Front Burner

Last week, NASA revealed five images from the James Webb Space Telescope which gave the sharpest look at the universe’s cosmic history. The images, which showed stunning visuals of orange and red gasses, spinning galaxies and dying stars, are the first to show in detail what the universe looked like billions of light-years away.

The telescope, which was launched last December, is a collaboration between NASA and the European and Canadian space agencies and is designed to be successor to the older Hubble Space Telescope. Scientists and viewers alike have been in awe of these images.

Today on Front Burner, we unpack the enormity of these visuals, what they mean for space research and why so many are emotional over these images with science writer Shannon Stirone.

The notorious former Hells Angels boss Maurice "Mom" Boucher died of cancer on Sunday. He was serving a life sentence in prison. Before being convicted, he was at the centre of the violent biker wars that took place in Quebec in the 1990s.

Today on Front Burner, we discuss this vicious chapter in Canada's history and how Boucher made a name for himself. Julian Sher, an investigative journalist and a former producer at the CBC's Fifth Estate joins us. For years, Sher covered the biker wars and Boucher's role in them. He's co-written two books on the Hells Angels in Canada and around the world.

The recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had secured constitutional protections for abortion in the country for nearly 50 years, raises questions about whether something similar could happen here.

Canada has its own historic Supreme Court ruling that protects abortion rights: R. vs. Morgentaler. It still stands. But is it ironclad? Or could it be overturned, too?

Today on Front Burner, we explore the history of abortion rights in Canada, just how protected they really are, and how much sway the anti-abortion movement has here. We talk to Kelly Gordon, an assistant professor at McGill University and co-author of the book, The Changing Voice of the Anti-Abortion Movement: The Rise of Pro-Woman Rhetoric in Canada and the United States.

The global rise of Uber's ride-sharing service — and the subsequent crushing of taxi services in many countries — has largely been portrayed as an inevitability. But a trove of 124,000 leaked, confidential documents reveal ruthless dealings inside the company as it expanded across the globe, and suggest that its rise was far more than an organic product of market forces.

The "Uber files" — first leaked to the Guardian and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists — show how the company broke laws, secretly lobbied governments, and put drivers at risk as it climbed to the top.

Today, we're diving into those files with the Washington Post's Doug MacMillan and with CBC reporter Frédéric Zalac, who looked at what the documents expose about Uber's dealings in Canada.

At one point, a majority of Americans had confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court, and many viewed it as a fundamental part of the country's democracy, one that could rise above partisan politics.

Now, polls indicate that confidence in the institution has sunk to an all-time low. Recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court — currently composed of six conservative and three liberal-leaning judges — are viewed as increasingly politicized. Those include the overturning last month of the landmark abortion rights ruling Roe v. Wade, but they also include cases that could have major impacts on climate change, the separation of church and state, and American democracy as a whole.

Today, we take a look at those cases — and to what extent Americans now see the Supreme Court as legitimate — with Rhiannon Hamam, a public defender in Texas and a co-host of the podcast 5-4.

A massive network outage at Rogers Communications shut down mobile and internet services across much of Canada.

Millions of people found themselves offline, but the widespread impact of the outage also meant business owners couldn't process debit card payments and many 911 services couldn't receive incoming calls.

The mass disruption has put Canada's telecommunications sector under the microscope. Three companies dominate the market and underpin some of the most basic services that are relied upon across the country.

Today, Ben Klass, a member of the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project, explains the stranglehold that Rogers, Bell and Telus have on Canadian telecommunications and what, if anything, can be done about it.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was known as a "Teflon" leader for his ability to withstand scandal after scandal.

But after surviving "Partygate'' and a slew of other missteps, Johnson finally met a scandal he couldn't outrun.

Johnson said on Thursday he would step down as prime minister after more than 50 of his own government officials resigned. But he's also pledged to stay on until a new Conservative leader is chosen.

Today, the New Statesman's Rachel Cunliffe explains what finally led to Johnson's downfall, what his resignation speech really means and what it all says about the state of British democracy.

A scandal's brewing in the Conservative leadership race. Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has been disqualified from the race over allegations that his campaign broke financing rules. But he's denying these claims, and accusing the party establishment of corruption in favour of rival candidate Pierre Poilievre.

Today, Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos on the latest in the increasingly messy race to lead the Conservative Party.

Health-care workers are calling attention to a crisis unfolding in Canadian emergency rooms.

Staff shortages and a lack of hospital beds are causing long waits, shortened operating hours and even temporary ER closures across the country. Meanwhile, workers say more patients are coming in for problems neglected during the pandemic.

Patients' stories are dramatic. Two weeks ago in Red Deer, Alta., a woman with abdominal pain said she waited six hours to get an ultrasound, and was told to find her own way to another hospital to have her appendix removed. In May and June in St. John's, the wife of a man with Alzheimer's says he waited 20 nights in emergency before getting a hospital bed.

Today, a conversation with a veteran emergency physician about the new and long-standing factors stretching Canadian ERs to the limit. Dr. Brian Goldman is the host of CBC's White Coat Black Art and the author of The Power of Teamwork.

What a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and eight CHL players reveals about an organization plagued with allegations of systemic abuse.

After settling a multi-million dollar lawsuit with a sexual assault complainant, Hockey Canada is facing mounting scrutiny. High-profile sponsorships are in jeopardy and the federal government is freezing funding until a parliamentary committee investigation gets to the bottom of what happened.

The lawsuit brought forward by a woman, now 24, alleges she was sexually assaulted by eight Canadian Hockey League players — including former world Junior players — in a London, Ont., hotel room after a gala. The suit was quietly settled in May for an undisclosed amount of money.

Today on Front Burner, a conversation with Katie Strang, a senior investigative writer with The Athletic about the details of the case, and what it will mean for Hockey Canada, accountability and sexual assault.