Front Burner

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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