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Feb 15, 2019
Twitter trolls target Canadian pipeline, immigration debates
CBC/Radio-Canada journalists crunch the data on more than 9-million troll tweets and reveal foreign campaigns to influence Canadians' opinions. Retweets focused on issues like pipelines and immigration. Jeff Yates joins us to explain what he learned. Elizabeth Dubois from the University of Ottawa paints the wider picture of how troll activity is changing.
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Feb 14, 2019
An essential timeline of the Mueller investigation
The talk around Washington these days, is that the Mueller investigation is winding down. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry into whether there was collusion between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election has dominated the headlines since 2017. Nobody knows for sure when it will wrap. But we do know that this story has taken a long and winding road. Today on Front Burner, CBC Washington correspondent Keith Boag breaks down the most essential elements of the saga.
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Feb 13, 2019
A widening scandal and SNC-Lavalin's history of alleged corruption
With Jody Wilson-Raybould's resignation from the Liberal cabinet, the scandal involving SNC-Lavalin and the Liberal government continues to grow. CBC investigative reporter Dave Seglins guides us through the troubled history of the engineering company that's at the heart of the political firestorm.
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Feb 12, 2019
Who is Venezuela's rival president?
Juan Guaidó is touring Venezuela this week, meeting with journalists and citizens. But while Canada acknowledges Guaidó as the official president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro says the job is still rightfully his. The CBC's Adrienne Arsenault and Evan Dyer on the latest from Caracas.
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Feb 11, 2019
Catching up on the SNC-Lavalin Liberal scandal
Ottawa is reeling after a story broke late last week alleging that the Prime Minister's Office pressured former Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in the prosecution of Quebec-based engineering company SNC-Lavalin. Today on Front Burner, CBC's David Cochrane breaks down the scandal and explains why this could be very problematic for Justin Trudeau and his closest allies.
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Feb 8, 2019
The aftermath of the Quebec mosque shooting
"I can't even venture to guess how long it'll take for people to feel safe again." CBC reporter Catou MacKinnon covered the shooting at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City on January 29, 2017. Alexandre Bissonnette pleaded guilty to six counts of first degree murder and six counts of attempted murder. Ahead of his sentencing, Catou tells host Jayme Poisson about the lasting impact the incident has had on the Muslim community in Quebec City's Sainte-Foy neighbourhood.
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Feb 7, 2019
Russia, America and a new nuclear arms race
Nuclear weapons expert and Obama adviser Jon Wolfsthal on how the treaties that once prevented a nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia, could be unravelling today.
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Feb 6, 2019
Cuts and leaks in Doug Ford's Ontario
It's only Wednesday, but Ontario premier Doug Ford has already had a jam-packed week. On Monday, an unnamed civil servant was fired and the police were notified in relation to a leak from inside the ruling Progressive Conservative government. That leak put controversial healthcare policy proposals into the hands of the opposition party. Today on Front Burner, Toronto Star Queen's Park bureau chief Robert Benzie breaks down what Doug Ford has been up to as premier of Ontario and explains why the politician has captured the attention of Conservatives across the country.
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Feb 5, 2019
How a Canadian watchdog turned the tables on an undercover operative
In December a digital privacy watchdog began receiving mysterious emails from businessmen who didn't seem to exist. John Scott-Railton from the Citizen Lab joins us to try and understand why his group was targeted by what they believe to be undercover operatives.
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Feb 4, 2019
Is more oil on rails safe for Canada?
Oil is being put on trains and moved across Canada in increasing numbers. Today on Front Burner, Winnipeg Free Press reporter Dylan Robertson explains why a lot of people are attributing this to a lack of pipeline capacity and breaks down what he's learned about how safe it is to transport oil by rail.
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Feb 1, 2019
What an Omar Khadr Google search warns us about misinformation online
This week, a Google search result listing Omar Khadr as a Canadian soldier gained a lot of traction online, inciting anger from many people, including Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer. CBC technology reporter Matt Braga tracks how the former Guantanamo Bay detainee showed up in the search in the first place and how easily misinformation can become politicized.
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Jan 31, 2019
Inside the Humboldt Broncos crash sentencing hearing
This week, the truck driver who caused the Humboldt Broncos bus crash is facing his sentencing hearing. CBC reporter Susan Ormiston joins us from Melfort, Saskatchewan to talk about how the victims' families are feeling about the possibility of some closure and to explain how complicated it could be for the judge to decide Jaskirat Singh Sidhu's punishment.
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Jan 30, 2019
Serial killer Bruce McArthur pleads guilty
On Tuesday, Bruce McArthur pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder and we heard never-before-released details about the evidence in the case. But as we hear from freelance reporter Justin Ling, there are still lots of unanswered questions about how McArthur committed his crimes and what comes next.
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Jan 29, 2019
How Canadian reporter Daniel Dale fact-checks Trump
Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale tries to fact check everything U.S President Donald Trump says. It keeps him working at all hours and his reporting has drawn attention all over the world. Dale talks about how he builds his database of false claims, which is up to 4,210 as of today, and why he believes pointing out Trump's dishonesty is crucial journalism.
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Jan 28, 2019
Canada fires off-message ambassador to China
Canada's ambassador to China, John McCallum, was forced to resign after making multiple comments that were out of step with the federal government's stance on the Canadian arrest of Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. Today on Front Burner, CBC's Katie Simpson breaks down what happened and why it is such a big deal.
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Jan 25, 2019
El Chapo's Canadian connections
One of the world's most notorious drug lords, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, is on trial in New York and a star witness just revealed a lot about Chapo's Canadian operation. The National Post's Brian Fitzpatrick explains what court documents have shown.
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Jan 24, 2019
B.C.'s serious money laundering problem
The toll of British Columbia's money laundering problem is climbing, with recent reports suggesting that about a billion dollars a year have been laundered through the province's casinos.This week, the federal government promised it will do more to help B.C. finally clamp down. Today on Front Burner, CBC Investigative journalist Eric Rankin explains the long-term problem and breaks down how the money is tangled up in organized crime, illegal drugs, and even real estate.
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Jan 23, 2019
Deciem and the death of Brandon Truaxe
Brandon Truaxe, the founder of Canadian skincare company Deciem, has died after a year-long public unravelling. He built 'The Abnormal Beauty Company' into a worldwide brand through a combination of radical pricing and social media marketing. But his increasingly erratic behaviour, documented on his company's Instagram account, ultimately cost him his position as CEO. Senior business reporter Aaron Saltzman takes us inside Truaxe's story.
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Jan 22, 2019
Women accuse former RCMP doctor of sexual assault
Canada's national police force is once again at the centre of disturbing allegations. Multiple women have come forward accusing a former RCMP doctor of sexually assaulting and harassing them decades ago when they were new recruits. CBC investigative reporter Dave Seglins explains what happened and why the RCMP is being accused of covering up sexual assaults from the '80s and '90s.
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Jan 21, 2019
Karen Wang, race and Canadian politics
"If you just say 'vote for me because I'm Chinese-Canadian', it didn't work. It hasn't worked, and it won't work." Former NDP MP Olivia Chow is a seasoned politician who has strong connections to the Chinese-Canadian community. She reflects on ex-Liberal candidate Karen Wang's race-based comments against NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, and the role of race in Canadian politics.
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Jan 18, 2019
How Yemen's cyberwar could shape future conflicts
Yemen's brutal civil war has produced the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet, with thousands dead and millions facing starvation. But there's another dimension to the conflict - the battle over who controls the country's internet. CBC technology reporter Matthew Braga explains how that conflict could influence future wars.
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Jan 17, 2019
Wet'suwet'en protests highlight Indigenous pipeline divide
The debate over a natural gas pipeline in Wet'suwet'en territory continues this week following protests over the arrest of 14 people at a blockade in the remote B.C. community. CBC reporter Chantelle Bellrichard recounts the moment the RCMP broke the barricade and explains why a pipeline project is dividing a number of B.C. Indigenous groups.
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Jan 16, 2019
The inside story of Rahaf Mohammed's escape from Saudi Arabia
Canada has granted asylum to Rahaf Mohammed, a Saudi teenager who fled to Thailand to escape alleged abuse from her family. CBC's senior correspondent Susan Ormiston shares the inside story of Mohammed's plight and her plans for the future.
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Jan 15, 2019
Was a Canadian's death sentence in China an act of diplomatic retribution?
A Chinese court has sentenced Canadian Robert Schellenberg to death for drug smuggling. His retrial was announced a few weeks ago, amid growing tensions between Canada and China. The CBC's Asia correspondent Sasa Petricic explains how this death sentence is being seen as retribution for the arrest of Huawei's Meng Wanzhou.
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Jan 14, 2019
Three views on Maxime Bernier
Maxime Bernier says the People's Party of Canada will be on the ballot across the country in the upcoming federal election. But for a lot of people, the new fiscally-conservative libertarian party is still a big mystery. To find out more, we went to one of his political rallies and spoke to three Canadians who showed up to hear the former cabinet minister speak.
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Jan 11, 2019
Amid desperation, Canada targets Venezuelan 'dictatorship'
As Venezuela struggles with food shortages and hyperinflation, journalists Adrienne Arsenault and Evan Dyer describe the conditions on the ground and how Canada is responding. Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland has condemned the country's government, saying it is "fully entrenched as a dictatorship."
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Jan 10, 2019
Europe's lessons for Trump's border wall
As the debate rages in the U.S. over funding for Donald Trump's proposed wall on the country's southern border, we ask CBC correspondent Nahlah Ayed just how effective Europe's barriers have been in stopping the flow of migrants. Ayed has travelled across Europe to investigate the recent proliferation of border walls as part of her reporting on the migration crisis.
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Jan 9, 2019
How benzos and Xanax culture propel the opioid crisis
Why have benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax been involved in a large number of Canadian opioid overdose deaths? Zachary Siegel, a journalist and fellow at Northeastern University, breaks down benzos, why they're having a moment in the rap world and what role the drug plays in the overall overdose crisis.
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Jan 8, 2019
China's plans to dominate space
"By 2045, China wants to become the strongest space power and space technology-based power in the world," says Namrata Goswami, an expert on China's space program. One step towards that goal is the launch of a research mission to the far side of the moon, where right now a Chinese rover is at work exploring. It was a complicated technological feat, and Goswami says it's just the beginning of the country's plans.
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Jan 7, 2019
Uber and the perils of the gig economy
"The fact that these three judges really got this power imbalance between workers and this huge behemoth multi-national corporation...was just really breath-taking." Labour law professor and gig economy expert Veena Dubal talks about the significance of the Ontario Court of Appeal's decision to let a proposed class action lawsuit against Uber proceed, and how it fits into a larger picture of gig economy workers around the world trying to get recognized as employees.
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Jan 4, 2019
Jagmeet Singh is fighting for his political life
"This is his biggest political test to date. It will decide the fate of Jagmeet Singh." With a federal election looming, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is under intense pressure to win a seat in the House of Commons in the upcoming Burnaby South byelection. Today on Front Burner, CBC National News reporter Hannah Thibedeau breaks down how things are looking for Singh and explains what's at stake for the future of the entire New Democratic Party.
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Jan 3, 2019
Why the US Government is Still Shut Down
The United States government is entering the thirteenth day of a government shutdown that some predict will last for weeks. So how does this end? CBC correspondent Paul Hunter warns we are in uncharted territory. "There's no path out, and that's the problem right now."
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Jan 2, 2019
Can you trust your home smart speaker?
"I have a love-hate relationship with it." CBC senior technology reporter, Matthew Braga, explains how smart speakers work, why companies like Google and Amazon want you to have one in your home, and what privacy issues you should consider before setting up a Google Home or an Amazon Echo on your kitchen counter.
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Dec 31, 2018
What's Canada's place in a chaotic world?
"The power that we have comes from influence, it comes from trying to convince countries to do things," says co-host of The National, Rosemary Barton. She joins Jayme to reexamine a series of events that challenged Canada's position in 2018 - from the chaos of the Trump presidency, to the diplomatic rift with China caused by Canada's arrest of Huawei's chief operating officer.
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Dec 28, 2018
The year in opinion
"We must engage with people who don't agree with us," says Simi Sara host of The Simi Sara Show. She joins Buzzfeed's Elamin Abdelmahmoud and The Globe's Adrian Lee for a chat about the stories that generated the most discussion and opinion in 2018.
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Dec 27, 2018
How Fortnite blew up in 2018
"What Fortnite has done is break all the rules around what makes a successful video game," says Tom Power, host of CBC Radio's q. Fortnite has over 200 million registered users, and is reported to have brought in two billion dollars in profits for Epic Games this year. Since its launch in 2017, it's also become a pop culture phenomenon. So how did a free-to-play game become such a cultural and economic powerhouse? Tom Power helps us understand the game, and even teaches host Jayme Poisson how to play.
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Dec 26, 2018
The terrible, no good year for Quebec sovereignty
"For 40 years, sovereignty has been in elections by default because either the party in power or the party in opposition was a sovereigntist party ? that is no longer the case," says long-time Quebec journalist Martin Patriquin. While the question of sovereignty remains front of mind for many Quebecers, this year it wasn't an issue in a Quebec election for the first time in decades. Today on Front Burner, Patriquin sheds light on why the province's separatist movement is struggling, but why it will endure.
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Dec 24, 2018
Asylum in Canada explained
"Canada doesn't have a refugee crisis. Canada has a crisis of will in terms of what we want to do," says refugee and immigration lawyer Zool Suleman about the influx of people crossing the American border to seek asylum in Canada. The country's budget watchdog has now confirmed the federal cost of asylum seekers making irregular crossings and warned of a growing refugee claimant case backlog. But what does that really mean? Today on Front Burner, we shed light on a confusing system and an issue that's often clouded by rhetoric.
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Dec 21, 2018
B.C. alleged terrorism case called a 'travesty of justice'
"From the justice system's point of view, you also have these bigger questions about how to conduct terrorism investigations, and investigations into these elaborate societal issues where we have fears about the crimes that people might commit." Today on Front Burner, senior reporter for CBC Vancouver, Jason Proctor, explains why a B.C. couple accused of planning a bomb plot had their convictions stayed due to entrapment and abuse of process by the RCMP.
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Dec 20, 2018
How and why the "yellow vest" protests spread
Economist correspondent Sophie Pedder says the 'yellow vest' protests in Canadian cities are different in some ways from the movement that inspired them in Paris.
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Dec 19, 2018
What does $1.6B in federal cash mean for the oil and gas sector?
"People are frustrated and they're upset and frankly, they're scared," says CBC business correspondent Peter Armstrong about workers in the oil and gas industry following months of record-low oil prices. On Tuesday the Canadian government announced a $1.6 billion support package for the struggling energy sector. Today on Front Burner, Armstrong explains what's at stake for Canada's oil patch and breaks down how far the funds will really go.
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Dec 18, 2018
Who decides if you're dead?
"In the vast majority of circumstances, families and care providers in the intensive care unit are on the same page," says Dr. Brian Goldman on Taquisha McKitty's case. The 27-year old woman has been declared brain dead by five doctors, but is breathing with the assistance of a ventilator at the request of her family. Their fight to keep her alive is now before the Ontario Court of Appeal. Dr. Goldman, emergency physician and host of CBC Radio's White Coat Black Art, explains how the case sheds light on the complications of defining death.
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Dec 17, 2018
Will Doug Ford's friend become Ontario's top cop?
CBC Queen's Park reporter Mike Crawley says there's been pushback against the recent appointment of Ron Taverner, a friend of Ontario premier Doug Ford, to take over the provincial police force. Many worry Taverner's appointment could hurt the OPP's independence from political influence.
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Dec 14, 2018
How Thunder Bay police fail Indigenous people
"When the agency that's supposed to protect you is also an agency that you fear, there is really little place for you to find shelter," says Jorge Barrera, a reporter with CBC's Indigenous Unit, in relation to a disturbing new report about the Thunder Bay Police Service. Ontario's police watchdog Gerry McNeilly says "systemic racism" exists at an institutional level inside the police force. And the consequences of this racism are so severe that he's recommending nine cases involving the deaths of Indigenous people be re-opened and re-investigated. Today on Front Burner, we look at how Thunder Bay Police failed Indigenous people.
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Dec 13, 2018
Will controversial "Border Security" show get a government reboot?
CBC reporter Catharine Tunney says the reality TV show starring Canada's Border Services Agency was controversial. The show included footage of drug busts and interviews at ports of entry. It was not renewed after three seasons, but could come back.
Correction: No additional lights were used during airport scenes of Border Security and the program aired for three seasons, not four and the name of the program in the introduction was corrected. This episode has been changed to reflect that.
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Dec 12, 2018
How the Huawei arrest is playing out in China
"The tone here is that this is an an innocent woman. So why would you treat her like a criminal? And the idea is, if you have handcuffed someone you have presumed their guilt," says Nathan VanderKlippe, the Globe and Mail's Asia correspondent. Tensions between Canada and China are high after the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou and the subsequent detention of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig. Today on Front Burner, Nathan explains China's side of the diplomatic dispute and breaks down how this story is playing out in Beijing.
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Dec 11, 2018
Race, policing and a 'disturbing' pattern
"If a few white people were being killed at the rate that we are being killed...we wouldn't be having this conversation today," says Desmond Cole, in response to an Ontario Human Rights commission report on policing and race in Toronto. The report's findings include that a black person in Toronto is nearly 20 times more likely than a white person to be shot and killed by police. Cole is a writer and activist who focuses on race and policing.
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Dec 10, 2018
Taking the pulse of weed legalization
"This really is the beginning of a cultural shift," says Solomon Israel, cannabis reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Nearly two months into cannabis legalization he breaks down the complaints - from low quality to short supplies - and the positives - including the benefits that legal weed provides for medical research.
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Dec 7, 2018
Spying, industrial espionage and the arrest of Huawei's CFO
"It's incredibly hard to overstate the significance of this arrest." CBC's economics reporter Peter Armstrong breaks down why Canada's arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou for extradition to the U.S. is such a big deal.
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Dec 6, 2018
Was banning 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' the right call?
"In the context of this song it seems weird to not engage a little bit with the words and the lyrics," says writer Stacy Lee Kong after broadcasters, including the CBC, pull the song 'Baby It's Cold Outside'. The song is being criticized for what some believe to be problematic lyrics, in the wake of the #MeToo movement. But is taking the holiday tune off the radio the right call? Alan Cross, a longtime music journalist also joins the discussion.
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Dec 5, 2018
Stopping the flow of Chinese fentanyl into Canada
"If we were doing something killing thousands of Chinese, we would hear from them loud and clear," says former Canadian ambassador to China, David Mulroney. He argues that Canada needs to pressure China to do more to stop the flow of fentanyl, and questions why PM Justin Trudeau didn't apply more diplomatic pressure at the G20 this week.
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Dec 4, 2018
The political cost of carbon taxes
As COP24 tries to set rules for how the world deals with environmental issues, we look at why the Canadian government has chosen carbon pricing as a key tool in addressing climate change. CBC reporter Nahlah Ayed gives us an overview of what's happening at COP24, and energy economist and Simon Fraser University professor Mark Jaccard explains why carbon pricing is a costly political move.
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Dec 3, 2018
After millions in gambling debts, questions remain for MP
On Nov. 22, Raj Grewal said he would resign from his seat as the Liberal MP for Brampton East for 'personal and medical reasons'. Since then, new information has come to light...including a gambling problem, and a RCMP investigation into Grewal's finances. On Friday, Raj Grewal posted a video that addressed many of these allegations, and how he may not be resigning after all. Toronto Star parliamentary reporter Alex Ballingall explains what we actually know about the case.
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Nov 30, 2018
Should we break up Facebook?
This week, lawmakers all over the world sat down to grill Facebook about privacy and fake news. Canada's reps were especially harsh on the tech giant and one MP posed a tough question: Is Facebook just way too big? Breaking up a major American company isn't common. But in the past - banks, telecom companies, and even an oil giant were broken up by the U.S. government. Could that happen with tech giants today? Tim Wu, professor at Columbia Law School and author of The Curse of Bigness, breaks it down.
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Nov 29, 2018
After seven months trapped inside an airport, a refugee calls Canada home
Hassan Al Kontar is now safe in Canada. But for seven long months, the Syrian refugee was stuck inside the transit area of Kuala Lumpur Airport, terrified of being deported back to Syria. Today, Hassan shares how he survived being stranded, the psychological toll of two months in detention in Malaysia, and how a group of Canadians changed this life by raising money to bring him to Whistler, B.C., as a privately-sponsored refugee.
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Nov 28, 2018
Is Canada ready for Russian election meddling?
There's a lot of evidence to suggest that social media accounts tied to the Kremlin tried to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election, the Brexit vote, the last French election, and several elections across Europe. Turns out, they've been active in Canada too. Journalist Justin Ling tells us how Russian accounts have tried to spread misinformation and propaganda here, and how the Canadian government is responding, with the election one year away.
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Nov 27, 2018
GM Oshawa closure casts new light on bailout
On Monday, General Motors announced it is pulling out of Oshawa, Ontario, where it employs more than 2,500 people. This comes years after a major Canadian bailout pulled GM back from the brink. The National's Jonathon Gatehouse breaks down corporate bailouts the Canadian auto sector has received and explains how that fits into Canada's broader relationship with buoying big business.
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Nov 26, 2018
What will it take to build Trans Mountain? What will it take to stop it?
Reconsideration hearings for the proposed expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline continue this week in B.C. This is the same pipeline that the federal government bought for $4.5-billion, only to have a Federal Court of Appeal delay construction because the review didn't consider oil tanker traffic, or consult enough with Indigenous groups. UBC professor Kathryn Harrison lays out what it might take to get the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion through, and what it could take to stop it.
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Nov 23, 2018
Will Canada act after Jamal Khashoggi's murder?
As the political fallout of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's brutal murder becomes clearer, we look into Canada's response to Saudi Arabia with help from Canadian Press reporter Andy Blatchford.
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Nov 22, 2018
Explaining Drake and Pusha T's beef
On Tuesday, rapper Pusha T had a concert in Toronto interrupted by a brawl in the audience. Fans threw beer at him and tried to jump on stage. And now, a man is in life-threatening condition after being stabbed. Pusha T and Canadian rapper Drake have been in a public feud since last spring, and Pusha has accused Drake of paying members of the rowdy audience. Author and Drake biographer Dalton Higgins on how this beef developed.
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Nov 21, 2018
Why Did Canadian Diplomats Get 'Phantom Concussions' in Cuba?
Nausea, debilitating headaches, loss of balance. Those are just a few of the symptoms that a group of Canadian and American diplomats became ill with last year in Cuba, even though none of them were physically hurt. Now, Canadian diplomats afflicted by the "Havana Syndrome" are calling on the federal government to get to the bottom of the mystery. Globe and Mail columnist Doug Saunders explains.
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Nov 20, 2018
Viola Desmond's unfinished work
The $10 Canadian bill honouring civil rights pioneer Viola Desmond goes into circulation this week. The bill is being celebrated by many across the country. But for some, including El Jones, this is also an opportunity to reflect on the racism that remains today in Viola Desmond's home province of Nova Scotia. El Jones is an advocate for black communities in Nova Scotia, and Halifax's former poet-laureate.
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Nov 19, 2018
McGill 'hazing' survivor reflects on St. Michael's sexual assault allegations
Police are investigating alleged assaults and sexual assaults at St. Michael's College School, including one reportedly involving members of the football team holding down another student and sexually assaulting him with a broom handle. D'Arcy McKeown was the victim of a similar 'hazing' incident at McGill University. He speaks out about his experience.
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Nov 16, 2018
Brexit is a mess
Theresa May's Brexit plan is one step closer to reality. But members of the British Prime Minister's party are resigning and she could be removed from power. CBC London correspondent Nahlah Ayed explains how we got here and what it means for the future of the United Kingdom and the EU.
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Nov 15, 2018
Inside the hunt for alleged Mexican drug lord El Chapo
U.S. prosecutors say Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán is a brutal cartel kingpin that ran the largest drug trafficking organization in the world. As his criminal trial begins in Brooklyn, former DEA agent Andrew Hogan explains how El Chapo managed to evade the law for so many years.
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Nov 14, 2018
Will the NHL concussion settlement change anything?
In 2013 a group of hockey players launched a lawsuit against the NHL alleging that the league failed to protect players from head injuries or warn them of the risk of playing. A tentative settlement between the NHL and more than 300 players has now been reached. Will this make players safer? And will it help the future of the league? TSN senior correspondent Rick Westhead explains.
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Nov 13, 2018
Stan Lee's legacy is as complicated as the Marvel Universe
The day after Stan Lee's death, we look at the comic book legend's impact on popular culture. And New York Magazine and Vulture staff writer Abraham Riesman explains why Stan Lee's legacy is just a complicated as the superhero stories he helped create.
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Nov 12, 2018
Google, Alphabet and the fight over a controversial 'smart city' in Toronto
CBC technology reporter Matthew Braga explains Sidewalk Toronto's plan to create a futuristic neighbourhood on waterfront property in downtown Toronto and breaks down why some say the high-tech smart city is the solution to our urban woes... while others are concerned about the intentions of the Google-affiliated company.
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Nov 9, 2018
Bridging the climate change divide
British author and carbon pricing expert, George Marshall, explains the psychology of climate change communication and describes the work he's done in Canada on this front - to bridge the political divides.
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Nov 8, 2018
MP Tony Clement's sexting and extortion scandal
Longtime MP Tony Clement has resigned as justice critic for the official opposition and is leaving the Conservative caucus after admitting that sharing sexually explicit images and video led to an extortion attempt. Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos delves into how a seasoned politician known for being an early social media adopter ended up at the centre of a sexting scandal.
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Nov 7, 2018
The U.S. midterm election explained
CBC Washington correspondent Keith Boag walks us through the United States midterm election results and what they mean.
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Nov 6, 2018
'We were unwanted cargo' How Canada turned away refugees during the Holocaust
Eva Wiener describes her voyage across the Atlantic and how she feels about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's upcoming apology for Canada having turned her ship back. Also, CBC Ottawa Senior Reporter Catherine Cullen describes the politics of the apology.
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Nov 5, 2018
Vancouver's complicated relationship with Chinese money
Bloomberg's Vancouver bureau chief Natalie Obiko Pearson helps us navigate the city's complicated relationship with Chinese money. That relationship has ties to the city's housing affordability crisis. Tackling affordability is job number one for Kennedy Stewart, who begins his work as Vancouver's mayor today.
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Nov 2, 2018
Travelling with the migrant caravan
A caravan of about 4,000 migrants is heading north through Mexico. Their journey has become heavily politicized. CBC's senior correspondent Susan Ormiston describes what she's seen during her travels with the migrants.
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Nov 1, 2018
Who, in the world, wants to host the Winter Olympics?
Calgary city council nearly killed a bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics. If a city wide vote cancels the bid, just two possible locations remain, Italy and Sweden. Those campaigns face opposition as well. Toronto Star sports columnist Bruce Arthur explains why.
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Oct 31, 2018
How a B.C. man's healing journey ended in two murders
Sebastian Woodroffe's life unraveled after multiple trips to Peru to take the drug ayahuasca. What prompted his killing, and that of a Peruvian shaman? Mark Kelley from CBC's The Fifth Estate went to Peru to investigate.
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Oct 30, 2018
'Alt-right' social network Gab's connection to an anti-Semitic massacre
Just minutes before one of the deadliest attacks on Jews in America's history, the alleged shooter posted a message to Gab, a social media network known for attracting white nationalists and the alt-right. So, what is Gab, and where does it fit in the big picture of online hate? Slate's tech reporter April Glaser explains.
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Oct 29, 2018
How Canada helped save the White Helmets
After a harrowing escape, more than a hundred Syrian war zone first responders and their families are being resettled in Canada, as refugees.
Hear the CBC's Murray Brewster describe their journey and why they could still be in danger.
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Oct 25, 2018
PREVIEW: Carbon tax or shell game?
How exactly does Canada's new carbon tax work? CBC Parliamentary reporter J.P. Tasker breaks it down.
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Oct 19, 2018
Trailer
Coming October 29, Front Burner is a daily news podcast from CBC that explores the big stories of the day with curiosity and an open mind. Hosted by award-winning investigative journalist Jayme Poisson who takes you deep into the narratives shaping Canada and the world.
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