Front Burner

Across Quebec, a COVID-19 conspiracy movement with ties to the far right is gaining ground — even as new cases continue to skyrocket. Today, CBC Montreal digital reporter Jonathan Montpetit joins us to talk about what has caused this conspiracy movement to thrive in the province, and what it could mean for Quebec’s fight against COVID-19.

Brainwashed investigates the CIA’s covert mind control experiments – from the Cold War and MKULTRA to the so-called War on Terror. It’s the story of how a renowned psychiatrist used his unwitting patients as human guinea pigs at a Montreal hospital, and the ripple effects on survivors, their families, and thousands of other people around the world. It also examines the cultural impact — how the CI...

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron on Wednesday said there would be no charges against Louisville police officers for the killing of Breonna Taylor back in March. Only one of three men involved, who has since been fired from the force, was indicted, and faces three counts of "wanton endangerment" for shooting into Taylor's neighbour's home. After the grand jury decision was released, protest...

On Wednesday, the Liberals laid out what they called an "ambitious plan for an unprecedented reality" in the speech from the throne, pledging to extend some COVID-19 emergency supports, boost child care spending, create a million jobs, and more. Today, host of CBC's Power and Politics Vassy Kapelos unpacks some of the ambitious promises and the opposition's response.

This weekend, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sparked a major controversy after updating, then removing, a warning about the airborne spread of COVID-19. Today, CBC senior health writer Adam Miller joins us to explain why this has re-ignited questions about just how easily COVID-19 travels through the air and whether the CDC is being influenced by the president’s political goal...

On Wednesday, Justin Trudeau will lay out his plan to lead Canada through this next stretch of the pandemic. It comes at a pivotal moment, as CERB and other programs helping people stay afloat are winding down, more than a million Canadians are still out of work because of COVID-19, and infections are on the rise. Today, the CBC’s economics reporter Peter Armstrong joins us to talk about the scope...

Just six weeks before Americans vote for their next president, the death of legendary Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has left a gigantic hole on the U.S. top court. Today, CBC’s senior Washington editor Lyndsay Duncombe explains how the vacancy has ignited a fight for legal dominance that could shape the election’s outcome and the country for decades.

The military has a problem with far-right extremism in its ranks. We've seen it rear its head before, most recently in a CBC News investigation into a Canadian Ranger unit, which found that a B.C. reservist who openly supported two far-right groups was allowed to continue serving even after being identified by military counterintelligence and interviewed as a potential threat. Now, the commander o...

At least 36 people have died as massive fires rip through the Western United States, engulfing towns and blowing noxious smoke north to Vancouver and other parts of Canada. Today on Front Burner, we talk about what’s to blame for this historic devastation and what we have to do to adapt to life with wildfires. Mike Flannigan is a professor with the Department of Renewable Resources at the Universi...

Coronavirus cases are on the upswing in Canada's four most populous provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. On Tuesday, Ontario reported 251 new confirmed cases: the fifth day in a row of more than 200 new infections. To put that in perspective, the last time that happened was in early June, when the province's restaurants, hair salons and places of worship were still locked down...

Just months ago, the idea of a guaranteed basic income wasn’t on the mainstream political radar in Canada. Now, the federal Liberal Party could make it a top policy priority for their November convention. The concept is gaining ground, but it remains highly controversial — on both sides of the political spectrum. Today, freelance journalist Max Fawcett joins us for a primer on UBI. This episode is...

Back in 1995, a 12-year-old in Thornhill, Ontario, was so moved by a newspaper story about the death of a boy in Pakistan who fought against child labour, that he created a charity called Free the Children. Craig Kielburger, along with his brother Mark, went on to create a mass movement of youth activism. But 25 years later, and following a political controversy related to a student volunteer gran...

The 1950s & 60s saw a wave of radical movements. Che Guevara and the Cuban Revolution. The Black Panthers. Quebec and Canada had the FLQ — a showdown that dissolved into crisis. By October 1970, there were soldiers in the streets, communities on edge, kidnapping and terror in the headlines. But those frightening weeks were just the crescendo of a wave of terror and violence that was nearly a decad...

Activists are calling for a boycott of the newly released Mulan remake, after revelations that it was partly filmed in Xinjiang, a province of China known, through extensive reporting, for the detention and persecution of Uighur Muslims. Today, freelance writer Frankie Huang on the controversy and what it reveals about China's influence on Western culture.

Justice has not come easy for the Rohingya Muslim victims of what serveral countries call a genocide in Myanmar. But a turning point could stem from the testimony of two men claiming to be deserters from the Myanmar army. Today, the CBC’s Nahlah Ayed on how these men say they committed acts of violence under orders from their military superiors.

In 2018, a BC Coroners Service panel called for provincial regulations to ensure evidence-based care at addiction recovery facilities. The panel said this system should be developed by September 2019. Now, one year later, more people are dying of overdoses than ever before, but the regulations recommended by the panel still do not exist.

The back-to-school season is in full swing this week across Canada. But this year, especially in a province like Ontario where in-class learning is completely optional, returning to school looks very different depending on your income and background. While on one end of the income spectrum, some parents are investing in “learning pods,” on the other, many are keeping their kids home to study onlin...

With over 4 million COVID-19 cases, and 70,000 deaths, India is set to surpass Brazil as the second most-affected country in the world by the coronavirus. But that hasn't stopped the country from reopening, because the pandemic has also taken a massive toll on India's economy and workforce. Today on Front Burner, host Josh Bloch talks to the Washington Post's India Bureau Chief, Joanna Slater, abo...

In the spring, Dr. Jean Robert Ngola was singled out as the source of a COVID-19 outbreak in the city of Campbellton, N.B. More than forty cases would later be linked to the outbreak and two people died. But now, an investigation by CBC's The Fifth Estate and Radio-Canada casts increasing doubt on whether he was "patient zero." CBC reporter Judy Trinh tells us more on today's episode of Front Burn...

U.S President Donald Trump visited Kenosha, Wis., this week, following Jacob Blake’s shooting by police, and days of protests. The unrest in the city has become a flashpoint for racial tensions in the U.S. Today on Front Burner, Reggie Jackson tells us how that fits into Wisconsin’s history of segregation. He’s a journalist, educator and co-host of a new podcast called By Every Measure — a series...

While most Canadian students head back to school next week, classes in Quebec have already resumed. But, just a few days in, there are already COVID-19 cases being recorded in schools, and teachers and parents voicing frustrations and fears about the province’s back-to-school plans. All this comes against the backdrop of rising coronavirus cases in the province. Today, host Josh Bloch talks to All...

“No one will be safe in Biden's America.” Donald Trump painted a calamitous picture of a Democrat-led U.S. as he accepted the Republican nomination on Thursday. Speaking for more than an hour, Trump also misrepresented his COVID-19 response before a crowd of around 1,500 people - few wearing masks. As the 2020 election campaign begins in earnest this week, CBC Washington correspondent Paul Hunter...

Fans are grieving the loss of actor Chadwick Boseman, best known as the star of the groundbreaking blockbuster Black Panther. Boseman died on Friday, at the age of 43. According to his family, he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2016. Boseman never spoke about that publicly, and the knowledge now of the diagnosis is giving new meaning to his work. Today on Front Burner, Rolling Stone sen...

On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks refused to come out on the court, protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. Soon after, other NBA teams followed — and so did other athletes in other leagues, from the WNBA to MLS to Major League Baseball. Subsequently, the NBA postponed games on Thursday, but officials said in a statement that they hope playoffs would resume this weekend. Tod...

Alexei Navalny is the most prominent opposition figure in Russia, an anti-corruption crusader and a frequent Kremlin critic. But right now, Navalny is comatose in a German hospital after a suspected poisoning. Today on Front Burner, Chris Brown from CBC's Moscow bureau explains why Navalny might have been targeted, by whom, and the potential fallout.