On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his chief of staff Katie Telford appeared before the House finance committee to answer questions about the government's decision to select WE Charity to run the federal government's $900-million student volunteer program. Earlier this week, WE co-founders Marc and Craig Kielburger also appeared before the same committee. 
The choice to select WE Charity for the program is also being investigated by the federal ethics watchdog because of Trudeau's ties to the organization.

Today on Front Burner, CBC Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos breaks down the prime minister's testimony, and brings us up to speed on the WE Charity controversy.

Trudeau, Kielburgers grilled in hearings on WE controversy

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Today we are joined by Beirut-based journalist Kim Ghattas, author of the bestselling book Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry that Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East. She is also a contributing editor at the Financial Times. 
 We’re speaking to Kim about the unprecedented, overt attacks exchanged this month between Israel and Iran — most recently an Israeli strike on Friday near the Iranian city of Isfahan.  
 Where is this dangerous tit-for-tat headed next, and what’s at stake? What do Iran and Israel’s leaders actually want here? And what does it mean for the wider region? 
 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.

After the airstrikes: Where do Iran and Israel go from here?

The single biggest election in the history of democracy is happening right now in India. Just shy of one billion people are eligible voters, but it's not just big from a numbers perspective. It's also being called one of the most pivotal elections in Indian history. 
 Incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi is projected to win. But Modi's commitment to Hindu nationalism has many questioning what a third term might mean for the future of India’s democracy, and the idea of a pluralistic Indian society. 
 Salimah Shivji is the CBC's South Asia correspondent. She’s also working on a new CBC podcast about Modi and the fundamental ways he’s changing his country. It’ll be part of our Understood feed, you can subscribe here.  
 Salimah spoke to host Jayme Poisson about why the stakes of this election are so high.

Is democracy at stake in India’s election?

What is the point of Hollywood? There are two obvious answers, right? To make good stuff that entertains people. And to make money for the big studios and the people who work for them. 
 Those two things don't have to be mutually exclusive. But Daniel Bessner believes increasingly they have been. 
 Bessner spent a year working on a deep dive into how Hollywood has evolved for Harper's Magazine. Bessner is also a historian, writer, and host of the podcast "American Prestige". 
 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.

Is high finance killing Hollywood?

Lubna Al Rayyes, was in the third trimester of a high risk pregnancy when the war in Gaza started. She was frightened of what that meant for her and her baby. How do you plan for your delivery, when you’re living with airstrikes and having to uproot your life?  
 That’s when she connected with reporter Gabrielle Berbey, who documented Lubna’s journey…from attempting to get medical care in a warzone, to trying to make her way to Canada, where she has family. Gabrielle’s reporting is featured in the most recent episode of the critically-acclaimed podcast Reveal, from the Centre of Investigative Reporting.

A pregnant woman’s perilous journey out of Gaza

If you're pregnant but not sure who the father of your baby is, you might turn to a DNA testing company for a prenatal paternity test for some certainty — a company like Viaguard Accu-Metrics, based in the Toronto area. But for years, Viaguard was selling tests that sometimes identified the wrong fathers — and the company's owner knew. 
 CBC investigative reporter Jorge Barrera walks us through his team's investigation into the company, and some of the expectant parents whose lives were upended by incorrect paternity test results.

Trudeau, Kielburgers grilled in hearings on WE controversy

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