Front Burner

Following years of speculation, this week U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi dismissed the existence of a long-rumored "Epstein client list," and reaffirmed that Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide.

This comes after months of hopes — in some quarters — that Trump would make good on his promise to reveal more details about the case and those involved in a powerful network surrounding the now-dead Epstein.

Trump's own vice president, J.D. Vance, wanted to know more. So did Elon Musk, who accused Trump of being in the so-called "Epstein files." 

Folks in the conservative media ecosystem are not taking this well. 

Vicky Ward is an investigative reporter and bestselling author who has been reporting on Epstein for years. You can read her work on Substack at Vicky Ward Investigates, and her most recent book, The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy, is out on Monday. 

Ward joins us to talk about the "Epstein files" and how the life and crimes of Jeffrey Epstein became one of the defining conspiracies of the 21st century.

The Dalai Lama has spent almost his entire adult life as a refugee from his homeland of Tibet. Fleeing Chinese persecution in the 1950s, he has built a nation in exile, striving to preserve Tibetan culture as not just the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, but as a global ambassador for his people's cause.

But he knows a transition is coming. On his 90th birthday this week, the Dalai Lama announced plans for how his successor will be chosen after his death. Since that successor will be a child, that means years of power vacuum that China is almost certain to capitalize on, including attempting to name a rival Dalai Lama of their own.

Mujib Mashal is the South Asia bureau chief with the New York Times. He explains what's at stake for the people of Tibet — and Asian geopolitics more broadly — in the coming power struggle when the Dalai Lama passes on.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Search efforts continue in central Texas after extraordinary flash flooding killed more than 100 people. As the death toll rises, questions are growing about whether local, state and federal authorities should have done more to warn residents, and help them get to safety.

The disaster is also placing fresh scrutiny on the Trump administration's enormous cuts to the federal bodies involved in disaster alerts and relief, including the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Many are wondering what this means for the next time disaster strikes.

Today we're joined by Emily Foxhall, a climate reporter with the Texas Tribune.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington this week, meeting with Donald Trump and senior members of the Trump administration, in a trip that could end in a Gaza ceasefire agreement expected to last 60 days. 

The critical questions revolve around Hamas’ attitude toward the repatriation of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages in their custody, and Israel’s hesitancy to agree to a deal that involves a permanent peace. 

Our guest is Meron Rapoport, a 35-year veteran of the Israeli news industry and was formerly the head of news at Israel's Ha’aretz newspaper. Today, he works as an editor at Local Call, a Hebrew language news organization operating in Israel.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The passing of Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill last week came with over a trillion dollars of cuts to Medicaid, kicking an estimated 12 million Americans off health insurance coverage by 2034. And it was passed with the blessing of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Widespread upheaval of the American healthcare system, including cuts to public health departments and medical research, is all part of RFK Jr.’s plan to further his Make America Healthy Again agenda. But how will MAHA, a movement that’s touted vaccine disinformation among other things, actually impact the health of Americans and the world? Nicholas Florko from The Atlantic joins us. 

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

After a long and very public trial, producer and music mogul Sean Diddy Combs has been found not guilty of the most severe charges against him.

On Wednesday he was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking, but found guilty on lesser charges - two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. This was widely considered as a huge victory for Diddy.

During the trial, prosecutors had accused him of running an extensive sex trafficking operation. And that he did so with the help of a network of employees.

Diddy's lawyers argued all the sex at issue in the case was consensual.

Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty is a BBC journalist and host of the podcast, Diddy on Trial. She talks to Elaine Chau about the verdict, what led to this win for Diddy in federal court, and what it might mean for the #MeToo movement more broadly.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Prime Minister Mark Carney made big promises to transform the Canadian economy, fast track national building projects and secure a trade deal with U.S. He also set Canada Day this year as a deadline for some key goals. How has he done so far and what are we learning about what he’s willing to do to make things happen?

Plus, where do trade talks stand now that Ottawa has dropped the Digital Services Tax, a major sticking point for their American counterparts? How has Pierre Poilievre been handling his time away from Parliament and the byelection race in Alberta? Catherine Cullen, host of CBC’s The House, joins us. 

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

For at least the last decade U.S. President Doanld Trump has discussed his desire to end the practice of birthright citizenship. On his first day back in office Trump passed an executive order looking to exclude the children of undocumented people from birthright citizenship completely: an action that was immediately challenged in lower courts across the country. 

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered Donald Trump a major victory, limiting the power of lower courts to challenge the President’s executive actions. 

Isabela Dias is an immigration reporter with Mother Jones, and has reported extensively on birthright citizenship. She joins the show to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court's decision, Trump’s changing definition of ‘citizen,’ and what the end of 160 years of birthright citizenship would mean for all American citizens. 

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The Outlaw Ocean is an anthology podcast that plunges you into the vast and often lawless world of the open seas. Today we're featuring an investigation from S2 called The repo man of the seas. 

In this episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ian Urbina joins Max Hardberger. Depending on who you ask, Max is either a seagoing James Bond or a swashbuckling pirate. Hardberger runs a rare kind of repo service, extracting huge ships from foreign ports. His company is a last resort for ship owners whose vessels have been seized, often by bad actors, and over the years he’s built a reputation for taking the kinds of jobs others turn down. Hardberger’s specialty is infiltrating hostile territory and taking control of ships in whatever way he can – usually through subterfuge and stealth. Whatever part of the world his missions take him, Hardberger thrives in its grey areas.

More episodes of The Outlaw Ocean are available here: https://link.mgln.ai/oo-FB

After a transformative 13 years, it was announced that the Toronto Raptors and longtime President Masai Ujiri would be parting ways. Across his time with the Raptors Ujiri became a figure central to Canadian and international sport — capping his time with the Raptors’ lone NBA championship in 2019. 

The years since then have been slower and gave way to a team in purgatory, as well as executive level disagreements about Ujiri’s place in the Raptors hierarchy. 

We sat down with Masai Ujiri in 2021 for a conversation about his career to that point. About revolutionizing basketball in Toronto, life after a history-making NBA title, his African roots, and his bid to internationalize the game of basketball.