The Current

CBC

Three stories to expand your worldview, delivered daily. Matt Galloway cuts through a sea of choice to bring you stories that transcend the news cycle. Conversations with big thinkers, household names, and people living the news. An antidote to algorithms that cater to what you already know — and a meeting place for diverse perspectives. In its 20 years, the Current has become a go-to place for stories that shape and entertain us. Released daily, Monday to Friday.

The Current is produced in Toronto, Ontario, Canada — and has recently recorded live shows about the Canadian election in Surrey and Burnaby BC. And shows to come in Oshawa and the 905, Red Deer, Alberta, Quebec City and Halifax.

Play

Open in

144 episodes
daily
Avg 18 min
English

Episodes 144

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

October 6 · 19 min
Quebec elects the separatist PQ
Parti Quebecois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will be Quebec's new premier.The Parti Quebecois have won a minority government with just under 30 per cent of the vote, after promising not to hold a referendum on independence until after President Donald Trump leaves the White House. What does the PQ win mean for national unity and the future of the province? Two political columnists, Le Soleil's Valérie Gaudreau, and Le Devoir's Emilie Nicolas weigh in.
October 6 · 13 min
The Premier League scandal rocking England and beyond
After a high profile cheating scandal there are calls for Manchester City, one of the most successful football clubs in the world, to get relegated from the Premier League. The Athletic’s senior news reporter Matt Slater talks about how the potential ramifications from the scandal go beyond sport.
October 6 · 12 min
How worried should you be about the plague?
A possible plague-related death in Russia has prompted officials to place hundreds of people under medical observation and multiple health care facilities under quarantine. Local reports suggest a worker at an anti-plague research facility died late last week coming into contact with the pneumonic plague pathogen from a test tube at the lab, but the cause of death has not been confirmed by Russian authorities. The story has sparked international concern about how these deadly diseases are han
October 6 · 24 min
Cassie Campbell-Pascall on her fight for a place on the ice
From the time Cassie Campbell-Pascall was a little girl she had to fight to be included in the game of hockey. Since then, she's been a trailblazer for girls and women in the sport, a World Champion, a gold medal Olympic captain, the first female broadcaster to call the play-by-play in an NHL game, and a fierce advocate for the new pro league, the PWHL. She talks about it all, plus her own personal struggle with infertility, in a new memoir, Just a Girl.
October 5 · 8 min
Would you buy a $60 loaf of bread?
Turns out a lot of New Yorkers will. A bakery opened in NYC stocking one product — a $60 loaf of rye bread, served by the slice or by the loaf. As influencers flock to try the now infamous loaf, we look at whether the price tag fits the product, and what bread says about our relationship with wealth in the midst of a cost of living crisis.
October 5 · 16 min
Are Ontario’s new 110 km/h speed limits dangerous?
Ontario increased the speed limit on several highways to 110 kilometers per hour. The province says the new speed limit will help people get to their destinations faster and that the changes are safe. Stephanie Cowle, Parachute Canada’s Director, Knowledge Translation tells us about  the dangers and risks. And Laura Cavanagh, Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences at Seneca Polytechnic explains what pushes people to speed.
October 5 · 19 min
Could Democrats win big in the U.S. midterms?
In just over a month, voters in America will head to the polls in the U.S. midterms. The elections will decide if US President Donald Trump will remain free to pursue his agenda, or whether he’ll face checks from a new Congress as the Democrats try to flip both the House and the Senate.  Josh Wingrove, Senior White House reporter with Bloomberg News and Barbara Sprunt, Congressional Correspondent with NPR, talk through which races to watch and what’s at stake.
October 5 · 24 min
Historian Jill Lepore on the “artificial state”
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jill Lepore talks about her latest book “The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State,” how technology like AI is having a knock on effect on our democracy and why it's not too late to stop us slipping into an “artificial state.”
October 3 · 35 min
Weekend Listen: The kid who confronted his abuser at residential school (via See You in Court)
Willie Blackwater is just 13 when he holds a knife to his rapist's throat, demanding an end to his recurring abuse. It’s the first time Willie stands up to his residential school supervisor, but it’s far from the last. Years later, after a fateful encounter with a cop, Willie decides to break his silence — joining a group of survivors that help convict Arthur Henry Plint of 18 counts of sexual assault. But for Willie and his friends, it’s not enough. And a risky idea starts to form. Can
October 2 · 7 min
Canada’s new Pacific Link Pipeline
After months of talk, a new proposed oil pipeline to the west coast has a name, a route and backing from the federal government. Pacific Link has been designated a “Project of National Interest” and would carry as much as a million barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the B.C. coast, largely following the existing Trans Mountain corridor. CBC business reporter Kyle Bakx has the latest.
October 2 · 16 min
Is supersonic flight making a comeback?
It’s been over 20 years since the last Concorde flight, and now engineers are working to bring back passenger supersonic flights. Bob van der Linden is the Curator of Air Transportation and Special Purpose Aircraft at the National Air and Space Museum and tells us what it was like on board the last Air France Concorde flight in 2003. Peter Coen, Integration Manager for NASA’s Quesst mission, talks about the agency’s work to quieten the sonic boom that planes make and what he thinks the future
October 2 · 25 min
What’s the right way to teach kids math?
There have been alarm bells ringing for some time about dropping math scores in this country. In her documentary, “Are your kids learning math the right way?” CBC's Julia Pagel visits a school in Gimli, Manitoba, where new teaching strategies yield impressive test results — while sparking a deeper debate over the best way to teach math.
October 2 · 19 min
Fishermen “cautiously optimistic” about cod stocks in Newfoundland
For decades, Newfoundlanders left the wharves and sought work elsewhere. Now with cod quotas up and a booming crab fishery, a new generation of fishermen is being drawn to the ocean. Lillian Saul and David Maher say they can't imagine doing any other job. But Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union President Dwan Street says the industry's future will depend on getting rid of barriers to entry and keeping the fishery sustainable.
October 1 · 19 min
On the ground in Ukraine as Russia ramps up attacks
Russia launched a heavy attack against Ukrainian energy infrastructure this week. The UN says more than two hundred civilians have been killed in the last month. CBC's Foreign Correspondent, Briar Stewart takes us through what life is in Kyiv now with attacks intensifying, and what other parts of Ukraine are experiencing as winter is approaching.
October 1 · 7 min
US customs blocks supplies to Canadian Island
The only land crossing to Campobello Island, New Brunswick is through Maine. On Tuesday a truck full of supplies for the community was stopped at the US border after a US import ban on some Canadian goods came into effect. Campobello Island Mayor Harvey Matthews on what it will take to give his community the supplies they need.
October 1 · 17 min
Why does rape culture exist on campus?
An alleged gang rape case at Cornell University is drawing international attention after a woman known as Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit earlier this month against seven men accused of sexually assaulting her at a fraternity party in 2024. She is also suing Cornell, claiming the university failed to protect her. The case is bringing a spotlight to how pervasive rape culture is on university campuses. We hear from Farrah Khan, an award-winning gender justice advocate who works on sexual a
October 1 · 23 min
Do self-help books really work?
Self-Help is a multi-billion dollar industry — an entire ecosystem of books, podcasts, social media. Over ten-thousand self-help books are published in the US each year and they account for 17% of non-fiction book sales in Canada. What makes a good self help book? Does self help work? And how do you differentiate guru from grifter? Our panel of self help experts have answers.
September 30 · 19 min
Your gut feeling about the trade war is probably right
Statistics Canada numbers show the economy stalled in July. The trade war is hitting some harder than others, like the Stelco workers in Hamilton, Ontario who got news that part of their steel plant is closing indefinitely. We hear from Ron Wells, one of their union leaders, plus Deloitte Canada's Dawn Desjardins tells us why she sees the country's growth continuing to slow down.
September 30 · 9 min
Margaret Atwood honours late partner's love of birds
Margaret Atwood is donating 1 million dollars to Western University. The money will establish a new chair in avian biology and honour her late partner and fellow novelist Graeme Gibson who loved birds. We speak with Chris Guglielmo Professor of Biology and Director at the Centre for Animals on the Move at Western University about what this donation could mean for the research of birds and why humans are still so fascinated by them.
September 30 · 14 min
Here's why you should rethink your stance on mosquitos
Mosquitos, cockroaches, venomous snakes, and adults who steal candy from children, just some of the winning scientific discoveries at this year's Ig Nobel Prize. The award highlights research so bizarre and improbable you can't help but laugh at it. We speak with winner Chonghong Cao, a Canada Research Chair and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at McGill University about how his team worked with dead mosquitos and 3D printers to win the technology prize.

Showing 21–40 of 144 episodes