Front Burner

Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk we're joined by Bruce Hoffman, a Senior Fellow for counter terrorism and homeland security at the Council for Foreign Relations.He helps us understand the history of assassinations, the connections between violent rhetoric and incidents of material violence, and the online meme-world that communicates motives that are unintelligible to those outside that ecosystem.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Donald Trump has declared a war on drug cartels. He's wielded the flow of narcotics, namely fentanyl, into the U.S. as one of the major reasons behind aspects of his global trade war. He's added a number of cartels to the foreign terrorist organisations list. And last month, the Trump administration stepped things up by quietly signing a Pentagon directive to allow the use of military force against drug cartels. That led to a U.S. drone strike on a Venezuelan boat on international waters, killing all 11 on board. Now, the possibility of more attacks hangs over Venezuela and Mexico, another target of Trump's cartel war. Alexander Aviña, an associate professor of Latin American history at Arizona State University joins us to talk about the impact of these recent escalations and what history tell us about how effective drug wars really are..For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

American conservative media figure and activist Charlie Kirk was one of the most prominent young voices of the American right. The founder of Turning Point USA, a close ally of Donald Trump, and a figure who helped shape the culture and pipeline of the MAGA movement.On Wednesday, he was shot at one of his trademark campus debate events at Utah Valley University.Will Sommer, a senior reporter with The Bulwark, joins the show to break down the shooting, how rhetoric around the killing is escalating, and how it all connects to the growing atmosphere of political violence in the United States.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal forces into Chicago — a city he's referred to as the ‘murder capital' of the world — we have a look at Trump's long standing focus on Chicago, and how the city became a favourite metaphor in conservative politics.This month, Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to send federal forces into Chicago to confront what he calls 'the most dangerous city in the world.'His fixation on Chicago stretches back more than a decade, echoed across conservative media that cast the city as a symbol of urban decay, plagued by “Black-on-Black crime” and in need of harsher policing. In reality, violent crime in Chicago is falling, and the nation's highest rates are in southern states firmly in Trump's column.So why target Chicago? And how did this Midwestern city become a metaphor for America — from gun violence and race to policing, housing, and migration?Natalie Moore is a longtime journalist in Chicago with WBEZ and author of ‘The South Side: a portrait of Chicago and American Segregation.' She now teaches journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

This coming Monday, MPs return to Ottawa for Parliament's fall session, with the health of Canada's economy front and centre.Last Friday, Prime Minister Carney unveiled a new set of measures designed, he says, to make Canada's economy more resilient in the face of persistent U.S. tariffs. We also now have a leaked list of the major infrastructure projects that are being considered for fast tracking.CBC senior Parliamentary writer, Aaron Wherry is here to discuss the challenges ahead for Carney's government, with Parliament set to resume next week.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Over the last few weeks, horrific crimes have dominated headlines across the country.There was a father of four who was killed after at least three suspects broke into his home in Vaughan, Ontario. There was a mass stabbing attack on Hollow Water First Nation, just north of Winnipeg. The suspect had been out on bail. Last weekend in Edmonton, a woman was found shot to death in her car. The suspect in that case has a long history of run-ins with the law, including convictions for violent crimes, and was on probation at the time.Politicians from every level of government have been talking about this, saying that we are at crisis levels.So today, we're trying to figure out what's real here: is crime going up? For that, Irvin Waller, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Ottawa and the author of Science and Secrets of Ending Violent Crime joins the show. Then, Scott Reid, the co-founder of Feschuk.Reid communications and a political commentator, talks through the politics.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Quebec has introduced a new bill that would ban prayer in public spaces. It's the latest in a series of recent moves by the province to reinforce Quebec's secularist values. It comes as Premier Francois Legault is embroiled in a spending scandal and polls that show he's the least popular provincial leader in the country. Will falling back on Quebec values and stoking anti-immigrant sentiment work in his favour? And if Legault and the Coalition Avenir Quebec are on the outs, is it time for the Parti Quebecois and the separatist movement to make a comeback?Martin Patriquin, Quebec correspondent for The Logic, takes us through the province's state of affairs.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

On Wednesday, 16 people — including Romana Didulo, the cult leader known as the “Queen of Canada” — were arrested in the tiny Saskatchewan village of Richmound. RCMP released them the following day, but then re-arrested two unidentified individuals.Didulo and her followers have been holed up in a decommissioned school there for two years. Their presence has been a source of ire for many locals, and ratcheted up divisions between the townspeople.Today: What happens when a cult comes to town — especially in a time of such intense societal polarization? Our guest is Rachel Browne, an investigative journalist and documentary maker who is currently working on a podcast for CBC about the impact that the “Queen of Canada” has had on this tiny village.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Late last week - a list of over 200 books, set to be removed from Edmonton school libraries by October made the rounds online. It was in response to an order set out by Alberta's education ministry in July to take books with sexually explicit content from the shelves.This applied from kindergarten to Grade 12.On that list? Award-winning works like Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.Intense criticism from writers, educators, civil liberties groups followed and on Tuesday the Alberta government paused the order and announced that they're reworking it.The Investigative Journalism Foundation's Brett McKay has been covering this push to remove sexually explicit content from school libraries in Alberta. He's here to talk about the politics behind it, the uproar that ensued and how all this mirrors similar efforts to ban books in the U.S.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Today on the show, James Elder is here. James is UNICEF's global spokesperson, and he has made five trips to Gaza since the October attacks documenting what UNICEF has called a “war on children.” He joins us less than two weeks after a UN backed body officially designated the hunger crisis in Gaza a famine, one that the UN's relief chief Tom Fletcher says is man-made, and the result of what he calls “systematic obstruction by Israel”. Elder has also reported from Darfur, Yemen, Afghanistan and more. But he says Gaza is unlike anything he's seen. We're going to talk about his experiences on the ground and the responsibility of a witness in a time of war.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

In a trial entering its final phase, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro stands accused of attempting to stage a coup, leading an armed criminal organisation, and plotting to have the country's current president and a Supreme Court justice killed. In response Bolsonaro ally U.S. President Donald Trump slapped Brazil with steep 50% tariffs and sanctioned the Supreme Court justice presiding over the case. Will America's interventions help Bolsonaro and his far-right movement or backfire? And what's at stake for the future of Brazil as the verdict nears? Gustavo Ribeiro, founder and editor in chief of the Brazilian Report, joins us. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

NATO's secretary general has warned Russia could launch an attack on the alliance within the next five years. Talk to NATO's two newest members, Finland and Sweden, and they'll tell you preparation involves a lot more than just boosting military spending. As Canada seeks to strengthen ties with both countries, what can we learn from our newest NATO allies about preparing for the worst? Supported by the R. James Travers Foreign Corresponding Fellowship, CBC's The House producer Emma Godmere travelled to the two Nordic countries to visit bomb shelters, the Russian border and military training grounds north of the Arctic Circle to see and hear how Finns and Swedes are steeling themselves for whatever the future may bring.Every Saturday, listen to The House for in-depth explorations of the biggest issues facing Canada. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/FBxTTND

Last week, the U.S. released another round of sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, including a Canadian judge. They're the latest in a string of attacks from the Trump administration this year, after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.The sanctions come at a difficult time for the ICC as it operates without a chief prosecutor and is under increasing pressure to address the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. But what is really under the ICC's jurisdiction and is it equipped to hold some of the most powerful leaders in the world to account? Kenneth Roth is the former director of Human Rights Watch and author of “Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Frontlines of Battling Abusive Governments”.He's here to parse through the Trump administration's sanctions, and the history and efficacy of the International Criminal Court.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

American history has always been contested, but recent decisions by U.S. President Donald Trump to reshape the way it's taught and remembered have put museums, schools, and memorials squarely in the crosshairs. Earlier this year, Trump passed an executive order that called for the removal of what he referred to as “divisive, race-centered ideology” from the nation's museums. He's targeted the Smithsonian Museum in particular, calling it “out of control” and “woke”, criticizing it for focusing too much on teaching the history of slavery. What does it mean to discourage the teaching of slavery and Jim Crow laws in a country that practiced chattel slavery for nearly 250 years, and had been led by at least 12 Presidents who themselves owned slaves?Bryan Stevenson is a civil rights lawyer, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, author of the New York Times bestselling memoir ‘Just Mercy', and creator of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. He joins the show to talk about Trump's attacks on American history, and the enduring legacy of slavery, lynching, and racial terror in the United States.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Prime Minister Mark Carney campaigned on big promises and bold action to save a country in crisis. It's now been more than 100 days since his cabinet was sworn in, but details and tangible results are still thin on the ground. How much of a runway does he have to start delivering on his promises on things like national infrastructure, housing, and a trade deal with the United States?Meanwhile, Pierre Poilievre has regained his seat in the House of Commons in a summer byelection. Will we see a new approach from Poilievre and the Conservatives, or will they stick with the strategy that brought them within striking distance of forming government in the spring?CBC senior parliamentary reporter Aaron Wherry is here with a report card on the Carney cabinet's first 100 days, and a look at the political opposition he'll be facing from Poilievre when parliament resumes next month. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The unemployment rate for Canadians between 15 and 24 is at 15 percent, the highest it's been since 2010, not including the pandemic.Why can't young people find a job? And how do these numbers fit into the wider health of our economy at the moment?Economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers Armine Yalnizyan is on the show to talk about these numbers, why they stand out and what could be done to prepare and protect the economy from a world of near-constant uncertainty.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Airstrikes and tanks continued pounding the outskirts of Gaza City over the weekend, as Israel's plans to seize the strip's largest urban centre continued. A much bigger operation, widely condemned by the international community, could begin within days or weeks.This is all happening as the world's leading authority on food crises is saying that Gaza City and surrounding areas — currently home to half of the territory's population — is now gripped by famine, and that it's likely to spread across the rest of the strip unless a ceasefire is negotiated.Meanwhile, Israel recently approved a major settlement plan which would functionally divide the West Bank in two, blunting hopes for a future Palestinian state.Given all this — what's the latest on ceasefire negotiations, and is there any sense that Western states have plans to step up pressure on Israel over either Gaza or the West Bank?Today, Gregg Carlstrom, the Economist's longtime Middle East correspondent, is back on the show to discuss all of this. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Elon Musk wants a million people living on Mars within 20 years. Jeff Bezos imagines a trillion humans in space, living in a constellation of space stations the size of major cities within a few generations. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is preparing for a future where rogue AI could destroy civilization, and is stockpiling land, gas masks, and gold in the event it leads to disaster. These plans, which appear ripped from the world of science fiction, instead represent designs for the future held by some of the most powerful people in the world. Why are tech billionaires so consumed with escaping earth — and what does it mean for the rest of us?Today, guest Adam Becker — an astrophysicist, journalist, and author of More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity — joins Front Burner to explain the dystopian future being planned by the tech elite: one defined by ideas like space colonization, “technological salvation,” AI superintelligence, and the pursuit of eternal life.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Christian Zionism — the belief that the modern state of Israel fulfills biblical prophecy — has existed as a theological concept for well over a century. But in the past couple decades its political power and influence in the United States has surged, with many of Donald Trump's closest political allies among its adherents.Today we're taking a look at the theological roots of Christian Zionism, how it became a political force in America, and its impacts on U.S.-Israel policy.Our guest is Daniel Hummel, the author of Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and U.S.-Israeli Relations. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

This summer is on track to being the second-worst wildfire season in Canadian history. It started earlier than usual with emergencies declared in the spring in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and is hitting locales that aren't typically fire-prone like Vancouver Island and Atlantic Canada. Meanwhile, fires from neighbouring provinces gave parts of southern Ontario some of the worst air quality in the world.So what does this mean for the Canadian summers of our childhood, spent mostly carefree and outdoors? What needs to be done for us to adapt to the prospect of more fires and heat to come — especially for kids growing up in this new reality? Denise Balkissoon, executive editor of The Narwhal, joins us to talk about how to navigate the ambient dread of our country's changing climate.Denise published a piece today about this in the Narwhal, which you can read here: www.thenarwhal.ca/seasonal-depression-summer-climate-change/For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Over the last few days, US President Donald Trump has hosted a series of high-stakes talks to further the effort to end the war in Ukraine.First, on Friday, there was the summit in Alaska — Russian president Vladimir Putin's first time in the US in nearly 20 years. Then on Monday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the White House for his first time since his brutal confrontation with Trump in February. This time, he was accompanied by a group of European leaders, including French president Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.Land swaps and security guarantees were all discussed — but are we any closer to actually seeing an end to the war in Ukraine? What is Ukraine being asked to give up in exchange for peace? And where do things stand with the war now? We're joined by Francis Farrell, reporter with The Kyiv Independent. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

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