The Current

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The Victoria group lending an ear to strangers May 28, 2026

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Sidewalk Talk in Victoria is a community listening group that’s on a mission to help people in the city foster human connections and a sense of belonging. We chat with one of the group’s volunteers about why talking with strangers is so important and how being a good listener is a skill that needs to be practiced.

Will a US-Iran deal happen? May 27, 2026

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There were reports on the weekend about an imminent deal to end the U.S. war with Iran — but those hopes were dimmed by fresh airstrikes Monday. What’s happening with talks between Washington and Tehran? And what does it mean for the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon? Guest host Catherine Cullen talks to Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent for The Economist; and Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, D.C.

Why this Ebola outbreak could be "catastrophic" May 27, 2026

Show notes

The World Health Organization's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is outpacing response efforts to contain the virus. We speak with Dr. Craig Spencer, an emergency physician and public health professor at Brown University, who contracted Ebola while treating patients in west Africa in 2014. He says the dismantling of US aid and CDC response teams have hampered efforts to detect and contain this latest outbreak.

If the apocalypse is nigh, do you want a text alert? May 27, 2026

Show notes

Artist and coder Kyle McDonald has created an apocalypse early warning system. It tracks billionaires' jets to see if they are fleeing to their private doomsday bunkers. If the end really is upon us, it won't save you. (The super rich will probably be toast too.) But he hopes the social commentary it provides might make you feel less helpless and nudge you to do something about the mess he says we're in.

Is Canada headed towards a national unity crisis? May 26, 2026

Show notes

Prime Minister Mark Carney is warning Albertans voting Yes to holding a second referendum on separation is a "dangerous bluff." Our national affairs panel looks at how the ballot question is impacting Alberta and the rest of the country.

What we can learn from the resilience of trees May 26, 2026

Show notes

For the past four decades, world renowned biologist Nalini Nadkarni has risked her life studying trees. In 2015, she fell from a 50-foot bigleaf maple tree in the Olympic Peninsula. She tells The Current host Matt Galloway what her recovery from that catastrophic fall taught her about resilience and trees.

Are there too many A+ students? May 26, 2026

Show notes

Harvard University recently capped the number of As received by undergraduates in an effort to curb grade inflation. In Canada university admission averages have been climbing for years. There's been a surge in A+ high school students. Do grades still reflect merit? We hear from Christopher DeLuca, professor of educational assessment at Queen’s University, and Darja Barr, a senior instructor in mathematics at the University of Manitoba who has studied the connection between high school grades and achievement in first year university.

Farmers vs AI data centres (guess who won?) May 25, 2026

Show notes

There's an AI data centre boom in Canada. Advocates say they're necessary for Canada's sovereignty and prosperity. Critics say they're noisy and terrible for the environment. In one Alberta community, a group of farmers fought an AI data centre and won. We speak to writer and journalist, Luc Rinaldi, who wrote about this fight and one of the farmers at the heart of it.

Why trust in police is eroding May 25, 2026

Show notes

For police officers, trust is key. But in places like Ottawa, the greater Toronto area, and Winnipeg, investigations into the police are eroding that trust. A look at what's been happening with police and what it could take to get that trust back.

Are antidepressants overprescribed? May 25, 2026

Show notes

About six million Canadians fill prescriptions for antidepressants. And now, SSRI’s are coming under increasing scrutiny with a push to curb psychiatric drugs in the United States.. We discuss the latest, evidence-based research on depression about what we know - and don’t know - about its causes, and whether the drugs prescribed to treat it are still the best option.

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