Four more listeners make the case for their favourite vacation spots, hoping to win a place on The Current’s list of great Canadian travel destinations. Sandra Trask says that Cape Breton Island, N.S., is a place for everyone and every season; Lana Gauthier explains why her family fell in love with Basin Head Provincial Park, P.E.I.; Lisa Proulx shares what’s so special about Gros Morne National Park, N.L.; and Annette Barclay says you just have to visit Kouchibouguac National Park, N.B. You can see the full shortlist and vote for your favourite on cbc.ca/thecurrent.

The first wins and losses of next week’s federal election will be announced in Atlantic Canada, where the political landscape has shifted dramatically in recent months. Matt Galloway heads to Halifax to talk to CBC reporters Silas Brown, Peter Cowan and Taryn Grant about what voters want, as part of Crossroads: Coast to Coast with Canadian Voters. 

The bones of a massive blue whale will soon hang at Dalhousie University. Veterinarian Chris Harvey-Clark tells us what it took to salvage the whale that washed up outside Halifax, and what we still don't understand about the largest mammal on earth.

Pope Francis worked to be close to people right up to the final day of his life, says Jesuit priest and journalist Father Sam Sawyer. We look at how that focus on human dignity has shaped his papacy, from speaking out for refugees and the marginalized, to his apology for the conduct of some members of the Catholic Church in Canada's residential school system.

Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church since 2013, has died at the age of 88. Widely regarded as a progressive reformer, he sought to modernize the church and steer it away from rigid doctrine — making it more inclusive to the needs of the marginalized. Guest host Dave Seglins spoke to CBC’s Megan Williams and Christopher White of the National Catholic Reporter about the legacy Francis leaves behind — including his historic apology for Canada’s residential school system.

Ashley Casciato from Innisfil, Ont., says she’s struggling to make ends meet, yet still sees herself as middle class — and she’s not alone. With the federal election just a week away, many Canadians are feeling the pressure of a rising cost of living that’s putting homeownership and the traditional middle-class lifestyle increasingly out of reach. We explore how the definition of “middle class” is changing and what party leaders should do to make life more affordable.

With election day fast approaching and advance polls opening today, the race for leadership has reached a critical moment. Matt Galloway talks to CBC’s Rosemary Barton, the Toronto Star’s Ryan Tumilty and the Globe and Mail’s Stephanie Levitz — and unpacks how Liberal Mark Carney, Conservative Pierre Poilievre, the NDP's Jagmeet Singh and the Bloc’s Yves-François Blanchet fared in the campaign’s only English-language debate on Thursday night.

Journalist Chris Hayes says “attention capitalism” demands we pay heed to everything at once, from social media doomscrolling to the relentless pace of the 24-hour news cycle. In a conversation from March, the MSNBC host spoke with Matt Galloway about his new book, The Siren’s Call, which explores what living under constant information overload means for our lives and politics — and explains why he thinks U.S. President Donald Trump’s attention-grabbing antics are “a kind of feral instinct.” 

Everyone has certain words they struggle to spell, whether it’s stumbling on silent letters in words like “doubt,” or words like “fuchsia,” that just look very different from how they sound. In his new book Enough is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Eezier to Spell, Gabe Henry looks at how spelling reformers have long tried — and failed — to simplify English spelling.

Deep in the forests of Germany, a Canadian company is drilling deep into the earth to tap into geothermal energy, aiming to pump clean power into the electricity grid. The CBC’s Paula Duhatschek explains how it works — and whether geothermal energy could be harnessed in Canada.