The Current

There's an AI data centre boom in Canada. Advocates say they're necessary for Canada's sovereignty and prosperity. Critics say they're noisy and terrible for the environment. In one Alberta community, a group of farmers fought an AI data centre and won. We speak to writer and journalist, Luc Rinaldi, who wrote about this fight and one of the farmers at the heart of it.

Many of the Earth's scents are fading away or disappearing altogether because of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Journalist Serena Jampel says we'd likely find the loss of memory-evoking smells, like lavender or vanilla, tragic. But some scents under threat, like frankincense, also have deep cultural meaning.

The U.S. paused their participation in the US-Canada Permanent Joint Board on Defence this week — something which has been around since 1940. Former Canadian Conservative Leader, Erin O'Toole explains what this was, why this matters and what might come next.

There's a growing backlash against AI worldwide. In China this is reflected in daily life by the sense of precarity felt by workers. There's a deep unease at the speed of technological disruption that's reflected in culture, online life, and a collective nostalgia — much of which is likely familiar to many people in North America. We talk to journalist Yi-Ling Liu, the author of the book "The Wall...

Have you noticed more people scrolling through social media in public, oblivious to those around them, with the volume full blast? It is something that Henry Luzzatto has. He wrote about it for a recent article in Slate called “What Kind of Person Would Dare to Watch TikTok Out Loud on Public Transit? I Can Tell You First Hand.” Henry Luzzatto on why he thinks more people are listening to videos o...

The PWHL Victoire won the Walter Cup, the Habs are in the NHL Eastern Conference finals, and Montreal has Hockey fever! Sport columnist and Montrealer Meeker Guerrier on the sport that’s taken over his city.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is ending after more than a decade on air. Colbert was known for his jabs at global politics and US President Donald Trump, as well as light-hearted humour sprinkled between conversations about grief and his faith. Matt Galloway speaks with Sophia McClennen, the author of the book “Colbert’s America: Satire and Democracy” and “Trump was a Joke: How Satire Made Se...

New estimates from the federal budget watchdog show that the Canadian government will spend more than a billion dollars to host the World Cup in Toronto and Vancouver. We hear from businesses, sports fans and experts about whether the public money spent will actually give Canadians a fair return.

A new study out of SickKids is opening a window into how scientists understand autism. Researchers have identified a previously overlooked gene linked specifically to the social interaction and repetitive behavioural traits associated with autism, a discovery they say could help improve genetic testing and eventually lead to more targeted therapies. Dr. Stephen Scherer, senior scientist and chief...

In the first three months of this year, more than 37,000 people filed for insolvency in Canada — the highest number of consumer insolvencies since during the financial downturn in 2009. We hear from a Canadian on how he fixed his own personal financial crisis.

Podcaster, professor and entrepreneur Scott Galloway believes young men are struggling with feelings of alienation, loneliness, and failure. And that's a danger to all of us, especially when they buy into the dangerous rhetoric they hear online. We talk to him about his book, Notes on Being a Man, what he's learned from his own life, and why this is such a passionate mission for him.

On Sunday, the World Health Organization declared the ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda "a public health emergency of international concern".  We speak with infectious disease correspondent, Helen Branswell with Stat News, and Dr. Joanne Liu, a physician and professor at McGIll University's School of Population and Global Health, and former International President Médecins Sans Frontières, w...

Scientists are warning Canadians to get ready for a U.S. tick invasion this year. We hear from Patty O'Brien-Carrier from Maine who developed a severe meat allergy after being bitten by a lone star tick and Nicoletta Faraone, the director of the Canadian Tick Research and Innovation Centre, about the ticks to watch out for and how to protect yourself.

Turns out, Canadians are spending less and less time with their friends and many don’t have a friend group. What does it mean if we don't have a close friend group — and how can we approach making new friends? We’ll explore that with Philip Howlett, a friendship researcher and lecturer at the University of Bath.

Dawson City, Yukon’s iconic tavern, the Westminster Hotel, aka “The Pit,” was destroyed in a fire. The building dates back to 1898 and was a beloved community hub. One of the bar's longtime managers Heidi Bliedung, on what The Pit meant to Dawson City and how they will move forward following the fire.

The London Zoo will open a hospital where people can watch vets treat animals — from checkups to post-mortems. Zoo consultant Sarah Spooner says that kind of public engagement helps boost conservation and helps zoos stay relevant. But environmental author Emma Marris says zoos can't justify the harm they do to animals and we've outgrown them, even if we don't realize it yet.

 Everywhere you turn, there's a distraction, and the evidence suggests we're all reading fewer books. Some have described it as a "crisis". We speak to one young Canadian who's turning that around, BookTok and podcast host, Morgann Book. We'll also speak with Gregor Campbell, a long-time English professor at the University of Guelph on what he has observed in the classroom, and Jonathan Jarry...

Wildfire season has started in some parts of the country. We speak with David Noyes, the mayor of Sandy Beach, Alberta, where a wildfire destroyed three homes earlier this month; Chief Ken McMullen, the President of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs and Mike Flannigan, a wildfire researcher, about what to expect from this year’s wildfire season

Scientists with the SuperAging Research Initiative are studying a group of superagers - people 80 and up who have the memory of people half their age - to understand what helps them stay sharp. We speak with Morry Kernerman, a lifelong violinist who’s 101 years old, and still hiking, travelling and teaching music, and with Angela Roberts at Western University in London, Ont., who’s leading the stu...

The U.K. has shuffled through several Prime Ministers in the last ten years before finally landing on Keir Starmer in 2024, but after his Labour Party suffered a major local election loss last week, some in his own party are trying to push him out. Piya Chattodpadhyay speaks to the host of the BBC podcast, Newscast, about where this leaves the island nation.

In an increasingly polarized world, Dr. Lafontaine says the best time to work through our outrage was yesterday. A close second, however, is right now. His new book, "The Outrage Cure," is about what happens when we let unresolved anger metastasize — and how we can best confront it. If you've had a falling out with someone you love that you're struggling to make sense of, this conversation is for...

Three energy watchers dig into what's expected out of today's anticipated carbon policy agreement between Ottawa and Alberta: Martha Hall Findlay, director of the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy and former climate officer at Suncor Energy; Sonya Savage, former energy minister under Jason Kenney and former environment minister under Danielle Smith; and Rachel Doran, executive direct...

The Montreal Victoire and The Ottawa Charge will be competing for the PWHL championship. It is the first time two Canadians teams will face off in the finals and a significant moment for women’s hockey in Canada. Former hockey player and two-time Olympic Champion with Team Canada, Cassie Campbell-Pascall on why the country is embracing women’s hockey and what it took to get here.

A new report out of Quebec is raising the alarm about a boy “crisis” in schools. Matt Galloway speaks with a mom of a six year old boy, elementary school teacher Jason Ashmore,  and University of Montreal professor Catherine Haeck on what’s going on in classrooms and what the long-term consequences could be.

Princeton professor Thomas Levin has collected the world's only collection of 'voice letters' -- small records that could be recorded on-the-spot in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, and then sent through the mail to friends and loved ones. From passionate love notes, to messages home from soldiers, to tourist diaries from world travellers...these notes allowed many people to record their voices for the fir...