Front Burner

 At a time when major sports leagues are embracing online betting, the MLB’s biggest star and a player for the Toronto Raptors are now involved in gambling investigations. So what do we know about Shohei Ohtani and Jontay Porter? How could gambling partnerships be impacting fans and athletes? And have these leagues opened a Pandora’s box of betting culture that could threaten the future of th...

Not only did Pornhub become a massive moneymaker, it also helped push porn into the spotlight by using data, clever PR, and the power of celebrity. How did Pornhub make itself a household name?  This is episode 2 of The Pornhub Empire: Understood. Hosted by Samantha Cole. More episodes are available here .

When Beyoncé took the stage at the 2016 Country Music Awards, alongside the Chicks, the racist backlash was immediate.  Eight years later, she alluded to that experience when she announced her new album, Cowboy Carter.  In recent years, we’ve seen some pushback against the genre’s whiteness. And with Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé is reminding us once again that at its roots, country music is Bl...

This week, for the first time since the start of the Gaza war, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. It passed after the U.S. abstained from voting, rather than using their veto power — as they did three times before.  For many watching, it was a very big deal — and the strongest sign yet of a fracture in the long and special relationship the US has w...

Canada's inflation numbers have once again come in lower than expected, and are nearing where our central bank wants them. But to get here, the Bank of Canada has kept interest rates high to slow the economy. So was it actually the Bank's rate hikes that brought inflation down? Is the sting of high rates worth the success so far? And how much further does inflation — and the economy — need to slow...

After a warm, dry winter, Albertans are preparing for what could be a devastatingly dry summer. Snowpack is low, reservoirs around the province are well below seasonal levels, and farmers are already anticipating a difficult growing season. But this isn't a one-off. Experts say the multi-year drying trend is likely to continue, which will have major implications for water use in the province — the...

On Friday night, gunmen stormed the packed Crocus City concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow, where thousands had gathered for a rock concert. At least 133 people were killed, making it the deadliest attack in Russia for the last 20 years. ISIS-K, an ISIS affiliate, has claimed responsibility — although Russia is casting doubt on those claims. Today, the CBC’s Briar Stewart takes us through what...

How did a handful of competitive foosball players in Montreal create the world’s largest online porn site? And what do a picturesque Dutch cabin, thousands of pornographic VHS tapes, and the subprime mortgage crisis have to do with it? This is episode 1 of The Pornhub Empire: Understood. Hosted by Samantha Cole. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/Dey46feN

This week, the NDP introduced a motion to recognize Palestinian statehood. The negotiations went into the night with last-minute amendments made. Why did it get so messy? What ramifications could we see come out of the passed motion? Plus, a growing number of provincial leaders are pushing for the Liberal government to cut the carbon tax, or to pause the scheduled increase for it in April. What mi...

Vanessa had her entire life put online during the 2000s “mommy blogger” era. She’s in her 20s now. And as she tells influence culture journalist Fortesa Latifi, her life was anything but glamorous. The TikTok generation of child influencers is a multi-billion dollar industry. And with that money, comes concerns of exploitation. Fortesa Latifi recently published a three part series and mini-doc for...

Ahead of its event at a Thornhill, Ontario synagogue, the “great Israeli Real Estate Event” seemed to list settlements in the occupied West Bank on its website – settlements which the UN and Canada consider a violation of international law.  On March 7th, Front Burner’s team made their way into the event and confirmed the marketing of West Bank real estate. So how did some real estate enterpr...

From emergency landings to mechanical failures, airplane manufacturer Boeing has been in the news a lot recently. Earlier this year, a panel flew off mid-air on a flight, and just this month, a former employee turned whistleblower died while a key legal proceeding was underway. So what exactly is going on? Today, Washington Post reporter Lori Aratani on how Boeing went fro...

On Monday, Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced from Puerto Rico that he would be stepping down. He’s been unable to return to Haiti since January, because heavily armed gangs have shut down the airport and taken over much of the country. Today, Haitian reporter and editor-in-chief of AyiboPost, Widlore Merancourt, explains what it’s like on the streets of Port-au-Prince, what the gangs wa...

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favour of a bill that could lead to the forced sale or nationwide ban of TikTok in the U.S. To become law, the bill still needs to pass the U.S. Senate, and that’s not guaranteed. All of this has massive implications for the social media platform’s 170 million users in the U.S, and millions more around the world, including here in...

Kate Middleton is one of the most photographed people in the world. But for months she’s been out of the public eye, recovering from what Kensington Palace says was abdominal surgery. However, many people are not buying that everything is fine with the Princess of Wales. Bizarre choices by the palace’s PR team have only fueled speculation — like releasing a photo of Kate that major new agencies re...

March break, one of the busiest travel times of the year, just started in Ontario.  It’ll kick off across much of the country in the next few weeks. Chances are, if you’re flying out, you’re probably worried about something going wrong. It seems like everyone has a horror story about delays and cancellations, extra fees or tiny seats. Today on Front Burner, author and law professor Ganesh Sit...

Orlan-10 drones are arguably one of Russia’s most important assets on the battlefield. Which is why the West has sanctions in place to keep the tech needed to build the drones out of Russian hands. So why do hacked emails show that a Russian arms dealer was seeking out parts made by Canadian tech companies? And how are Western parts ending up on the frontlines of Russia’s war with Ukraine? Today,...

Pierre Poilievre does not hide how he feels about Canadian mainstream media. His numerous, testy exchanges with reporters earn lots of online traction. Is the relationship between Poilievre and the media different from politicians that came before him? When Poilievre takes on reporters, who is he talking to? Today we explore those questions with journalist and author Paul Wells.

Since 2019, questions have swirled around why two scientists, originally from China, were marched out of a high-security infectious disease lab in Winnipeg. They were later stripped of their security clearances and fired, in a case that has raised suspicions about Chinese espionage, and prompted calls for the Liberal government to release more information. Now, at least some questions have been an...

The legal proceedings between ex-spouses Johnny Depp and Amber Heard made nonstop headlines in 2022 — and online discourse at the time seemed to be overwhelmingly in favour of Depp. The tweets in particular caught the eye of investigative reporter and Tortoise Media editor Alexi Mostrous. They seemed to be part of a coordinated effort to smear Heard. And the closer he looked, the weirder it got. W...

Gaza health authorities say 118 people were killed and 760 people were injured while trying to get food staples like flour from aid trucks on Thursday, after Israeli soldiers opened fire. The Israeli military claims most people were killed in a stampede of people around the trucks, but accounts from witnesses and medical workers say most of the victims were shot. So what precipitated this deadly s...

Brian Mulroney, Canada's 18th Prime Minister, has died at the age of 84. He had an incredibly eventful nine-year tenure, from 1984 to 1993, at a time when the governments in the U.S. and the U.K. were shifting towards more deregulation and privatization. He was a champion of free trade, his work on the Canada-U.S free trade agreement, and NAFTA later, had an indelible impact on...

After two years of leading a country at war, Ukraine’s president remains popular. But as support for the fight wavers both inside and outside the country, Volodymyr Zelensky faces a new set of high-stakes challenges. Does demoting a popular general signal a shift in military strategy? Will international allies deliver the support Zelensky says he needs? If not can he negotiate a popular end p...

This week, the International Court of Justice wrapped up a set of historic hearings into the legality of Israel’s decades-long occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. The proceedings were requested by the UN General Assembly back in 2022, and so the timing of them — almost five months into Israel’s bloody war with Hamas — is in essence coincidental. But many believe that finding a r...

The Liberals originally promised a bill tackling online harms would come within 100 days of their re-election in 2021. Instead, Justice Minister Arif Virani tabled their new act on Monday, which aims to create a new commission and regulate content from hate, to extremism, bullying and child abuse materials. So did the Liberals learn lessons from a previous bill criticized for the risk of censorshi...