Front Burner

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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