The Current

Writing has shaped Margaret Atwood's life, from childhood poems about rhyming cats to watching The Handmaid's Tale become “an approaching reality” in Trump's America. The Queen of CanLit sat down with Matt Galloway to discuss her new memoir, Book of Lives — and ended up giving Galloway an impromptu palm reading.

Shachi Kurl, the President of the Angus Reid Institute, a polling firm, join us to give us an insight into how Canadians are feeling about the economy and politics after a turbulent year for the country.

Jimmy Darts has become a social media star through his kindness videos. He has over 12 million followers and 400 million likes, just on his TikTok account. Through his account, he gives and raises thousands of dollars for strangers. We talk to him about his work, and his new book Undercover Kindness.

It was another year of devastating floods, fires and other extreme weather events. The Trump Administration also levelled dramatic cuts to climate science and pledged to break up one of the world's leading weather forecasting research centres. And here in Canada, the federal government reversed a series of climate policies. We speak to climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe and Rick Smith of the Canadian Climate Institute about where they are finding optimism as 2025 comes to a close

One Canadian dies every two days waiting for an organ. Stephanie Azzarello feared she'd be one of them. For people waiting for a liver, like Azzarello, there's an option to find a living donor. Usually it comes from a family member or close friend… but not always. The woman who offered to help Azzarello after seeing her social media post was a stranger who lived in another country, had never met her. In her documentary, Because of Her, Liz Hoath brings us their story — and how their lives were brought together.

Her mother Mary's death left acclaimed Indian writer, author of The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy feeling "unanchored in space with no coordinates," even though she'd often been a target of Mary's wrath. Roy talks to Matt Galloway about her new memoir, "Mother Mary Comes to Me," revealing their fraught relationship, and how her mother's trailblazing character influenced Roy's writing.

The great Newfoundland satirist has been touring the country this fall, selling out theatres with his latest standup show. He joins us to reflect on the year in Canadian politics. Rick Mercer's Stand Up For Canada premieres Dec 28 at 9 PM on CBC TV and streams on CBC Gem.

Some Canadians are changing their travel plans and heading to international destinations outside of the United States. We speak with two Canadian snowbirds, one who decided to travel to Mexico, rather than make their annual trip to Texas. While another returned to their Florida home, but not without some hesitation, only to find fewer Canadians around. And we hear from Wayne Smith, the Director of the Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Research on the latest numbers, what's driving them, and what that means for local economies.

Susan Orlean is the best selling author of seven books including The Orchid Thief and The Library Book, and has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992. On stage at the Vancouver Writers Fest, she talks about being curious about the world, and how that's led her to the most unexpected stories. She tells the stories behind her stories of the American Man at Age 10, being portrayed by Meryl Streep, becoming the patron saint of pandemic drinking, and why ending her marriage made her think of a tire driving over a nail. Her new memoir is titled Joyride.

Musicians Shad and Talia Schlanger join Matt Galloway for their picks of the best Albums of 2025.

An Alberta cattle producer has been steering his herd through years of drought and says it feels pretty good to have more 'jingle in his jeans' right now with record high beef prices. And a Winnipeg butcher says in spite of eye popping beef prices, his customers so far are still willing to fork over big bucks for the right cut. We speak with Sylvain Charlebois, a professor and senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, and a visiting scholar at McGill University about what's fueling Canada's soaring beef prices — and how that can change.

Long-time CBC Radio host Michael Finnerty shares how training as an apprentice cheesemonger in London's Borough Market nourished his soul, gave him a sense of purpose and helped him rediscover the power of community. He talks about his new book "The Cheese Cure" while taking Matt Galloway on a tasting journey through the sampling of four Canadian cheeses.

Sasha DiGiulian spent nine days trapped on a ledge in a storm before becoming the first female climber to make up the famously difficult Platinum route on El Capitán.

Jimmy Lai is one of the most high-profile critics of Beijing and the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party. Sebastien Lai is Jimmy Lai's son He joins Matt Galloway to talk about his father's fight for democracy as he faces life in jail.

Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi says the process towards peace he hoped to hear about on the ground in the West Bank and Jerusalem appears to be stalled. In Gaza, people continue to suffer as winter sets in.

A polar bear cub has defied the odds in Northern Manitoba after being adopted by another mother bear, leaving researchers excited about what it could mean for polar bear health and survival amidst climate pressures on the species.

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.