Front Burner

Alex Shephard, senior editor at The New Republic, is on Front Burner to break down a few of the big developing news stories coming out of the Trump administration in recent weeks.

He talks to host Jayme Poisson about Elon Musk’s exit from the White House, U.S. President Trump’s war with Harvard, and where we are right now with the on again, off again tariffs as they get kicked around the courts.

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

The use of generative AI has become rampant on college and university campuses across North America. KPMG - who surveyed over 400 Canadian students about this in the fall — found that around 60 per cent use AI models like ChatGPT in their assignments.

James Walsh recently wrote a piece in New York Magazine called Everyone is Cheating Their Way Through College, where he spoke to dozens of students, professors, and administrators about the AI cheating surge, and how it’s ratcheting up a debate about the future of the higher education system in North America.

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

The Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act – also known as Bill 5 – aims to fast track mining projects in Ontario and gives the government the power to create 'special economic zones' that would grant the government the power to exempt companies from still-unspecified laws.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has framed these measures as necessary to protect the province against the threat of Donald Trump's trade war. But the sweeping power it affords the government has Indigenous groups, the Civil Liberties Association and more sounding the alarm.

Mike Crawley is a senior reporter with CBC News covering Ontario and he's here to break down the bill, the controversy around it and whether 'cutting red tape' is really the answer to the economic threat posed by Donald Trump.

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

For the third time in Canadian history, the head of the British monarchy delivered the throne speech before ushering in a new session of parliament. It comes at a time when Canada could use some help protecting its sovereignty in the face of threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

But how does this moment fit in with King Charles’ reign so far, which has been marked by political turmoil, royal rifts, calls for reparations and cutting ties with the British monarchy? We break it all down with Ellie Hall, a freelance reporter and former official royal correspondent for BuzzFeed News. 

Listen to Power & Politics' exclusive interview with Prime Minister Mark Carney here: https://link.mgln.ai/E5RqMr

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

Last June, during the first presidential debate of the 2024 U.S. election campaign, Joe Biden stumbled and struggled to find the right words. His performance was described as disastrous and incoherent.

At that point, many Americans had already come to the conclusion that Biden was too old for the job. But for those who hadn't yet, the debate was the moment that fact became impossible to deny.

Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again is a new book that investigates Biden’s cognitive and physical decline in recent years, and the attempt by a small group of loyalists and family members to keep it from public view.

Journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson did over two hundred interviews with lawmakers, White House officials, and campaign insiders for it.

Despite the reporting, Joe Biden continues to reject concerns about his age. His recent diagnosis of an aggressive prostate cancer has brought his health back into the spotlight.

Today on Front Burner, Axios’ National Political Correspondent Alex Thompson on his new book, and the political consequences of Joe Biden’s decline.

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

Donald Trump’s 'Golden Dome’ is a proposed defense program that will feature the use of space lasers, satellites and interceptors designed to provide 24/7 space based defence. It’s advertised as a bulwark against missiles and nuclear attacks from the likes of China, North Korea and Russia. 

Mike Stone is a Reuters reporter covering the U.S. arms trade and defense industry and joins the show to discuss Donald Trump’s trillion dollar sci-fi inspired project, Canada’s potential involvement, and its implications for the global arms race. 

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

On May 25th 2020, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes. The whole thing was caught on video and once it got out, it set America on fire. Protests spread across the country and then the world. Promises of sweeping changes to policing and greater commitment to racial justice and equity were made.

Fast forward to now, five years later, and the outlook is very different. There are more Americans killed at the hands of police, DEI initiatives have been rolled back and President Donald Trump is taking actions to give police more power.

We talk to Minnesota Attorney General, Keith Ellison, about calls to pardon Derek Chauvin, the current state of policing and racial justice and where America could be headed.

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

It’s been a year and a half since the R&B singer Cassie Ventura first accused hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of rape and repeated physical abuse over the course of their decade-long relationship. Those initial allegations unleashed a torrent of accusations from others, more than 70 sexual assault lawsuits, and federal raids of his homes.

Now, Diddy’s high-profile criminal trial is underway in a Manhattan court. He faces charges of sexually trafficking three women, as well as transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Today, the BBC’s Nada Tawfik takes us inside the trial to learn what the court has heard so far from Cassie and other witnesses, and how the prosecution is trying to build their case that this was not simply a story of domestic violence, but of sex trafficking and racketeering.

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

Today on the show is historian Timothy Ryback. Timothy is an author and writer with The Atlantic. He’s the director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation in The Hague. 

Last year he published ‘Takeover’ which documents the ways Hitler and his enablers in the German establishment cleared the pathway to Nazism through constitutional means.

He’s on the show to discuss - what he refers to as the “disturbing echoes” between Nazi Germany and contemporary America. Particularly between Adolf Hitler and US President Donald Trump.

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

Hundreds of people filled a banquet hall in Calgary last week to hear from the Alberta Prosperity Project, a group that wants Alberta to separate from Canada.

They're trying to drum up support for a petition and earn enough signatures to trigger a referendum on separation in 2026.

One of the reasons the petition is picking up steam is because Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party has just passed legislation that would lower the bar for holding a referendum vote.

Jason Markusoff is a producer and writer who covers Alberta politics for the CBC. He speaks to host Jayme Poisson about Smith's latest political moves, including the backlash, as well as the separatist movement itself.

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