Front Burner

In 2007, military historian Sean Maloney was commissioned to write Canada’s account of the war in Afghanistan. Unlike other official histories, this one would be documented as it was being fought. The three-volume The Canadian Army in Afghanistan, was set to be published in 2014, but it didn’t see the light of day for nearly a decade due to, according to Maloney, concerns within the military. The...

More than 80 women from around the world have accused the fast-fashion mogul Peter Nygard of rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking in incidents across four decades and at least four countries. He has been charged for sex crimes in three Canadian provinces and the state of New York. He denies it all, and has claimed his accusers are lying as part of a vast conspiracy. In his words, the acts h...

WeWork was buzzy from the beginning. The coworking company was sold not just as office space, but a lifestyle. Its leader, Adam Neumann, not just as a CEO – but a revolutionary. Now, as the company files for bankruptcy, Eliot Brown, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal and co-author of the book The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann and the Great Startup Delusion, joins us to chronicle how the te...

Inside the trial of former RCMP intelligence director Cameron Ortis, who’s facing allegations he tried to sell secrets to some of the very people police were targeting. What sensitive documents do police say Ortis exposed? For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. How are a...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax exemption for home heating oil has renewed criticism of the entire scheme — a cornerstone of Canada’s plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change. CBC’s Aaron Wherry weighs in on how the Liberal government is weathering a storm of its own making. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/trans...

In 2017, an RCMP unit called the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) was created to police resource-related protests in B.C. Since then, it’s been subject to lawsuits and hundreds of complaints. Critics argue that it’s a de facto private security force for resource companies. So what exactly does C-IRG do? And who does it serve? The CBC’s Steven D’Souza brings us his findings from The Fifth...

A jury has found FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried guilty on seven counts, from conspiracy to fraud, following the collapse of his crypto exchange last year. Jacob Silverman, host of The Naked Emperor podcast, walks us through Bankman-Fried’s trial and explains what the verdict means for FTX customers and the cryptocurrency industry. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/ra...

From BBC Sounds and CBC Podcasts. Syria. 2018. ISIS is on the brink of defeat. A toddler disappears in the chaos. In London, his grandad needs answers. Poonam Taneja investigates. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/XSnmvZ1n

Iconic first-person shooting game, Call of Duty, is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. As it turns 20, the Washington Post’s Gene Park joins us to talk about its enduring cultural and societal impact. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

After weeks of Israeli bombardment, and now a ground invasion, Gaza is in desperate need of food, water, fuel and electricity. We hear about the humanitarian crisis on the ground. Today, a first hand account of the conditions at the center of Gaza from Amjad Shawa, coordinator for the Palestinian NGO Network. Details on the UN World Food Program’s struggles to get aid to those who need it in Gaza...

As Israel’s ground war in Gaza escalates, there’s another conflict threatening to spill over. Israel and Hezbollah continue to exchange fire on the Lebanon border, stoking fears that a second front may open up. What is Hezbollah? Why does it present a growing threat to Israel? How could an escalating conflict between the two could spark a wider regional war? Journalist Rebecca Collard in Beirut ex...

After CBC’s The Fifth Estate released a bombshell documentary last week calling Canadian music icon and activist Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Indigenous ancestry into question, the reaction has been swift and complex. Drew Hayden Taylor and Kim Wheeler join us to talk about why the revelations have been painful and difficult to process for many in the Indigenous community. For transcripts of Front Burner,...

A report commissioned by Alberta’s UCP government says if it left the Canada Pension Plan, the province is entitled to take over half the plan’s hundreds of billions worth of assets with it. Why have analysts ridiculed the estimate? Why is the UCP spending millions on a push to leave the CPP? What could an Alberta exit mean for pensions across the country? CBC writer and producer Jason Markusoff e...

Buffy Sainte-Marie’s claims to Indigenous ancestry are being contradicted by members of the iconic singer-songwriter's own family and an extensive CBC investigation from The Fifth Estate, making her the latest high-profile public figure whose ancestry story has been contradicted by genealogical documentation, historical research and personal accounts. Geoff Leo is a senior Investigative Reporter w...

The village of Richmound, Saskatchewan, is struggling to get rid a QAnon cult that moved into a former school in the community. But how do you convince Romana Didulo, the self-styled ‘Queen of the Kingdom of Canada,’ and her followers to hit the road? Mack Lamoureux, a reporter with Vice News, brings us the latest on Didulo’s group, after paying a visit to Richmound. For transcripts of Front Burne...

With high living costs and rising rents, governments are going after Airbnb and Vrbo. British Columbia is the latest, along with New York and Quebec. How much are short-term rentals to blame? Will this action be enough? David Wachsmuth, a researcher and professor at the School of Urban Planning at McGill University, joins us. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/...

With housing supply low and rent going up across the country, Canada’s rental crisis is getting worse. And it’s given rise to people who feel rent trapped — stuck in less-than-ideal and difficult living conditions. Front Burner’s Elaine Chau and Shannon Higgins bring you stories from Toronto and Vancouver. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcri...

This weekend, a limited number of aid trucks finally began moving through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt, toward Gaza. Resources are critically low in the region. Today, the CBC’s Margaret Evans, who’s currently in East Jerusalem, on the status of aid there, escalating airstrikes in Gaza and the West Bank, and how tensions are growing in the region. For transcripts of Front Burner, please vi...

In the 1920s, something nefarious started happening to members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. Within four years, at least 60 people were murdered or disappeared. Journalist David Grann takes us through the true crime story that inspired his book, and now a movie, Killers of the Flower Moon. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts Transcript...

A former peace negotiator who worked on a high-profile prisoner swap on what it could take for captives in Gaza to be returned. Middle East director for the International Communities Organization Gershon Baskin also explains what he’s hearing from his contacts in Hamas. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts Transcripts of each episode will...

Avi Asher-Schapiro, tech reporter with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, takes us through some of the reasons fake news or misleading content about the fight between Israel and Hamas is being amplified on social media feeds. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

In October 2018, Canada legalized cannabis after decades of prohibition. The goals were to improve safety, public health and curb the illegal market. There were great expectations for a thriving cannabis industry. What’s changed in the industry since legalization? What challenges does it still face? And where does it go next? Solomon Israel, a journalist covering the cannabis industry for MJBizDai...

As Israeli forces sit poised for a land invasion into Gaza in their campaign against Hamas, hundreds of thousands of Gazans are facing displacement or worse. Ishaan Tharoor, global affairs columnist with the Washington Post, brings us a recap of the latest developments, and where things could be headed next. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transc...

The U.S is cracking down on fentanyl’s global supply chain by targeting Mexican and Chinese individuals with indictments and sanctions. Officials from those countries insist it’s largely an American problem. What’s actually happening on the ground in China and Mexico? What impact will U.S. retaliation have? Today, journalist Zachary Siegel explains. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: h...

After Hamas’ attack on Israel, Israeli officials announced a full siege of Gaza, cutting off all supplies, including water, electricity and food. Intense missile attacks continue to hit the territory. Today, three people who call Gaza home tell us how they’re coping. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts Transcripts of each episode will be...