Front Burner

This weekend, a new Joker movie hit theatres, polarizing critics and audiences with a gritty take on the DC super-villain’s origin story. The film also caught the attention of intelligence and law enforcement agencies who fear it could trigger public violence. Today on Front Burner, film critic Tina Hassannia unpacks the iconic character and the different sides of the rhetoric surrounding the movi...

This week — as part of the CBC series Face to Face — five undecided voters got five minutes each with federal party leaders to ask the questions that matter most to them. The National's Rosemary Barton hosted the events, and followed up with questions for Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. Today on Front...

In the sixth and final Canadian leadership profile, Jayme Poisson speaks to the CBC’s Jonathan Montpetit about Maxime Bernier, the controversial head of the People’s Party of Canada.

U.S. college sports generated at least $14 billion last year. And while coaches get paid multi-million dollar salaries, players aren't paid at all, beyond the cost of attending the university. Now, a new law in California will allow student athletes to profit from the use of their name, likeness and image — essentially, to get endorsements. The NCAA has said the law will "erase the critical distin...

In 2017 an unprecedented number of people were crossing into Canada illegally from the United States at Roxham Road to claim asylum. And in just two years, about 50,000 migrants have entered Canada through this unofficial entry point. Today on Front Burner, CBC’s Susan Ormiston returns to Roxham Road to unpack how it became internationally known as a de facto border crossing for those seeking refu...

Wellness is a multi-trillion-dollar industry. Vague assertions about detoxification and restoring balance can be used to sell everything from juice cleanses to coffee enemas. But obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Jen Gunter says a lot of these products are snake oil, and their claims are pseudoscientific. Today, Dr. Gunter on misinformation in the "wellness" industry, how it persists, and why she insi...

When Jagmeet Singh became the leader of the NDP in 2017, he was the first person of colour to lead a major Canadian political party. There was a great deal of excitement around Singh, who is known for his ability to communicate genuinely and effectively - as demonstrated last week in the aftermath of Justin Trudeau’s brownface controversy. But the NDP leader has also been criticized for being ill-...

Affordability policy pledges are front and centre in the Canadian federal election campaign. We’ve seen Conservatives and Liberals promise tax cuts. The Liberals and NDP promise to lower your cellphone bill. There are national pharmacare pledges from the NDP, the Liberals and the Greens. The Greens even propose a guaranteed annual income. And these are just a few of the policies on offer from the...

On Tuesday, U.S. Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump. Today on Front Burner, CBC's senior Washington editor Lyndsay Duncombe explains what happens next and what Joe Biden's son and Ukraine have to do with it.

A young man in London, Ont., was recently put on life-support with a respiratory illness that's been linked to vaping. He was the first with that diagnosis in Canada, after more than 450 Americans fell ill, and eight died, also from vaping-linked respiratory illnesses. How much do we actually know about the health impacts of vaping nicotine or marijuana? Andre Picard is the health reporter for the...

Millions of climate strikers all across the world took to the street on Sept 20th. And there’s another strike scheduled on Sept 27th, as well. Today on Front Burner, we talk to Naomi Klein, author of the new book “On Fire: The Burning Case for the Green New Deal” about Greta Thunberg, the Green New Deal, and why she thinks mass mobilization around climate change may be the only thing that can help...

Late last week, a director-general with the RCMP was arrested and charged with breaching Canada’s secrets law, for allegedly preparing to share a cache of classified intelligence material with a foreign entity or terrorist organization. Today on Front Burner, we speak with CBC reporter Catherine Tunney on what we know so far about what Ortis is alleged to have done, including his alleged contacts...

Today on Front Burner, we talk to the National Observer’s Fatima Syed, and to doctor Ritika Goel, about Justin Trudeau’s blackface scandal, and why for so many Canadians of colour, it’s a familiar sort of racism.

A photograph of Justin Trudeau in brownface and wearing a turban at a 2001 “Arabian Nights”-themed costume party was published in TIME Wednesday night. Soon after, Trudeau apologized, saying he now realizes it was “racist.” Today on Front Burner, Vassy Kapelos, host of Power & Politics, joins us talk about the reaction to the news and political fallout for a leader who has positioned himself as a...

Today on Front Burner, an intimate look at mental health struggles amongst workers in Alberta’s oilpatch with the co-producer of a new documentary on the subject, ‘Digging in the Dirt.’

Not even one week into the federal election campaign and the major parties are already struggling with controversial candidates. Today on Front Burner, host of Power and Politics Vassy Kapelos and CBC senior reporter Katie Simpson join us to break down how the leaders are reacting and go through the latest platform promises.

In Please Explain, voters come on Front Burner to ask their biggest questions about the election. First up: Marieke Walsh from the Globe and Mail explains the party platforms on climate change, and how the carbon tax is doing for Canada.

Today on Front Burner, CBC’s Moscow Correspondent Chris Brown takes us through Vladimir Putin’s decades-long grip on power, and whether or not a popular protest movement and falling approval numbers could signal change for Russia's political future.

This week, hundreds of fans gathered in London to celebrate the launch of The Testaments, the much-anticipated sequel to Margaret Atwood's best-selling novel, The Handmaid's Tale. Similar events took place around the world, and the novel has already been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Today on Front Burner, Slate's book critic Laura Miller on the political and cultural relevance of The Hand...

The federal election campaign is set to kick off today, and so does our weekly election panel. Today on Front Burner, Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos and CBC’s polling analyst, Éric Grenier.

With the next federal election just around the corner, and environmental issues top of mind for many Canadian voters, the Green Party is riding high on a rise in support. With this momentum comes a lot of pressure on the party’s long-time leader to deliver gains at the polls. Today, as part of our federal election profile series, we’re digging into the life and political legacy of Elizabeth May wi...

Tennis analyst Caitlin Thompson on how Bianca Andreescu won the U.S. Open this week, becoming the first Canadian to take a singles championship.

Jayme introduces Party Lines, a new CBC podcast and a political primer for every kind of concerned citizen. The National’s Rosemary Barton and BuzzFeed News’ Elamin Abdelmahmoud are here to take you beyond the talking points and provide the insights you need to navigate the upcoming federal election. Head to cbc.ca/partylines for more.

This week, Hurricane Dorian delivered catastrophic damage to the Bahamas. It was a Category 5 storm when it hit the island nation, with winds of up to 295 km/hr, and Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said it left "generational devastation." Today on Front Burner, in the age of intensifying storms, two very different portraits of hurricane recovery. Janise Elie of the Guardian describes the devastation...

In 2007, a man known as the "Berlin patient" was cured of HIV through a stem cell transplant. It was an incredible accomplishment that researchers all over the world scrutinized for years to come. He was the first and only documented case of a person who has been cured of HIV until March of this year, when a second patient was declared HIV-free from a similar treatment. Today on Front Burner, a co...