Front Burner

 Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the street in Israel, demanding a return of all remaining hostages in the custody of Hamas. The demonstrations are the largest seen in the country since the start of the Israel-Gaza war. 

We take a closer look at the changing nature of public opinion currently driving these protests in Israel, and why calls for a ceasefire are complicated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu's war aims. 

Our guest Dahlia Scheindlin is a political analyst, pollster, author, and columnist for Haaretz and The Guardian based in Tel Aviv.

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

Since 2022, Jagmeet Singh's New Democrats have backed Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government with a confidence and supply agreement where the NDP would support the Liberals on confidence votes in exchange for the Liberals passing some of the NDP's policy priorities, like dental care and paid sick leave.

That deal came to an end on Wednesday with an announcement from Singh, leaving the Liberals in a much more vulnerable position and opening up the possibility of an election as soon as this fall.

Brian Platt, who covers Canadian politics for Bloomberg, explains the NDP's reasons for breaking up with the Liberals, why they've chosen to do it now, and why it could — but doesn't necessarily — mean an election well before September 2025.

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

As part of Premier Danielle Smith’s plan to dismantle the provincial health authority, Alberta Health Services, the first of four new replacement agencies began operating this week.

Last month, Smith also talked about transferring some hospitals away from AHS to third-party health services. And with a government grant, a private company is developing a business case for a health services “campus” in Airdrie.

So why does Smith want to divide up the health care system when other provinces are struggling to unify theirs? What role does she see for private companies in the system? And is her vision of “competition” in health a solution or threat for Canadian care?

CBC Calgary producer and writer Jason Markusoff is back to explain.

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

The B.C. United Party has suspended its election campaign and encouraged supporters to join forces with the Conservative Party of B.C., with the aim of bringing together the right-of-centre vote ahead of next month's provincial election.

This is a dramatic turn of events given that the two parties' leaders – Kevin Falcon of B.C. United, and John Rustad of the B.C. Conservative Party – were bitter rivals.

Rob Shaw covers B.C. politics for CHEK news and Glacier Media. He explains the dramatic reversal, how it came to be, and what this shifting political landscape might mean for the upcoming election.

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

If you’ve ever been to Newfoundland, you know it’s a place where fog can envelop you so deeply, you don’t know where you’re going or where you came from. When two men, born in the same rural Newfoundland hospital on the same day, discover an unbelievable 52-year-old secret, it changes the way they see themselves forever. But this isn’t the end of the story. Because it turns out these men are not alone. A series of other close calls and near misses have begun to emerge, and not only at Come by Chance hospital. Come By Chance is a story about what it means to belong in a family — and how a twist of fate can upend the life you thought you knew. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/hdwP5zJ3

It's hard to overstate just how big a global phenomenon Oasis were at their peak in the mid '90s, but it wasn't just the music that made them compelling — it was the rock star antics and dramatic love-hate relationship between Liam and Noel Gallagher, the brothers who fronted the band and wrote the songs, respectively.

After years of mini-breakups and potshots at each other in the press (and fistfights in real life), they disbanded seemingly for good in 2009. But now, after 15 years, they've announced they're getting back together for a run of shows in the U.K. and Ireland.

Steven Hyden — culture writer at Uproxx and Oasis superfan — and Paolo Hewitt — music journalist and author of two books on the band, "Getting High: The Adventures of Oasis," and "Forever the People: Six Months on the Road With Oasis" — join guest host Jonathan Montpetit to explain why, when nostalgia reunion tours are a dime a dozen, this particular one is such a big deal.

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

On Wednesday, Telegram founder Pavel Durov was charged in France with a wide range of crimes related to illicit activity on the app. His detainment is part of an ongoing investigation by French authorities into the social media app. 

Telegram, with its more than 900 million users, often offers a window into what’s happening on the ground in countries where state censorship is rampant. At the same time, it can be a haven for hate speech and criminality because of the app’s encryption and lack of content moderation.

Durov’s arrest has already lit up a firestorm of debate on whether tech leaders are accountable for what happens on their platforms. Tech journalist Chris Stokel-Walker looks at what Telegram has come to represent, the scrutiny of its founder, and what this case might tell us about the limits of free speech online.

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

Robert Land Academy is a “military-style” school in Wellandport, Ontario. Since it opened in the 1970s, it’s used military-like structure and uniforms in a bid to mould struggling boys into confident, capable citizens.

But last week, The Walrus contributing writer Rachel Browne published a piece with former students' allegations that they experienced violence, sexual abuse and racism at the school. The school maintains it has a zero-tolerance policy regarding corporal punishment.

Today, Browne details the promise of Robert Land Academy, the allegations of overlooking abuse she heard from students, and takes a big picture look at how parents struggling for help with their kids has led to a booming ‘troubled teen industry’ in North America.

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

Liberal ministers are hunkered down in Halifax right now for their annual end-of-summer cabinet retreat. It’s a chance for the party to get together and set the agenda ahead of the fall session of parliament. But this year, a shadow hangs over the retreat, as the party contends with dismal polling numbers, calls for leader Justin Trudeau to step down, and the looming reality of a general election that’s at best a year away.

Today, JP Tasker, a senior reporter with the CBC’s parliamentary bureau, speaks to us about how the Liberals are trying to reverse their fortunes, the changes people are calling for from inside the party, and whether or not they’ve got enough time to turn things around.

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

Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Earlier this month, Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe warned the provincial and federal governments that his city was facing a public transit funding crisis. He says that at this rate, the city won’t have enough money to run the light rail lines currently under construction.

From Metro Vancouver to Toronto, we’re seeing similar issues in major cities across Canada.

These cities are dealing with what planning experts call a “transit death spiral”. When ridership drops, they can’t keep up with the costs of the current system that commuters rely on, let alone the big projects that could attract new riders.

David Cooper is the founder and principal of the Canadian transportation planning firm, Leading Mobility. He co-wrote a recent report on the state of transit funding in Canada’s biggest cities.

David talks to guest host Jonathan Montpetit about just how dire the situation is and what solutions are on the table.

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

Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.