For weeks, most of Shanghai’s 26 million residents haven’t been able to leave their apartments, due to a strict lockdown meant to curb a massive COVID-19 outbreak.

There have been reports of food and medicine shortages, of unsanitary conditions in the city’s giant quarantine facilities, and of authorities forcibly separating parents from children who test positive. All of which is leading to rare public displays of anger against the government.

Today, Reuters reporter Engen Tham joins us to explain what life has been like in Shanghai, why China is sticking to its “dynamic zero COVID” strategy, and where things could go from here.

Almost nine months ago, an investigation was launched into the Jan. 6 insurrection, and recently some of the people closest to Donald Trump have testified, including his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner.

But after hearing from more than 800 witnesses a few key questions remain — will the former U.S. president be called to testify? What happened to almost eight hours of missing phone records? Will this now move to the Department of Justice?

Today on Front Burner, we talk to congressional reporter for Politico, Nicholas Wu, on the major revelations of this committee so far, what’s left to learn and where it all goes from here.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney addressed United Conservative Party members at a special general meeting on Saturday and made his pitch to stay on as party leader. UCP members can begin voting via mail-in ballot on the future of Kenney’s leadership this week, with results expected May 18. But the lead-up to this vote has been rife with party infighting.

Today, Maclean's Alberta correspondent Jason Markusoff explains what’s preceded this leadership review, the discontent within the UCP and why Kenney may have reason to be concerned regardless of the outcome next month.

If you're sitting in the West, listening to Western politicians, the Ukraine-Russia war has a pretty clear narrative: Russia is the aggressor and should be sanctioned to the fullest extent, in solidarity with Ukraine. But how does the rest of the world view this war?

Much of the Global South and some of the most powerful nations in the world, like China, India and Brazil, don't see the war in black and white. They're refusing to sanction or officially condemn Russia over the invasion. Why aren't they taking a side and what does that mean for how this war can end?

This week on Nothing is Foreign, we speak with two geopolitical experts on the tightrope these countries are walking and whether we're witnessing a reordering of power among the biggest players on the world stage.

Featuring:

Swapna Kona Nayudu, associate at the Harvard University Asia Center and Indian foreign policy expert.

Chidochashe Nyere, post-doctoral research fellow at the Institute of Pan-African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg.

The Liberals’ new budget doesn’t come with the hefty price tag of last year’s plan for pandemic recovery. But it isn’t thrifty either, pledging about $31.2 billion in net new spending over the next five years — mainly for housing, defence, and climate change.

Today, CBC’s host of Power and Politics Vassy Kapelos joins us to break down the big-ticket items in the government's new spending plan, and look at whether it will help make life more affordable for Canadians.

Last week, a group of current and former Amazon workers in New York’s Staten Island accomplished what some of the biggest unions in the United States could not: they organized Amazon’s first successful union vote in the country.

The battle isn’t over yet: in a statement, Amazon said it is weighing whether to file objections.

But today, we speak to Chris Smalls, interim president of the newly-formed Amazon Labor Union, about how he sparked a movement that succeeded where others have failed — and where that movement is headed next.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party won their fourth consecutive victory in Sunday’s election, even after a historic effort by opposition parties to come together and defeat the autocratic leader.

Today, Justin Spike, Budapest Correspondent for the Associated Press, explains how Orbán has held onto power, changed Hungary, and what his latest victory could mean for the future.

Long before federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault was leading the file in Canada's fight against the climate crisis, he was an activist — some might even say a radical one, most famous for scaling the CN tower in 2001 to bring attention to climate change.

Now, he's the architect of the Liberals' latest plan to dramatically curb greenhouse gas emissions. It's Guilbeault's first big move in his new role, and it's getting a lot of attention — by those who think it goes too far, and those who think it doesn't go far enough.

Today on Front Burner, we're talking to environmental writer Arno Kopecky about Guilbeault, the move from activist to politician and how his new climate plan measures up to expectations.

Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine met in Turkey last week to discuss an end to the ongoing hostilities. Since then, Russian attacks have continued and Ukraine has brought forward new allegations of atrocities committed by Russian troops.

Disturbing images have emerged from Bucha, a town outside Kyiv, showing charred streets and bodies left in the open. Residents say civilians were killed by Russian troops, and Ukraine’s foreign minister has called it a “deliberate massacre.”

BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams joins Front Burner to explain the latest out of the war in Ukraine, what’s on the negotiating table and whether a deal is possible amidst the devastation.

The demands are growing in Jamaica to get Britain to pay up and offer reparations for slavery. Anti-monarchy sentiments, protests and calls for reparations made for an uncomfortable visit for Prince William and Kate through the Caribbean last week.

Jamaica's prime minister said the Commonwealth realm is looking to "move on" from the monarchy and become an independent republic. One of its most urgent demands — reparations for slavery — has been decades in the making but is now gaining momentum as more Jamaicans say the intergenerational trauma of slavery has shaped the nation in a way that must be rectified.

This week, Nothing is Foreign takes a closer look at Jamaica's push for reparations, the long legacy of resistance against colonialism in the country, and the Royal Family's connection to the slave trade.

Featuring:

Matthew J. Smith, professor of history and director of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery.

Bert Samuels, lawyer and member of Jamaica's Reparations Council.