Front Burner

After traces of fuel were confirmed in Iqaluit’s drinking water last week, the city has been under a state of emergency. Journalists Pauline Pemik and Jackie McKay explain what it will take to get the city’s taps flowing safely — for good.

CBC’s Margaret Evans tells the stories of a coroner, a mufti and a fisherman all living through a border crisis in northern Greece — a country taking steps to keep refugees out.

Cryptocurrency traders are relying on a stablecoin — a digital cryptocurrency backed with real-world assets — with ties to a Mighty Ducks star and the co-creator of Inspector Gadget. Today, we look at the search for the supposed billions of dollars backing its value, and what a shortfall could mean for the entire financial system.

Unearthed journals that were once the top-secret communications of the KGB — the Soviet Union’s secret police — shed new light on an early chapter of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s life, and give us a window into the dying days of the USSR.

As Canadian Catholic bishops say they will give $30 million to support survivors of residential schools, CBC’s Jason Warick explains why some are skeptical about the pledge.

Today Brian Hioe explains how Taiwan became a pawn in a global competition between China and the West — and what that means for the island’s people.

CBC’s Salimah Shivji takes a closer look at India’s farmer protests, where a fatal collision has ignited more anger in the 300-day standoff with the government.

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. This episode originally aired on July 20, 2021.

After a major outage and stinging whistleblower testimony, NPR tech reporter Bobby Allyn breaks down Facebook’s bad week.

Today we’re digging into the massive Pandora Papers leak: What it reveals about how the world’s wealthy and powerful are benefiting from tax havens — and whether Canada is doing enough to rein it in.

The survival drama Squid Game has gotten international attention for its focus on economic inequality. But UCLA’s Suk-Young Kim explains that this globally relatable horror show is also uniquely Korean in its approach.

New York Times journalist Ben Smith discusses his bombshell investigation into U.S. media organization Ozy Media and its defiant founder, Carlos Watson.

Journalist Matthew Remski explains why new age spirituality is such fertile ground for anti-vaccine movements.

What if there were a pill that could add decades to your life? Would you take it? For thousands of years, people have searched for elixirs that could delay death and extend human life. Could new advances in medicine finally make this a reality? From madcap medicine to cutting-edge science, the quest to unlock the fountain of youth is teeming with dreamers, skeptics and charlatans alike. More episo...

The views from two Canadian cities where the opioid crisis is driving a new movement for decriminalization, with the Ontario Harm Reduction Network’s Nick Boyce and Chief Const. Mike Serr of the police force in Abbotsford, B.C.

On the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the story of a quest to find the true identity of a boy who died at residential school, and was identified only by a cruel nickname.

Even with 80 per cent of eligible Canadians fully vaccinated, hospitals in many parts of the country are facing an unprecedented crisis. Today, we speak to doctors and nurses about how the fourth wave is pushing Canadian health-care systems to their breaking point.

Angela Merkel will step aside after 16 years as Germany’s chancellor, but Sunday’s election leaves questions over who will lead next. Today, how Merkel built her legacy of stability, and the forces that threaten to reverse it.

After 1,020 days in Chinese jail cells, the two Michaels — Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — came home. CBC’s Jason Proctor and the University of Ottawa’s Errol Mendes break it down.

Hotelier Paul Rusesabagina once won the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, for protecting Tutsis from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. This week, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for terrorism charges. What happened?

New York Times’ Katie Rosman on the internet’s obsession with the murder of Gabby Petito and the online sleuths trying to crack the case.

Leader Erin O’Toole brought a moderate strategy to the Conservative election campaign, but his loss was nearly identical to his predecessor's. What went wrong, and what that means for the party’s future.

After a day of voting and with some ballots still left to be counted, Justin Trudeau will remain Canada's prime minister, and the Liberals will continue ruling with a minority. CBC's Aaron Wherry breaks down the results of the election so far.

CBC’s Carolyn Dunn on Alberta’s fourth wave after what Premier Jason Kenney promised to be the “best Alberta summer ever.”

The CBC’s senior political correspondent Rosemary Barton on how the national federal party leaders did on tough questions from undecided Canadian voters.