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.

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43 episodes
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Avg 18 min
English

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Today · 24 min
Why your attention span is trash and what you can do about it
Can't concentrate? What about thinking deeply? Attention spans are shrinking rapidly. Cal Newport, a professor of computer science at Georgetown University and author of the bestselling book 'Deep Work,' says we're facing a crisis—an attack on our ability to think. He's calling for what he calls a revolution in defence of thinking. He outlines the steps for reclaiming your attention.
Today · 16 min
Why Germany's far-right AfD has surged in popularity
This Sunday Germans head to the polls.  And the far-right Alternative for Germany party—or the AfD—is surging in the eastern state of  Saxony-Anhalt.  If they win, it’ll mark the first time a far-right party has held state power in Germany since the Nazis. The CBC’s Jessica Singer has been on the ground in Saxony-Anhalt, following the campaign and speaking with voters in the state capital, Magdeburg.
Yesterday · 19 min
ER waits reach new lengths this summer
With fewer colds and flus, ER doctors used to care for fewer patients in the summer.  Not anymore.  Patients are waiting longer than ever.  We hear from Dr. Noam Katz in Winnipeg and Dr. Brittany Ellis in Saskatoon about what their patients have been dealing with all summer and what needs to change.
Yesterday · 20 min
Is Lake Ontario’s name the least of the Great Lakes’ problems?
Trump's executive order renaming Lake Ontario has caused a stir, but experts say the controversy is distracting from more serious threats facing the Great Lakes. We speak with McMaster University professor emeritus Gail Krantzberg about how the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental protections is putting the lakes’ water quality and security at risk. We also speak with Western Michigan University professor Daniel Macfarlane about how weakening Great Lakes governance could threaten
Wednesday · 19 min
Margaret MacMillan says we're not ready for the New World Order
These are unnerving times, sitting here at the beginning of September in 2026. The US-Iran war continues… Ukraine is heading into its fifth winter of a full-scale war with Russia. Under Donald Trump, the United States has taken a hammer to norms and institutions at home and abroad.  Margaret MacMillan says a new world order is coming, why we aren’t ready for it and how we can adapt.
Wednesday · 24 min
What we can learn from the resilience of trees
For the past four decades, world renowned biologist Nalini Nadkarni has risked her life studying trees. In 2015, she fell from a 50-foot bigleaf maple tree in the Olympic Peninsula. She tells The Current host Matt Galloway what her recovery from that catastrophic fall taught her about resilience and trees.
Tuesday · 9 min
The American push to keep the name “Lake Ontario”
“Hands Off Our Great Lakes” is the name of a new bill from Democratic Congressman, Tim Kennedy who represents Buffalo and Niagara Falls. The bill aims to undo Trump’s renaming of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
Tuesday · 14 min
Are you feeling the pinch of the singles 'tax'?
There’s no getting around it - life is more expensive as a single person than it is when you’re in a couple. With singles in Canada now making up almost 40% of the population, The Current producer Cece Armstrong looked into the so-called singles 'tax' and how it’s hitting people’s wallets and life choices.
Tuesday · 18 min
Buy Canadian!
While the trade war continues to heat up, the Made-in-Canada movement is surging. We speak with former CBC broadcaster and social media influencer, Tod Maffin, about his online Canadian marketplace, Main Street Canada. We also speak with Jacquelyn Corbett, owner of the Toronto-based children' s clothing brand, Mini Mioche, and Ashley Chapman, the COO of Chapman's icecream, about the challenges ahead, and how they are shifting away from their American customers and suppliers.
Monday · 19 min
Canada-US trade war continues
More than a week after the U.S.-Canada talks collapsed, our national affairs panel —the CBC's Rosemary Barton, the Toronto Star's Ryan Tumilty, and Joël-Denis Bellavance of La Presse—  unravels what we know about what happened, how the Carney government has responded, and how all this might affect the Conservatives' fortunes, the Quebec election, and the federal byelections happening Monday.
Monday · 24 min
How a London teen died after pretending to be Russian oligarch
The new book “London Falling” tells the true story of Zac Brettler, a 19-year-old Londoner who falls to his death in the Thames after living a double life pretending to be the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. We speak with bestselling author Patrick Radden Keefe about mystery, money and police inaction as he searches for answers about Zac’s death.
August 28 · 24 min
Meta’s settlement that could transform social media for kids
Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, will pay up to $18 billion US in a landmark U.S. case. The tech giant will also make big changes to how youth use its platforms, including time limits. What does this settlement mean for the future of social media, and the effort to keep kids safe?  We're joined by Clare Duffy, a tech reporter for CNN Business who breaks down the settlement, Taylor Owen, the Beaverbrook Chair in Ethics, Media and Communications at McGill Univers
August 28 · 19 min
Canadians missing after deadly flash floods in Nepal
Hundreds are dead and thousands are missing in Nepal, including 30 Canadians and permanent residents, after catastrophic flash floods struck the Nepal-Tibet border region on Wednesday. Climate scientists say as global warming continues to melt glaciers in the Himalayas, disasters like this in the mountainous region are increasing in scale and frequency. We speak with a local aid worker on the ground to get the latest on what support is needed, and a climate scientist on how the flooding start
August 27 · 23 min
These "voice notes" give us a window into the past
Princeton professor Thomas Levin has collected the world's only collection of 'voice letters' — small records that could be recorded on-the-spot in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, and then sent through the mail to friends and loved ones. From passionate love notes, to messages home from soldiers, to tourist diaries from world travellers...these notes allowed many people to record their voices for the first time ever. Thomas Levin explains how he searches through online auctions and flea markets to un
August 27 · 20 min
How Americans feel about Trump's fight with Canada
As the tariff disputes between Canada and the U.S. reverberate across both countries, we check in with three Americans for their perspectives on the trade fight. We'll hear from a retired autoworker who agrees with Trump, a former trade negotiator who thinks U.S. tariffs are necessary, and a professor who says the U.S. tariffs are 'galactically stupid'.
August 26 · 11 min
Remembering Dolly
Dolly Parton's death on Tuesday left a hole in the hearts of adoring fans worldwide. The country music legend is being remembered for her songs and unmistakable voice, but also for her philanthropy. Through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library initiative, she put books in the hands of more than 130 million children. We speak with the director of Infant and Early Mental Health Promotion at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, Chaya Kulkarni, who was on the initiative's book selection committee for Cana
August 26 · 9 min
How “Puffin Patrol” is leading pufflings out to sea
Baby puffins, also known adorably as pufflings, are leaving their nests for the first time and heading out to sea… but artificial lights can send them off track. We’ll find out how the Puffin Patrol is steering them right.
August 26 · 19 min
Canada hits back in US trade war
The federal government announced their response to the new U.S. tariffs on Canada. We’ll hear from the Mayor of Sarnia about the impact this escalating trade war will have on the city, former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney on the politics of this war, and what he wants to see from his province. And Randall Bartlett, the deputy chief economist at Desjardins Group, joins us to talk about the possible fallout for the Canadian economy.
August 25 · 19 min
What Canada's dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs look like
Canada’s plans to respond to the new 50 per cent U.S. tariffs are out. Today, federal ministers announced dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of U.S. goods. They also announced plans to support businesses and workers with an additional $7.5 billion as this trade war continues. We speak with CBC’s Catherine Cullen, former Conservative cabinet minister Lisa Raitt, and small business owner Ben Eadie about what this deal includes, and whether it’s enough to help workers and b
August 25 · 18 min
Provinces, small businesses brace for economic uncertainty
Prime Minister Mark Carney has vowed dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs as the United States' latest 50 per cent levy on a swath of Canadian goods has come into effect following the collapse of trade negotiations between Ottawa and Washington. New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt offers her perspective on the road ahead, and a pair of small business owners lay out the economic reality before them.

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