The Current - podcast cover

The Current

CBC•www.cbc.ca
News

Three stories to expand your worldview, delivered daily. Matt Galloway cuts through a sea of choice to bring you stories that transcend the news cycle. Conversations with big thinkers, household names, and people living the news. An antidote to algorithms that cater to what you already know — and a meeting place for diverse perspectives. In its 20 years, the Current has become a go-to place for stories that shape and entertain us. Released daily, Monday to Friday.


Some of the topics we’ve covered recently, include: the results of the Canadian Federal election — a minority Liberal government — and Canada’s new Prime Minister-elect Mark Carney. Also, Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative party, who lost his seat in the Ottawa riding of Carleton but also boosted Conservative popular vote share. Meanwhile, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, who also lost his seat, has resigned following historically low results for his party, which lost official party status in the House. Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet kept his seat in Beloeil–Chambly, but lost about a third of its seats. Elizabeth May’s Green Party held on to her seat but she also lost her co-leader Jonathan Pedneault.


Also on our radar: Heather McPherson, the NDP’s re-elected MP for Edmonton Strathcona, who some observers are saying could be the NDP’s next leader. What Conservatives are thinking now about their leader Pierre Poilievre and the path forward for their party. And how Liberal Leader Mark Carney will govern for all Canadians in a politically divided country facing threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.


We’re still keeping an eye on: annexation and “51st state” threats, tariffs impacting Canadian jobs, especially farmers, truckers, auto workers, energy sector workers, construction workers and steel and aluminum workers; raising the cost of living, inflation, and unemployment in Canada; straining cross-border relationships, including the historic friendship between Windsor and Detroit. We also discuss “Team Canada,” interprovincial trade, and the rise of “elbows up” Canadian patriotism; Canadian sovereignty and backlash to ‘51st state’ threats; on the world stage, including our relationship with China, Ukraine, India; security and our status in the Five Eyes spy network, NATO and NORAD, and shifting global alliances in general.


Other recent topics include: Filipino community reeling after Lapu Lapu street festival killings; “Grey divorce” and the rise of separation in late life; Canadians’ top vacation spots; migrants affected by Trump’s deportation push; the death of Pope Francis; landmark antitrust trials against Meta and Google; the sexual assault trial of five ex-world junior hockey players; the liquidation of Hudson’s Bay; the surge in measles cases, hair loss drug finasteride, extremist network 764, protests against Elon Musk and Tesla; Starlink and the rural internet; the turmoil around Israel and Gaza’s ceasefire; more adults with ADHD, Blue Ghost on the moon, genetically modified pig organs; aging well, wellness, dementia and long term care, as well as cancer and “commonsense oncology,” Greenland and Arctic sovereignty, cuts to USAID; Canada’s critical minerals; inflation; mortgages; opioids and Fentanyl, parenting, Canada’s best vacation spots, teens ditching social media; crypto power brokers in the White House; NASA’s new telescope and the making of a 3D map of the universe.


The Current is produced in Toronto, Ontario, Canada — and has recently recorded live shows about the Canadian election in Surrey and Burnaby BC. And shows to come in Oshawa and the 905, Red Deer, Alberta, Quebec City and Halifax.

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Episodes

What’s it like to have dementia? This care centre can teach you

Burnout is a very real challenge faced by caregivers for aging folks. That’s why educators are finding innovative ways to help caregivers better understand the conditions their patients or loved ones are living with. As part of our ongoing series As We Age , Matt Galloway visits an aging education centre for himself — and test drives a dementia and frailty simulator.

Mar 27, 2025•27 min

U.S. officials spark outrage with planned visit to Greenland

A delegation of U.S. officials including Vice-President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance will visit Greenland tomorrow amid American threats to annex the country, which have left locals very upset. We look at how Greenlanders are pushing back — and how it’s brought the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland closer with Denmark.

Mar 27, 2025•20 min

Could this psychedelic drug help curb opioid addiction?

Rocky Dhillon remembers being terrified while on the psychedelic drug ibogaine — but when the trip ended, he had no cravings for the drugs or alcohol he’d previously been addicted to. Proponents of ibogaine say it can help “reset” an addict’s brain and curb withdrawal and detox symptoms. But the psychedelic has its own set of health concerns, as Karen Pauls explains in her documentary, Ibogaine: The Last Trip?

Mar 27, 2025•23 min

Tariffs are wreaking havoc on trucking and construction in Surrey

Local industries are looking for a leader who will support their business interests. We hear from truckers hauling goods back and forth across the border, plus home builders who say tariff threats are scaring off prospective buyers, about how they hope to see the next prime minister stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Mar 26, 2025•22 min

Surrey’s booming population deserves more investment: businesswoman

The former CEO for Surrey’s Board of Trade says her city doesn’t get the shine or the investment that it deserves. With its booming population, the businesswoman — who nearly ran for the Conservatives in this election — explains what kind of dedication to local business it will take to get her vote.

Mar 26, 2025•9 min

Hope not lost for NDP, even as they fall in the polls: Former NDP MP

We pay a visit to Burnaby South — Jagmeet Singh’s riding — as the NDP falls to a distant third in the polls. Matt Galloway hears from the former NDP member of parliament from that riding, Kennedy Stewart, who says NDP voters considering casting a ballot for Carney might still come through for the party.

Mar 26, 2025•17 min

Does Canada need to reset its relationship with China?

News that China had executed four Canadian nationals emerged last week, just as the country imposed tariffs on a range of Canadian products. Given that, and the increasingly unstable world order, how should Canada be thinking about its relationship with China? Michael Kovrig, the former Canadian diplomat detained by China for more than a thousand days, explains why he thinks that country should be seen as both an adversary and a trade partner.

Mar 25, 2025•17 min

The rare but life-altering side effects of hair loss drug finasteride

Lots of men who take finasteride for hair loss notice results and no ill effects — but an investigation by Radio-Canada’s Enquête heard from dozens of men who experienced negative, life-altering mental, sexual and physical side effects. Brigitte Noel, a reporter who worked on the investigation, explains the toll those side effects can take, and how taboos around men’s health have made it harder for some to seek help.

Mar 25, 2025•23 min

New research into a genetic heart condition is fuelling hope for a cure

When Phillip Winter found out he had a genetic variant that can cause sudden cardiac events and death, he felt like a “dead man walking.” But new research into the variant, known as the Newfoundland Curse for its prevalence there, makes him hopeful that he might someday overcome that curse. Winter, his dad and a researcher discuss the new findings fuelling their hope.

Mar 25, 2025•21 min

US limits Canadian access to border-straddling library

U.S. officials are making it harder for Canadians to access the iconic Haskell Free Library that straddles the border between Quebec and Vermont, a shared building that used to be a sign of friendship between the two nations. We hear from a library board member about how the town of Stanstead is pushing back against the move.

Mar 24, 2025•8 min

Behind an extremist network convincing kids to harm themselves

Trinity was only 14 years old when she stumbled into the chat room where she would be groomed and abused for three years by online extremists. The group, known as 764, convinces children to commit unimaginable harms to themselves and others, like self harm. Ioanna Roumeliotis tells Mark Kelley about The Fifth Estate’s investigation into the group one investigator describes as “absolutely evil,” and Trinity’s mother explains why she feels the RCMP didn’t do enough to help her daughter....

Mar 24, 2025•25 min

NASA’s new telescope to make a 3D map of the universe

NASA’s new SPHEREx telescope launched earlier this month is set to collect data on more than 450 million galaxies, and some 100 million stars in the Milky Way in an effort to build a 3D map of the universe. That’s a lot of information — and the Canadian who acted as the lead flight systems engineer for the telescope’s launch discusses what they hope to learn from all that data.

Mar 24, 2025•16 min

How each federal candidate is promising change this election

The federal election campaign is officially off to the races — and each of the leaders are positioning themselves as the candidate who can bring change for Canadians feeling pressed by tariff threats and the high cost of living. How are they making their cases? Stephanie Levitz of the Globe’s Ottawa bureau, host of CBC’s The House Catherine Cullen and La Presse columnist Michel C. Auger explain, and break down the race so far.

Mar 24, 2025•19 min

Teslas used to be cool. Now, people are protesting them

Many Tesla drivers are doing everything they can to distance themselves from the company’s controversial CEO, Elon Musk, as the cars become targets for vandalism and protest. We look at whether or not the movement might actually hurt the carmaker, and how these EVs went from a left-wing status symbol to a token of conservative politics.

Mar 21, 2025•25 min

The sights and sounds of spring

The days are getting longer, snow piles are shorter and the wind's warmer. It can only mean one thing — it’s finally spring. A conservation biologist tells Matt Galloway about the signs that tell her spring is close.

Mar 21, 2025•9 min

Families who fought for landfill search showed unwavering bravery: minister

Partial remains of two Indigenous women were found at the Prairie Green Landfill near Winnipeg earlier this month, in a search the victim’s families pressured all levels of government to undertake for years. Manitoba’s Minister of Families, Nahanni Fontaine, says the commitment to bringing their loved ones home is a testament to the families’ strength and dedication. But “savage levels of violence” against Indigenous women and girls persist across Canada, she adds.

Mar 21, 2025•18 min

Babies can store memories, new study suggests

A new study suggests that babies as young as a year old can store memories. One of the study’s authors explains why humans don’t remember being a baby despite that newfound fact, and what questions remain about our earliest memories.

Mar 21, 2025•14 min

As Ontario cuts deal with Starlink, what are rural internet options?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford ripped up the province’s deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service earlier this month, in response to trade war threats from the U.S. But in a country that lacks internet infrastructure, what options will that leave people in remote areas? We hear from a customer who has already made the switch to a new internet service, plus a Canadian business that hopes to compete with Starlink.

Mar 20, 2025•24 min

What Trump’s approach to Ukraine says about the shifting global order

U.S. President Donald Trump has been trying to use telephone diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine — but historian Margaret MacMillan says Russia hasn’t made any concessions so far. She talks with Matt Galloway about what Trump’s approach to the war might tell us about the shifting world order, and where Canada fits into it.

Mar 20, 2025•20 min

How to get patients moving? Walk with them, this doctor says

Ohio doctor David Sabgir realized that asking his patients to get out and exercise wasn't working. So, he strapped on his running shoes and hit the pavement with them. The program, called Walk With A Doc, has spread to more than 500 communities around the globe in the 20 years since. Dr. Sabgir explains the difference walking has made for his patients — and his own practice.

Mar 20, 2025•17 min

Ceasefire in tatters as Israel renews airstrikes on Gaza

Israel killed hundreds of people with airstrikes on Gaza this week, shattering the fragile ceasefire reached with Hamas in January. We look at why the country has renewed its attacks now, and what comes next.

Mar 19, 2025•13 min

Why did Meta block an ex-employee’s explosive memoir?

Former Facebook executive Sarah Wynn-Williams has made explosive allegations against the company in her new memoir Careless People — but she’s been legally barred from promoting the book. The CBC’s Nora Young digs into Wynn-Williams’ allegations, and Meta’s reaction.

Mar 19, 2025•11 min

Could genetically modified pig organs save human lives?

An Alabama woman received a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig in November, in an experimental surgery that doctors said was her only chance at survival. We discuss the science — and the ethics — of cross-species transplantation.

Mar 19, 2025•25 min

With tariffs on two fronts, this farmer feels like ‘collateral damage’

With looming tariffs, canola farmer Margaret Rigetti says she feels like she’s “being used as a pawn” in a trade war between Canada and her two biggest customers: China and the U.S. She says the federal government needs to do more to support her industry, instead of treating farmers like “collateral damage” in the push to protect sectors like steel and electric vehicles.

Mar 18, 2025•20 min

Putting dignity at the centre of long-term care

Kay Carter is 101 and lives in a care home that uses the “butterfly” model of dementia care — a resident-centered approach that emphasizes dignity. As part of our series As We Age , we visit Carter and her daughter Donna Hicks at the care home in Ottawa, to hear about the importance of finding a residence that truly feels like home.

Mar 18, 2025•24 min

What went wrong at Hudson's Bay?

The liquidation of all Hudson's Bay stores could start as early as Tuesday, bringing about the end of a Canadian icon. We dig into what went wrong, and the company’s complicated history as a trading hub that played a key role in colonization.

Mar 18, 2025•24 min

What’s the key election issue: Trump’s threats, or cost of living?

What will matter more to Canadians when they go to the polls next: housing, health care and the cost of living — or threats of tariffs and annexation from U.S. President Donald Trump? Matt Galloway explores what the parties, and new prime minister Mark Carney, are prioritizing with Conservative commentator Chad Rogers, NDP commentator Melanie Richer and Liberal commentator Susan Smith.

Mar 17, 2025•20 min

What ‘attention capitalism’ is doing to our minds — and politics

Journalist Chris Hayes says “attention capitalism” demands we pay heed to everything at once, from social media doomscrolling to the 24-hour global news cycle. In his new book, The Siren’s Call, the MSNBC host explores what that means for our lives and politics — and explains why he thinks Donald Trump’s attention-grabbing antics are “a kind of feral instinct.”

Mar 17, 2025•24 min
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