Jayme sits down with Nobel laureate economist, Daron Acemoglu, a professor at MIT, and one of the leading thinkers about labour, politics and technology. 

He’s the author of the best-selling book “Why Nations Fail” and the forthcoming work “What Happened to Liberal Democracy?”. They talk about the decline of western liberal democracy, the alienation of the working class, AI, and more.

This was a live conversation at a summit put on by OCAD and Toronto Metropolitan University called the Democracy Xchange.

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

During the spring, farmers around the globe work to get the seeds and enough fertilizer in the ground to maintain the growing season. If that doesn't happen, food prices spike and farmers could face lower crop yields. 

That is very much at risk of happening right now because of the Strait of Hormuz’s closure. About a third of the world’s seaborne fertilizer goes through the strait and prices have skyrocketed. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warns that this could lead to a global food catastrophe. Marcia Brown covers food and agriculture for Politico. She’s here to explain.

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

U.S. President Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, following diplomatic talks in Washington. This follows an intense period of violence, in which more than 2100 people have been killed in Lebanon, including a Canadian citizen.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has condemned Israel’s actions in Lebanon, which he characterized as an illegal invasion. CBC’s Evan Dyer says that’s a major change from how Prime Ministers Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau spoke about Israel. He discusses why that change came about, and what it says about how Carney views Canada’s place in the world.

Clarification (May 4, 2026): This episode references a man killed in a strike in Lebanon. The specific nature of that strike should have been attributed to the victim's family.

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

The energy crisis spurred by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz is wreaking economic havoc on much of the world; especially in Asia and Europe, where shortages have already forced people to ration fuel, travel less for work, and pay more for food. 

And it could all get even worse, because this week, after ceasefire talks fell apart, the Trump administration imposed a blockade of its own. Now, as both countries play a high stakes game of chicken on the Strait, many questions remain. What ships can and can’t be allowed through? Will the blockade actually pressure Iran to capitulate? How much worse could this crisis get? We’re joined by Ian Ralby, a leading expert in international maritime law and security. 

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

Pope Leo has once again criticized the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, saying “I don’t think the message of the gospel is meant to be abused in the way some people are doing, and I will continue to speak out loudly against war.” 

This is not the first time the pontiff has criticized Trump's behaviour and policies.

Trump responded with a Truth Social post calling the Pope “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy”. Trump later posted and deleted an image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure. Reporting also suggests Trump officials issued a veiled threat involving military force against the Vatican.

Today, we look at the President and the Pope’s competing visions of the world. Our guest is Christopher Hale, a democratic political operative and author of the Substack ‘Letters from Leo’ which focuses on the intersection of Catholicism and U.S. politics.

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

With last night’s byelection wins, Prime Minister Mark Carney is now leading a majority government. But after five floor crossers joined the Liberals, spanning from the NDP to the social conservative wing of the Conservative party, there are questions around what exactly that government stands for.

Aaron Wherry is a senior writer with CBC’s parliamentary bureau. He’s here to talk about how a majority will change things for the Liberals, and what Carney’s big tent looks like.

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

After a fourth Conservative MP crossed over last week, the Liberals are now only one seat shy of an official majority. And with two out of three byelections taking place today in safe Liberal ridings, it’s widely expected that Mark Carney and the Liberals will get their majority government after the results come in.

Tonda MacCharles is the Toronto Star’s Ottawa bureau chief. She’s here to talk about the challenges facing Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whether he can keep his caucus in line, and if there’s a case for pushing him out now.

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

After six weeks of war and a fragile ceasefire Iran is going into high-level talks with the U.S. battered but defiant. Whether any kind of real agreement can be reached remains to be seen. The U.S. and Iran are extremely far apart in their demands.

Vali Nasr is a professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University and the author of “Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History”. He joins us to talk about why Iran’s leadership remains steadfast and what the war has meant for its domestic and international standing. 

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

By the end of the day on Wednesday, the tenuous ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. was already being tested. 

Israel continued to bomb Lebanon heavily, and Iran attacked Gulf countries. There was confusion over whether the Strait of Hormuz was open or not. 

And then there are the larger questions. What was the real cost of this war? Who came out on top?

Today on the show The Economist geopolitics editor David Rennie is here. He also talks about the shape of this deal and whether it resolves any of the big issues that existed before the fighting started.

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

Today on the show we are going to talk about a grave threat made by U.S. President Donald Trump towards Iran where he wrote that unless the Strait of Hormuz is opened up “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

It set off a whole day of worried speculation. Could this mean the obliteration of Iran’s energy grid and water plants? A nuclear strike? Or could it be some incredibly high stakes bluster in search of an off-ramp?

On Tuesday evening the picture got marginally clearer when Trump said he’d extended his self-imposed deadline by two weeks.

Alex Shephard from The New Republic is back on the show. He joined us before Trump’s deadline extension offer, and the conversation remains very helpful.

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