Front Burner

How do you forget your favourite person in the world? Alex remembers everything about the day a speeding police car killed his brother. But his brother, alive? Those memories are lost. And now, 30 years later, Alex wants them back. In this emotional four-part series, Alex unearths his childhood grief — with help from family, friends, and a therapist who witnessed his brother’s death. What happens when trauma and memory collide? Sorry About The Kid is a deeply personal meditation on the losses that define us. Hosted by Alex McKinnon. Produced with Mira Burt-Wintonick (WireTap, Love Me). More episodes are available at hyperurl.co/sorryaboutthekid

Across Canada this week, groups of truckers opposed to a vaccination mandate for cross-border truck drivers have been making their way to Ottawa to protest. But as the convoy has gained momentum, others — some with violent messages — have latched onto the movement. Today, we'll first hear from Harold Jonker, a trucker leading one of the convoys to Ottawa. Then, we'll speak to CBC senior parliamentary reporter Travis Dhanraj about the broader context around this story, and how it's playing out politically.

Neil Young's music is being pulled from the streaming platform Spotify. That's after he told the platform to either remove his music, or take action on vaccine misinformation — specifically from podcast host Joe Rogan. Spotify ultimately sided with Rogan, saying Wednesday it would begin removing Young's catalogue but that it hoped he would come back soon. "We want all the world's music and audio content to be available to Spotify users," the company said in a statement. "With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators." The Joe Rogan Experience is the world's biggest podcast, famous for its long-format, wide-range interviews with eccentric and sometimes controversial guests. But its host has come under fire for his relentless questioning of widely shared scientific agreement about COVID-19. Nicholas Quah, podcast critic for Vulture and New York Magazine, joins us to explain the rise of vaccine skepticism on Rogan's show — and the reasons why Spotify may have taken this side.

They looked like a family. Four people, including a baby, were found dead in a snowy Manitoba field last Wednesday, just metres from the North Dakota border, where they were believed to be heading. Authorities believe they had been part of a larger group travelling to the United States, in temperatures that felt like –35 C. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called their deaths "mind-blowing” and "tragic," and said he was working with the United States to crack down on people who facilitate undocumented travel over the border. But two people who’ve travelled the route — in the opposite direction — say what the system really needs is more compassion for people who are out of options. Razak Iyal and Seidu Mohammed, two former refugees from Ghana who now have the right to stay in Canada permanently, share their stories of making it to Canada from the United States in 2017. And CBC Manitoba reporter Ian Froese tells us what questions we’re still trying to answer about the four people who died last week.

For over a month now, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been embroiled in a scandal involving gatherings at 10 Downing Street while the country was under lockdown restrictions due to COVID-19. One Conservative MP has crossed the floor to the Labour Party, while another has called for his resignation, saying to Johnson in Parliament, "In the name of God, go." Senior civil servant Sue Gray has been conducting an inquiry into the alleged rule-breaking, and that report looms. Today, CBC's Europe correspondent Margaret Evans explains what's led up to this point, and whether it could cost Johnson his job.

A Halifax committee tasked with defining what it means to defund the police has released its final report: a 219-page document that recommends numerous reforms and reimagines our communities' relationship with law enforcement. Last week, committee chairperson El Jones presented the report to Halifax's Board of Police Commissioners. While the document doesn't recommend a specific amount of money to be cut, it takes an in-depth look at shifting some responsibilities away from police — namely sexual assault reporting and responses to mental health crises. Today, Jones walks us through the report's rethink of how to keep our communities safe and examines the common ground between supporters and opponents of defunding.

Today, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after a week of escalation over the future of Ukraine. Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly was in Ukraine earlier this week, expressing Canada's support for the country. But Ottawa Citizen defence reporter David Pugliese says Canada's military actions paint a different picture. In fact — Canada's moves on the ground reveal a limit to the government's willingness to help in Ukraine's looming fight. We're also joined by Eilish Hart, the English-language news editor for the Latvia-based news site Meduza, who explains why that means Ukraine is getting ready to go it alone — and how regular Russians may curtail the Kremlin's actions.

If you've played Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, or even Candy Crush, you're among the 400 million people who play a game from Activision-Blizzard every month. On Tuesday, the company was purchased by Microsoft for $68.7 billion US. It's the biggest tech deal in history, over 15 times what Disney paid for the Star Wars franchise and LucasFilm. And the cost for Microsoft could be more than just cash. Activision-Blizzard has become notorious for allegations of discrimination and abuse. Last year, the company got hit with lawsuits from state and U.S. federal employment watchdogs, over its "frat house" culture. Today on Front Burner, we're talking to Polygon's Nicole Carpenter about how this unprecedented mega-deal will change the gaming landscape as we know it, and how the video game giant itself is trying to outrun its own toxic history.

A study last week from two Oregon universities has generated a lot of buzz, after findings suggested that some cannabis compounds may be able to block the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering human cells. It adds to a growing body of research on cannabis and the coronavirus, as studies from around the world — including from Canada — have found that the cannabis compound CBD may be effective in helping treat some of the virus’s most deadly symptoms. Today, Katie MacBride, a health science reporter at the online magazine Inverse, joins us for a deep dive into what the research says — and doesn’t say — about cannabis and COVID-19. CORRECTION: This episode misstated that mRNA vaccines are designed to attach to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. To be clear, mRNA vaccines instruct the body's cells to make harmless copies of the spike protein, causing the body to produce antibodies which then attach to the proteins.

As a U.S. judge has ruled a sex abuse lawsuit can proceed against Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth, who last week was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages. The lawsuit is being brought by Virginia Giuffre, who has long claimed she was sex-trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and that she was raped by Andrew as a teenager. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking late last year. The prince denies the allegations against him. Today, ITV royal news editor and host of the Royal Rota podcast Chris Ship explains what's led up to this moment, what can be expected as the case moves forward, and what it means for the legacy of the Royal Family during the Platinum Jubilee year.