Front Burner

Unearthed journals that were once the top-secret communications of the KGB — the Soviet Union’s secret police — shed new light on an early chapter of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s life, and give us a window into the dying days of the USSR.

As Canadian Catholic bishops say they will give $30 million to support survivors of residential schools, CBC’s Jason Warick explains why some are skeptical about the pledge.

Today Brian Hioe explains how Taiwan became a pawn in a global competition between China and the West — and what that means for the island’s people.

CBC’s Salimah Shivji takes a closer look at India’s farmer protests, where a fatal collision has ignited more anger in the 300-day standoff with the government.

Miami Herald reporter and author of Perversion of Justice Julie K. Brown on Ghislaine Maxwell’s upcoming trial — and her bombshell investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 plea deal that brought global attention to the case. This episode originally aired on July 20, 2021.

After a major outage and stinging whistleblower testimony, NPR tech reporter Bobby Allyn breaks down Facebook’s bad week.

Today we’re digging into the massive Pandora Papers leak: What it reveals about how the world’s wealthy and powerful are benefiting from tax havens — and whether Canada is doing enough to rein it in.

The survival drama Squid Game has gotten international attention for its focus on economic inequality. But UCLA’s Suk-Young Kim explains that this globally relatable horror show is also uniquely Korean in its approach.

New York Times journalist Ben Smith discusses his bombshell investigation into U.S. media organization Ozy Media and its defiant founder, Carlos Watson.

Journalist Matthew Remski explains why new age spirituality is such fertile ground for anti-vaccine movements.