The Current

Zadie Smith wonders if she's weird. She pays attention to a lot in an age when our attention has been captured and her phone-free life can be lonely. It's been twenty-five years since Zadie Smith published her widely acclaimed novel 'White Teeth'. She talks to Matt Galloway about aging, attention, clubbing, why she loves Billie Eilish, and her new book of essays 'Dead and Alive'.

Our panel of experts give us their top picks for 2025. Food journalists Lucy Waverman, Jonathan Cheung, and Chris Nuttall-Smith name their top picks for cookbooks that will inspire you in the kitchen.

We speak with Dr. Jesse Papenburg at Montreal Children's Hospital about the high number of kids coming into the ER and having to be hospitalized with influenza. And then we turn to Angela Rasmussen, virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Organization in Saskatchewan who explains why the H3N2 influenza strain this year is causing harsher illness, and what to expect in the years to come as the US begins to taper back sharing its virus data with Canada and the rest of the world.

Winter surfing is a thing, and it's happening all over Canada — from the giant waves of Lake Superior to the Atlantic coast to Tofino, B.C. Three winter surfers from across this country share their love for the sport, how it compares to summer surfing and what keeps pulling them back to chase waves in the frigid winter waters

There's been a lot going on in Quebec politics this year while many of us may have had our eye on the Canada-US relations. The Quebec government has been under fire for its policies on doctors, on secularism, on a new constitution, and more. The new leader of the opposition Quebec Liberals is under heavy pressure to resign. And the Parti Quebecois, which many had written off, is now talking about winning the next election in October, and promising a referendum when it does. We talk to Emilie Nicolas, a columnist for Le Devoir in Montreal, and Valérie Gaudreau, a political columnist for Le Soleil in Quebec City about the future of Quebec politics, and its impact for Canada.

The CBC's David Common was in Jamaica more than a month after parts of the island were devastated by a category 5 hurricane. He takes us to a local hospital where the roof was ripped off and patients are still showing up with injuries from the storm. He also introduces us to locals who are trying to get back on their feet and hoping that tourists will still be coming this winter season. Tourism makes up one third of Jamaica's GDP and employs hundreds of thousands of people.

Eisha Marjara's documentary "Am I The Skinniest Person You've Ever Seen?" examines her desire to halt her transition into womanhood and the complex ties in her immigrant family. She hopes doing so will help others feel less alone.

10 years after the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, three members of the family of the late Murray Sinclair, the chair of the commission, reflect on his legacy. Stephanie and Sara Sinclair are the co-editors of two new collections of writing, "A Steady Brightness of Being" and "You Were Made for this World." They talk about their own family history, and the importance of sharing stories, knowledge and culture — as a path to a better future. And Niigaan Sinclair, Murray's son, and columnist and university professor, reflects on his Dad's lessons of love, and the time he spent at his father's bedside before he died.

A CBC investigation recently found there are thousands more people behind bars in Ontario jails than just a few years ago. But the number of jail beds has remained the same. This is all happening while federal and provincial politicians are discussing new bail reform legislation -- changes that could lead to a further influx of accused people being incarcerated. The CBC's Julie Ireton brings us her documentary "Catch 22."

Two gunmen attacked the Jewish holiday event, Hanukkah by the Sea on Bondi Beach, Australia on Sunday. Hundreds were there to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah. At least 15 people were killed, and dozens more were injured. One of the attackers was also killed, the other is in critical condition. We talk to Ben Knight from the vigil in Sydney. He is a senior reporter for ABC News Victoria, and a former ABC correspondent based in Jerusalem and Washington. We also talk to Rabbi Steve Wernick, the Senior Rabbi of Beth Tzedec Congregation in Toronto about how the pain being felt in Australia is reverberating in Jewish communities around the world.

Jess Michaels and Liz Stein say their sisterhood of women harmed by Jeffrey Epstein are determined to keep up the pressure as the deadline for the Trump administration to produce the documents approaches and beyond.

For the past three months, Mark Bittman has been running a curious experiment: a fine dining restaurant where patrons pay as little as $15 for a meal. The former New York Times food writer wanted to see whether it was possible to run a restaurant where the food was healthy and locally sourced, the staff was treated and paid well and the prices were affordable. His solution: philanthropic donors, and prices on a sliding scale. As Community Kitchen prepares for its final dinner service on Saturday, Bittman tells Matt Galloway about what the project has taught him about what it would take to change the food system.

Doctors, scientists and tech experts are being courted by top Canadian hospitals and universities. And why some top Canadian scientists say it's time to “come home” amidst the immigration turmoil gripping the United States.

The godmother of punk says she never had a choice when it came to being an artist -- it was her calling from the moment she first laid eyes on a Picasso in a Philadelphia gallery. She talks about creating through loss, listening to omens and reliving her childhood, in new memoir Bread of Angels.

Manitoba nurses are taking the unique step of voting to 'grey list' two hospitals in that province. Following repeated calls for help dealing with physical violence in the workplace, nurses at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg and the Thompson General Hospital in northern Manitoba say they've had enough. Find out what that designation means and why it's caught the attention of nurses across the country.

In 2021, the federal government launched a national daycare plan that promised accessible and affordable daycare, the aim was reducing fees to $10 dollars a day. Five years in, we check in on two families in Regina and Winnipeg on how the plan is working for them. We also speak with Carolyn Ferns, Public Policy Coordinator for the Ontario Coalition For Better Child Care, and Kerry McCuaig, a Fellow in Early Childhood Policy at the University of Toronto, on what more needs to get done.

CBC's Adrienne Arsenault sits down with Matt to talk about her interview with beloved children's author Robert Munsch, a conversation he calls his “last hurrah.” She walks us through Munsch's reflections on dementia, memory, the kids who shaped his stories, and his decision to have medical assistance in dying. She also shares the surprising revelation that he's left behind as many as 50 unpublished stories waiting to be released.

The war in Sudan continues to rage. It's a power struggle between the country's military and the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces or RSF. The U.S. has labelled it a genocide. The ICC is investigating reports of war crimes. It is widely considered the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Humanitarian organizations are struggling to keep up and refugees feel forgotten.Journalist and filmmaker Michelle Shephard recently returned from Chad, on the border with Sudan. This is her documentary, Surviving Sudan.

A study looking at over 50,000 dogs in the U.S. is aiming to understand how they age, and what clues dogs can tell us about how humans age, too. We speak with Daniel Promislow, one of the co-founders of the Dog Aging Project, about the genetic and environmental factors that allow dogs to age healthily.

If you're looking for a family doctor, maybe some good news? More Canadians are finding primary care providers. We look at the ways funding, government policy and some innovation in healthcare are moving the dial when it comes to family medicine.

Netflix is looking to take over the TV, film and streaming assets of Warner Bros. Now another company, Paramount, is making its own play, with a hostile takeover bid. We talk to Globe and Mail film editor Barry Hertz about the possible end results of all this: a corporate monolith with even more control over how we consume films and TV shows, and who gets to make them.

Waymo has set its sights on the Canadian market. The self-driving taxi company owned by Google parent company Alphabet, runs autonomous vehicle taxis in a number of American cities. Now it's exploring coming to Toronto. How safe are they? And can they handle winter conditions? And why some experts say self-driving cars will reshape cities and landscapes, the same way the car did one hundred years ago.

As tech companies shift towards innovations in artificial intelligence, companies like Amazon, Meta and IBM have announced tens of thousands job cuts. And this is having a trickle down effect on entry-level positions. We speak with Bibi Souza, a Vancouver software engineer and BC's head of Women in Tech, about how the work of junior engineers has been on the decline with the adoption of AI tools that can code. We also speak with Sandra Lavoy, a manager with the global recruitment agency, Robert Half, about how to break into this challenging job market.

A year ago, Toronto opened Dunn house, a first-of-its kind social medicine housing initiative for people who are unhoused and frequent users of emergency rooms. We're joined by Dr. Andrew Boozary, a primary care physician and executive director of social medicine at University Health Network, who initiated this program. He shares the program's first-year results and what it would

Deadly boat strikes, U.S. warships in the Caribbean, and now President Donald Trump is threatening to stop Venezuelan narco-traffickers on land. As the pressure to oust President Nicolas Maduro mounts, we speak with Phil Gunson, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, in Caracas about the possible outcome of a forced regime change and what Venezuelans want.

Dave Bidini on what it means to be Canadian, why he loves the Great Lakes and what it was like to collaborate with some of Canada's most celebrated artists including Inuk throat singer and novelist Tanya Tagaq; poet and storyteller Chief Stacey LaForme; and the late Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip.

As we all gear up to spend money on gifts this holiday season — we might be tempted by the many retailers offering some sort of "buy now, pay later" program at their online checkout. Recently, Paypal has started offering it in Canada. And while it can be appealing, as an interest-free way to purchase big-ticket items, financial experts Shannon Lee Simmons and Bruce Sellery warn that it can also lead to overspending — as we indulge in an ever-escalating list of "wants" as opposed to "needs."

Did you know that your vehicle won't have been properly safety tested for female drivers or passengers? That's because all the modern safety features we have like airbags and seatbelts have all been designed to protect the average male body. We speak with Chris O'Connor, who's known as “the father of the modern crash test dummy” about how his company is changing that by designing the first-ever female crash test dummy.

The CBC's annual campaign, Make the Season Kind, to support local food banks is on right now. We'll talk to our producer Anne Penman, who has coordinated the CBC British Columbia food bank fundraiser for 39 years, about the growing need and how you can help. If you want to contribute to your local food bank, go to cbc.ca/kind, or you can donate by texting KIND to 20222.

At hearings in Washington, American business groups say that, despite some irritants, they like North American free trade. But U.S. President Donald Trump says he's willing to walk away from the three-way deal, if Canada and Mexico don't bend to his demands.

For the third time in 40 years team Canada has qualified for the World Cup, but who will they play? How good is this squad and what is their ceiling in the upcoming World Cup? We take a look at arguably the best men's soccer team ever as Canada gears up to co-host its first World Cup.

We are bringing you some actually good news and a new drug that is showing incredible promise in fighting HIV/AIDS. It's called lenacapavir. It's not available in Canada yet, but it's getting its first real-world test in three African countries. We talk to Dr Darrell Tan, a leading Canadian HIV prevention researcher about the promise of lenacapavir, and why Canadian doctors should be doing more to make sure HIV prevention drugs get to the people who need them most. And Dr Catherine Martin, a senior researcher with Wits Reproductive Health and HIV in Johannesburg.

Volunteer firefighters on Pender Island, B.C. are getting plenty of attention for some of their fire safety videos that have remade an iconic scene from the film Twilight to get their message across. We speak with Todd Bulled, the volunteer firefighter behind the videos about where the inspiration came from.

There's been at least 16 storms since the start of the year across Asia. Most recently a series of cyclones, monsoons and floods have killed more than 1,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Hundreds are still missing, hundreds of thousands are displaced, and several million are impacted. We speak with Lesthia Kertopati, senior journalist for BBC Indonesia about how days after the storm many on the Indonesian island of Sumatra are still desperately looking for their loved ones — and the challenges in the way of relief efforts.

Buying Canadian has been top of mind this year — but some people are warning that it might not survive the holiday season. With the cost of living crisis and holiday expenses, some research suggests people do want to buy Canadian — but don't always follow through with their wallet. We speak with a couple local business owners about how impactful the Buy Canada movement has been on their companies, and with an expert to unpack what the gap is between what Canadians want to buy, and what they actually do buy.

Imagine your toddler playing with a soft teddy bear, but with ChatGPT baked in. These AI toys can chat to your kid, play games, and even say ‘I love you.' But as more of them hit the market, experts are warning that we don't know how they will impact a child's creativity and social development — while a recent report found that one toy was able to engage in sexually explicit or even dangerous conversations.

The leader of the BC Conservatives, John Rustad says he's not going anywhere. His party says they've voted in a new leader and Rustad is out. We hear from Rob Shaw about a very confusing day in British Columbia politics.

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 new book, Notes on Being a Man, what he's learned from his own life, and why this is such a passionate mission for him.

Algoma Steel has announced 1,000 layoffs in the coming months even though it received millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars. We talk to the Union president Bill Slater, and Mayor Matthew Shoemaker to discuss what happens next in the community.

Generic GLP1-1s are set to come to Canada next year — significantly lowering the price. What will this mean for people's lives and health? With as many as ten per cent of Canadian adults on these drugs — we look at how consumer spending is changing.

We grow a lot of wheat in Canada and export most of it. Could we do more value-added processing here? In central Alberta, that's the hope as a new flour mill gets built south of Red Deer.

Christian churches across Canada say more young people are turning to faith — reversing a decades long trend. Current producer Juliana Konrad wanted to find out why and talked to young people, church leaders, and experts about why Gen Z is turning to Christianity — and what it says about what it means to be young today and face an uncertain future.