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In recent months, public experts are in agreement that wearing a mask in public is one of the only ways we can help slow the spread of COVID-19 in the absence of a treatment or a vaccine. Still, there are tons of people who refuse to wear one, saying it’s uncomfortable or a violation of their constitutional rights. Today, we’re talking to a behavioural psychologist about why we should all be wearing masks right now, and how we can convince those who won’t to change their minds.

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The Twitter accounts of some of the world’s most powerful people were hacked on Wednesday in a brazen attack. Hackers took over accounts belonging to Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and many others, to promote a bitcoin scam. How did this happen and what should we make of it? We’ve got Motherboard’s senior editor Jordan Pearson to help us make sense of it all.

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The Canadian government has been spending huge amounts on financial assistance programs for people and businesses affected by the pandemic. A major one has been the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which is $500 a week to help those who have lost their jobs or work hours. The program has been praised for its effectiveness, and it’s also reignited the debate around universal basic income (UBI). Today, we’re joined by Sheila Block, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, to talk about whether we could see UBI in our future.

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This week, Ontario is moving into Stage 3 of reopening, which means that more places like indoor bars and gyms are opening. Even though Ontario has been flattening the curve to some extent, a lot of people are concerned that we’re moving too fast and that there could be a surge in cases. Today, we’re joined by the Globe and Mail’s health reporter Carly Weeks to talk about what Stage 3 means, why there’s a plan for reopening bars but not for schools, and whether we’re ready.

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Justin Trudeau is facing his third investigation by Canada’s ethics watchdog after outcry over a $900 million federal contract awarded to WE Charity. The controversy over the now-cancelled WE Charity government contract ramped up this week after it was revealed that Trudeau’s family members were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to speak at WE Charity events. Today, we’re joined by Global News’ chief political correspondent David Akin to break down the debacle and what it says about Trudeau and the Liberals. 

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been downplaying the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic since the start. Then this week, he became one of the 1.6 million people in Brazil to get infected by the virus. Today, we’re talking with journalist Gustavo Ribeiro, founder of The Brazilian Report and host of Explaining Brazil Podcast, about how things got so bad in Brazil and whether Bolsonaro will take it more seriously now that he’s tested positive for COVID-19.

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This week, more than 200 scientists wrote an open letter to the World Health Organization urging it to acknowledge mounting evidence that the novel coronavirus is airborne. Today, we’re joined by Dr. Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist, to talk about the ongoing debate over whether the virus is airborne, what this really means, and how it could impact physical distancing guidelines.

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If you’ve been paying attention to conversations happening online about race, you might’ve noticed that the acronym BIPOC is suddenly everywhere. BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and people of colour, and it’s meant to be inclusive and specific at the same time. But not everyone’s a fan of it. We’re joined by linguistics Phd student deandre miles-hercules to talk about the origins of BIPOC and whether it’s helpful when talking about race.

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The COVID-19 case count in the U.S. has broken records over the last week. And more than 130,000 there have now died from the virus. Global News’s Washington Bureau Chief Jackson Proskow is back on the show today to talk about how the outbreak got so bad in the U.S. and what this could all mean for Donald Trump’s political future.

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Advocates have been saying for years that police aren’t equipped to deal with mental health crisis calls. They point to a number of wellness checks that have ended up with the person in crisis getting killed. And as we talk about defunding the police, these deaths have prompted growing calls for mental health workers to be more involved in responding to these incidents. Today, we’re joined by mental health lawyer Anita Szigeti to talk about what the solutions could be.

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