Stay ConnectedYour essential daily news podcast. We take you deep into the stories shaping Canada and the world. Hosted by Jayme Poisson. Every morning, Monday to Friday.
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It’s been one year since Chinese officials in Wuhan confirmed they were treating dozens of cases of a mysterious pneumonia. Since then, we’ve watched the world transform as this new novel coronavirus accelerated into the COVID-19 pandemic, killing more than 1.6 million people and infecting more than 75 million. Today, CBC senior health writer Adam Miller and host Jayme Poisson look back on the long year of COVID-19.
Three years ago, if you were one of the women who had been victimized by Keith Raniere, the man seemed untouchable. Raniere was the leader of the cult-like self help group NXIVM. On October 27th, that all changed. In a U.S. federal courtroom, Keith Raniere was sentenced to 120 years—having been convicted of a slew of crimes. During the trial and sentencing, victims came forward about how the self-professed empowerment “vanguard” had turned some of his followers into sex slaves and branded them with his initials. Josh Bloch investigated Raniere in his podcast UNCOVER: Escaping NXIVM. He joined Jayme to break down the case. This is an encore of their October conversation.
This holiday season, economists are watching how Canadians spend to see how deeply the pandemic has changed the way we shop, save and even give to charity. But differences in consumer spending have nothing on the tremendous amount of money the federal government continues to spend to get the country through the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the protests of deficit hawks, a growing movement says we can shed our old worries about the federal debt. In fact, modern monetary theory argues that since we control our own currency, the government can create more money and never go broke. Today, an encore of our examination into this controversial idea and how it relates to Canada.
Concerns about deadly outbreaks at long-term care homes continue to be top of mind for many Canadians during this second wave of COVID-19. Today, an encore of a conversation we had with a man who went to incredible and potentially life-threatening lengths to visit his mother at her nursing home in Toronto. Back in April, with the facility on lockdown and a resident with COVID-19, there was only one way Brian Corcoran could visit and check-up on his mom, Margaret — get a part-time job on staff.
As 2020 comes to a close, we take a look back at the year in pop culture. From TV shows adjusting to the pandemic to the NBA bubble, Elamin Abdelmahmoud and Amil Niazi from the CBC podcast Pop Chat drop by to talk about what movies, TV shows, and music helped us make sense of this unprecedented year.
A new strain of coronavirus in the United Kingdom has triggered border restrictions internationally and in Canada. It’s also sparked many questions. Dr. Isaac Bogoch is an infectious diseases physician and a member of the Ontario government’s vaccine task force. Today, he shares his thoughts on the mutation and explains its potential impact on treatment and transmission of the virus — and even vaccine efficacy.
Suicide prevention lines are dealing with an enormous surge in calls, and crisis centres say COVID-19 is to blame. Crisis Services Canada says that calls between August and October increased 159 per cent compared to last year. That surge is being felt at distress centres across the country, including at the Crisis Centre of BC. Front Burner producer Elaine Chau takes us there and talks to two people who are working directly with people in crisis. ----------------------------- Where to get help: Canada Suicide Prevention Service: 1-833-456-4566 (Phone) | 45645 (Text, 4 p.m. to midnight ET only) | crisisservicescanada.ca
As the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine rolls out across the country, and other vaccines await imminent regulatory approval, many public health experts are focusing on the issue of vaccine hesitancy. Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam has spoken out about the "moveable middle" and says it is critical that as many people get vaccinated as possible to protect themselves and others from risk. But, since conversations about vaccines can be hard, today we're bringing in an expert to explain how to have more meaningful and productive discussions with people who have questions or fears. Maria Sundaram is an infectious disease epidemiologist who studies vaccines.
The Liberals released a new, long-awaited climate change plan last week that they say will meet Canada's commitments under the Paris Agreement and cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030. The plan includes $15 billion in federal investment and a gradual tripling of the carbon tax. Today on Front Burner, host Jayme Poisson asks Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson about the plan, whether it goes far enough, and who it risks leaving behind.
Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard was arrested Monday night in Winnipeg under the Extradition Act. He faces nine charges related to sex trafficking and racketeering in a New York court. You may remember that Nygard has already been accused by dozens of women across the globe of sexual assault, rape and human trafficking. While he has denied all allegations, these charges out of New York are the first criminal charges he will contend with. Today we are joined by Timothy Sawa. He's a CBC investigative reporter who has been covering this story for more than a decade and has a new CBC podcast about Nygard, Evil by Design, out this February.
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