Front Burner

Led by South Africa and India, more than 100 mostly developing countries are calling on the World Trade Organization to temporarily waive vaccine makers’ intellectual property protections. Today, science writer Stephen Buranyi on why he believes this could boost global supply of COVID-19 vaccines, and save lives.

In India, COVID-19 has reached catastrophic levels. The health-care system is so overwhelmed that the sick are lying on the ground outside hospitals, and doctors are begging online for oxygen. Amy Kazmin, the New Delhi-based South Asia bureau chief for the Financial Times, joins us for a view from the ground, and explains how things got this bad.

For weeks, tens of thousands of Russian troops have been within striking distance of Ukraine’s border. And then on Thursday came a sudden announcement of a partial de-escalation. Today on Front Burner, Moscow correspondent Chris Brown on the politics behind these moves.

Advocates have been calling for a national child care program for decades. Governments have even gotten close to enacting it a few times. Is this finally the moment the idea becomes reality? We’re joined by Martha Friendly, executive director of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit, for a look at the long, winding road toward universal child care in Canada.

Today we cover the Derek Chauvin guilty verdict in the killing of George Floyd and hear from a civil rights lawyer, who represented Rodney King, about the long history of police violence in America against Black people.

After two long years, the Liberals have finally delivered a federal budget and boy is it a big one. Today we dissect the biggest ticket items, from a national childcare plan to a bucket full of green future promises with help from CBC’s Vassy Kapelos.

Military-style field hospitals in the middle of Toronto. A children’s ICU filling up with dying adults. Medical advisers at the end of their rope. Today, host Jayme Poisson looks at the choices Premier Doug Ford made in recent months and how they led Ontario down the path to what many doctors are calling a catastrophe.

A parliamentary investigation into sexual misconduct in the military has been shut down, despite three high-ranking members of the Canadian Forces having allegations against them. Today on Front Burner, NDP defence critic Randall Garrison on why he thinks this lets the government off the hook.

Many Canadians' lives are being stretched really thin in this third wave of the coronavirus pandemic — it can be hard not to buckle under the strain and fatigue. In this episode, Front Burner checked in with people across the country to see how Canadians are holding up, and what's keeping them going.

Dr. Shelly Dev and Dr. Alex Wong, two physicians in two different provinces, describe the desperate situation unfolding inside Canada's hospitals where a record number of COVID-19 patients are being admitted into intensive care.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has seen the city through major change and shifted the world’s perceptions about the city he loves. He talks with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about why he’s leaving office after more than a decade.

As a federal election looms, two parties mustered over the weekend. Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos joins Jayme Poisson to break down what happened at the Liberal and NDP policy conventions.

George Floyd’s death under police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee sparked global protests over race and policing. Now, the world is watching Chauvin’s murder trial. Minneapolis Public Radio’s Brandt Williams breaks down the key moments so far.

From the arrest of pro-democracy legislators, to election law changes — Hong Kong has undergone extraordinary change after the implementation of Beijing’s national security law. Two pro-democracy activists, who recently fled to Canada, reflect on China’s tightening grip on the city-state.

Vaccinate those getting sick and bring vaccines to the factories and communal work settings — two changes Dr. Naheed Dosani says should happen to Ontario's vaccine rollout plan. Today, host Jayme Poisson speaks to Dosani about who is being left behind as dangerous COVID-19 variants take hold.

Scarred by years of ISIS rule and fierce bombing campaigns by the U.S.-led coalition forces, CBC’s Margaret Evans gives a snapshot of life in Raqqa now, ten years into the Syrian civil war.

Today on Front Burner, Anne Helen Petersen explains the forces behind burnout and why more and more Canadians are struggling with it one year into a global pandemic that has altered the way many of us work and live.

A closer look at the flaming hot Canadian real estate market that has defied expectations, through the eyes of one woman struggling to buy her first home far out from the big city, and Bloomberg News reporter Ari Altstedter.

For epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan, the third wave of the pandemic is like the climactic battle scene of an action movie, when the foe is scariest and the hero is at their most tired. Here’s what he thinks it will take to win this last big fight against COVID-19.

The release of a WHO report on the origins of COVID-19 is drawing both international curiosity and concern over China’s transparency. Nature senior reporter Amy Maxmen explains the investigation’s findings as well as criticisms over its access and independence.

Conservative MP and foreign affairs critic Michael Chong talks to guest host Vassy Kapelos about being sanctioned by China, and the growing international chorus that says China is committing genocide.

Most long-term care residents have now been vaccinated, prompting BC to announce looser restrictions on visitors. But in Ontario, residents are still starving for human connection — and they’re calling for changes.

The CBC’s Susan Ormiston takes us to the U.S-Mexico border where migrants are arriving in the hopes of easier entry under the Biden administration.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca is hailed as a cheap and easy jab to fight COVID-19. But a series of corporate stumbles have clouded it's promise, and science backed results.

Today we examine a scathing watchdog report — which condemned the RCMP for racially discriminating against Colten Boushie’s mother — and the narratives that shaped the case.