The Current

Recently medical experts agreed on the first consensus medical guidelines on stuttering. It's a step forward for a condition that affects more 400,000 Canadians. Alexandra D’Agostino-Seguin has lived with a stutter since she was in elementary school and talks about how that experience has shaped her. Her mother, Eeva Stierwalt, is a National Coordinator at the Canadian Stuttering Association and reflects on what it was like to raise a child who stutters. Dr. Gerald Maguire, founder of the Stuttering Research and Treatment Society, talks about his hopes for better treatment for the condition.

After supermarket chains in at least seven European countries have had their freezers hacked, security experts around the world are trying to figure out who did it and how to protect their clients. We speak with security expert Stephanie Sabatini, founder and owner of Astria Cybersecurity, and Evan Fraser, director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph about how vulnerable Canada's food systems are to hackers.

Canada is a key issue in several key midterm elections — especially in border states where the tariffs are hitting hard. We speak to two journalists in Maine and Michigan about how the trade war is shaping the election. Lauren Gibbons is the senior political editor at Bridge Michigan, and Kirby Wilson is politics editor for the Portland Press Herald.

On November 1st, half of Canada's clocks rolled back an hour, but the other half didn't, as many of the Western provinces are ditching seasonal time changes in favour of permanent daylight saving time. And we can't forget that some provinces and territories have multiple time zones and some are just naming their own - like Alberta, who announced they will now be following permanent "Alberta Time." So what time is it, and why — and what time should it be? We speak with Patricia Lakin-Thomas, a chronobiologist at York University, about why time in Canada is getting so confusing — and why she's concerned most of the province is making the wrong choice.

Zadie Smith talks to Matt on stage at Massey Hall about her most recent book, Dead And Alive, in which she examines art, fiction, social media, the idea of the vanishing public commons, and what makes us human. She also reflects on aging and generational gaps and finding joy in dancing — and what Gen X got wrong (lots) and right (movies).

With neither Benjamin Netanyahu nor Gadi Eisenkot able to form the government, the Israeli election result remains in a stalemate. Emily Rose, a correspondent for Reuters in Jerusalem, explains what this means and if there is an expectation that a coalition will be pulled from this or if another election is necessary.

Can Texas turn blue? Days before the 2026 US midterms, all eyes are on Texas. Matt Galloway talks with supporters of Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico and Beto O’Rourke about whether this Republican stronghold could turn. Beyond the liberal bubble of Austin, voters say immigration and a boom in AI data centres are driving the campaign. From small-town mayors to ranchers, Matt asks Texans what’s shaping their vote.

As voters head to the polls in the U.S. midterms, politicians are sending mixed messages on the economy. Eric Morris, an economist and portfolio manager in Rochester, New York, digs into the mismatch between the hard data and the way voters are feeling — and why the problems may lie beyond the realm of economics.

Delegates from the EU are in Montreal for a summit to launch negotiations to deepen trade and other partnerships between Canada and the European Union. We hear from former leader of the federal Liberals and former Special Envoy to Europe, Stéphane Dion, and from Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice President for the European Commission, on what this new alliance means for Canada and the EU.

Have you ever been caught in a customer service chatbot doom loop? Last week, NYC's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection proposed new rules to curb companies' use of AI customer service systems. We speak with Commissioner Sam Levine about why AI customer service chatbots are so frustrating — and why the ramifications are much bigger than just annoyingly-slow customer service.

As CBC TV launches its second season of The Assembly, we hear what it was like to bring celebrities like Hudson Williams, Marie-Philip Poulin and Zach Galifianakis together with a room full of autistic and neurodivergent interviewers. We speak with Executive Producer Sean De Vries, celebrity guest and singer-songwriter Lights, and interviewer Maurgaux Wosk, about the genuine connections and authentic moments that resulted.

Dr. Joanne Liu was the International President of Medecins Sans Frontiers from 2013 to 2019, and came face to face with the world's biggest humanitarian crises of that time. Since leaving her role at MSF, Dr. Liu has been reflecting on her work, and thinking about how best to provide humanitarian aid in a new world order — as crises continue across the globe. She joins us to talk about her new book, “Ebola, Bombs, and Migrants: Humanitarian Crises in a Security-Obsessed World,” and what still keeps her hopeful.

Anthropic is about to make its stock market debut in what could be the largest in history, but it comes with significant risks. CNN Reporter Clare Duffy on what this could mean for the future of AI and the economy.

New guidance from the WHO says physicians should consider GLP-1s for kids living with obesity. But what do families need to know before trying the medications, and will they work for every child?

There is a growing resistance in Canada to automated license plate readers powered by AI. With ALPR brand Flock coming to Canada there are concerns around mass surveillance and misuse by the police but police insist ALPRs are a necessary tool for fighting crime. We'll hear from both sides of the argument.

Taking a stroll isn't just good for your body. It can help you brainstorm ideas. McMaster researcher Alex Thabane says that's more important than ever at a time when people are outsourcing mental work to AI.

Award-winning journalist and long-time conflict reporter Sally Armstrong talks about her latest trip to Lebanon, where she saw the ways in which the war there is taking a toll on the country’s children.

A new survey from Environics Institute for Survey Research shows that the Canadian public is less concerned about the overall level of immigration compared to last year. Andrew Parkin, the Executive Director of Environics Institute for Survey Research, talks about what’s leading to this shift. Mikal Skuterud, Economics Professor at University of Waterloo, talks about why the government looking to immigration to fill labour shortages is the wrong approach, and Dan Kelly, president of the CFIB, tells us about the need for more skilled workers.

Ariel Ekblaw is a space architect looking to solve the problems of life on Earth and beyond. Hear how her designs for a new space habitat could replace the International Space Station, a reality check on data centres in space, and how low-orbit manufacturing could hold the key to curing blindness. This is not science fiction, but is the next step in the space race.

When actress Christina Applegate found out she didn't have MS after 5 years, she wasn't relieved. The symptoms persist, and now she doesn't have any diagnosis. Studies show that upwards of one in five MS diagnoses are wrong. That's dramatic in a country like Canada, which has some of the world's highest levels of MS. We’ll speak with Jackie Pilon, who describes what it was like to have had her MS diagnosis changed. Then, we’ll speak with Dr. Jiwon Oh who tells us what this means for Canadians.

British Columbians voted for change in a big way. The Conservatives won 63 seats. The NDP, 28. And the Greens, 2. It's a dramatic outcome for a party that seemed to have come undone at the seams when the NDP's David Eby called the snap election. Now, Eby has resigned as party leader. And Lorne Doerkson is BC's premier-designate. To break it all down, we’ll speak with Katie DeRosa, CBC’s legislative reporter in British Columbia, and Rob Shaw, a political correspondent for Chek News and host of the podcast, Political Capital.

We speak with Zeteo senior political reporter Asawin Suebsaeng about the costly, heated US midterm ad wars, including Republican Ohio governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s new ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic rival, Amy Acton.

Inflation is up, and the latest job numbers were worse than expected. Guest host Peter Armstrong speaks to three top economic watchers about the state of the Canadian economy and what it means for your household budget.

For more than two years, Canadian Rick Hansen pushed his wheelchair around the world to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities. Now — more than 40 years later — a new documentary at TIFF, "Man in Motion, The Rick Hansen Story," looks back at that tour. Matt Galloway speaks with Rick and his wife Amanda.

An unknown photographer embedded themself in the San Francisco protests in the late '60s, getting up close to famous figures like Mohammed Ali, Jerry Garcia, Timothy Leary and Carlos Santana. Their collection now belongs to American photographer Bill Delzell, who's trying to figure out who took them. The answer could lie in dozens of rolls of film that were never developed. Canadian archivist Gerald Freyer hopes to reveal their secrets.

Writer, broadcaster and arts administrator Jesse Wente was producing a documentary based on the Thomas King book, The Inconvenient Indian — when a controversy erupted over the filmmaker Michelle Latimer's indigenous identity. That controversy, forced Wente to grapple with his own sense of self and feelings of belonging, and was followed by an intense period of crisis in his life. In his new book, Tough Lies: Indigenous Belonging and my Healing Through Golf, Wente discusses the harms that come from false claims of Indigenous identity and how taking up the game of golf helped him find a path to healing.

Nigeria has recorded its first case of Ebola in more than a decade, becoming the latest country in Africa battling the world’s second-largest outbreak of the virus. We hear from Heather Kerr, Country Director for the International Rescue Committee in the Democratic Republic of Congo, about the challenges of containing the virus. Dr Scott Halperin and Cindy Michaluk talk about the first human clinical trial of a new Ebola vaccine that’s underway in Halifax.

Pulitzer prize winner and long-time editor of The New Yorker shares his insights on the upcoming Israeli election, the US midterms, and how both outcomes could shape the future of both countries and the relationship they hold with each other.

Gun violence remains one of America's deadliest and most polarizing issues. There have already been more than 350 mass shootings in the United States in 2026. Malcolm Gladwell is the author of international best-selling books like The Tipping Point, Outliers, and Revenge of the Tipping Point. We talk to Malcolm Gladwell about his new book, The American Way of Killing: The Invention of an Epidemic, where he tries to understand the gun violence epidemic in the United States and examines what Americans on both sides of the gun control debate are getting wrong.

The Toronto Raptors open their regular season on Wednesday with a familiar face on the roster. Last month, Kawhi Leonard re-joined the team he led to a championship in 2019. But after an injury- and scandal-plagued stint with his hometown L.A. Clippers, what will Round 2 look like for the Raptors and the "fun guy"? We speak with Esfandiar Baraheni, co-host of The Athletic Daily NBA podcast, about the upcoming season, how the fans are reacting, and whether the Raptors and Kawhi can make magic happen again.

Longtime diplomat Sarah Taylor has just wrapped up nearly three years on the ground in Moscow as Canada's ambassador to Russia, her final posting before retirement. She speaks with Matt Galloway about her conversations with Russian citizens and officials as the war in Ukraine continues, and the cognitive warfare she warns is already underway.

Four days following a deadly brush fire that killed four soldiers and injured dozens more at CFB Wainwright, we speak with Teresa Hiatt, the older sister of Cpl. Sean Hiatt, who is in critical condition at an Edmonton hospital after he suffered burns to half of his body. And we'll also speak with Diana Festejo, the Executive Director of the Legacy Palace Society, a charity that has been providing support for the families of soldiers injured in the fire.

Celebrity chef Eric Ripert's latest cookbook, "Mindful Cooking: Simple Recipes for Nurturing Body and Soul" explores why we cook and teaches mindfulness and gratitude in the kitchen. We speak with the owner of the three-Michelin star New York restaurant, Le Bernardin, about the way Buddhism has shaped his life and how cooking with love and compassion makes the food we eat taste better.

Miniature organs have landed at the International Space Station. Scientists sent them there to better understand the disease of aging. David Sachs, assistant professor of surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York on how the lack of gravity in space accelerates aging and how scientists can use it to better understand heart disease and Alzheimer’s.

Final results aren't in yet, but at this point, results show that about three quarters of Alberta voters chose the option to stay in the country. With us, Alberta's top political watchers break down the results of the Alberta referendum vote, and what comes next. Plus we hear from leaders on both the pro-independence and pro-unity side. We’ll speak with independent pollster Janet Brown, veteran political journalist Kathleen Petty, unity campaigner Stephen Carter and pro-independence campaigner Cory Morgan.

Flags across all federal buildings are flying at half-mast today following a deadly fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta on Saturday. Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed yesterday that four people are dead and dozens more seriously wounded. At least 19 are in critical condition. We speak CBC’s Stephanie Cram, on the ground in Wainwright about what happened, Mayor of Wainwright Bruce Pugh about how his community is navigating through this tragic incident, and Retired Major-General Denis Thompson, who served 39 years in the Canadian Army and trained at CFB Wainwright about how he is processing the news. Then, we’ll hear from Erin O'Toole, he served twelve years in the Canadian Armed Forces and is a former Minister of Veterans Affairs of Canada. He is also the president of ADIT North America, and the former leader of the Conservative Party.

Piera Aiello’s husband was murdered in a Sicilian Mafia hit. Three days later, she decided to testify against the Cosa Nostra, then she fled her home — spending the next three decades under a new identity.Her story reveals a side of Italy’s fight against organized crime we rarely hear about: what happens after people take a stand. Now, a new Italian law aims to protect children and adults trying to break free from the Mafia. We speak with CBC’s Italy correspondent Megan Williams, who has been speaking with women, their children and anti-Mafia officials about what this means.

Our National Affairs Panel talks about Alberta politics — and whatever the outcome, what it means for the federation and Alberta's relationship with Ottawa. Plus, the US mid-terms and how they could impact trade talks.

Constitutional lawyer Keith Wilson has become a leading voice in the Alberta separatist movement. He’s the co-chair of Let Alberta Decide and leads the Alberta Transition Council. We speak to him about why he thinks even federalists should choose Option 2 and why independence is the best choice for Alberta. Plus, Monte Solberg held several cabinet posts under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and independent senator Paula Simons represents Alberta in the Senate of Canada. They explain why Alberta is better off staying in Canada.

Matt Galloway is on the ground in Alberta as voting gets underway in a referendum on whether to start the legal process to leave Canada. Hear from voters and organizers on both sides of the debate about the impact on communities. Plus hear from Chief Samuel Crowfoot of Siksika Nation and Alberta newcomers worried about the immigration questions also on the ballot.

While we focus on success or fulfillment as the path to happiness, author Ian Bogost thinks we are overlooking a whole category of life experiences — delightful, small moments of sensory gratification — that can make our lives better. In his new book, The Small Stuff, Bogost says modern life, including our work life, has disconnected us from the physical world, but we'd all feel better if we found a way to rediscover that connection.

Ever since U.S. President Donald Trump took office for the second time, he's been criticized for eroding democracy and the rule of law. Now, political scientist Lucan Way, argues that the United States has definitively crossed the line into a system of what he calls competitive authoritarianism. Lucan Way, a Distinguished Professor of Democracy in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, explains what that looks like, and whether it can be reversed.

The CBC has learned that the federal government has quietly put a pause on buying more American-made Black Hawk helicopters. That decision is getting mixed reviews as some analysts say it's the right call while others believe the Black Hawk is best suited for Canada's air force. We speak with the CBC's Murray Brewster and with University of Ottawa professor Peter Jones.

Times and time zones in Canada are changing. November 1st much of the country will remain in daylight savings for the first time not turning their clocks back for the winter months. Joseph De Koninck is Emeritus Professor at the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa on what that means for our health and why the optimal calculation of time is impossible to achieve in Canada.

Bestselling author and conflict facilitator Priya Parker says most of us are not very good at fighting: either we avoid it, or we escalate it until it becomes explosive. In her new book, The Art of Fighting, she advocates for something called "healthy heat," what we can learn about conflict from the TV show The Bear, and when a conflict might signal that a relationship should end.