Front Burner

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 appears to be less severe than previous variants. But it's wildly contagious, so many more people are getting it, meaning hospitalizations are going up. It was in this context on Monday that Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a series of new measures, including shutting down indoor dining, cinemas and gyms. Social gatherings will be limited to five people indoors and 10 outside. Ontario schools are also moving online until at least Jan. 17. Quebec had already announced a similar measure. Today, host of CBC's White Coat, Black Art and The Dose, and emergency room physician Dr. Brian Goldman on Omicron, school closures and what such restrictions might actually accomplish.

Canadians have loaded up on personal debt through more than half a century of financial crises — and it’s happening again. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, cash from federal benefits allowed many people to pay down their credit card balances. Last year, however, huge mortgages pushed Canada’s household debt-to-income ratio back toward its all-time high, rising above 177 per cent in the third quarter of 2021. Economist Michael Hudson says this kind of debt buildup chokes economic growth and gives undue power to creditors like banks. He also says it demands a reset: cancelling our debts. Today, Hudson explains the millennia-old practice of debt cancellation and how it could help modern economies.

We all know what pro wrestling is: scripted stories, exploding barbed wire death matches, and very real athleticism and danger. And for the last four decades, WWE has stayed in the cultural lexicon as the biggest name in the pro wrestling world. But now, a new contender is rising. All Elite Wrestling, founded in 2018 by 38-year-old Tony Khan, is gaining serious momentum — thanks to the help of the new generation of Canadian wrestlers like Winnipeg’s own Kenny Omega. Today on Front Burner, managing editor at Fightful.com Sean Ross Sapp on the legacy of WWE and the changing face of wrestling with the rise of its adversary, All Elite.

Why are lonely, young men a growing threat to our safety? In 2018, a Toronto man drove a van down a busy sidewalk, killing 11 people and injuring many more. He was linked to the "incel" movement, a dark online world fueled by violent misogyny, extreme isolation and perceived rejection. In the wake of the attack, Evan Mead discovers a disturbing connection to the perpetrator. They were former high school classmates; both outcasts, existing together on the fringes of social acceptance. How did two young men who started in similar circumstances, end up on such drastically different paths? More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/boyslikeme

This episode originally aired Oct 4, 2021. Journalist Matthew Remski explains why new age spirituality is such fertile ground for anti-vaccine movements.

This episode originally aired Oct 18, 2021. Cryptocurrency traders are relying on a stablecoin — a digital cryptocurrency backed with real-world assets — with ties to a Mighty Ducks star and the co-creator of Inspector Gadget. Today, we look at the search for the supposed billions of dollars backing its value, and what a shortfall could mean for the entire financial system.

This episode originally aired April 5, 2021. Today on Front Burner, Anne Helen Petersen explains the forces behind burnout and why more and more Canadians are struggling with it one year into a global pandemic that has altered the way many of us work and live.

For those using drugs in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Thomus Donaghy was a lifeline, committed to saving those on the brink of overdose. On the night of July 27, 2020, Donaghy, a volunteer at the Overdose Prevention Society, had just saved another life. Moments later, he lost his own. Today, the stories of two men whose lives were shaped by a city in the grips of an overdose epidemic, the tragic circumstances that brought them together that night, and why Maximus Roland Hayes, the man who killed Donaghy, wants to make sure his life wasn't lost for nothing. Our guests are CBC Vancouver reporter Jason Proctor, and Sara Blyth, the executive director of Vancouver’s Overdose Prevention Society.

Omicron is spreading rapidly in Canada. Barely two weeks after the first cases of the coronavirus variant were identified in Ontario, it became the dominant strain in the province, and experts say that will soon be the case across the country. Even as Canada is reporting some of the highest daily case counts seen throughout the whole pandemic, some doctors say the real numbers could be several times higher because of the difficulties many people face in accessing tests. Today, Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, explains the latest research on Omicron from around the world — and how that research can help inform your choices around holiday gatherings.

The Matrix was a blockbuster hit when it came out in 1999. Now, more than 20 years later, the film still feels relevant — whether it’s people talking about “taking the red pill” or theorizing that we’re all really living in a computer simulation — the movie starring Keanu Reeves as Neo and Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus permeated the culture. With the Matrix Resurrections opening in Canada on Wednesday, Jayme Poisson speaks with John Semley about why the film made such an impact then, and how its influence is still felt today. Plus, Charley Archer explains why the original movie, made by two trans women Lilly and Lana Wachowski, is an iconic piece of trans art.