Front Burner

When the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, much of the foreign aid to the country was suspended. Today, CBC’s Susan Ormiston tells us about what she heard on the ground about the looming humanitarian crisis.

After traces of fuel were confirmed in Iqaluit’s drinking water last week, the city has been under a state of emergency. Journalists Pauline Pemik and Jackie McKay explain what it will take to get the city’s taps flowing safely — for good.

CBC’s Margaret Evans tells the stories of a coroner, a mufti and a fisherman all living through a border crisis in northern Greece — a country taking steps to keep refugees out.

Cryptocurrency traders are relying on a stablecoin — a digital cryptocurrency backed with real-world assets — with ties to a Mighty Ducks star and the co-creator of Inspector Gadget. Today, we look at the search for the supposed billions of dollars backing its value, and what a shortfall could mean for the entire financial system.

Unearthed journals that were once the top-secret communications of the KGB — the Soviet Union’s secret police — shed new light on an early chapter of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s life, and give us a window into the dying days of the USSR.

As Canadian Catholic bishops say they will give $30 million to support survivors of residential schools, CBC’s Jason Warick explains why some are skeptical about the pledge.

Today Brian Hioe explains how Taiwan became a pawn in a global competition between China and the West — and what that means for the island’s people.

CBC’s Salimah Shivji takes a closer look at India’s farmer protests, where a fatal collision has ignited more anger in the 300-day standoff with the government.

Miami Herald reporter and author of Perversion of Justice Julie K. Brown on Ghislaine Maxwell’s upcoming trial — and her bombshell investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 plea deal that brought global attention to the case.

This episode originally aired on July 20, 2021.

After a major outage and stinging whistleblower testimony, NPR tech reporter Bobby Allyn breaks down Facebook’s bad week.