As fighting in Gaza resumed, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued strong words of caution for Israel to obey international humanitarian law and to minimize civilian casualties. It was a significant shift in tone compared to the total support Blinken had delivered earlier in the war. And it’s a message that’s been echoed by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Are the long-time allies at odds over Gaza? What does strain in that relationship mean for the future of the war – and for the civilians caught in the middle?

Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East Correspondent for The Economist, explains.

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A bankruptcy deal for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma gave a legal shield to the Sackler family that ran the company. Now, a challenge to the settlement has gone to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Why are families of opioid victims split on whether they want the multi-billion dollar settlement to stand?

How could the ruling change who can get immunity from lawsuits in massive corporate settlements?

Why have the Boy Scouts of America and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops submitted briefs calling for Purdue’s deal to stand?

David Ovalle is a national reporter with the Washington Post focusing on opioids and addiction.

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

An earlier version of this episode stated that the movie Pain Hustlers was inspired by Purdue and Oxycontin. That film was based on a different company which also sold opioid based pain medication. We've corrected this episode to remove that error.

Prosecutors in New York accuse an employee of the Indian government of conspiring to assassinate a member of the movement to create an independent Sikh state. The plot was foiled in the U.S., but the indictment sheds light on murder that was carried out in Surrey, B.C., in June. CBC’s Alex Panetta details what we learned from the indictment, and what it says about India’s alleged assassination plans in North America.

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

Millions of Canadians will soon feel the impact of jumps in interest rates as their mortgages come up for renewal. In some cases, their payments could go up by 40% or more. 

What will happen to Canadians already struggling to make mortgage payments?

What could the impact be on real estate prices? 

And as banks set aside hundreds of millions more in reserves for bad loans, are there risks to Canada’s economy and financial institutions? 

Ron Butler, mortgage broker at Butler Mortgage and host of the Angry Mortgage Podcast, explains. 

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

On Wednesday, the federal government announced an agreement with Google over Bill C-18: The Online News Act. The tech giant had threatened to limit Canadians’ access to news on its platforms — similar to the one Meta imposed.

Under the deal, Google will pay news companies $100 million annually. But is it enough? Who got the better deal? And what does it mean for the future of journalism in Canada?

Alfred Hermida, a digital media scholar and professor at the UBC School of Journalism and the co-founder of The Conversation Canada, explains.

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

A spike in seismic activity and the imminent threat of a volcanic eruption in Iceland has displaced the town of Grindavik, located near the country’s famous Blue Lagoon and a massive geothermal power plant. We hear from Hanna Evenson who’s been going into the danger zone to rescue residents’ pets and Ragga Agustsdottir, the co-founder of Lava Show Iceland, about the challenges and benefits of living in a hotbed of volcanic activity.

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

Canada is betting big on electric vehicles. Ahead of COP28, we’re asking why the government is pouring billions of dollars into EVs, despite debate about the industry.

Just how critical is the switchover to electric vehicles? What does major investment mean for Canada’s ability to hit critical emissions targets. And what happens if we don’t make the move to zero-emissions vehicles fast enough?

Ottawa-based climate reporter for the National Observer John Woodside explains.

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Since 2020, state-level politicians in the U.S. have passed dozens of bills that LGBTQ advocates say are anti-trans. When it comes to defending these laws in court, states have been turning to an unlikely ally: Toronto psychologist James Cantor. He’s testified in more than 20 cases in the U.S. involving transgender issues.

Today on Front Burner, CBC investigative journalist Jonathan Montpetit on Cantor’s influence, and how his scientific expertise is being weaponized by conservative Christian groups and Republican politicians to roll back trans rights in the U.S.

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How did Israel and Hamas reach a deal that led to a brief pause in fighting and the release of dozens of captives on both sides of the conflict? Julian Borger, a Washington-based world affairs editor with the Guardian takes us through the tense negotiations.

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

On Tuesday, the federal government’s fall economic statement was overshadowed by this year’s deficit and Ottawa’s skyrocketing debt.

How did it get so bad? What does it mean for Canadians? And what’s the economic outlook in a climate of uncertainty?

Armine Yalnizyan, an economist and the Atkinson Fellow On The Future Of Workers, breaks it all down.

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.