The Current

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/vCRoV

The fight to save 400 ostriches from being culled at a B.C. farm where avian flu was detected late last year has attracted international attention — including from some big name supporters, including Dr. Oz and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. A member of the family that's owned the ostrich farm for 30 years tells Matt Galloway about why they have fought the cull order, while an immunology expert explains the risk the birds pose to public health.

Ukrainian drones smuggled deep into Russian territory carried out a stunning attack over the weekend — and just this morning, another underwater bombing by Ukraine took out Russia's bridge to Crimea. A journalist in Kyiv breaks down the military feat, and explains how much its boosted morale among Ukrainians.

Nothing beats a good book, especially at the cottage, by the pool — or even quietly at home with the kids away at camp. We ask two professional book lovers to share their tips for the best books of the summer, from beach reads and blockbusters to novels from Canada's finest.Ann Shea, from Mill Street Books in Almonte, Ont., chose One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune, The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes, How to Survive a Bear Attack by Claire Cameron, The Mind Mappers by Eric Andrew-Gee and My Friends by Fredrik Backman.Cassidy Tooley, from Mosaic Books in Kelowna, B.C., chose Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy, Favourite Daughter by Morgan Dick, The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad, The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig, and Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid.Have you read any of these books already? Hit play to hear the conversation and find out why our book lovers think you should!

As limited aid begins to enter Gaza after a months-long blockade, civilians are scrambling to access much-needed food and supplies. Gaza health officials say Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians trying to access aid in the past few days. A representative from Save The Children discusses the struggle to get aid to people who desperately need it — and about the humanitarian situation on the ground, which she says somehow gets worse every day.

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. In a conversation from March, she told Galloway about her new memoir How to Survive a Bear Attack, and what facing death taught her about how to live.

Mark Carney promised to “build, baby, build” on the campaign trail. Today, he's meeting with provincial and territorial premiers to discuss his plans to build big projects in this country, including by fast-tracking the processes to get them approved. We'll talk about balancing the rights of Indigenous nations with the new government's proposed plans — and why red tape isn't the only hurdle holding up development.

From climate change to poverty or infant mortality, the world is facing a lot of big problems. And the historian Rutger Bregman says you — yes, you — are the exact right person to solve them. Bregman makes the case to Matt Galloway that today's workforce should focus on “moral ambition” — channeling their entrepreneurial spirits toward social problems, rather than toiling in meaningless jobs

There are many statues of Canada's first Prime Minister across this country — but in recent years statues of John A. Macdonald have been toppled or taken down to protest his role as an architect of the residential schools system and his treatment of Indigenous people. We'll talk about what to do about the statues - and why the plans to clean up and uncover one John A. Mcdonald in Toronto is particularly controversial.

Thumb pulling, chin tucking, hair transplants…. and on the less extreme side, skin, hair, and eyebrow care — those are just some examples of looksmaxxing, a viral social media trend for young men to improve their looks. Elijah Forcier is a TikToker with advice on how, and Christian Ylagan is an instructor with the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at Western University, we talk about what these unrealistic beauty standards mean for young men's self-esteem — and masculinity in 2025.

Are you a self-identified “word nerd?” Jacques Bailly is, and he is a bit of a spell-lebrity… What is that you might ask? Well, he is the head pronouncer at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the Olympics of competitive spelling, and he was a spelling bee champion himself when he was 14. He'll talk about why spelling is a skill we should preserve in a world of spell check and AI — and put Matt Galloway to the test.

The wildfire season is in full effect, and it's only May. Saskatchewan and Manitoba are in a state of emergency as wildfires burn across the provinces. Thousands of people have evacuated their homes, and many are still finding ways to get out of the fire's way. First Nations leaders Peter Beatty, Chief of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in Saskatchewan and David Monias, Chief of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba explain how they are moving their communities out of danger when many exits are closed — and what worries they have for this wildfire season.

Noelle Drimmie could taste the smoke in the air as she and her family fled the wildfires approaching their home in Flin Flon, Man. She tells Matt Galloway how surreal it felt to drive away under apocalyptic skies, while trying to keep her young kids entertained in the back seat.

Democratic U.S. Senator Peter Welch recently came to Canada to try to mend fences, over what he sees as President Donald Trump's damaging tariffs and threats to make Canada the 51st state. The Vermont senator talks to Matt Galloway about the Canada-U.S. relationship — and military expert Christian Leuprecht digs into Prime Minister Mark Carney's plan for a defence deal with the EU, as a way to reduce Canada's reliance on the U.S.

The first time Laura Bordignon held her daughter Makayla Poppy was also the last. A month after Makayla Poppy was delivered stillborn, Laura and her husband Nick received an invoice for her autopsy. The bill included an itemized list of procedures, but also revealed their daughter's remains were still in the morgue — weeks after they should have been released. Laura and Nick share their story in Jodie Martinson's documentary Seven Months with Makayla, in the hopes of highlighting the errors that compound grief for the thousands of Canadian families who experience stillbirth every year.

Oji-Cree musician Aysanabee almost died when he was 19, after falling through the ice on a frozen lake. That experience changed the life of the Juno award winner, pushing him to his career today. A new study shows his experience is a common one among people who have near-death experiences. So why do a brush with death might help people have a better work-life balance — and how do we gain the same attitude without almost dying? Well, that's the question.

Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin is "playing with fire," following Russia's largest air attack of the war on Ukraine, Russia responds with a warning for World War Three. Christopher Miller, the Ukraine correspondent for the Financial Times joins Matt Galloway to talk about what's on the mind of Ukrainians after months of failed peace talks — and what Volodymyr Zelenskyy told him yesterday.

A little elvish toy in a bunny suit with a mischievous smile, that's a Labubu for you — and she, yes it's a girl, is taking the world by storm. What made Labubus so popular, and how are they bringing us together when people are fighting to get their hands on one? We have answers.

The search for alien life in space continues, but there is an update. Chinese astronauts discovered a bacteria, and it turns out it can survive the extreme conditions of space. “That's evolution at work,” says Jamie Foster, a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Cell Science at the University of Florida. What lessons should it teach us, and how can we use it to help us with future space missions, Foster explains.

Do you speak dolphin? What about marmoset or nightingale? Did you know cuttlefish use a form of sign language to communicate? If your answer was no to all those questions, you should know that scientists are working to turn that into a yes — and AI is playing a key role. How to decode animal communication, and whether that's even a good idea. Three animal communication scientists join us to talk it all through - human to human.

Running an ultramarathon is hard, but running 100kms six months post-partum and breastfeeding during breaks… Well, that sounds like a scene from an inspirational movie. But, for Stephanie Case, and her baby girl Pepper, it was real life. Why would she do this, and what keeps her running these extreme distances, she shares with Matt Galloway.

Parliament is back and King Charles delivered his throne speech today. What message is the King's speech meant to send to Canadians, and to one American in particular, Donald Trump? What are the new Liberal government's priorities? CBC's Catherine Cullen, The Globe and Mail's Stephanie Levitz, and The National Post's Christopher Nardi join Matt Galloway to talk about all that and more.

Normally, therapy sessions are totally confidential — but this podcast opens the doors. In this season of Other People's Problems, Dr. Hillary McBride explores the transformative power of psychedelics in a therapeutic setting.With her psychological expertise, Dr. Hillary leads her clients through drug-assisted therapy, guiding them to new heights on their healing journeys. Experience these real, unscripted sessions firsthand as they unfold in each episode.This season offers an unprecedented look at psychedelic psychotherapy, breaking new ground in the podcast space and demystifying this often misunderstood practice as a powerful tool in trauma recovery.More episodes of Other People's Problems are available at: https://link.mgln.ai/1RjPLj

The House of Commons returns today after nearly six months, Prime Minister Mark Carney with his new Liberal minority government, and Conservatives without their leader Pierre Poilievre in the Parliament. What's next? Matt Galloway speaks with Karina Gould, the re-elected Liberal MP; Heather McPherson, the re-elected NDP MP; and Andrew Lawton, the first-time Conservative MP about their parties' priorities, the challenges ahead — and how they can work together for Canada.

It's grilling season, and Chef on Fire has one thing on his mind: cooking on live fire — and he says you should try it too. Chef Michael Smith, in his new book Wood, Fire and Smoke: Recipes and Techniques for Wood-Fired Cooking, explores how cooking on live fire can bring more than just flavour into your life; lighting a fire for zen and a good time.

‘It is absolutely an act of compassion,' says Leonard Krog, the mayor of Nanaimo about the use of involuntary care to deal with B.C.'s mental health crisis — but some experts are worried that forcing someone into treatment is a violation of their rights. Matt Galloway speaks with Mayor Krog; Jonny Morris, the CEO of the B.C. Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association; and Dr. Shimi Kang, a psychiatrist with Future Ready Minds for their insight about how to provide care for mental health while protecting public safety — as Premier David Eby works to review the province's mental health legislation following the deadly Lapu-Lapu Day festival.

Michael Crummey has won the $154,000 Dublin Literary Award for his book The Adversary, which explores familiar themes around life at the ocean's edge. Matt Galloway spoke with the author at the Woody Point Writers Festival in Newfoundland in Sept. 2023, to discuss isolation, vulgarity and the responsibility that comes with telling the stories of home.

“Tourists go home," protesters chant in Spain, and they're not alone. People in many European countries say they want tourists to stay away — but only the bad ones. So as you plan your next vacation, we get some advice on how to be a better tourist.

“I did not see humanity provided to Mr. Floyd that day,” says Medaria Arradondo, the Minneapolis police chief at the time of George Floyd's murder. Five years after Floyd was murdered in an interaction with police officers Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, Matt Galloway talks to former police chief Arradondo and civil rights lawyer and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong about what has or hasn't changed — and where the Black Lives Matter movement stands in the U.S. today with Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

New details have emerged about the 2022 swarming attack that killed a homeless man in Toronto, after a judge ruled that strip searches conducted on the accused teenage girls were unconstitutional. Toronto Star crime reporter Jennifer Pagliaro walks us through what happened that night, and why this judge's ruling will affect sentencing.

Breanna Bromley-Clarke is the only student graduating from her tiny school in Main Brook, N.L. So the small town of about 200 people is throwing her a party — a very special prom for one.

Tanya Hansen Pratt was frustrated to hear of three children killed in a Toronto highway crash this week — she lost her own mother to a young drunk driver almost 30 years ago. With a 19-year-old now facing multiple impaired-driving charges, we dig into why young men still take the most risks on the road, and how to talk to them about drunk driving.

Do you have fond memories of Walking with Dinosaurs, the much-loved BBC series that aired back in 1999. If your answer is yes, you and all dinosaur lovers are in luck — it's coming back this summer, and Alberta is taking centre stage. Matt Galloway talks to Emily Bamforth, the lead scientist of the Pipestone Creek Bonebed in Alberta and a fan of the original series, about how she made her younger self proud — and why the dig is called the “River of Death.”

“A triumph of science, a miracle of medicine” is how researcher Fyodor Urnov describes the gene-editing treatment that saved baby KJ Muldoon's life. Now nine months old, KJ was born with a genetic condition called urea cycle disorder, which is fatal for many infants. Urnov was part of the research team supporting KJ's doctors, he tells us what gene-editing treatments could mean for others born with life-threatening conditions.

In an “extraordinary” development, the jury has been dismissed in the sexual assault trial of five ex-world junior hockey players. The Globe and Mail's investigative reporter Robyn Doolittle explains what a judge-only trial could mean for the case, and why the jury's dismissal means new details can now be reported

Managing money is always challenging, and it's even trickier when you're a teenager. In her new book Making Bank, Money Skills for Real Life, certified financial planner Shannon Lee Simmons offers advice for teens: from budgeting and saving for things you enjoy, to dealing with the constant wave of influencers trying to sell them something.

Canada, France and the U.K. are threatening sanctions against Israel over its 11-week blockade on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, and plans to escalate military action in the enclave. Matt Galloway talks to Jon Allen, former Canadian ambassador to Israel; and UNICEF spokesperson James Elder about the mounting international pressure on Israel — and what it might mean for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

China is still the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, but is now also leading the way in clean energy. Where does that leave Canada and other western nations in the renewables race, particularly in light of U.S. President Donald Trump's promise to “drill baby, drill”?

Have you ever thought of training your cat, just like you would your dog? Did you say no… or are you laughing in disbelief? A cat behavior specialist says you can, and explains what we are getting wrong about cats — especially about the ones with behavioural issues.

“Build baby, build” is how Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to tackle Canada's housing crisis, but his new housing minister says that won't mean reducing house prices. Matt Galloway asks housing experts to unpack the new Liberal government's strategy, and unpick the “Gordian Knot” of whether Canada can create affordable housing without prices dropping?

Rachel Phan was three years old when her parents opened a restaurant in Kingsville, Ont., a venture that quickly ate up most of their time and energy. In a conversation from last month, the Chinese-Canadian author discusses her new memoir, Restaurant Kid, and why she felt like the restaurant had stolen her parents away from her.

Wildfire season hasn't officially started, but Manitoba has already declared a state of emergency after a deadly blaze in Lac du Bonnet. Guest host Mark Kelley breaks down the fire forecast and top-of-mind questions with Ed Struzik, author of The Future of Fire, and climatologist emeritus David Phillips.