Front Burner is a daily news podcast that takes you deep into the stories shaping Canada and the world. Each morning, from Monday to Friday, host Jayme Poisson talks with the smartest people covering the biggest stories to help you understand what’s going on.
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Through the 1960s, the U.S. government waged a war on Black activism, and activism writ large. It was led by the FBI and its longtime director, J. Edgar Hoover. It was called COINTELPRO and was the FBI’s counterintelligence program created to “expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize” its targets. With the Trump administration’s crackdown on the American left through law enforcement campaigns and new directives, it raises the question: is a version of the FBI’s counterintel...
Stephen Maher, a longtime federal politics reporter, is here to talk about Pierre Poilievre’s recent comments that the RCMP covered up for Justin Trudeau so he could avoid criminal charges and whether or not this will hurt or help his upcoming leadership review. Plus, fallout from carmaker Stellantis’s plan to move a plant from Brampton to Illinois and what it says about the state of trade talks with the U.S. We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here . For transcripts of Fron...
Former FBI James Comey. Former national security advisor John Bolton. New York attorney general Letitia James. What do they have in common? All are now facing legal action from the U.S. government. Benjamin Wittes, editor-in-chief of the U.S. nonprofit publication Lawfare, breaks down the Trump White House's campaign of legal revenge against the president's rivals and critics, and where it could be headed next. We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here....
Over the last 10 days Israel and Hamas have observed a ceasefire that saw the return of hostages and prisoners to Israel, Gaza and the West Bank as well as deliveries of much needed aid to famine-struck Gaza since the deal was reached. However, the ceasefire has remained shaky and the possibility of a permanent end to the war is still uncertain. Israel carried out airstrikes throughout southern Gaza after it said Hamas militants fired at IDF troops in Rafah. Hamas has denied this. To parse throu...
This year, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader, María Corina Machado. In the announcement last week, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said Machado had earned the prize for her “struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy". The award comes at a time when the U.S. has taken an increasingly belligerent stance against Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro. So today we’re talking about Machado, the legacy of the Nobel Pea...
Marie-Philippe Bouchard has been in her role as President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada for a little under a year. Since her appointment, we’ve had a federal election that has spared the public broadcaster from defunding threats for now, but certainly not from a broad sentiment that the CBC needs change and evolution. This week, Bouchard unveiled her own five-year vision. Today, she joins the show to discuss the relationship Canadians have with the CBC, and what changes she thinks the public broad...
At its peak, Marineland was the second most popular tourist destination in Ontario’s Niagara region after the falls. Visitors could get up close and personal with beluga whales, dolphins and orcas, and watch them perform in elaborate shows. Throw in a side of rollercoasters and other exhibits and you had a family friendly attraction built to last. But for years, the park has been mired in controversy and allegations of animal abuse. Business has declined to the point that the park is now closed ...
Canada's first ever minister of artificial intelligence, Evan Solomon, is spearheading what he's calling a "30-day sprint" to nail down Canada's AI strategy. The plan? To figure out a government approach to the technology in order to boost the Canadian economy. Today, we wanted to take stock of the state of the industry in Canada, and a closer look at the Liberal government’s strategy. What could it all mean for our jobs, our economy, society, and environment? Murad Hemmadi, a reporter with The ...
Where did Elon Musk’s epic ambitions begin? In search of clues we return to his sheltered youth in apartheid South Africa, a world engineered for white supremacy. Along the way, we connect the dots between a bizarre White House ambush of South African president Cyril Ramaphosa to teenage Elon’s ego-powered quests in video games. Finally, was his “draft dodge” from military service a moral act or an opportunist’s exit? Know more, now. Understood is an anthology podcast from the CBC that takes you...
Today, if all goes well, a ceasefire will begin in Gaza. In phase one, Hamas has pledged to return all of the hostages, living and dead. For its part Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, while withdrawing troops to an agreed-upon line in Gaza and maintaining majority control of the territory. Beyond that, the details of Trump’s promise of a “strong, durable, and everlasting peace” are fuzzy, but for hostage families and people in Gaza, it’s a reason to hope. Producer Allie Jayn...
Beyond the frontlines of the war in Ukraine, a shadow war between the Kremlin and Kyiv is escalating -- with covert assassinations, car bombs, civilian recruitment, and even the involvement of a terrorist group with a history in Canada. Today, national security reporter Ben Makuch examines how it’s transforming the character of the biggest land war since the Second World War -- and who might be winning. We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here. For transcripts of Front Burne...
The term ‘Antifa’ derives from the German word for Antifascist — and the constellation of resistance movements largely created as a response to Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. Today, Antifa describes a decentralized anti-fascist movement with local groups and unaffiliated activists all over the world. Many became aware of Antifascist organizing following Antifa’s intervention at the white supremacist ‘Unite The Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. For the last decade, Antifa ha...
Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel in Egypt are underway, with the goal of reaching an agreement on the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposed peace plan. It would see the release of all remaining Israeli hostages by Hamas and potentially, over a thousand Palestinians detained by Israel as well as a ceasefire. The overall plan aims to end the war altogether. But after previous hostage exchanges and ceasefires have failed to bring a permanent end to the war, what’s differ...
Aaron Wherry, senior writer at CBC's parliamentary bureau, is back today to talk Canadian politics. We get into Mark Carney’s upcoming trip to Washington and what it might mean for the possibility of some sort of trade stability with the United States. Plus, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her province will propose a new bitumen pipeline to B.C.’s coast to the federal major projects office. But with significant opposition from indigenous communities and the B.C. government, is she just tryin...
When the book ends, the conversation begins. On Bookends, Mattea Roach speaks with writers who have something to say about their work, the world and our place in it. You’ll always walk away with big questions to ponder and new books to read. Bookends does not shy away from difficult conversations … and neither does Anna Sale, the host of the popular Slate podcast Death, Sex and Money. The show is all about diving into topics that get deep fast, and Anna expands on that promise in her book, Let’s...
Historian Timothy Snyder discusses how Donald Trump's actions and rhetoric align with fascist tendencies, including politicizing the military, using federal agents for domestic enforcement, and issuing memos targeting "left-wing terror." He warns of a potential breakdown in the military and legal institutions, drawing historical parallels to totalitarian regimes. Snyder also highlights the crucial role of public resistance in navigating this accelerating political crisis.
The U.S. government has shut down after Republicans and Democrats failed to pass a spending bill before the end of Tuesday. Government services will grind to a halt and hundreds of thousands of federal employees face unpaid leave. How long is it expected to last, and could it have been avoided? Plus, President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth held a rare gathering of the country’s top military leaders, detailing their new vision for the US military. We break it all down with Alex ...
Last week, Canada officially recognized Palestinian statehood. In explaining this decision, Prime Minister Mark Carney released a statement which read, "Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel." Just over a week later, U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled an alternative way forward: a 20-point plan they say would end the wa...
While Donald Trump may have shocked many at the UN General Assembly when he called climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”, he may just have been the most extreme messenger of a global shift being seen elsewhere. David Wallace-Wells, author of “The Uninhabitable Earth” and friend of the show, recently wrote a feature for the New York Times detailing the ways much of the world has turned away from climate politics and how the era of the Paris Agreement, which was signe...
It’s been about a month since the NDP leadership race began and two main contenders have emerged: longtime climate activist and former broadcaster Avi Lewis, and NDP MP for Edmonton-Strathcona, Heather McPherson, one of the most prominent New Democrat voices in Western Canada. The NDP suffered a crushing defeat last election. The party went from 24 MPs to only seven, losing official party status. The next leader is faced with a monumental challenge to rebuild. Today, we’ve got two people with di...
Dan Wang is a tech analyst and a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover History Lab. He’s one of the leading China analysts in the world right now and his new book is called “Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future”. Today on the show he explains his novel way of understanding the clash between China and the United States: China owns the future because it is an “engineering state” whereas the U.S. is a “lawyerly society” that often gets in its own way. For transcripts of Front B...
After a brief suspension for comments he made in the wake of the Charlie Kirk killing, Jimmy Kimmel has made his return to late night. It was just the latest example in a string of cancellations, resignations, lawsuits, settlements and potential mergers that tell the story of a media industry buckling to Trump or consolidating under a wealthy and powerful few, many of whom are friendly with the Trump administration. Eoin Higgins, independent reporter and author of “Owned: How Tech Billionaires o...
Health professionals around the world are disputing the Trump administration’s claims about autism and its potential causes. U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., along with President Donald Trump himself, said this week that taking Tylenol while pregnant may cause autism in babies, and the U.S. FDA said it would reclassify the drug leucovorin — primarily used to mitigate chemotherapy side effects — to treat autism symptoms in children. But the established, peer-reviewed research on au...
This episode delves into the life and recent decision of acclaimed children's author Robert Munsch, who, facing Parkinson's and dementia, has opted for medically assisted death (MAID). It explores how his diagnosis has affected his creativity and ability to write new stories. The discussion then expands to Canada's MAID framework, examining its broad eligibility, the unique consent challenges for dementia patients, and the persistent moral and ethical debates, including criticisms from disability rights advocates and medical providers.
Today, a wide-ranging interview with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. She talks to host Jayme Poisson about Alberta’s future in light of the Carney government’s push to fast track major projects, arguing that energy development is an issue of national unity for her constituents. Smith also responds to the controversy around her potential use of the notwithstanding clause in protecting three laws that affect transgender youth. She also offers her thoughts on Charlie Kirk’s assasination and its aft...
Memes have been written on weapons, quoted in manifestos, and cited by young attackers as the inspiration for acts of mass violence. It's a phenomenon that springs from groups of disaffected people communicating on the web through a convoluted language of impenetrable memes and irony. Utah Governor Spencer Cox has said about the 22-year-old man charged with the killing of Charlie Kirk: "There was a lot of gaming going on. Friends have confirmed that there was that deep, dark internet — Reddit cu...
For the first time since June, MPs returned to the House of Commons to decide the path of Canada’s future. And just a few days into the fall session, it’s already looking like a busy season. After more than a decade in politics, Chrystia Freeland announced she is calling it quits. Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney faced off for the first time in question period, and we learned when we’ll see the Liberals’ long-delayed budget –– and got a preview of some of the obstacles the minority government wi...
The Liberal government has launched its $13-billion agency called “Build Canada Homes” which Prime Minister Mark Carney says will supercharge housing construction across the country. Today, Housing Minister Gregor Robertson talks to host Jayme Poisson about Canada’s housing affordability crisis, how the Liberal government is meeting the challenges around it, and why he thinks he’s the right person for the job. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/tr...
Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk we're joined by Bruce Hoffman, a Senior Fellow for counter terrorism and homeland security at the Council for Foreign Relations. He helps us understand the history of assassinations, the connections between violent rhetoric and incidents of material violence, and the online meme-world that communicates motives that are unintelligible to those outside that ecosystem. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/tra...
Donald Trump has declared a war on drug cartels. He’s wielded the flow of narcotics, namely fentanyl, into the U.S. as one of the major reasons behind aspects of his global trade war. He’s added a number of cartels to the foreign terrorist organisations list. And last month, the Trump administration stepped things up by quietly signing a Pentagon directive to allow the use of military force against drug cartels. That led to a U.S. drone strike on a Venezuelan boat on international waters, killin...
