Episodes

• 2021

• Mystery at Canada’s highest security virus lab

  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.
  June 16, 2021

  23 min

• Stories from the Kamloops Indian Residential School

  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.
  June 15, 2021

  24 min

• Delta variant: What you need to know

  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.
  June 14, 2021

  21 min

• A wild housing market: what’s the solution?

  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.
  June 11, 2021

  23 min

• Why won’t the Pope apologize for residential schools?

  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.
  June 10, 2021

  22 min

• Grief, fear after the killing of a Muslim family in London, Ont.

  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.
  June 9, 2021

  29 min

• Lawrence Wright takes on The Plague Year

  Today, Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright joins us to talk about The Plague Year, his new account of the biggest failures and successes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  June 8, 2021

  27 min

• Death-bed COVID denial in southern Manitoba

  A doctor and a mayor describe COVID-19 denial and anti-vaccine attitudes they’re seeing up close in their small southern Manitoba communities.
  June 7, 2021

  33 min

• Kamloops residential school: what happens next?

  After the revelation of unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, former Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Marie Wilson speaks to us about what needs to happen next.
  June 4, 2021

  28 min

• Naomi Osaka vs. the French Open

  Tennis star Naomi Osaka announced last week that she wouldn’t go to postmatch news conferences over mental health concerns and this week she dropped out of the tournament altogether. Caitlin Thompson of Racquet Magazine walks us through how this led to controversy in the tennis world and highlights broader problems surrounding the media culture in the sport.
  June 3, 2021

  25 min

• Joyce Echaquan’s final days: A fuller picture

  Last year, a video of Atikamekw woman Joyce Echaquan being taunted by nursing staff in a Quebec hospital, shortly before she died, sparked global outrage. Now, a dramatic coroner’s inquest is shedding more light on what happened — and why generations of Atikamekw people have feared that hospital.
  June 2, 2021

  27 min

• Residential school survivors mourn after discovery of unmarked graves

  An outpouring of grief and demands for accountability are following in the wake of a horrific discovery of unmarked graves of children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. CBC’s Angela Sterritt reports.
  June 1, 2021

  26 min

• Anti-Asian racism in Vancouver’s Chinatown

  In the last year, there has been a tremendous uptick in reports of anti-Asian hate crimes across North America. In Vancouver, police in February reported a 717 per cent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes over the past year. Today on Front Burner, producer Elaine Chau’s documentary shows how these incidents have changed one neighbourhood in the city: Chinatown.
  May 31, 2021

  31 min

• Introducing: A Death in Cryptoland

  When the young CEO of Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is reported to have died while honeymooning in India, it sets off a cataclysmic chain of events that would leave about 76,000 people out of a quarter of a billion dollars and a trail of conspiracy theories around whether Gerald Cotten is dead or alive. A Death in Cryptoland is an original podcast series about a crypto-tycoon, his secret past, his sudden demise, and an online sleuth’s obsession to unravel the truth behind QuadrigaCX. More episodes are available at smarturl.it/cryptoland
  May 29, 2021

  38 min

• Prime Time: Amazon's MGM streaming bid

  Rocky, Legally Blonde, The Hobbit and even part of the James Bond franchise could soon be under the ownership of Amazon. Film critic John Semley joins host Jayme Poisson for a closer look at what the tech giant's bid to buy MGM Studios could mean for the shows and films that end up on your screens.
  May 28, 2021

  19 min

• Avi Lewis on a Green New Deal for Canada

  Filmmaker and activist Avi Lewis has just announced he’ll be running to be an NDP MP in the next federal election. He speaks to Jayme about why he’s decided to enter the political ring, and whether the NDP — and Canadians — are ready for his ambitious vision of a Green New Deal.
  May 27, 2021

  36 min

• A 'hijacking' in Belarus, a dissident arrested

  After the shocking interception of a commercial flight to arrest a dissident journalist, CBC’s Moscow correspondent explains Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko’s escalating crackdown on opposition.
  May 26, 2021

  22 min

• U.S. forces tackle sex assault: lessons for Canada

  As Canada’s military continues to fail victims of sexual misconduct in its ranks, the U.S. may be on the cusp of reform. CBC reporters Murray Brewster and Alex Panetta discuss a just-introduced U.S. Senate bill that says it will address the “sexual harassment epidemic” in the military, and what that might mean for Canada.
  May 25, 2021

  22 min

• Habs vs Leafs: A short history

  As the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs face off in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1979, CBC Montreal reporters Jonathon Montpetit and Antoni Nerestant break down the historic rivalry between the two teams.
  May 24, 2021

  29 min

• The divestment from Alberta’s oilsands

  As pressure mounts to address global warming, some financial institutions are grappling with whether or not to divest from the Canadian oilsands. CBC’s Kyle Bakx explains.
  May 21, 2021

  23 min