Front Burner

On Monday, Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced from Puerto Rico that he would be stepping down. He’s been unable to return to Haiti since January, because heavily armed gangs have shut down the airport and taken over much of the country.

Today, Haitian reporter and editor-in-chief of AyiboPost, Widlore Merancourt, explains what it’s like on the streets of Port-au-Prince, what the gangs want, and whether more foreign intervention is really the answer.

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.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favour of a bill that could lead to the forced sale or nationwide ban of TikTok in the U.S. To become law, the bill still needs to pass the U.S. Senate, and that’s not guaranteed.

All of this has massive implications for the social media platform’s 170 million users in the U.S, and millions more around the world, including here in Canada.

Today, NPR tech correspondent Bobby Allyn on the arguments for and against the bill, how realistic a forced sale or ban would be, and what all this might mean for TikTok’s users.

Kate Middleton is one of the most photographed people in the world. But for months she’s been out of the public eye, recovering from what Kensington Palace says was abdominal surgery.

However, many people are not buying that everything is fine with the Princess of Wales. Bizarre choices by the palace’s PR team have only fueled speculation — like releasing a photo of Kate that major new agencies refused to use because it appears to have been manipulated.

So what’s really going on?

Ellie Hall was the official royal correspondent for BuzzFeed News until it shut down, and she’s going to help us unravel the mystery.

March break, one of the busiest travel times of the year, just started in Ontario. 

It’ll kick off across much of the country in the next few weeks. Chances are, if you’re flying out, you’re probably worried about something going wrong. It seems like everyone has a horror story about delays and cancellations, extra fees or tiny seats.

Today on Front Burner, author and law professor Ganesh Sitaraman on how air travel became such a frustrating and unpleasant experience for so many, and whether there’s a solution in sight. Sitaraman is the author of Sitaraman is the author of Why Flying Is Miserable and How to Fix It.

Orlan-10 drones are arguably one of Russia’s most important assets on the battlefield. Which is why the West has sanctions in place to keep the tech needed to build the drones out of Russian hands.

So why do hacked emails show that a Russian arms dealer was seeking out parts made by Canadian tech companies? And how are Western parts ending up on the frontlines of Russia’s war with Ukraine?

Today, Ben Makuch shares his CBC investigation.

Pierre Poilievre does not hide how he feels about Canadian mainstream media. His numerous, testy exchanges with reporters earn lots of online traction.

Is the relationship between Poilievre and the media different from politicians that came before him? When Poilievre takes on reporters, who is he talking to?

Today we explore those questions with journalist and author Paul Wells.

Ottawa homicide detectives are on the scene at a home where 6 people, including 4 children, were found dead.

U-S President Joe Biden will deliver the annual State of the Union address tonight.

Dozens of bodies are being stored in freezer containers outside of a St. John's hospital as families struggle to meet the costs of burials.

Since 2019, questions have swirled around why two scientists, originally from China, were marched out of a high-security infectious disease lab in Winnipeg. They were later stripped of their security clearances and fired, in a case that has raised suspicions about Chinese espionage, and prompted calls for the Liberal government to release more information.

Now, at least some questions have been answered. Last week the federal government released hundreds of documents, largely from Canada’s spy agency, CSIS, about the scientists’ dismissal. The documents contain revealing insights — but also leave many questions unanswered, putting further pressure on the government to allow a deeper investigation into this story.

Today CBC reporters Karen Pauls and Catharine Tunney join us to dive into the revelations in these documents, the political firestorm they’re causing, and what questions remain unanswered.

The legal proceedings between ex-spouses Johnny Depp and Amber Heard made nonstop headlines in 2022 — and online discourse at the time seemed to be overwhelmingly in favour of Depp. The tweets in particular caught the eye of investigative reporter and Tortoise Media editor Alexi Mostrous. They seemed to be part of a coordinated effort to smear Heard. And the closer he looked, the weirder it got.

What's the connection between that trial, Johnny Depp’s friendship with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, and a legion of Twitter bots for hire? Mostrous, who hosts the new podcast Who Trolled Amber?, walks us through his investigation and what it says about whether you can ever really trust what you read online.

Gaza health authorities say 118 people were killed and 760 people were injured while trying to get food staples like flour from aid trucks on Thursday, after Israeli soldiers opened fire.

The Israeli military claims most people were killed in a stampede of people around the trucks, but accounts from witnesses and medical workers say most of the victims were shot.

So what precipitated this deadly search for aid? How close is Gaza to famine? And what would it take to get food to the people there who are starving?

Yarden Michaeli explains. He’s a reporter with Haaretz based in Tel Aviv. 

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.