Front Burner

The Trump administration is increasingly conflating communism and the political left, casting them as threats to American national security.

The rhetoric is beginning to take institutional form. The administration has directed federal agencies to investigate networks it says facilitate political violence, convened an international summit on so-called “far-left” terrorism, and published a report placing prominent American activists, politicians and organizations within a broader narrative of foreign communist influence.

For some, the parallels to an earlier period of American history - the Red Scare - are difficult to ignore.

Today historian Ellen Schrecker, author of Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America, joins us to examine the history of the Red Scare and whether it’s repeating itself.

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

Today, the Gordie Howe Bridge is set to officially open to the public, connecting Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan. 

Its ceremonial opening on Friday was a one-sided affair. It was originally supposed to be a joint ceremony with U.S. officials, but that was cancelled after President Donald Trump announced his plans to hit Canada with a new whack of tariffs. 

That’s just one of the many bumps in the road to getting this bridge open.

CBC Windsor reporter Emma Loop has been reporting on the Gordie Howe Bridge for years. She talks about the long journey to the opening, and how it represents the Canada-U.S. relationship writ large.

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

As part of the federal government’s AI strategy, hyperscale data centres are being built across the country with many more projects being proposed. But, communities are pushing back, and it’s capturing the attention of local governments.

Projects in Ontario, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan have been the subject of protests and petitions for moratoriums. A recent Angus Reid poll reported that 68 per cent of Canadians object to a data centre being built near them.

As Prime Minister Mark Carney pushes an agenda of digital sovereignty and AI expansion, we look at how Canadians are responding to the rapid construction of data centres, and the risks AI poses to the environment and local communities.

Paris Marx joins us. He is a tech journalist and the host of the podcast, Tech Won’t Save Us. He’s got a book coming out this October called 'Hyperscale: The Ambition and Excess of Big Tech's Data Empires.'

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

On Wednesday morning, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to bomb one Iranian bridge or powerplant every time a ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz gets shot at. It’s yet more evidence that the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is over, after twelve days of renewed military escalation.

As the conflict wades into this next phase, we look at how things fell apart, the damage taken on both sides, and whether we're headed into endless war. 

Trita Parsi joins us. He is the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute and the author of several books about the U.S and Iran, including Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States.

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

On Wednesday morning, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to bomb one Iranian bridge or powerplant every time a ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz gets shot at. It’s yet more evidence that the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is over, after twelve days of renewed military escalation.

As the conflict wades into this next phase, we look at how things fell apart, the damage taken on both sides, and whether we're headed into endless war. 

Trita Parsi joins us. He is the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute and the author of several books about the U.S and Iran, including Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States.

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

On Monday night, US President Donald Trump signed orders to impose a 50 per cent tariff on a wide swath of Canadian goods ranging from hockey sticks to envelopes to Christmas decorations. The tariffs are scheduled to take effect on August 19th. Prime Minister Mark Carney says he spoke with Trump on Tuesday morning and that they have agreed to intensify negotiations in the coming weeks. 

Jayme Poisson speaks to trade expert Eric Miller about the significance of these tariffs and why they’re happening now. Miller is the president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group where his clients include critical mineral and potash companies. He’s also a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

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

It’s no secret that there are factions in the Conservative movement in Canada and that not everyone gets along. But over the last couple of weeks Conservative infighting has spilled out into the public with barbs in speeches, podcasts, and social media. 

Nick Taylor-Vaisey is the Ottawa bureau chief with Politico Canada. He breaks down the sniping and what it says about the state of the Conservative party.

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

In a nationally televised address last week, U.S. President Donald Trump repeated claims about fraud and foreign interference in the 2020 election and announced the release of declassified documents he says reveal a government cover-up.

But with the midterms approaching, there remains much concern that Trump's speech, and his years-long conspiracies, aren't really about the election he lost but the midterm elections still to come.

David A. Graham is a staff writer at The Atlantic who has reported extensively on the threats facing American elections. He joins us to examine Trump's latest claims, the evidence behind them and whether the U.S. president is laying the groundwork for America's next election crisis.

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

As the planet heats up, wildfire seasons are getting worse. Wildfires have caused mass destruction to homes and community infrastructure in Collins First Nation. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their communities across Northern Ontario. Fires continue to rage across the country.

Even those of us living in cities, safe from the flames, are feeling the effects. Toronto briefly had the worst air quality in the entire world this week, which led to government warnings to limit time outside, cancelled World Cup screenings and shutdowns of public pools. And it’s more than a nuisance. The Canadian Climate Institute estimates that wildfire smoke is associated with about 2,500 premature deaths per year across the country.

David Wallace-Wells is a climate journalist and author of The Uninhabitable Earth. He joins us to talk about what it means that wildfire smoke is becoming a more regular part of our lives, and its place in the larger battle for clean air around the world. 

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

Recently, in the U.S., there’s been a wave of self described democratic socialists running for and winning elected office.

There is the improbable case of Zohran Mamdani who won his New York mayoral campaign. But there are other high profile races where establishment incumbents are being unseated by much younger insurgents. From Denver to New York, Washington D.C. to Seattle.

Even here in Canada, NDP leader Avi Lewis is a long-time self-described democratic socialist. 

According to new Gallup polling, “socialism” is officially viewed more favourably among democratic voters than “capitalism.” It’s a big shift from where we were not too long ago. 

So what exactly is democratic socialism? How does it differ from socialism, communism, or social democracy? Why has it returned now? And what does its resurgence reveal about this hour of history?

Bhaskar Sunkara is the president of The Nation magazine, founder and editorial director of Jacobin, the former Vice-Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America and the author of books including ‘The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality.’

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