Long wait times and the never ending battle to connect with a healthcare professional is a reality most people know all too well. Especially for the 6.5 million Canadian residents who do not have a family doctor. It’s a problem that has existed for years because it isn’t easy to solve.

Dr. Jane Philpott is the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University. She is a family doctor, the former Minister of Health and recently published a new book, Health for All: A Doctor’s Prescription for a Healthier Canada. Dr. Philpott is on the show to talk about her ‘hopeful’ vision for primary care in Canada.

Former health minister Jane Philpott’s plan to save health care

Context is everything. Join us Monday to Friday for a Canadian daily news podcast from The Globe and Mail. Explore a story shaping our world, in conversation with reporters, experts, and the people at the centre of the news.

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In the last few years, artificial intelligence has gone from a novelty to perhaps the most influential technology we’ve ever seen. The people building AI are convinced that it will eradicate disease, turbocharge productivity, and solve climate change. It feels like we’re on the cusp of a profound societal transformation. Fifteen years ago, there was a similar wave of optimism around social media: it was going to connect the world, catalyze social movements and spur innovation. It may have done some of these things. But it also made us lonelier, angrier, and occasionally detached from reality.

Introducing: Machines Like Us

The celebrated Canadian author Alice Munro died on May 13. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013 as a “master of the contemporary short story,” and the Man Booker International Prize in 2009.

On today’s show, members of The Globe newsroom share their reflections on Alice Munro’s life and work, and columnist Marsha Lederman joins to talk about Munro’s impact and legacy.

Alice Munro, remembered

As the U.S. election looms, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s team is getting ready for both possible outcomes: a Biden re-election and a second Trump term. They are assembling a team of officials to remind American politicians about the importance of free trade across our borders.

Adrian Morrow is The Globe’s U.S. correspondent based in Washington, D.C., and he explains who is on this so-called Team Canada, and how their strategy works.

How Ottawa is preparing for a possible second Trump term

Hydrogen fuel is sometimes called the fuel of the future, and it’s being used in a number of ways around the world. The rail giant CPKC is trialling a new hydrogen train in Alberta, that it hopes can replace diesel-fuelled freight locomotives in delivering goods across the continent.

The Globe’s Alberta and energy reporter, Kelly Cyderman, joins us to discuss hydrogen trains, how they work, and how this development might lead toward a greener Canada.

Hydrogen trains might be the future of Canadian rail

Canada is in the midst of a primary-care crisis. 6.5 million Canadians don’t have reliable access to a family doctor, and some jurisdictions are turning to nurse practitioners to fill the gap. Alberta recently announced a program that would make it possible for nurse practitioners to receive public funding to establish a practice, although it comes with its conditions and concerns from other organizations.

The Globe’s national health reporter, Kelly Grant, walks us through the role nurse practitioners have in providing primary care, how they’re funded, and Alberta’s new plan to address the shortage of primary-care providers.

Former health minister Jane Philpott’s plan to save health care

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