The Current

While we focus on success or fulfillment as the path to happiness, author Ian Bogost thinks we are overlooking a whole category of life experiences — delightful, small moments of sensory gratification — that can make our lives better. In his new book, The Small Stuff, Bogost says modern life, including our work life, has disconnected us from the physical world, but we'd all feel better if we found...

Fewer adults and kids are reading for pleasure, prompting some experts to say we’re in the midst of a literacy crisis. But what do we lose if we’re not reading? And what you can do to get kids to pick up a book.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky struck a positive tone after his meeting this week with U.S. President Donald Trump. Francis Farrell, a senior reporter at the Kyiv Independent, talks about why Ukraine's gains on the battlefield could be behind the shift in the leaders' relationship, and Maria Popova, Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University, discusses what Zelensky's re...

.Out of control wildfires in southeastern B.C. have forced hundreds of people to evacuate, with some losing everything they have in the blaze. We hear from Lori Daniels, the co-director of the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence at the University of British Columbia, on how this summer's wildfires compare to fires in the past, and how now more than ever, more investment is needed from the province to...

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted the Israeli Prime Minister at the White House on Tuesday for the first time in five months. We'll talk to Politico's diplomatic correspondent, Felicia Schwartz, about the recent signs of strain in what has always been a close relationship between the two countries — and how U.S. public opinion on support for Israel and its policies has shifted recently.

More Republicans in the US have joined President Donald Trump in criticizing and threatening Canada, with a barrage of insults after wildfire smoke moved south of the border. Robert C. Rowland, professor of rhetoric and political communication at the University of Kansas, tells us what's behind it, and Maryscott Greenwood, founder of Ottawa Street Strategy, on how Canada can fight back.

In Canada, France, Spain and elsewhere, people are fleeing from wildfires. As climate emergencies increase, prediction markets are taking wagers on fires, smoke, hurricanes and heatwaves. Is it desensitizing people? Or could it help raise engagement with the climate crisis?

When children with disabilities become adults, they often lose the services they've come to rely on. A decade ago, two young people in Manitoba decided to try to change the system. Now the province has completed a pilot project that improved access. But will it create lasting results?

A multi-billion dollar bridge between Canada and the U.S. was supposed to strengthen North American supply chains and ease bottlenecks on the nearby Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel. We hear from mayors on both sides of the Detroit River about whether tariffs are putting that investment at risk.

The Pear Lake and Fiftynine Creek fires were already roaring out of control near Clinton, British Columbia. But over the weekend, they merged, threatening communities northwest of Kamloops. We speak with Bernice Weihs-Anderson, a longtime resident of Clinton, B.C., and a former member of the village's volunteer fire department about her evacuation on Friday, and what her community needs right now.

While being in an ER is tough for patients and their families, it's no easier for doctors. A new study reveals that Canadian ER doctors are at their limits with burn out, stress, and fatigue.  Many are leaving the profession altogether. We speak with three doctors who have worked in ER, including the lead author of the study, to hear what they're experiencing and what needs to change.

More and more adults are heading back to summer camp, hoping to disconnect from their phones and responsibilities and recreate childhood summer magic. These camps come in all shapes and sizes, from a retreat in a chateau in the south of France to a book club camp in Maine. Shelby Sanford, the co-founder of Camp Rewind in the East Kootenays, B.C, talks about why she thinks people are increasingly s...

Tens of thousands of young people in India are on the streets protesting as part of the country’s  “cockroach” movement. They’re calling for education reform, and a bigger system change after recent university entrance exam leaks forced millions of students into rewrites — and led to several suicides. We talk to Shourya Kumar, who’s been at the protests every day this week in Delhi, and Amrit...

Natural bodies of water are embedded in many Canadian cities, but are we taking full advantage of them? We speak with Neil Egsgard, President of the Alberta Surfing Association, about a proposed redevelopment at Calgary's Bow River, and Larissa Holman, Director of Science and Policy with Ottawa Riverkeepers, about the importance of swimmable waters in our cities.  And Ian Young, an associate...

Longer, warmer summers mean those tiny, blood-sucking arachnids are spreading throughout southern Canada, hitting Ontario and Nova Scotia especially hard. We hear about emerging illnesses, and speak with emergency physician Dr. Raghu Venugopal about the symptoms to look out for and how to protect yourself.

Iran-aligned Houthis have threatened to blockade the Red Sea, raising concerns about global oil supply and a broadening of the Iran War. Gregg Carlstrom, The Economist's Middle East Correspondent, talks about how we got to this point. Thomas Juneau, an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, discusses why the Houthis are engaging in th...

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt joins us from PEI where provincial and territorial leaders have put aside their annual meeting agenda to focus on the threat of new 50 per cent tariffs from the US. She tells us how this could impact her province and what leaders will ask of the Prime Minister as they set to meet with him later today.

More and more young Canadians want to play soccer after watching the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But is there enough room on the field for all of them? Soccer was already the fastest growing youth sport in the country, and local club organizers say interest has only grown since hosting the World Cup — and in some cases, resources were already stretched thin. We speak with two Canadians who organize local...

As almost 2,000 people in Ontario flee wildfires, the U.S. president repeated his tariff threat against Canada. Ontario Premier Doug Ford called Trump’s comments “rubbish.” Wildfire experts say the U.S. criticism is unfair, but some are urging leaders here to mitigate wildfires.

With youth unemployment on the rise in Canada, is a national service year the answer to get young people working? A growing number of Canadians say yes, but what does that look like in practice and who will pay for it?

Monday afternoon, Donald Trump announced a long list of Canadian goods that will be slapped with a 50 percent tariff as of August 19th. We talk to Katie Simpson, CBC’s foreign correspondent based in Washington, DC, about what’s going on.

Hundreds of residents have been evacuated from over a dozen communities in northern Ontario over the past week, as nearly 200 wildfires continue to burn. We speak with Chief Lawrence Wanakamik of the Whitesand First Nation about what support his community needs, and why some say the Ontario government hasn't done enough to help.

US and Mexican trade officials are meeting this week in Mexico City, and Canadian negotiators are not at the table. We hear from Mexican journalist Eduardo Garcia about what’s at stake for Mexico, and from Goldy Hyder of the Business Council of Canada about how to approach negotiations now that the US says it does not want to extend the agreement as it is now. 

The Royal Canadian Geographic Society along with a crew of researchers have been on a voyage in the Labrador Sea to investigate two shipwrecks of the last Antarctic explorers dating back 100 years. CBC's Peter Cowan has been on board the research ship for the last few weeks and tells us about what they found.

In a primetime address, the U.S. president claims the American voting system is deeply flawed. CBC Washington correspondent Paul Hunter and Atlantic magazine writer David Graham discuss why Trump keeps hammering that message and how it might play as the U.S. midterms loom.