Front Burner

It was a chaotic weekend for anyone flying with Air Canada. The airline canceled hundreds of flights after 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job. Less than 12 hours later, federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu had ordered them back to work — but the union took the unusual step of defying that order and continuing the strike.The main sticking points for the union had been wages and "ground work" — that is, pay for time spent working when the plane is not moving, which most airlines don't do. But now, some experts argue it's become the latest example of the federal government rushing to tip the scales in labour disputes and undermining the bargaining process.CBC senior business reporter Anis Heydari explains how the situation got so messy, and why other airlines across North America — and their workers — are so invested in the outcome.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

This week, Canada's housing department released a document with more details on the Liberal government's plans to scale up affordable housing in the country. It's now seeking feedback from the public about it.Back in March, Prime Minister Carney vowed that his government would double the number of homes built annually in Canada to nearly half a million. This would be done through an entity called Build Canada Homes, which would spur construction with a focus on affordability and a 'made in Canada' approach.But these plans are coming together in a challenging environment. A new report from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) forecasts a drop in housing starts over the next few years. That's against a backdrop of rising costs and other factors that are squeezing developers.So, can Carney's plan work, and can it work fast enough?Mike Moffatt, a founding director of the Missing Middle Initiative at the University of Ottawa and the co-host of the Missing Middle podcast, joins the show.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Israel's military campaign in Gaza has become the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history. Among those killed was Anas Al-Sharif — one of the last remaining reporters in Northern Gaza, and one of the most recognizable media voices in the strip.In July, the Committee to Protect Journalists said that the public smear campaign against him, led by the Israeli military, was part of an effort to manufacture consent to kill him. Just weeks later, this past Sunday, he and three colleagues were killed in a targeted Israeli strike near a Gaza City hospital. The Israeli military has publicly admitted to the killing, calling Anas an operative connected to Hamas' military wing: a charge that those who know him, along with organizations like the United Nations, deny.Sharif Kouddous is the Middle East editor at Dropsite News, and a longtime reporter on and in the region. He joins us today to talk about the killing of Anas Al-Sharif, who refused to leave Gaza, his home, despite months of threats against his life, and the cost of journalism in Gaza.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

National Guard troops descended on Washington D.C. after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Monday to take back the nation's capital and clear the streets of what he calls "crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor". It comes after the President spent the better part of the last week taking aim at D.C.'s leadership, homeless population and how crime there is "out of control" – a statement that stands in sharp contrast to official figures showing that violent crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low. Since then, in addition to deploying the National Guard, Trump has also taken control of the district's police force.Given that crime is on the decline in D.C., what is this takeover really about? And what could it signal to other cities in Trump's crosshairs? Alex Shephard from The New Republic joins us to make sense of it all.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

35 years ago, the Kanien'kehá:ka of Kanehsatà:ke squared off with the Canadian army to defend their territory, culminating an armed standoff now known as the Oka Crisis, or the Siege of Kanehsatà:ke.Now, some community members worry that same territory is being threatened by an out-of-control boom of unregulated cannabis megastores with alleged connections to organized crime. And a governance crisis exacerbated by that siege in 1990 has left the community with no clear way of resolving the growing tensions.CBC investigative reporter Jorge Barrera — who has covered the community extensively — explains how the deep history of Kanehsatà:ke has led to this pivotal moment, and what it could mean for its future.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Last month, RCMP charged four people for their alleged involvement in a plot to forcibly take land north of Quebec city in what Mounties called an incident of "ideologically motivated violent extremism". Three of the men were denied bail last week.The accused, they charged, had planned to create an anti-government militia, but even more startling: two of the four people charged by RCMP are active members of the Canadian Armed Forces.While it's the first time an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces has faced terrorism-related charges, extremism in the military isn't new.Jonathan Montpetit, a senior Investigative Journalist with CBC News, chronicles the Forces' uneven track record on extremism, and how deeply this issue has infiltrated the ranks over the years.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Bad Bunny, one of the most-streamed artists on the planet, is in the middle of his 30-concert residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico titled No me Querio Ir de Aqui, or "I don't want to leave here". Much like his latest album Debí Tirar Más Fotos, it is both a celebration of Puerto Rican culture and heritage but also a statement against the political and economic forces that have worked against the well-being and livelihoods of people on the island.With Petra Rivera Rideau, Associate Professor of American Studies at Wellesley College and the author of Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico, we take a look at the message of Bad Bunny's album and concert residency, the political and historical context behind the work and how he fits into a generation of young Puerto Ricans hungry for change.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Alberta's Battle River-Crowfoot is about as safe a riding as Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre could hope for as a place to regain a seat in the House of Commons in a byelection later this month. But he's facing pushback from some locals who feel they're being used as a means to an end by someone who won't represent their interests in Ottawa. The riding is also the latest target of the Longest Ballot Committee protest movement — including one dinosaur-obsessed candidate, Nicola Zoghbi, who promises to move the national capital to Drumheller and rename the riding "Raptor River-Crowfoot."Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing growing pressure to secure some sort of trade deal with the United States after Donald Trump made good on a promise of 35 percent tariffs on all Canadian imports not covered by CUSMA. How much political runway does Carney have left?CBC Ottawa senior reporter Aaron Wherry breaks down both of these stories.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Later this month, OpenAI is expected to release the latest version of ChatGPT – the groundbreaking AI chatbot that became the fastest growing app in history when it was launched in 2022.When Sam Altman first pitched an ambitious plan to develop artificial intelligence, he likened it to another world changing, potentially world destroying endeavor: the Manhattan Project, in which the U.S. raced to build an atomic bomb.The sales pitch he made to Elon Musk worked. Altman was promised a billion dollars for the project and was even given a name: OpenAI.In a new book, “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares of Sam Altman's OpenAI,” tech journalist Karen Hao chronicles the company's secretive and zealous pursuit of artificial general intelligence.Today, Hao joins the show to not only pull back the curtain on the company's inner workings through its astronomical rise and very public controversies, but also on the very real human and environmental impacts it has had, all in the name of advancing its technology.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Since Oct. 7, according to Gaza's health ministry, over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military campaign against Hamas. Recently, the ministry also began reporting a new kind of toll: deaths by starvation. 180 people, including 93 children, are now reported to have died from hunger. This comes after months of Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that “there is no starvation in Gaza”. But his statements stand in stark contrast to a large body of evidence from aid agencies, verified images and eyewitnesses.In recent weeks, we've seen a growing number of Israelis protesting the crisis in Gaza. Along with these demonstrators, we've also seen a number of teenage Israelis who are publicly refusing the draft.They're choosing prison time rather than fighting a military campaign they oppose in Gaza, and speaking out publicly against what they see as a moral crisis.Soul Behar Tsalik is one of them. He shares what led him to that decision, the cost of dissent, and how Israelis are reacting to the world's attention on the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

What does a reporter do when they receive a cold call from one of the most horrific serial killers in Canadian history?The killer: Clifford Olson, who murdered at least eleven children in the 1980s. The reporter: Arlene Bynon, who recorded her jailhouse calls with Olson for years. Alongside legendary journalist Peter Worthington, Arlene spent hundreds of hours on the phone with Olson. It was kept secret from his prison guards; he wasn't allowed to speak to the media.In Calls From a Killer, from CBC's Uncover, Arlene unearths secrets that have been buried for decades. More episodes of Calls from a Killer are available at: https://link.mgln.ai/1rPEb1

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced plans to officially recognize Palestinian statehood in September — if certain criteria are met — marking a radical departure on Canada's position in the region.Evan Dyer is a reporter with the CBC's parliamentary bureau. He joins the show for a discussion about this landmark moment in Canadian foreign policy, the status of Canadian arms sales to Israel, and the implications that the creation of a Palestinian state could have.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Late last week, the UK government implemented a new set of rules from its Online Safety Act to keep children away from quote, “harmful and age-inappropriate content”.Companies ranging from pornography websites, social media platforms, and large search engines will need to comply by building guardrails that would prevent children from accessing porn, or material that promotes self-harm or eating disorders, for example.This includes age verification, along with changes to algorithm settings so that they're not recommending content that's considered harmful to kids.For many children's safety advocates this is a step in the right direction. But others have concerns about civil liberties, privacy and censorship.Samantha Cole is a journalist with 404 Media. She's been covering how similar online safety rules have been playing out in the U.S.Samantha was also the host of CBC Understood's The Pornhub Empire, a four part series on the biggest porn website in the world.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The U.S. federal immigration law enforcement agency — ICE — is offshoring migrants incarcerated in the U.S. to detention camps in Africa. In at least one of these cases, migrants were told they would be transported to a domestic detention facility and instead were taken to a prison located nearly 10,000 KM away from the U.S. This decision to deport groups of people in American prisons, against their will, to detention camps in nations they have never visited marks a radical and unprecedented shift in American policy. Legal experts say it might well be unconstitutional. Hamed Aleaziz is an immigration reporter with The New York Times and joins us for a conversation about the offshoring of immigration detention, the future of the migration crisis, and the two facilities at the centre of Trump's immigration detention plan: 'American Siberia,' and 'Alligator Alcatraz.'For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

A New York City billionaire and conservative talk radio host. Two of the most vocally antivax members of Donald Trump's administration. Protesters associated with the "Freedom Convoy" that occupied downtown Ottawa in 2022. What do they have in common?They all want to save a herd of more than 400 ostriches on a small farm in rural B.C.Earlier this year, Universal Ostrich Farms was ordered to cull their remaining birds after an outbreak of avian flu killed dozens of them. But the farm has been fighting the government's order in court, claiming the ostriches' antibodies are crucial for research into alternatives to traditional vaccines.Marc Fawcett-Atkinson, a reporter with Canada's National Observer, explains why the farm's story has spread so widely through the right-wing media ecosystem, finding so much synergy with vaccine skepticism, climate denial, and other conspiracy theories about shadowy bids for global control.

When the Trump administration announced earlier this month that it was dropping its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and would not be releasing any further "Epstein files," it was already an unpopular decision among the MAGA faithful — many of whom Donald Trump won over by leaning into conspiracy theories about pedophilic political elites.In the weeks since, the rift has only widened. New revelations have come to light about Trump's relationship with Epstein, and what Trump knew about what was in the files and when. Trump has been on the defensive, calling the reports fake. But it doesn't appear to be working, with some of Trump's staunchest supporters saying they now feel "betrayed."Anna Merlan, a senior reporter with Mother Jones who covers disinformation, explains why the Trump administration can't seem to make the Epstein files go away.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

A trial that was seven years in the making came to its conclusion with all five former Hockey Canada players found not guilty of sexual assault.Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote were acquitted in a London, Ontario courtroom by Justice Maria Carroccia.McLeod was also found not guilty of being a party to a sexual assault. All five had pleaded not guilty.The Athletic's senior enterprise writer Dan Robson explains the decision and its implications.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Many First Nations leaders across Canada are furious about two laws just passed by both the federal government and Ontario's provincial government.The Protecting Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act and the federal Building Canada Act, better known as Bill 5 and Bill C5, are meant to fast-track large development projects and have faced similar criticisms.Many Indigenous people say the bills stomp on treaty rights and ignore the need to get their consent for development in their territories –– and this could shape up to mean some big battles across the country.Alvin Fiddler, Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a political organization that represents 49 Ontario First Nations, joins the show to unpack the controversy.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Groups known as "active clubs" are growing across Canada. They often meet in public parks or martial arts clubs, and say they are building community and fitness while standing up for Canada's European history. But they're part of a decentralized network with deep ties to white nationalist, neo-Nazi, and other far-right groups — and they're spreading fast.An exclusive CBC investigation has uncovered exactly how and where these groups operate, who's involved, who they target, and their connections to other extremist groups in Canada and beyond. The CBC's Eric Szeto explains what his team uncovered during the months-long investigation. Then, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue's Mack Lamoureux puts the clubs into the context of growing far-right extremism worldwide, and the broader goals of the movement.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, told journalists earlier this month that he has instructed the military to draw up plans for a camp in southern Gaza, which would eventually house the entire population of the strip. According to Israel's Haaretz newspaper, Katz said residents would not be allowed to leave once they entered — although he and other Israeli officials are still talking about plans to deport, or “voluntarily relocate,” Gazan civilians.While Katz described this as a “humanitarian city,” critics — including a former Israeli prime minister — have decried the plan as a “concentration camp.”Today, we'll first hear from a man in the area of southern Gaza from which people would theoretically be moved into this proposed camp. Then we'll speak to Dahlia Scheindlin, a Tel Aviv-based pollster and political analyst, and author of the recent book The Crooked Timber of Democracy in Israel: Promise Unfulfilled.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

In the rapidly growing world of generative AI chatbots, Grok stands out. Created by Elon Musk's xAI and touted as a "politically incorrect," "anti-woke" alternative to models like ChatGPT, Grok has become a pervasive presence on Musk's social media platform X. So a lot of people took notice earlier this month when Grok started spouting anti-Semitic stereotypes, making violent sexually charged threats, and dubbing itself "MechaHitler."xAI says it has fixed the issue that was introduced in a recent update, but the incident has raised concerns about the apparent lack of guardrails on the technology — particularly when, a week later, the company launched personal AI "companion" characters that included a female anime character with an X-rated mode, and won a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense worth $200 million USD.Kate Conger — a technology reporter with the New York Times and co-author of the book Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter — explains what led to Grok's most recent online meltdown and the broader safety concerns about the untested tech behind it.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

U.S. President Donald Trump promised to make America the cryptocurrency capital of the world and he's been working to make good on that. This week, in what House Republicans dubbed “Crypto Week”, he pushed Congress to pass three major pieces of legislation championed by the industry.Trump hasn't always been a fan of crypto but after his sons caught on and tens of millions from the crypto industry poured into his re-election campaign, he's gone all in. Now, he's got multiple ventures but none as big as World Liberty Financial, the start-up that's earned his family an estimated $500 million so far. But who is he striking these deals with? And why are some Democrats calling it all a “vehicle for corruption”? To untangle this complex web of policymaking, moneymaking and influence, we're joined by Jacob Silverman, the co-author of “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud” and the host of The Naked Emperor, CBC Understood's four part podcast series about the rise and fall of FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

After more than four decades of activism and advocacy, David Suzuki is one of the most renowned and respected voices in the environmental movement. So when he says it's too late to stop climate change, people take notice. And that's now exactly what he's saying.He's delivering this message as Prime Minister Mark Carney's government focuses on fast-tracking major projects it deems to be of national interest, which could include a new pipeline for fossil fuels from Alberta. Suzuki says that, despite his understanding of the climate crisis, Carney — like all of us — is trapped by the economic and political systems we've created. And for Suzuki, our only hope for survival is to scrap those systems entirely.David Suzuki joins Jayme Poisson on the podcast for a wide-ranging discussion from what a world of irreversible climate change looks like to what he describes as the "madness" of continued investment in fossil fuels to the lessons environmentalists of the future can take from the past.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts.

Zohran Mamdani's win in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York is one of the most stunning upsets in the city's political history. The 33-year-old assemblyman led a campaign focused on affordability, with a platform that included a rent freeze, free public transportation and free child care.Zohran's win garnered international attention. It also marked the introduction of the first star the Democratic party has produced in many years, appealing to voters that the party has struggled to retain. But since then, political forces - including many from within his own party - have been trying to stop his rise. Why is that? And why is the Democratic Party establishment in particular, hesitating to back him?Errol Louis is a reporter with New York Magazine and a local anchor in New York City. Louis has written a number of pieces about Mamdani, and joins the show to talk about his rapid ascent to stardom, and the identity crisis at the heart of the Democratic Party. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts.

U.S. President Donald Trump wrote letters to over two dozen trading partners last week, threatening a fresh set of tariffs. Canada was among them and is now facing the possibility of 35% tariffs on all Canadian goods that don't comply with CUSMA, the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, if a deal isn't reached by August 1st. Where do our negotiations with the Trump administration stand and how much worse could things get if these tariffs come into effect? What cards can Canada still play at the negotiating table? And what does Trump's ongoing tariff approach mean for the world? To help make sense of it all, we're joined by Eric Miller, trade analyst and president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts.

To kick off the week, we tackle a few big stories in two realms of Canadian politics: the military, and the federal public service.First, the Ottawa Citizen's David Pugliese tells us about the investigation into a Facebook group where military members of one regiment regularly share misogynistic, racist and derogatory content. He also shares his thoughts on another story involving the Canadian army: the charges laid last week by the RCMP against military members accused of planning to form an anti-government militia.Then, to get a sense of what Prime Minister Mark Carney's goal to cut tens of billions in government spending might look like, we are joined by Yves Giroux, Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer, the non-partisan watchdog whose job is to promote budget transparency and accountability.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Following years of speculation, this week U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi dismissed the existence of a long-rumored "Epstein client list," and reaffirmed that Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide.This comes after months of hopes — in some quarters — that Trump would make good on his promise to reveal more details about the case and those involved in a powerful network surrounding the now-dead Epstein.Trump's own vice president, J.D. Vance, wanted to know more. So did Elon Musk, who accused Trump of being in the so-called "Epstein files." Folks in the conservative media ecosystem are not taking this well. Vicky Ward is an investigative reporter and bestselling author who has been reporting on Epstein for years. You can read her work on Substack at Vicky Ward Investigates, and her most recent book, The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy, is out on Monday. Ward joins us to talk about the "Epstein files" and how the life and crimes of Jeffrey Epstein became one of the defining conspiracies of the 21st century.

The Dalai Lama has spent almost his entire adult life as a refugee from his homeland of Tibet. Fleeing Chinese persecution in the 1950s, he has built a nation in exile, striving to preserve Tibetan culture as not just the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, but as a global ambassador for his people's cause.But he knows a transition is coming. On his 90th birthday this week, the Dalai Lama announced plans for how his successor will be chosen after his death. Since that successor will be a child, that means years of power vacuum that China is almost certain to capitalize on, including attempting to name a rival Dalai Lama of their own.Mujib Mashal is the South Asia bureau chief with the New York Times. He explains what's at stake for the people of Tibet — and Asian geopolitics more broadly — in the coming power struggle when the Dalai Lama passes on.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Search efforts continue in central Texas after extraordinary flash flooding killed more than 100 people. As the death toll rises, questions are growing about whether local, state and federal authorities should have done more to warn residents, and help them get to safety.The disaster is also placing fresh scrutiny on the Trump administration's enormous cuts to the federal bodies involved in disaster alerts and relief, including the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Many are wondering what this means for the next time disaster strikes.Today we're joined by Emily Foxhall, a climate reporter with the Texas Tribune.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington this week, meeting with Donald Trump and senior members of the Trump administration, in a trip that could end in a Gaza ceasefire agreement expected to last 60 days. The critical questions revolve around Hamas' attitude toward the repatriation of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages in their custody, and Israel's hesitancy to agree to a deal that involves a permanent peace. Our guest is Meron Rappaport, a 35-year veteran of the Israeli news industry and was formerly the head of news at Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper. Today, he works as an editor at Local Call, a Hebrew language news organization operating in Israel.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The passing of Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill last week came with over a trillion dollars of cuts to Medicaid, kicking an estimated 12 million Americans off health insurance coverage by 2034. And it was passed with the blessing of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Widespread upheaval of the American healthcare system, including cuts to public health departments and medical research, is all part of RFK Jr.'s plan to further his Make America Healthy Again agenda. But how will MAHA, a movement that's touted vaccine disinformation among other things, actually impact the health of Americans and the world? Nicholas Florko from The Atlantic joins us. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

After a long and very public trial, producer and music mogul Sean Diddy Combs has been found not guilty of the most severe charges against him.On Wednesday he was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking, but found guilty on lesser charges - two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. This was widely considered as a huge victory for Diddy.During the trial, prosecutors had accused him of running an extensive sex trafficking operation. And that he did so with the help of a network of employees.Diddy's lawyers argued all the sex at issue in the case was consensual.Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty is a BBC journalist and host of the podcast, Diddy on Trial. She talks to Elaine Chau about the verdict, what led to this win for Diddy in federal court, and what it might mean for the #MeToo movement more broadly.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Prime Minister Mark Carney made big promises to transform the Canadian economy, fast track national building projects and secure a trade deal with U.S. He also set Canada Day this year as a deadline for some key goals. How has he done so far and what are we learning about what he's willing to do to make things happen?Plus, where do trade talks stand now that Ottawa has dropped the Digital Services Tax, a major sticking point for their American counterparts? How has Pierre Poilievre been handling his time away from Parliament and the byelection race in Alberta? Catherine Cullen, host of CBC's The House, joins us. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

For at least the last decade U.S. President Doanld Trump has discussed his desire to end the practice of birthright citizenship. On his first day back in office Trump passed an executive order looking to exclude the children of undocumented people from birthright citizenship completely: an action that was immediately challenged in lower courts across the country. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered Donald Trump a major victory, limiting the power of lower courts to challenge the President's executive actions. Isabela Dias is an immigration reporter with Mother Jones, and has reported extensively on birthright citizenship. She joins the show to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court's decision, Trump's changing definition of ‘citizen,' and what the end of 160 years of birthright citizenship would mean for all American citizens. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The Outlaw Ocean is an anthology podcast that plunges you into the vast and often lawless world of the open seas. Today we're featuring an investigation from S2 called The repo man of the seas. In this episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ian Urbina joins Max Hardberger. Depending on who you ask, Max is either a seagoing James Bond or a swashbuckling pirate. Hardberger runs a rare kind of repo service, extracting huge ships from foreign ports. His company is a last resort for ship owners whose vessels have been seized, often by bad actors, and over the years he's built a reputation for taking the kinds of jobs others turn down. Hardberger's specialty is infiltrating hostile territory and taking control of ships in whatever way he can – usually through subterfuge and stealth. Whatever part of the world his missions take him, Hardberger thrives in its grey areas.More episodes of The Outlaw Ocean are available here: https://link.mgln.ai/oo-FB

After a transformative 13 years, it was announced that the Toronto Raptors and longtime President Masai Ujiri would be parting ways. Across his time with the Raptors Ujiri became a figure central to Canadian and international sport — capping his time with the Raptors' lone NBA championship in 2019. The years since then have been slower and gave way to a team in purgatory, as well as executive level disagreements about Ujiri's place in the Raptors hierarchy. We sat down with Masai Ujiri in 2021 for a conversation about his career to that point. About revolutionizing basketball in Toronto, life after a history-making NBA title, his African roots, and his bid to internationalize the game of basketball.

Canada's energy and natural resources minister Tim Hodgson is in charge of an extremely important file for the federal government.That's because Prime Minister Carney campaigned on getting big energy and resources projects done, boosting Canada's economy and extracting us from our close relationship with the U.S.The stakes are pretty high for Minister Hodgson, who is new to politics but has extensive experience in the private sector, including time as CEO of Goldman Sachs Canada. He was also an adviser to Mark Carney during his time as governor of Bank of Canada.He talks to host Jayme Poisson about the controversial piece of legislation, Bill C-5, that would allow the government to fast track projects, but also exempt them from environmental laws and with some exceptions, acts of Parliament.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

On Tuesday, Donald Trump angrily swore about his frustrations with Israel and Iran after both countries exchanged missile fire just before the ceasefire Trump helped negotiate.So far, the fragile ceasefire has held. However as more information comes out about the extent of the damage done to Iran's nuclear facilities and their plans to continue their nuclear program, will it last? Will the U.S. be able to engage in diplomacy with Iran after joining Israel's bombing campaign? And after Trump publicly chastised Israel, what does it tell us about the U.S.'s relationship with Israel right now?Our returning guest is Gregg Carlstrom, longtime Middle East correspondent with The Economist and author of the book “How Long Will Israel Survive? The Threat From Within”. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has just launched a constitutional challenge against legislation in the city of Vaughan known as a “bubble zone” bylaw. It restricts protest within 100 metres of a place of worship, school, daycare, hospital or care facility. Advocates say that in a time of rising extremism and hate crimes, the bylaws are necessary to protect vulnerable groups' access to these spaces.Toronto and the nearby town of Oakville also passed bubble zone bylaws last month, and several other Ontario municipalities, including Ottawa, are considering similar legislation of their own.But the CCLA argues the bylaws are unnecessary and infringe on free expression rights, while other critics have argued they're being used to silence dissent — in particular pro-Palestinian protest. Today, producer Allie Jaynes looks at the surprising history of bubble zones, the cases for and against them, and whether they're being used to chill peaceful protest.This episode references another Front Burner episode, from May 2024, on protests outside a synagogue in Vaughan, Ontario. You can find that episode here: Apple / SpotifyFor transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Over the last week, as the exchange of missiles between Israel and Iran intensified, Donald Trump's supporters have found themselves in two camps: the hawks, like Lindsay Graham and Ted Cruz who support America joining Israel in its fight against Iran. And the isolationists, like Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson, who urge the president not to plunge the U.S. into yet another protracted war in the Middle East. Now that the U.S. air strikes on Iran have been met with a retaliatory strike on a U.S. military base in Qatar, are the MAGA factions digging in their heels or falling in line with the White House?Adam Wren, senior politics correspondent at Politico and a contributing author to POLITICO Playbook, breaks it all down. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Days into the Iran-Israel war, the United States has carried out a series of limited strikes centered on three Iranian nuclear sites. U.S. President Donald Trump has referred to the strikes as a “spectacular military success” and the Israeli government has made clear there was “full co-ordination” on the operation. Iranian officials claim to have removed enriched uranium from the facilities before they were bombed. Negar Mortazavi is a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy, and the Host of the Iran Podcast. She joins the show to discuss the American strikes on Iran and whether this escalation from Trump was about addressing Iran's nuclear capability, clearing a pathway to regime change, or something else. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Last week, Front Burner spent a few days in Three Hills, Alberta, a small town northeast of Calgary. We attended an event about Alberta independence, and spoke to a wide array of people about separation from Canada, and the possibility of an upcoming referendum on the issue. CBC Calgary's Jason Markusoff came with us.Why Three Hills? Because while separatist sentiment does exist in the province's cities, it runs deeper in rural small towns, where people tend to feel more disconnected and frustrated with the federal government.People in Three Hills will also be voting in a provincial byelection this Monday, where a separatist party – the Alberta Republican Party – is running a candidate. So in a way, separatism is already on the ballot.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts