Front Burner

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.

From David Ridgen, the creator of Someone Knows Something, comes the new investigative podcast The Next Call. Tackling unsolved cases through strategic phone calls. From the victim's family members to potential suspects, the investigation unfolds with The Next Call. More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/thenextcall

Cyberattacks, dissidents in jail and military escalation near Ukraine loomed over the high-stakes summit between U.S. President Joe and Russian President Vladimir Putin. CBC Moscow correspondent Chris Brown and CBC Washington correspondent Susan Ormiston unpack what happened.

A real estate developer in Toronto is planning to spend a billion dollars buying Canadian houses and turning them into rentals. Today, former UN special rapporteur on housing Leilani Farha on what she’s seen when big money gets into residential rentals.

Questions still surround why two scientists were marched out of a Winnipeg lab in 2019, and why they’re being investigated by the RCMP. But the story has links to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and many experts suspect Chinese espionage. Now, pressure is mounting on the federal government to explain.

From drownings to suicides in broad daylight, a new CBC investigation reveals a horrific picture of what life was like at the Kamloops Indian Residential school. Today on Front Burner, the stories of some who lived and died there.

As much of Canada begins easing pandemic restrictions, we look into the delta variant. It’s a COVID-19 strain that’s concerning experts and emerging all over the country, from a hospital in Calgary, hotspots in Ontario and a mine in Nunavut. Global health epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan weighs in on the latest.

As Canada’s housing prices continue to rise we take a closer look at the political and economic tools that could be used to help cool it down with the help of Bloomberg News reporter, Ari Altstedter.

The calls for Pope Francis to fully apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential schools, including the one in Kamloops, B.C., where what are believed to be the unmarked burial sites of children's remains have been found, continue to grow. Why won’t he? Columnist Michael Coren, who’s covered the Catholic Church for decades, explains.

In the wake of the hateful attack that left four Muslim family members dead and a young boy in hospital: voices from the grief-filled London, Ont., Muslim community.