

Front Burner
CBC
Front Burner is a daily news podcast that takes you deep into the stories shaping Canada and the world. Each morning, from Monday to Friday, host Jayme Poisson talks with the smartest people covering the biggest stories to help you understand what’s going on.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 23, 2021 • 23min
Russia vs. Ukraine, the latest chapter
For weeks, tens of thousands of Russian troops have been within striking distance of Ukraine’s border. And then on Thursday came a sudden announcement of a partial de-escalation. Today on Front Burner, Moscow correspondent Chris Brown on the politics behind these moves.

Apr 22, 2021 • 28min
Universal child care: Is it for real this time?
Advocates have been calling for a national child care program for decades. Governments have even gotten close to enacting it a few times. Is this finally the moment the idea becomes reality? We’re joined by Martha Friendly, executive director of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit, for a look at the long, winding road toward universal child care in Canada.

Apr 21, 2021 • 25min
Rodney King lawyer on George Floyd, Derek Chauvin
Today we cover the Derek Chauvin guilty verdict in the killing of George Floyd and hear from a civil rights lawyer, who represented Rodney King, about the long history of police violence in America against Black people.

Apr 20, 2021 • 26min
$10-a-day child care and a big-ticket budget
After two long years, the Liberals have finally delivered a federal budget and boy is it a big one. Today we dissect the biggest ticket items, from a national childcare plan to a bucket full of green future promises with help from CBC’s Vassy Kapelos.

Apr 19, 2021 • 28min
How Ontario was led into a COVID-19 crisis
Military-style field hospitals in the middle of Toronto. A children’s ICU filling up with dying adults. Medical advisers at the end of their rope. Today, host Jayme Poisson looks at the choices Premier Doug Ford made in recent months and how they led Ontario down the path to what many doctors are calling a catastrophe.

Apr 16, 2021 • 21min
Liberals, Bloc silence military sex assault hearing
A parliamentary investigation into sexual misconduct in the military has been shut down, despite three high-ranking members of the Canadian Forces having allegations against them. Today on Front Burner, NDP defence critic Randall Garrison on why he thinks this lets the government off the hook.

Apr 15, 2021 • 37min
Fed up: Your pandemic breaking points
Many Canadians' lives are being stretched really thin in this third wave of the coronavirus pandemic — it can be hard not to buckle under the strain and fatigue. In this episode, Front Burner checked in with people across the country to see how Canadians are holding up, and what's keeping them going.

Apr 14, 2021 • 23min
Intensive care on the brink
Dr. Shelly Dev and Dr. Alex Wong, two physicians in two different provinces, describe the desperate situation unfolding inside Canada's hospitals where a record number of COVID-19 patients are being admitted into intensive care.

Apr 13, 2021 • 23min
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi hangs up his hat
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has seen the city through major change and shifted the world’s perceptions about the city he loves. He talks with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about why he’s leaving office after more than a decade.

Apr 12, 2021 • 25min
A tale of two virtual political conventions
As a federal election looms, two parties mustered over the weekend. Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos joins Jayme Poisson to break down what happened at the Liberal and NDP policy conventions.


