The Current

Amid this summer's airport chaos, passengers are frustrated that airlines are denying compensation claims for flight disruptions caused by crew shortages. Guest host Michelle Shephard talks to Brittany Noppe, who says a recent flight delay cost her thousands of dollars; Gabor Lukacs, founder and president of Air Passenger Rights; and Tom Oommen, director general of the analysis and outreach branch at the Canadian Transportation Agency.

Almost ten years after B.C. teenager Amanda Todd died by suicide, Dutch man Aydin Coban has been convicted of harassing and sexually extorting her online. We talk to Amanda's mother, Carol Todd, about keeping her daughter's memory alive, the long fight for justice and what's next.

Sports journalists Stephanie Myles and Renee Washington discuss Serena Williams' decision to retire and what her legacy will be — both on and off the tennis court.

Vancouver police forcibly removed encampment tents in the DTES this week, acting on an order from Vancouver's fire chief. Guest host Michelle Shephard discusses the removal and potential long-term solutions with Matthew Trudeau, public information officer for the Vancouver Fire Rescue Services; Stefania Seccia of the Women's National Housing and Homelessness Network; and Ethel Whitty, Vancouver's former director of homeless services.

Have you ever heard a bird in the wild and wished you knew what it was? There's an app for that! We revisit Matt Galloway's September conversation with Jessie Barry, one of the founders of Merlin Bird ID, an app that can identify birds using a sound recording.

Newfoundland is dealing with its worst forest fires in decades, with some communities cut off and running low on supplies. Guest host Michelle Shephard talks to Roy Drake, the deputy mayor of Harbour Breton on the island's southern shore; and Jeff Motty, a supervisor of forest protection for the province.

U.S. President Joe Biden passed a health care, tax and climate bill that some say is legacy-defining. Meanwhile, the FBI raided the home of former president Donald Trump. We discuss what these duelling political narratives might mean for the upcoming midterms with Molly Ball, the national political correspondent at TIME; and Asawin Suebsaeng, a senior political reporter at Rolling Stone.

Donald MacPherson has been called a visionary when it comes to the way we think about drug use in Canada. As he steps down as the executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, he joins us to reflect on decades of shifting drug policy and helping the vulnerable.

In Ukraine, a nuclear plant under Russian occupation has the international community warning of potential catastrophe. Guest host Michelle Shephard discusses the risks with Philip Crowther, international affiliate correspondent for the Associated Press; and Mariana Budjeryn, a Ukrainian nuclear expert at Harvard's Belfer Center.

The chair of Hockey Canada's board of directors resigned over the weekend, amid controversy that's been swirling around the organization. In late July, officials were grilled in the House of Commons on how they've handled sexual assault and abuse allegations. And for weeks, there have been calls for change within the sport, and within the governing body. For more, guest host Michelle Shephard speaks with Allison Forsyth, a safe sport advocate and survivor of sexual abuse in the Canadian sport system; Greg Gilhooly, a lawyer and survivor of sexual assault; and Brock McGillis, the first openly gay professional men's hockey player.

In a conversation with Matt Galloway from last year: Corey Mintz has spent much of his life in restaurants — as a cook, as a food critic and as a diner. Now, he's taking a critical look at them as an author. In his book The Next Supper: The End of Restaurants as We Knew Them, and What Comes After, Mintz looks at why restaurants as we know them are broken — and what can be done to fix them.

What role can the courts play in fighting disinformation? We talk to lawyer and Harvard Law School lecturer Louis Tompros about the news that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay more than $4 million in damages for repeatedly calling the Sandy Hook school massacre a hoax.

Two years since the massive explosion in Beirut — what's changed? Guest host Peter Armstrong talks to Mariana Fodoulian about seeking justice for her sister Gaia, who was killed in the blast; and investigative journalist Habib Battah discusses the obstacles facing Lebanon's people.

U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner has been sentenced to nine years in prison for bringing two vape cartridges with cannabis oil into Russia. We discuss the verdict with Russia expert Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, who advised the WNBA Players' Association on the case.

Hospital workers in Ontario say an acute staffing shortage is causing a crisis in an already overburdened health-care system. Guest host Peter Armstrong discusses the problems — and elusive solutions — with Cathryn Hoy, president of the Ontario Nurses Association; and Kevin Smith, president and CEO of University Health Network.

Violent protests erupted in the Democratic Republic of Congo last week — people there feel the United Nations has failed in its peacekeeping mission, as its decades-long instability drags on. We discuss the country's humanitarian crisis with Nelleke van de Walle from the International Crisis Group; Amavi Akpamagbo, the director of Save the Children in Congo; and Dominique Hyde, UNHCR's director for external relations.

Travel author Sarah Stodola has dug into the culture and cascading effects of beach resorts, and the toll they take on the environment and local communities. She tells us about her new book The Last Resort: A Chronicle of Paradise, Profit, and Peril at the Beach.

How is Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan being received by the people there — and will it inflame tensions with China, even making a confrontation more likely? Guest host Peter Armstrong talks to Wen-Ti Sung, a lecturer in the Australian National University Taiwan Studies Programme; and Lynette Ong, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

Bruce Springsteen fans are facing exorbitant, fluctuating prices for his new tour — all thanks to a system known as dynamic pricing. Guest host Peter Armstrong discusses how it works and how to protect consumers with Bonnie Stiernberg, the managing editor at Inside Hook; and lawyer Sam Weinstein, an associate professor of law at Yeshiva University.

Myanmar's military regime has executed four pro-democracy activists, and dozens more could face a similar fate. We discuss the executions and calls for the international community to act with Shoon Naing, a senior correspondent for Reuters Myanmar; and Damien Kingsbury, emeritus professor at the Deakin University in Australia.

The Earth's forests are at risk from climate change, but conservationists have not given up hope. Guest host Anthony Germain discusses efforts to save endangered trees from extinction with Wesley Knapp, chief botanist at the biodiversity conservation NGO Nature Serve; and Alessandro Cescatti, co-author of a recent study published in Nature that looked into how tree resilience to climate change is declining to critical levels.

In his book Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom, legendary journalist Carl Bernstein takes us back to his days as a 16-year-old copy boy in a Washington newsroom. We listen back to our conversation from February, where he tells us about his love of newspapers, what he learned from writing obituaries, and going to work on the day John F. Kennedy was killed.

Later in life, residential school survivor Dennis Saddleman discovered a talent for poetry that helped with his healing. In a special podcast not heard on radio, he tells us his story of becoming a word warrior, and shares some of his poetry.

Pope Francis's “pilgrimage of penance” makes its final stop in Iqaluit today. Our correspondent Falen Johnson tells guest host Anthony Germain what she's seen, and heard from survivors, as the trip has progressed.

We take a deep dive into the salmon farming industry with Catherine Collins and Douglas Frantz, journalists and co-authors of Salmon Wars: The Dark Underbelly of Our Favourite Fish; and put some of the concerns to Tim Kennedy, president and CEO of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, an organization that represents salmon farmers.

Climate protesters are resorting to stronger tactics to highlight what they see as government inaction, such as interrupting the Tour de France or gluing themselves to famous paintings. Guest host Anthony Germain talks to Emma Brown of Just Stop Oil, a coalition of climate activist groups; and Roberta Lexier, a professor who researches social movements and activism at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

We talk to Dr. Anthony Fauci about the COVID-19 pandemic, the lessons he learned from the fight against HIV/AIDS, and what the world needs to do to get rising monkeypox cases under control.

Thousands lined up to attend mass with the Pope in Edmonton Tuesday; our correspondent Falen Johnson was there to talk with them. Then, guest host Anthony Germain discusses the papal apology and what comes next with Anishinaabe writer Riley Yesno, a fellow at the Yellowhead Institute at the Toronto Metropolitan University; Mohawk activist and artist Ellen Gabriel; and Jesuit priest Ricardo da Silva, an associate editor at America Media, which is a ministry of the Jesuits of Canada and the United States.

In Saskatchewan, a group of roughly 1,000 people pooled together their government rebates to kickstart a fund to buy more than 600 hectares of grasslands — and preserve them for future generations. We talk to Marc Spooner, lead organizer of the group Field of Dreams.

Guest host Anthony Germain talks to Falen Johnson in Edmonton about how the papal apology is being received by survivors.

On Monday a series of shootings in Langley, B.C. were initially described by police as targeted at homeless people. We talk to CBC reporter Jessica Cheung about the ongoing investigation; plus hear from homeless advocate Kim Snow, and Tim Richter, the president and CEO of the Alliance to End Homelessness.

Pope Francis has arrived in Canada, to expectations around a long-awaited apology and questions about what might come next. Our papal visit correspondent Falen Johnson joins Matt Galloway from Edmonton.

U.S. restrictions on abortion are leading to medical dilemmas around miscarriages, as physicians and patients weigh up the risk of criminal penalties against the risks of curbing care. We talk to high-risk ob-gyn Dr. Erika Werner; and law professor Kimberly Mutcherson.

We listen back to our January conversation with Canadian author Lawrence Hill, about the joy and challenge of writing his children's book, Beatrice and Croc Harry, and how he tackled big social issues for young readers.

Hockey Canada has come under fire and had its funds frozen after an alleged sexual assault and out-of-court settlement. The House of Commons has asked for an independent investigation into how Hockey Canada handled that allegation and others, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called what happened unacceptable. Guest host Ducan McCue speaks with TSN senior correspondent Rick Westhead, who first broke the story, and Julie Macfarlane, a distinguished professor emerita of law at the University of Windsor, and the co-founder of Can't Buy My Silence.

In recent years, some people with visual impairments have regained partial sight with the help of a "bionic eye." But now, the company behind the implants has stopped supporting the technology. In a replay from March, we hear how that's left some people in the dark, from Eliza Strickland, senior editor at the tech publication IEEE Spectrum, and Jennifer Chandler, a professor of law at the University of Ottawa's Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics.

The Spix's Macaw, a bright, blue parrot from Brazil, was declared extinct in the wild over 20 years ago. But scientists have been breeding the birds in captivity and have finally reintroduced them back into their natural habitat. Biologist Tom White, technical advisor for the rescue project, discusses how the bird was brought back, and evolutionary biologist Tori Herridge shares the ethical questions that need to be considered for such a project.

Author Oliver Milman says insect populations are facing a collapse, and that's bad news for Earth's entire ecosystem. We listen back to our February conversation with Milman, about his book The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World.

Days away from Pope Francis's arrival in Canada, guest host Duncan McCue talks to Papal visit spokesperson Neil McCarthy about how organizers are trying to get as many survivors as possible to events, and our correspondent Falen Johnson discusses the expectations — and concerns — among Indigenous communities.

A dam in the Brazilian city of Mariana collapsed in 2015, submerging dozens of homes in toxic waste, killing 19 people and displacing hundreds. Now a court in the U.K. has agreed to hear a $6bn-dollar lawsuit against the Anglo-Australian mining company BHP — which co-managed the dam. We hear from Jonathan Knowles, one of the plaintiffs in the case; Tom Goodhead, a lawyer with P.G.M.B.M., the British law firm behind the lawsuit; and Catherine Coumans, research coordinator and Asia-Pacific program coordinator for MiningWatch Canada.

Phil Fontaine has spent decades calling for the Pope to apologize for residential school abuses — but the former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations says the work isn't over yet. He talks to guest host Duncan McCue about that work, ahead of next week's papal visit to Canada.

Hundreds have been killed by rival gangs in Haiti this year, as the country experiences fuel shortages, food insecurity and intensifying violence. We discuss how to stabilize the country with Jean-Gilbert Ndongo, the medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Haiti; and Monique Clesca, a journalist, human rights activist and member of the Commission for a Haitian Solution to the Crisis.