Her mother Mary's death left acclaimed Indian writer, author of The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy feeling "unanchored in space with no coordinates," even though she'd often been a target of Mary's wrath. Roy talks to Matt Galloway about her new memoir, "Mother Mary Comes to Me," revealing their fraught relationship, and how her mother's trailblazing character influenced Roy's writing.

Some Canadians are changing their travel plans and heading to international destinations outside of the United States. We speak with two Canadian snowbirds, one who decided to travel to Mexico, rather than make their annual trip to Texas. While another returned to their Florida home, but not without some hesitation, only to find fewer Canadians around. And we hear from Wayne Smith, the Director of the Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Research on the latest numbers,  what's driving them, and what that means for local economies.

The great Newfoundland satirist has been touring the country this fall, selling out theatres with his latest standup show. He joins us to reflect on the year in Canadian politics. Rick Mercer's Stand Up For Canada premieres Dec 28 at 9 PM on CBC TV and streams on CBC Gem.

Susan Orlean is the best selling author of seven books including The Orchid Thief and The Library Book, and has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992. On stage at the Vancouver Writers Fest, she talks about being curious about the world, and how that's led her to the most unexpected stories. She tells the stories behind her stories of the American Man at Age 10, being portrayed by Meryl Streep, becoming the patron saint of pandemic drinking, and why ending her marriage made her think of a tire driving over a nail. Her new memoir is titled Joyride.

Musicians Shad and Talia Schlanger join Matt Galloway for their picks of the best Albums of 2025.

An Alberta cattle producer has been steering his herd through years of drought and says it feels pretty good to have more 'jingle in his jeans' right now with record high beef prices. And a Winnipeg butcher says in spite of eye popping beef prices, his customers so far are still willing to fork over big bucks for the right cut. We speak with Sylvain Charlebois, a professor and senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, and a visiting scholar at McGill University about what’s fueling Canada’s soaring beef prices — and how that can change.

Long-time CBC Radio host Michael Finnerty shares how training as an apprentice cheesemonger in London's Borough Market nourished his soul, gave him a sense of purpose and helped him rediscover the power of community. He talks about his new book "The Cheese Cure"  while taking Matt Galloway on a tasting journey through the sampling of four Canadian cheeses.

Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi says the process towards peace he hoped to hear about on the ground in the West Bank and Jerusalem appears to be stalled. In Gaza, people continue to suffer as winter sets in.

Jimmy Lai is one of the most high-profile critics of Beijing and the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party.  Sebastien Lai is Jimmy Lai's son  He joins Matt Galloway to talk about his father’s fight for democracy as he faces life in jail.

Sasha DiGiulian spent nine days trapped on a ledge in a storm before becoming the first female climber to make up the famously difficult Platinum route on El Capitán.