Front Burner

Deepfake technology — the use of algorithms to create realistic copies of people in video, audio, or photography — is once again in the spotlight. That's after Morgan Neville's documentary Roadrunner used the technology to copy the voice of the late Anthony Bourdain. MIT Technology Review's senior A.I. editor, Karen Hao, breaks down the risks for how we perceive our reality.

Tokyo 2020 is forging ahead inside a host city effectively locked out of its own event. CBC senior correspondent Adrienne Arsenault brings us the view from Tokyo, where rising COVID-19 cases, a state of emergency and brewing resentment toward the International Olympic Committee is hanging over these unprecedented Olympic Games.

The Liberal government has been criticized for not acting substantially enough on the climate crisis. Former environment and current Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna defends her party’s actions on the issue, and explains why she believes Canada is on track to meet its emission targets.

Miami Herald reporter and author of 'Perversion of Justice' Julie K. Brown on Ghislaine Maxwell’s upcoming trial and her bombshell investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 plea deal that brought global attention to the case.

Cuba’s historic protests — and the government crackdown that followed — have shone a new light on the crisis currently facing the island. But questions about how to fix that crisis, and who’s to blame, are hotly disputed. Journalist Ed Augustin on what the protesters want, and how Cuba got to this point.

In late May, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation shocked Canadians with a preliminary finding of unmarked graves near the former site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Yesterday, the nation released more details. An expert said some 200 possible graves have been identified, but added that number might rise since 64 hectares remain unsurveyed and more forensic investigation and excavat...

As Republicans push voting laws widely seen as suppression, Texas becomes the next battleground. Today on Front Burner, CBC Washington correspondent Paul Hunter on what — if anything — U.S. President Joe Biden will do to fight back.

Following President Jovenel Moïse's assassination last week, Haitian police have arrested more than 20 people and say they’re beginning to piece together a fuller picture of who carried out the killing — and who ordered it. But many people are questioning the official narrative.

Nearly 78 per cent of eligible people in Canada have at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. What’s stopping the rest? Today, Dr. Naheed Dosani and Dr. Jia Hu discuss.

Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are promising a new era where anyone will have access to space. But not everyone’s on board. Today, we speak to science writer Shannon Stirone about the promises and perils of the billionaire space race.

As U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years, the Taliban is gaining ground. Today, former journalist Graeme Smith on what lies ahead: “We’re leaving behind the bloodiest war on the planet.”

After months of rising political violence, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated by heavily armed gunmen in the presidential residence. Widlore Mérancourt, a Haitian journalist, joins host Jayme Poisson for the latest from Port-au-Prince.

As Britney Spears fights for her legal freedom, Dominic Patten, senior editor for Deadline Hollywood, joins us to explain the latest revelations on the 13-year conservatorship that controls every aspect of the pop icon’s life.

As nearly 200 fires continue to burn in British Columbia, we hear stories of the people most affected, from CBC reporters Susana da Silva and Brady Strachan. They’ve been covering the devastating Lytton fire, and the ongoing firefighting efforts in B.C.

Montreal’s Cinderella playoff run is at stake on Monday as the Canadiens head into a do-or-die Game 4 in the Stanley Cup finals against the reigning champs, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sean Fitz-Gerald, senior national reporter with The Athletic, and Arpon Basu, editor-in-chief of The Athletic Montréal, share their thoughts on the history-making series.

Transgender women, and trans sex workers in particular, know what it means to be marginalized, overpoliced, and underprotected. In season two of The Village, host Justin Ling investigates the stories of two women, Alloura Wells and Cassandra Do, whose deaths remain unexplained, and whose cases expose the systems that failed them. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/thevillagecbc

As cryptocurrencies experience “bonkers” volatility, The Logic’s Claire Brownell explains why some regulatory crackdowns are happening, and where cryptocurrency could go from here.

An extreme heat wave has taken over Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest this week. Today on Front Burner, climate journalist Eric Holthaus on why he thinks this weather is a clear call to action on the climate emergency.

Indigenous people have spoken of deaths and unmarked graves at residential schools for years. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission also wrote a whole volume on the issue. Still, many Canadians are shocked. Today we look at why that is, with the hosts of The Secret Life of Canada.

The truth is out there. Today, we dig into a new U.S. intelligence report that sheds light on unidentified aerial phenomena, a.k.a. UFOs, with help from science writer and UFO expert Chris Rutkowski.

In 2011, after years of abuse, Helen Naslund shot her husband Miles dead as he slept. Now, she’s appealing the 18-year prison sentence for her crime, her lawyer arguing it’s a “miscarriage of justice.” Edmonton Journal reporter Jonny Wakefield explains the case.

Old-growth logging at B.C.’s Fairy Creek watershed has been temporarily deferred, but activists aren’t leaving the blockades. CBC reporter Kieran Oudshoorn brings us an inside look at the hardest-to-access Fairy Creek protest camp — and why activists are staying put.

Canada’s military ombudsman Gregory Lick criticizes leaders’ ‘inaction’ on sexual misconduct crisis and demands true independent civilian oversight.

COVID-19 deaths have surpassed half a million in Brazil. Over the weekend, thousands of Brazilians took to the streets to protest President Jair Bolsonaro’s pandemic response. Today on Front Burner, how will Brazil find its way out of this crisis?

Federal Green Party Leader Annamie Paul made allegations of racism and sexism against some inside her own party after a tumultuous week that saw a potential challenge to her leadership and a Green MP leave to join the Liberals. With a possible federal election looming, CBC’s Rosemary Barton and David Thurton join us to explain what this all means for the future of the Green Party.