The Current

The fear in Minneapolis is palpable. While President Donald Trump seems to be signalling a change in the violent immigration crackdown that has left two people dead and a city on edge, those caught up in the chaos are not breathing any easier. In our documentary, Turmoil in the Twin Cities, we hear from residents who say they’re still on high alert.

Nardwuar The Human Serviette has been behind the mic for four decades, from campus radio to Much Music to his YouTube channel and Instagram, millions of devoted followers are drawn to his celebrity interviews. We speak with Nardwuar about the power of independent media, the value of research and why stars like Snoop Dogg, Billie Eilish andTimothée Chalamet want to be interviewed by him.

Chinese EVs are about to hit the Canadian market. Some experts say this is a step in the right direction to diversify our economy and make EVs more affordable for Canadians, but others are worried this will hurt our already struggling auto manufacturing industry. We speak with two experts about what this agreement means for consumers, our auto sector, and how this fits into Carney's larger trade policy.

U.S. President Donald Trump has ambitious plans for his Board of Peace. He says countries that join him will fix Gaza and then do "pretty much whatever we want to do." Others aren't so sure it's the answer.

 Alex Honnold captivated audiences around the world when he free solo climbed a 1,667 foot skyscraper in Taiwan named Taipei 101. Few people understand what Alex might have been feeling like Dan Goodwin. Forty years ago Dan free solo climbed the CN tower. Now he is talking about what it takes to achieve such a feat.

When Steve Blake was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, he was shocked. The Calgary man was active and was a non-smoker. Eventually, his search for a cause focused on radon. We talk to CBC’s Lauren Pelley about how an odourless gas found in many homes became the second-highest cause of lung cancer.

Ryan Wedding, Canadian Olympian turned FBI’s most wanted has been caught in Mexico after years on the run, and faces charges for his alleged role in a murderous international drug crime network. We speak with CBC's Jorge Barrera, based in Mexico City, about how Wedding managed to evade authorities for so long, and what led to his capture. 

In a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, former UN prosecutor Payam Akhavan said he has no doubt Iran "will have its Nuremberg moment." This comes as there are major discrepancies between the official death toll of people killed and the death toll from NGOs tracking the situation. We speak with Payam Akhavan about the human rights situation in Iran right now and what's at stake for the Iranian people.

It’s been a dramatic few weeks including Prime Minister Mark Carney's whirlwind trip from Beijing to Doha to Davos. Followed by President Donald Trump’s threats of 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods. To help make sense of it all, our national affairs panel, Stephanie Levitz, a senior reporter with the Globe and Mail's Ottawa bureau, Ryan Tumilty, a parliamentary reporter with the Toronto Star, and Rosemary Barton, CBC's chief political correspondent join us to talk about what we can expect from the political season ahead.

On Saturday morning, 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti was shot and killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis. This is the second fatal shooting by a federal agent in that city this month. We speak with the former mayor of Minneapolis R. T. Rybak about what is happening in his city and how the community is coming together to try and protect each other.

We all know people who are always late. Maybe you're one of them. The tardy gets a bad rap. But they aren't all self-centred, says University of Texas time expert Dawna Ballard. Some of them may be time blind. Others simply can't pull themselves away from people they value. Understanding what's behind our time personalities might help us get along better -- and rethink when and why we obey the dictates of the clock.

CBC’s new weekly podcast, Two Blocks from the White House, takes a clear-eyed look at what’s happening in the U.S. right now and what it means for Canadians. This week Washington correspondents Paul Hunter, Katie Simpson and Willy Lowry digest Prime Minister Mark Carney’s striking remarks at the World Economic Forum, talk about the President’s latest moves on Greenland, and explore what this moment could reveal about where Canada-U.S. relations are headed. Find and follow Two Blocks from the White House wherever you get your podcasts, or here: https://link.mgln.ai/2BFTWHxCurrent

Inuit in Canada's north share deep cultural ties with Greenlanders. This week, people in Nunavut protested in solidarity against U.S. President Donald Trump's threats against the Arctic island, alongside thousands of people in Greenland and Denmark. We speak with two MLAs in Nunavut about why they are standing up for Greenland.

Scientists with the SuperAging Research Initiative are studying a group of superagers — people 80 and up who have the memory of people half their age — to understand what helps them stay sharp. We speak with Morry Kernerman, a lifelong violinist who’s 101 years old, and still hiking, travelling and teaching music, and with Angela Roberts at Western University in London, Ont., who’s leading the study in Canada, about how biology and lifestyle contribute to aging well.

Teenage boys are going missing across Ontario and families say it’s not random. In this episode, we speak with Mark Kelley, co-host of the Fifth Estate, about his investigation into a troubling pattern: young Black boys disappearing, then turning up far from home often recruited by organized crime networks to sell drugs. We also hear from Shana McCalla, founder of the Find Ontario Missing Boys committee, who began sounding the alarm about these missing boys.

Katherine May, author of 'Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times' offers advice on how to embrace this time of year by slowing down, reflecting and rejecting calls for endless productivity.

Rachel Collishaw is ready for a big change. She wants to leave her secluded rural home for something called cohousing. In an uncertain world, she and her husband are ready for a bit more connection. They would exchange their peaceful home for a much smaller condo, shared meals, commons spaces. But, right now, it's just a dream. One they aren't sure they can afford. Can Rachel and others like her find a better way of living with cohousing? Or is it a dream that just isn't ready to take root in Ontario?

Teachers and families are struggling to manage complex classrooms, with students of all different needs together. But the research shows inclusive classrooms are the best option. So what needs to change to make inclusion work at school?

Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech warning middle powers that "if you are not on the table, you are on the menu," drew a rebuke from U.S. President Donald Trump. If, as Carney predicted, the old order is not coming back, what's next for Canada, Europe and the rest of the world?

Rassi Nashalik was the first person to ever host the Inuktituk news program Igalaaq.  As she receives the Order of Canada, she still works to educate both Inuk and non-Inuk about the importance of her language and her culture.

Could you run seven marathons in seven days? What if those marathons were in drastically different climates, say running in Antarctica, and the next day running in South Africa? That's the challenge Marcel Kasumovich has set for himself, as he attempts the world marathon challenge, the only Canadian competing.

Lisa Banfield was the common-law wife of the Nova Scotia shooter. She has now released a book; The First Survivor: Life With Canada's Deadliest Mass Shooter. We talk to her about the years of intimate partner violence that she suffered and what she wants people to understand about the cycle of violence. And she responds to some of the victims' families — who have expressed anger about her decision to tell her story.

Jane Darville helped create the hospice Casey House and then went on to be its Executive Director.  She was there when Princess Diane visited and made sure that day was smooth for the residents and the royalty. Darville later ran Canuck Place, the children's hospice in Vancouver.  As she is honoured with the Order of Canada, Jane reflects on the achievements in her career.

Nova Scotia's Aquakultre is exploring his own family history and the history of Black Nova Scotians in his new album 1783. We talk to him about how the birth of his daughter drove him to find answers to his own past.

Autoimmune encephalitis is a condition that causes a person's immune system to mistakenly attack the brain. It’s rare, hard to diagnose and the consequences can be deadly. CBC’s John Chipman shares the story of an Alberta family whose lives were turned upside down by a case of autoimmune encephalitis in his new documentary.

Fishing is at the heart of our east coast provinces — but Atlantic Canadians have been struggling for months amidst a global trade war and high tariffs on Canadian seafood from China. Now that China has dropped some of those heavy hitting tariffs on Canadian seafood, Atlantic Canadians are hopeful this will relieve some of that pressure — but many say more needs to be done to diversify our trading partners to create a more resilient economy for future generations of fishers.

We'll hear from Oleh Zadoretskyy who came to Canada in 2023 after the war broke out in Ukraine. We'll also hear from Halifax immigration lawyer Elizabeth Wozniak about what options peel like Oleh have, and Senator Stan Kutcher who has been advocating for a permanent pathway to PR for the Ukrainians who came to Canada seeking safety, and now can't return home.

The defence alliance's most powerful member is threatening the sovereignty of another. Whether or not the United States actually invades Greenland, the mere prospect shows the crisis facing NATO. Three defence experts from Canada, the United States, and Europe on what comes next.

Life in Attawapiskat is undeniably hard. But it's where Juno-nominated Cree musician Adrian Sutherland chooses to live and raise his family, even though he has means to leave. In his debut memoir, "The Work of our Hands," he paints a portrait of his world that headlines — about poverty, despair and a decaying water system — fail to capture. We talk to him about how the hard work required to survive in Attawapiskat allows him to find true meaning and freedom.

A new co-op development in Toronto will provide more than 600 new units. It's the first major new co-op built in the city for decades. Across the country, waitlists for existing co-ops are years long. We talk about why residents at Helen's Court Co-op in Vancouver love where they live — and why Thom Armstrong, CEO of the Co-operative Housing Federation of British Columbia, sees it as the future way of living. 

There’s a new CBC podcast we think you’ll enjoy. Two Blocks from the White House takes a clear-eyed look at what’s happening in the U.S. right now and examines how it stands to impact Canadians. In the first episode, reporters from CBC’s Washington bureau dig into America’s increasingly aggressive global posture. Has President Donald Trump’s promise of “America First” evolved into something closer to American imperialism? And what are the consequences for Canada?For more unscripted, smart analysis from journalists with a foot in both countries and a press pass to the White House, find and follow Two Blocks from the White House wherever you get your podcasts, or here: https://link.mgln.ai/2BFTWHxCurrent

Last February, Liam Toman went missing in the resort town of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, while on a weekend ski trip with two friends. The 22 year-old from Whitby, Ontario, went out for dinner and drinks, after a day on the slopes, and never returned to his hotel room. Almost a year later, his family is still searching for clues, renewing calls for help from the public to find their son. The CBC's investigative programs The Fifth Estate and Enquête return to Mont-Tremblant with Toman's mother, Kathleen, to retrace Liam's final moments caught on surveillance footage before he vanished. We speak with investigative journalist and host of Enquête, Marie-Maude Denis, and his mother, Kathleen Toman.

As the U.S. moves into phase two of its plan for Gaza, many Palestinians say little has changed. Aid workers and doctors report that food, medicine, and medical equipment are still not reaching people at the scale needed. At the same time, Israel says it may revoke licences for dozens of international aid groups working in Gaza, including Doctors Without Borders. We speak with Sana Bég, executive director of Doctors Without Borders Canada, and Khaled Elgindy a senior research fellow in the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute at Georgetown University.

After nearly 2 decades of advocating for a National Portrait Gallery, Sarah Lazarovic decided to take things into her own hands and build one herself. The Current’s producer Shyloe Fagan visited ‘The National Portrait Gallery of Bloorcourt’ and spoke with Lazarovic about portraiture, its role in national building, and what faces can teach us about the places people come from.

Elon Musk and his platform X announced they are reigning in Grok after public outrage over the spread of sexualized deepfakes on his social media platform. We speak with tech analyst and journalist, Carmi Levy, about the backlash, Musk's response, and how governments need to keep up with emerging technologies to protect citizens from social media harms.

Merilyn Simonds and Beth Robinson are two friends from Kingston, Ontario, who decided during the COVID-19 pandemic to make it a priority to get together, once a week, for a walk. Since then, they've faced the challenges of aging and discovered the joys of deep connections. The Current producer Alison Masemann spent an afternoon with them, and found out about Beth's passion for sports cars, and how they handled the role reversal when Merilyn — the younger of the two — became ill.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is in China to talk trade, but the US warns it could hurt relationships back in North America. From EVs to canola oil — what has Canada got to lose as it thaws tensions with Beijing?

After two successive majority governments in Quebec, leading the party he founded, Premier François Legault is resigning. Émilie Nicolas, columnist at Le Devoir, and Martin Patriquin, Quebec correspondent for The Logic, join us to talk about why Legault decided to leave now, long after much of the Quebec public had turned on him — and what it means not just for the province, but also for the rest of Canada.

Rob Frith assumed the old reel-to-reel Beatles tape sitting in his Vancouver record store was just a bootleg. It stayed behind the counter for years until he finally pressed play. What he heard was a pristine recording of the Beatles’ 1962 Decca audition, long believed to be lost. People immediately asked what it was worth. Frith had a different idea. He decided to give the Beatles tape back to Paul McCartney, a choice that led to an unexpected, joyful meeting between a lifelong fan and his musical hero.

Mandy Rennehan started her construction company Freshco as a teenager in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. At the time, she couldn't imagine it would grow into the multimillion-dollar business it has become. Now, she’s been appointed to the Order of Canada. We talk to her about how she got here, and became a champion of the trades and women in the trades. 

She's a member of the Grand Ole Opry and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, but for Terri Clark, being inducted into the Order of Canada is extra special. We talk to the Canadian country star about her roots in Medicine Hat, and why she proudly wears the maple leaf tattooed on her arm. 

While it's easy to find a hops-forward IPA or a crisp lager that fools even the best beer connoisseur… de-alcoholized wines leave something to be desired. They are often too bitter, too sweet, or too watery, tasting more like something you would serve at a kids' party than an adult beverage. So we speak with Wes Pearson, a senior research scientist and sensory group manager at the Australian Wine Research Institute about why that is, and how we can change that. 

New research has found the amount of glacier ice lost in western Canada just in 2025 was 30 gigatonnes. That loss of ice isn’t just changing what the mountains look like, it’s also changing how dangerous they are. Professional mountain guides see the changes first-hand. We speak with Mike Adolph, the Technical Director of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, and Tim Ricci, the Director of Operations for Yamnuska Mountain Adventures about what the future of their jobs with warming climate looks like.

We speak with 25-year-old Abhishek Parmar, who has his work permit expiring in March, and is working hard to ensure he can stay in Canada. We also speak with Mireille Paquet, director of the Concordia University Institute for Research on Migration and Society, and economist Mikal Skuterud on Canada’s changing policies and views on immigration.

Provincial politics in Quebec have been in turmoil for months. Now the premier Francois Legault has announced that he is resigning, as soon as his party finds a leader to replace him. We speak with Emilie Nicolas, a columnist for Le Devoir in Montreal about what this means for the province, and the rest of Canada.

We speak to Laura LeBleu, the founding editor of GEEZER. It is a print-only magazine focused on the Gen X aging experience. LeBleu reflects on reaching midlife and realizing the stories we’re told about aging do not quite match how it actually feels. She talks about uncertainty. About pressure. About humour. And about what it means to reach this stage of life without a clear script.

From hunting for a mythical treasure, to solving the mystery of life in the universe -- why some people are driven to dedicate their lives to unachievable goals, and what that commitment to optimism means to the rest of us.

Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan talks about what’s at stake when power rules. As the US intervenes in foreign states, and starts alienating long-trusted allies, what message does it send about what could happen in Ukraine, Taiwan and Greenland. MacMillan says warnings from history show we may be on the cusp of a new world order.

Amid reports of a bloody crackdown on protests in Iran, the White House says many options are on the table -- from air strikes to diplomacy. An Iranian exile tells us what she's hearing from inside the country about the deaths of protesters. And we get an expert view on Donald Trump's options and what might come next.

Research shows most people give up on their resolution four months into the year -- but experts say, it doesn't have to be like that. We speak with two people who study the science behind setting goals and changing behavior about how we can make our new years resolutions stick. And what's so special about January 1st, anyway?