The Current

It seems like everywhere you look, someone you know is playing mahjong. Played with tiles, the traditional Chinese game has been a staple among the Asian diaspora in the West for centuries. But recently, its reach has expanded — mahjong clubs are popping up around the world in cities like LA, London, and New York, and celebrities like Meghan Markle and Julia Roberts are promoting the game. We speak with Sandy Gunn, the co-founder of Lucky Tile, a mahjong events group based in Vancouver, and Connor Wan, the co-founder of Allflower mahjong in Toronto, about the game and why it's so popular right now.

The Conseil des Industriels laitiers du Québec is seeking a protected geographical indication for poutine cheese. We talk to Gilles Jourdenais, the owner of La Fromagerie Atwater in Montreal about what makes cheese curds part of Quebecois culture and what it would mean if the squeaky cheese got a geographical designation. 

People in Northern Ontario are calling on the provincial and federal governments to invest in fixing a portion of the Trans-Canada Highway. Over a 10 day period from late January into February this year, police say eight people were killed on that stretch of road. We speak with Dave Plourde, the Mayor of Kapuskasing, and the President of the Federation of the Northern Ontario Municipalities.. 

Turns out, Canadians are spending less and less time with their friends and many don’t have a friend group. What does it mean if we don't have a close friend group — and how can we approach making new friends? We’ll explore that with Philip Howlett, a friendship researcher and lecturer at the University of Bath.

For 75 years, the CBC Radio program The Broadcast has told the stories of Newfoundlanders and their connection with the ocean. We’ll talk to the host Paula Gale about how the show has kept the island's culture alive through ordinary people and in the face of those from away who wanted to hear fewer accents and accordions on the air, as the show celebrates its 75th anniversary. 

The world's most crucial oil corridor, the Strait of Hormuz, has been shut. The closure prevents the movement of roughly a quarter of the world's seaborne oil. How much will gas prices and inflation leap? And is it Canada's moment to pitch itself as a global oil superpower? 

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an antitrust case against Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster this week. Canadians are paying attention because there could be implications in Canada, both for how the company operates and a similar case that is trying to move forward — why are concert tickets so expensive, and can this make them more affordable? 

These tiny silicon squares are the unsung heroes of our society — they run everything from your microwave to cellphone to larger systems like health care and defense. But the global increase in AI is driving up the demand for memory chips, leading to a global supply and demand problem. We speak with Namir Anani, the president and chief executive of the Information and Communications Technology Council, about why these chips are foundational to Canada's sovereignty and why he thinks Canada needs to work quickly to position itself as a player in the global memory chip market.

British Columbians will move their clocks forward this weekend and leave them there. The province says that's what people want. UBC sleep researcher Elizabeth Keys says permanent standard time is better for our health — but the BC government didn't ask people whether they'd prefer it.

Amsterdam has become the latest city to ban adverts that promote fossil fuels — things like flights, cruises or the latest gas-powered car. Freelance climate journalist Isabella Kaminski breaks down how these bans work and what we know about how effective they are.

The federal government is launching a national strategy for men's health. We hear from men who have chosen not to engage in the healthcare system, from practitioners about how to better reach men, and about the impact politics and the manosphere are having on this issue.

The internet blackout in Iran continues, making it hard to capture what is happening inside the country. It's also making it hard for Iranians in Canada to reach family there. We'll hear from some Canadian-Iranians across this country, and we’ll also talk to Gregg Carlstrom, the Middle East Correspondent at The Economist about the latest on this war. 

U.S. President Donald Trump says he foresees a military campaign lasting four to five weeks, but the American end game is still not clear. We hear from Margaret Evans, CBC's senior international correspondent in Jordan, about the latest in the conflict, followed by lawyer and human rights activist Kaveh Shahrooz, who says many Iranians are hoping for regime change, but Trump has sent mixed signals.

The Canadian figure skating star says he understands the pain of athletes — like American skater Ilia Malinin — who feel the weight of the world's expectations on them as they compete. When he fell short of gold in Nagano in 1998, it took him years to recover. But now he's reinvented himself as a race car driver.

The organ donation stories are inspiring and hopeful, but Anita Slominska says they leave out one very important part of the story. When Anita’s sister was in her 20s, she was on a waitlist for a liver transplant and eventually ended up in the ICU, being kept alive by a ventilator in the hopes that a donor would be found. But, that didn't happen. Anita Slominska is now a postdoctoral researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. We talk to her about her new book, about her sister’s story, Other Endings: Organ Transplantation and the Burdens of Hope.

The hit Canadian TV show that follows the secret relationship between hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov is everywhere right now. It's prompting conversations online about LGBTQ love and hockey culture. We speak with Matt Kenny, a former competitive hockey player, who had a similar experience to the fictional characters about why the show is striking such a chord with people. Plus Brock McGillis, one of the first male professional hockey players to come out as gay, talks about why he thinks there's still more work to do in making hockey a more inclusive sport.

Mexico is a favourite destination for Canadians, especially this time of year. But the recent violence in Puerto Vallarta, after the death of a notorious cartel boss, has caused some reconsidering trips down south. We’ll talk to a travel consultant on what you should consider before traveling to Mexico.

After the United States and Israel struck Iran and killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei we hear what is next for the country, the people, the diaspora and the region.

Mark Carney's visit to India is supposed to "reset" relations and expand trade. There's no question there are plenty of opportunities. It's the world's most populous country with a growing middle class and an appetite for many of the products Canada makes. We speak to Tom Sundher of Sundher Timber Products about why he thinks India offers great opportunities for Canadian softwood producers wary of U.S. tariffs and duties. We also hear from Michael Klauck of Can-Eng Furnaces, about the challenges he faced navigating India's bureaucracy, and actually getting paid. Plus, Vina Nadjibulla of the Asia Pacific Foundation about what Canadians get wrong about India today — and what it would take to strengthen ties. 

Most of us give our dreams little thought. Karen Van Kampen wants to change that. Her new book is called "The Brain Never Sleeps: Why We Dream and What It Means for Our Health." Karen takes us on a journey into the dream world, exploring what our dreams reveal about our mental health and how we can work with them to improve our waking lives.

Weak oil prices have meant a dip in resource royalties in Alberta. And Premier Danielle Smith pointed out that higher immigration is another reason. So, the province will hold a number of referendums this October. Albertans will weigh in on nine questions about immigration policy and constitutional issues. And if separatists are successful with their petitioning efforts, a question about whether Alberta should leave the country will be on the ballot as well. To help us unpack these developments, we talk to Kathleen Petty, host of the CBC podcast West of Centre, and Alex Boyd, who reports on Alberta for the Toronto Star.

A young soldier named Kyrylo Chuvak arrives in the Ukrainian countryside after surviving years in Russian captivity. His trauma treatment is documented in a new short film called No Time To Heal. Filmmaker Ksenia Savoskina, whose father was also a patient, says the site shields soldiers from the brutality of war, if only for a short while.

In Renfrew County, near Ottawa, opioid deaths were at an all time high in 2023. That prompted first responders, city officials and outreach workers to band together, to rethink how they were dealing with the crisis. Now, nearly a year into a community care model, opioid deaths have dropped by more than half, and fewer people are ending up in emergency departments. Here's how it works. 

With back to back storms, St. John's is digging out. Snow remover Mark Baker has been going full out — about 18 hours daily for more than a week. He'll tell us what it means to face down 100 cm of snow and help residents get back to school and work. 

Loneliness has been called a public health crisis, but it’s also a workplace one. Julie McCarthy, a University of Toronto professor who reviewed more than 200 studies, says loneliness at work isn’t just about feeling sad. It affects engagement, productivity and even performance. As companies rethink hybrid work and return-to-office mandates, we explore what it really means to design workplaces for belonging, not just output.

A platter of cigarettes at Charlie XCX's wedding in Italy last year. Gracie Abrams, Charli XCX, Will Arnett, Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams — all photographed openly smoking cigarettes recently. So is smoking cool again? And what does that mean for smoking rates?

Winnipeg police have launched a campaign called "Just Hang Up" to warn seniors about scams, many of them fooled by artificial intelligence. But experts warn that it's not just older people getting duped out of money. It could happen to anyone, thanks to AI.

We've all waited in an online queue to get a table at a busy restaurant or buy concert tickets for our favourite big artist. But what about waiting to see a doctor at the emergency room? A hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, ON., is offering their patients just that --and staff say it's cut their patient wait times in half. We speak with Dr. Stephen Smith, an ER physician and the vice president of medical affairs at the Sault Area Hospital, who came up with the idea after a family vacation at Disneyworld.

As some provinces look to change or remove class size caps, experts are divided on whether it's the right choice. Research shows smaller class sizes have minimal affect on student achievement - but is that giving us a full picture? The teaching style, and curriculum being taught might be a better indicator of whether class sizes are impacting students at school. 

OpenAI banned the Tumbler Ridge school shooting suspect’s ChatGPT account months before the attack, but didn’t alert police. On Tuesday Canada’s AI minister summoned the company’s safety team to Ottawa to explain its reporting protocols. Emily Laidlaw, a cybersecurity law expert and Canada Research Chair at the University of Calgary, joins us to explain who decides when AI companies escalate threats — and whether that threshold should be written into law.

There's been backlash against Amazon's Ring doorbells after the company put out a commercial showing how footage from their devices can help find lost pets. Kristen Thomasen is the University of Windsor's Chair in Law, Robotics, and Society and she talks about why people should feel concerned about their privacy in their own neighbourhoods and what further guardrails need to be in place around surveillance technology

As President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union, two people who voted for him reflect on their choice. Indiana contractor Pablo Payan says he made a mistake. But masonry, Jon Palaima still thinks Trump is the best of two bad options. 

1 in 40 Canadian adults live with OCD. But work being done at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto is making life for some of those people a little easier. We hear from two people about their journey with OCD and how treatment helped, and why OCD is a mental disorder that deserves our attention. 

Why is it so hard for us humans to come to grips with what it means to be conscious? We talk to bestselling author Michael Pollan about how scientists have tried, and often failed, to unlock the mysteries of consciousness, whether plants could be considered conscious, and why he believes that we need to "defend" human consciousness against those who may try to simulate it with computers and AI. 

Mexico is reeling and Canadians are stranded after the Jalisco New Generation Cartel retaliates for their leader El Mencho’s death. 

Puerto Vallarta is a favourite vacation destination for Canadians. But yesterday, that region of Mexico exploded into violence after a cartel leader was killed during a clash with military special forces. The state of Jalisco remains under a “code red” status today. We speak with CBC's Jorge Barrera in Mexico City about the latest situation, and what Canadians there need to know.

The Prime Minister is pledging to buy 70 percent of the country's military gear here at home within a decade. That's promising news for Canadian companies like Kraken Robotics. But experts say the change won't be easy. We speak with Bernard Mills, the executive vice-president of defence of Kraken Robotics, a marine technology company founded in Newfoundland, David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute think tank, and Erin O'Toole, the former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, a veteran of the Canadian armed forces, and a distinguished fellow specializing in international trade at the Hudson Institute. 

We all feel guilt at some point in our lives, and for all kinds of reasons. It seems natural to feel guilty for what we've done, or not done, or should be doing. But can guilt be good for us? Chris Moore, the author of “The Power of Guilt: Why We Feel It and Its Surprising Ability to Heal,” tells us why he thinks guilt has an "image problem.”

The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled on Friday that the majority of Donald Trump's tariffs are unconstitutional. We’ll talk about what that decision means, and how it’ll affect Canada with Josh Gerstein, senior legal affairs reporter for Politico, and Carlo Dade, the Director of International Policy and the New North America Initiative at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary.

Take a listen to Matt's conversations with Canadian Olympians Piper Gilles, Paul Poirier and Mikaël Kingsbury

Canada's men's curling squad may be the bad boys of these Olympics but they have also been a big part in the pandemodium for the sport. Social media is ablaze with new curling fans and it has become the darling of this Olympic games. Hear how long time curlers are feeling about both the buzz and the finger.

As conditions in Cuba continue to deteriorate, the country is facing fuel shortages, blackouts, and a decline in tourism, while pressure from the United States intensifies. We hear from a Canadian traveller who has just returned home, a reporter in Cuba, and an economist on what could happen next.

Norway has taken a different approach to youth sports - and it seems to be paying off at the Winter Olympics. How centering joy rather than competition is keeping kids playing and what Canada might be able to learn from this system.

Parents and experts have claimed for years that social media is addictive and damaging to children's mental health. Now, a lawsuit against Meta and YouTube in L.A. wants to prove big tech knew about these risks.Advocates are calling this Big Tech's "Big Tobacco's moment" because the outcome of the trial will set a precedent for thousands of other cases, could result in billions of dollars in payouts, and changes to how social media platforms are allowed to operate.

Team Canada goes for gold against the US for the fifth straight winter Olympics. It's best on best hockey in a new era of women's sport, with the PWHL seeing many of these athletes compete together. What's at stake-- and what it means to young women coming up in the game.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windson is currently in police custody. Andrew, brother of King Charles, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office for his connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The latest on that story from CBC’s senior international correspondent.

An unprecedented judgment declared Aboriginal title over privately held land, not far from the Metro Vancouver area. It has stirred a divisive debate in British Columbia around reconciliation and legal commitments to First Nations.

Our national affairs panel: Stephanie Levitz, senior reporter with the Globe and Mail and Rosemary Barton, CBC's chief political correspondent, take us through what the loss of another MP means for the Conservative party, and what the gain means for the Liberals

Matt Galloway goes to the last migrant camp in Mexico City. With Donald Trump shutting the US border, migrants searching for a better life have been left in limbo — do they keep going north, return home, or stay in Mexico? Hear from the people living here, including a mother of a two-day-old baby, about what the future holds.

Mexico City has hosted the World Cup twice before — now they’re sharing the stage with Canada and the United States. Hear how people are getting ready. Plus from a Mexican Canadian soccer star hoping to make Canada’s squad.