Episodes
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For the third time in Canadian history, the head of the British monarchy delivered the throne speech before ushering in a new session of parliament. It comes at a time when Canada could use some help protecting its sovereignty in the face of threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
But how does this moment fit in with King Charles’ reign so far, which has been marked by political turmoil, royal rifts, calls for reparations and cutting ties with the British monarchy? We break it all down with Ellie Hall, a freelance reporter and former official royal correspondent for BuzzFeed News.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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Last June, during the first presidential debate of the 2024 U.S. election campaign, Joe Biden stumbled and struggled to find the right words. His performance was described as disastrous and incoherent.
At that point, many Americans had already come to the conclusion that Biden was too old for the job. But for those who hadn't yet, the debate was the moment that fact became impossible to deny.
Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again is a new book that investigates Biden’s cognitive and physical decline in recent years, and the attempt by a small group of loyalists and family members to keep it from public view.
Journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson did over two hundred interviews with lawmakers, White House officials, and campaign insiders for it.
Despite the reporting, Joe Biden continues to reject concerns about his age. His recent diagnosis of an aggressive prostate cancer has brought his health back into the spotlight.
Today on Front Burner, Axios’ National Political Correspondent Alex Thompson on his new book, and the political consequences of Joe Biden’s decline.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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Donald Trump’s 'Golden Dome’ is a proposed defense program that will feature the use of space lasers, satellites and interceptors designed to provide 24/7 space based defence. It’s advertised as a bulwark against missiles and nuclear attacks from the likes of China, North Korea and Russia.
Mike Stone is a Reuters reporter covering the U.S. arms trade and defense industry and joins the show to discuss Donald Trump’s trillion dollar sci-fi inspired project, Canada’s potential involvement, and its implications for the global arms race.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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On May 25th 2020, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes. The whole thing was caught on video and once it got out, it set America on fire. Protests spread across the country and then the world. Promises of sweeping changes to policing and greater commitment to racial justice and equity were made.
Fast forward to now, five years later, and the outlook is very different. There are more Americans killed at the hands of police, DEI initiatives have been rolled back and President Donald Trump is taking actions to give police more power.
We talk to Minnesota Attorney General, Keith Ellison, about calls to pardon Derek Chauvin, the current state of policing and racial justice and where America could be headed.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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It’s been a year and a half since the R&B singer Cassie Ventura first accused hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of rape and repeated physical abuse over the course of their decade-long relationship. Those initial allegations unleashed a torrent of accusations from others, more than 70 sexual assault lawsuits, and federal raids of his homes.
Now, Diddy’s high-profile criminal trial is underway in a Manhattan court. He faces charges of sexually trafficking three women, as well as transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Today, the BBC’s Nada Tawfik takes us inside the trial to learn what the court has heard so far from Cassie and other witnesses, and how the prosecution is trying to build their case that this was not simply a story of domestic violence, but of sex trafficking and racketeering.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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Today on the show is historian Timothy Ryback. Timothy is an author and writer with The Atlantic. He’s the director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation in The Hague.
Last year he published ‘Takeover’ which documents the ways Hitler and his enablers in the German establishment cleared the pathway to Nazism through constitutional means.
He’s on the show to discuss - what he refers to as the “disturbing echoes” between Nazi Germany and contemporary America. Particularly between Adolf Hitler and US President Donald Trump.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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Hundreds of people filled a banquet hall in Calgary last week to hear from the Alberta Prosperity Project, a group that wants Alberta to separate from Canada.
They're trying to drum up support for a petition and earn enough signatures to trigger a referendum on separation in 2026.
One of the reasons the petition is picking up steam is because Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party has just passed legislation that would lower the bar for holding a referendum vote.
Jason Markusoff is a producer and writer who covers Alberta politics for the CBC. He speaks to host Jayme Poisson about Smith's latest political moves, including the backlash, as well as the separatist movement itself.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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It's not you — the internet really does suck. Novelist, blogger and noted internet commentator Cory Doctorow explains what happened to the internet and why you're tormented by ads, bots, algorithms, AI slop and so many pop-ups. Spoiler alert: it wasn't an accident.
In Understood: Who Broke the Internet, Doctorow gets into the decisions made by powerful people that got us here, and most importantly, how we fix it. More episodes of Who Broke the Internet are available at: https://link.mgln.ai/DkvHgc
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Measles case numbers in Ontario are now higher than the total registered cases in the entire United States.
This week’s report from Ontario Public Health puts the total at 1,646 cases of the disease since January. In Alberta, measles is spreading even quicker, outpacing Ontario in growth per-capita.
Nearly three decades ago Canada had declared measles completely eliminated. But now the country is facing a situation where public health experts say, without prompt action, the disease could become endemic once again.
CBC senior health reporter, Jennifer Yoon, joins the show to talk about how things got so bad and what public health officials are doing about it.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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Content warning: this conversation contains graphic details of an alleged sexual assault so please take care while listening.
Proceedings began late last month in a trial that has been seven years in the making.
It involves five former members of Canada's gold medal winning 2018 world juniors hockey team. They've been accused of sexually assaulting a woman who is known as E.M.
All five have pleaded not guilty.
This same alleged assault made headlines a few years back when it was revealed that Hockey Canada quietly settled a civil suit over it, and had settled other unrelated cases as well.
The CEO and entire board of Hockey Canada resigned. It ignited a fierce debate over hockey culture in this country.
The ongoing criminal trial has put that debate back in the crosshairs as the woman at the centre wrapped up a marathon seven day cross examination by multiple lawyers this week.
Today we are going to talk about what has transpired in the case so far and the larger questions about hockey culture with Katie Strang, a reporter with The Athletic.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet was sworn in at Rideau Hall. Among them are 24 new faces but also a solid handful of the same big names from the previous government.
What does it tell us about the government’s priorities? Is it enough of a change from the Trudeau years?
Plus, the Liberals gained a seat after winning a recount in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne by a single vote. It’s fuelling conspiracy theories and misinformation about the electoral process.
CBC’s chief political correspondent, Rosemary Barton, joins us to talk about all that and more.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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Israel is planning a major escalation of its military campaign in Gaza — one that the government says is necessary to eradicate Hamas, but which rights groups have said amounts to the annexation of the Palestinian territory.
It comes amid apparent rifts between the U.S. and Israel. Trump is currently on a tour of the Middle East which won’t include a stop in Israel; he has conducted talks with a number of countries in the region without notifying Israel; and the U.S. has just secured the release of a hostage from Gaza — again without any Israeli involvement.
What does all this mean for US-Israel relations? Could it mean that the Trump administration may intervene in an expanded military campaign? Or broker a lasting ceasefire?
Today we’re joined by Meron Rapoport. He’s a 35-year veteran of the Israeli news industry and was formerly the head of news at Israel's Ha’aretz newspaper. Today, he works as an editor at Local Call, a Hebrew-language news organization operating in Israel.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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Top economic officials from the U.S. and China met in Geneva, Switzerland over the weekend. This was the first time that they’ve had face-to-face since the start of their enormous trade war.
The U.S. has currently placed 145 per cent tariffs on China. China has responded with 125 per cent. These levies have essentially stopped business between the world’s two largest economies.
Daniel Desrochers is Politico’s international trade reporter. He’s here for a catch-up on the latest developments of the global trade war.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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Dozens have died this week as military tensions escalate between India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir. India fired missiles into Pakistan-controlled territory in what it says is retaliation for a militant attack on a tourist town in Indian territory in April.
The Kashmir region has long been the source of violent conflict between India and Pakistan. But there are concerns that this latest flare-up could lead to a much bigger conflict between the two nuclear powers.
Salimah Shivji, CBC's South Asia bureau chief, explains what's been happening this week and where it could go next.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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What's going on behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel this week, as the Catholic Church's cardinals meet in Rome to choose the next pope?
It's a centuries-old tradition, but this time, the college of cardinals is bigger than ever, with a growing contingent from Africa and Asia — many of them attending their first conclave ever. That means lots of different priorities, and of course the lingering question of whether to continue the liberal legacy of the late Francis, or to opt for more stability and traditionality.
Charles Collins is the managing editor of the Crux, an independent publication covering the Catholic Church. He is our guest to break it all down.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump had their first face-to-face meeting, amidst an ongoing trade war between Canada and the U.S.
The relationship between the two countries is at a historic low. On top of existing tariffs, Trump said on Monday that he wants to impose 100 per cent tariffs on movies produced outside the U.S. The move could have devastating implications for the Canadian film industry.
On top of all that, there was the potential for things to go sideways, given how the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump went earlier this year.
There was a lot at stake.
Aaron Wherry is a senior writer with the CBC’s parliamentary bureau. He spoke to Front Burner guest host Elaine Chau about how the meeting went, and where Canada-U.S. trade negotiations go from here.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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Dr. Agnès Callamard has been a leader in the human rights sector for decades, and since 2021 has worked in the role of Secretary General for Amnesty International. She joins the show to discuss doing human rights work at this difficult historical moment, the future of international law, Canada’s role on the world stage, the question of genocide, and some of the lessons that can be drawn from the world’s most precarious frontiers.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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The first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second administration have been turbulent, controversial, and transformative. Today we’re joined by Alex Shephard, a senior editor at the New Republic, to take stock of the most consequential changes, their impact on the United States and its place in the world, and to what extent they are irreversible.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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For many Canadians, travel to the United States is a yearly routine. But that’s started to change.
People around the world have shared stories about travel to the U.S. gone wrong. Some have been pulled into the back rooms of airports for additional screening, others have been pressured to share their social media accounts for examination and in the worst case scenarios, detained.
Now, out of fear or even national pride, many travelers are rethinking their travel plans. In March, nearly 900,000 fewer Canadians visited the U.S. So, what might you encounter if you choose to head down south? Is there reason to be concerned?
Today, Hannah Sampson, a travel reporter with the Washington Post, joins the show to break down the reality of traveling to the U.S. under Trump.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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The Conservative Party of Canada is once again the Official Opposition.
Now, the Tories are grappling with the disappointing results of Monday’s election. They lost to the Liberals after leading in the polls mere months ago and their party leader, Pierre Poilievre, failed to win in his own riding.
But it wasn’t a total loss. The Conservatives won 41 per cent of the popular vote, and picked up more seats than any other party, flipping both red and orange seats to blue.
Top Conservative strategist, Kory Teneycke, joins the show to talk about the path forward – what the results mean for Poilievre and what kinds of challenges he will face, if he stays on as leader, in uniting Conservatives and expanding their base.
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