The Current

Because of Donald Trump, John Irving, the bestselling author is refusing to go to the United States to promote his latest novel, Queen Esther — but he thinks you should read it so you can understand and empathize with the plight of others

Our national affairs panel breaks down today's big vote in the House of Commons: With the Conservatives, Bloc Quebecois and NDP all finding reasons to vote it down, is there a risk this government falls and the country is thrust into another election? Plus, the Prime Minister will hold a call with Canada's premiers who are pressing for more details about the halted Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. We sift through it all with CBC's Chief Political Correspondent Rosemary Barton, Stephanie Levitz of the Globe and Mail and Ryan Tumilty of the Toronto Star.

We're in the last week of the climate summit in Brazil, where misinformation and disinformation are a key focus of the conference. It comes against the backdrop of the grim forecast that emissions are not going down quickly enough to avoid climate disaster. We talk to Katharine Hayhoe, Canadian climate scientist and professor in the Department of Political Science at Texas Tech University, about the moment we're in right now in the fight against climate change and whether people are disengaging from the issue.

Oyster farmers on Prince Edward Island are stressed. Many have been pulling up more and more dead oysters in their catches. Two parasites are threatening the species and farmers are calling on the federal government for help. We talk to Justin Palmer, the co-owner of JP Oysters near Tyne Valley, PEI.

As the prime minister unveils Ottawa's second list of “nation-building” projects, he continues to signal the direction he wants Canada to take when it comes to boosting the economy and meeting climate commitments.

The host of Fareed Zakaria GPS has a theory about the MAGA movement — it was probably inevitable. In his book Age of Revolutions, he argues that the kind of rapid technological and social change we've been experiencing over the past 30 years almost always leads to backlash. He spoke to Matt Galloway in front of a live audience at the Rotman School of Management.

Children's author Robert Munsch is donating his personal archive to his hometown library because he doesn't want it stored in some dusty room. He wants the public to get their hands on it, says Guelph Public Library CEO Dan Atkins.

Hannah Alper spent much of her teenage and young adult life sharing her location with her friends. But as the years went on, she began to feel it crossed a line and felt more like surveillance than it felt like a kind of care.

After the loss of two MPs, we speak to conservative strategists about Pierre Poilievre's leadership style, and if he should change it. Regan Watts, Erika Barootes, and Ginny Roth, join Matt Galloway.

House Democrats released emails from the convicted sex offender, shining a new light onto the relationship he had with President Donald Trump. The BBC's North America Correspondent and co-host of the Americast podcast Anthony Zurcher joins Matt Galloway to talk about what's in the emails and the pressure building on the White House to release the full Epstein files

Lyse Doucet, Canadian journalist and the BBC's Chief International Correspondent, takes us inside the Intercontinental Hotel in her new book: The Finest Hotel in Kabul, A People's History of Afghanistan. The hotel is an Afghan landmark that has seen every chapter in the country's history, and so has its staff. She explains why their stories matter, what they teach us about the country -- and how she hopes these kinds of narratives can help the rest of the world care about Afghanistan.

Alexandra Samuel spent the better part of a year taking often helpful advice and direction from an artificial Intelligence bot who she named Viv. Alex came to realize that her personal relationship and sometimes dependency on Viv was dangerous, because Viv had no capacity to understand or feel the uncomfortable parts of being human that are in fact the very essence of being human.

Experts are warning the global spread of an evolving H3N2 strain could mean a difficult influenza season at home, with flu cases now on the rise in Canada. We speak with an infectious disease doctor about why it's important to get the flu shot, despite a possible mismatch, and to a public health official about regaining the public's trust around vaccines.

Got bad phone habits? We know being on our phones too much isn't good for us, especially for kids. Yet we all keep scrolling and scrolling and scrolling. Kaitlyn Regehr, author of Smartphone Nation, explains how our devices are designed to be addictive, and shares practical, effective tips for what parents can do to help kids build healthier habits.

Claire Cameron has been obsessed with bears since hearing about a bear attack while she was working in Ontario's Algonquin Park as a teenager. But when she was diagnosed with cancer, Cameron revisited the details of that attack and the wilderness environment that's shaped much of her life. She tells Galloway about her new memoir How to Survive a Bear Attack, and what facing death taught her about how to live.

Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs joins Matt Galloway as the G7 foreign ministers meeting gets underway in Ontario's Niagara region. She defends Canada's approach to relations with the U.S. and policy of engagement with countries like India and China.

Lester Harper was a farmer from Pouce Coupe, British Columbia, who found himself on the frontlines of the First World War, in France. Now a new book tells his story, based on hundreds of pages of letters he sent home to his wife Mabel. Brandon Marriott, historian and author of Till We Meet Again, explains how Harper felt about the punishing conditions at the front, the staggering number of men who were killed, and his own brave actions in battle

Fighting with your kids over packing a lunch, or worrying about scraping together lunch money could be a thing of the past. The Canadian government has pledged to make a National School Food Program permanent, but not all school boards are putting those funds to lunch, opting for snacks and breakfast programs instead.

Sudan's paramilitary force has agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. that could bring some relief to the country that's been gripped by conflict for over two years. The Sudanese Armed Forces has not weighed in yet. The UN is calling the conflict one of the worst humanitarian crises of the century. We talk to Professor Kahlid Medini, the Chair of African Studies Program and the Director of the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill about what more Canada should be doing.

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.

In Vancouver's Lower Mainland, a dealer known only as "Jay" sold drugs to teens, making drop-offs right next to their high schools and homes, offering free "goodie bags" of Xanax and other drugs. When Julie Nystrom discovered her 17-year-old daughter was hooked on counterfeit pills from Jay, she went to the police. The cops told her that they needed names, details, so she decided to take matters into her own hands and hired a private investigator.

Prime Minister Mark Carney's latest federal budget includes a proposal to explore Canada's participation in Europe's biggest song competition: Eurovision. This annual competition sees countries battling for the top spot through musical performances. But not all Canadians are singing along. We're joined by historian and unofficial Eurovision expert Tess Megginson to unpack what Eurovision really is and what it could mean for Canada to join the show.

Budget 2025 promises generational investments but the housing measures are less than the Liberals promised in the election. We speak to the federal Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson about why they've scaled back their plans and what it means for people who are still priced out of the market — and the role immigration plays in Canada's housing crisis. We also speak with a labour economist about whether the federal government's plans to dial back the number of temporary residents coming to Canada by 43% from the target in 2025 is the right approach — and an immigration lawyer about how these cuts impact refugees

12 points to kill a Russian soldier, 40 points to blow up a Russian tank — These are some of the points rankings in a new incentive program for Ukrainian drone operators, who can now compete for points against other units and cash their points in to buy new weapons. Ukrainian officials say this program is helping maintain motivation in a war that is coming up to four years, but others have questioned the ethics of equating points to lives and incentivizing killing.

Sleep is essential for good health yet millions of Canadians struggle to get enough of it — and many turn to melatonin for assistance. A new study raises concerns on a possible link between long-term melatonin use and heart failure. But is there really a cause for concern? Sleep specialist Dr. Elliott Lee from The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre breaks down why insomnia might really be the bigger risk and how to get a good night of sleep.

Like racking up spending on a credit card, Ottawa can't keep adding to the debt forever. That may not spell trouble today. But eventually the country will have to get back on track — or become more and more vulnerable, say economists

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.

What happens if you cross ChatGPT with a Roomba vacuum? Turns out it spins into a comedic doom spiral and then rhymes to the lyrics to musicals. Researchers at a startup in San Francisco recently did an experiment where they gave a simple task to robots powered by large language models, known as LLM's, like ChatGPT. And let's just say things did not go well. Julie Bort, an editor for the tech publication TechCrunch covered this experiment and explains what went wrong, and what this says about the future of AI powered robots.

Our national affairs panel weighs in on the biggest political stories of the day. Prime Minister Mark Carney released his first federal budget. Presented as a "generational" budget that is pro-growth -we look at where the Liberals say they are making new investments, and where they're making cuts. We break it all down with CBC's Chief Political Correspondent Rosemary Barton, Stephanie Levitz of the Globe and Mail and Ryan Tumilty of the Toronto Star.

Hockey scouts live a vagabond life — driving from rink to rink, watching minor hockey games in big and small towns across Canada. Their job is to find a diamond in the rough...a young player who might have what it takes to make it to the big leagues. We talk to Sportsnet anchor Ken Reid about his new book, the Next One, pulling back the curtain on how scouts work, and what makes them tick.

Zohran Mamdani is mayor-elect of New York City. But this win reflects only one part of a wider Democratic Party civil war. New York Magazine writer Simon van Zuylen-Wood believes that the Democratic Party is in the middle of picking a new path — but is it through Mamdani, or is it something else?

Tempers flared in a jam-packed meeting in Richmond, BC last week. Mayor Malcolm Brodie held a public information session to answer questions about the potential impact of a BC Supreme court ruling on a Vancouver suburb. We speak to the Cowichan Tribes chief negotiator - and legal experts - about the significance of the decision and whether Aboriginal title and fee simple title can co-exist.

As Prime Minister Mark Carney unveils his much anticipated federal budget, the rising cost of food is top of mind for many Canadians. We'll hear from Canadians struggling to make ends meet and ask a food economist what policy tools the federal government has to control grocery costs.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear the challenge to Donald Trump's use of emergency tariffs. But Canadians probably shouldn't hold their breath waiting for the court to come to its rescue, says Atlantic writer and lawyer Paul Rosenzweig.

Women use exclamation marks way more than men — and worry a lot more about it too! That's according to a new research paper co-authored by Cherly Wakslak of the University of Southern California! She says the results allowed her to fully embrace her love of the punctuation mark!

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.

Longtime Nashville Predator Jordin Tootoo is the subject of a new documentary, Tootoo. The film highlights his life in the North, his struggle with substance abuse and how the serenity he felt on the land in Rankin Inlet was matched only by the peace he felt playing hockey.

Doctors are calling a new law passed by the Quebec government draconian and anti-democratic. The bill, which changes how doctors in the province will be compensated, is being defended by Quebec Premier François Legault. The Premier says the changes are going to improve access to healthcare in the province. Doctors in Quebec disagree — and say the new law is only going to make things worse.

He may be known as ‘the little guy from Shawinigan', but Jean Chrétien's impact on his hometown has been anything but small. And at 91, the former prime minister seems far from slowing down. In this exclusive documentary from The House, host Catherine Cullen travels to Shawinigan, Quebec to spend the day with the former prime minister. She learns about how the small city shaped his political career, what he'd say if he was in a room with Donald Trump, and his fiery take on Albertans who want to separate from the rest of Canada.Politics these days can seem like one big shouting match. On The House, Catherine Cullen cuts through the noise. Every Saturday she makes politics make sense, taking you to Parliament Hill and across Canada for in-depth interviews, documentaries and analysis of the week's news. More episodes of The House are available here: https://link.mgln.ai/nLqBQW

Trade with the United States can seem dicey these days. Is more trade with China the answer? Or an even bigger risk?

If you love a good scare, perhaps a haunted house is in your Halloween plans — like the ‘Haunted Hike' in Vegreville, Alberta. It's a nightmare-fueled experience staged in a building that was originally a creamery. But, this isn't your usual kids haunted house — this one bills itself as Alberta's scariest. So scary that some visitors are peeing their pants! We talk to the owners and creators, Jagger and Dawson Glowatsky about what it takes to create the scariest haunted house of the province.

We all make a lot of assumptions about food, and healthy eating — including the idea that if you just make different choices, you can avoid obesity, or take the weight off. Turns out it's not so simple. We talk to health journalist Julia Belluz, and research scientist Kevin Hall, co-authors of a new book called Food Intelligence, to dig into the science of what we eat, why we eat it, and how changing our food environment may be the key to a healthier future.