Front Burner

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders got off to a strong start in the early primaries and caucuses, but former vice-president Joe Biden is right behind him in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. After a major victory in South Carolina, Biden has momentum heading into Super Tuesday — when 14 states vote for their preferred candidate. Today on Front Burner, Alex Panetta from CBC's Washington bureau joins us to explain what’s at stake.

The Dose is a new weekly podcast that answers everyday health questions like: What vaccines do adults need? Does your Fitbit actually make you fitter? Or, should I bother taking vitamins? Dr. Brian Goldman and the team behind White Coat Black Art bring you the best science from top experts in about the same amount of time as an appointment with your GP. Subscribe to The Dose at smarturl.it/thedosecbc

From Iran to Italy to South Korea — there are new epicentres for the coronavirus. On Thursday, World Health Organization officials stressed the need for governments to have national preparedness plans and training in place for health-care workers.Today on Front Burner, infectious disease expert Isaac Bogoch returns to the podcast to talk about how the public health response needs to change to address the growing epidemic.

This week, a shocking report from L’Arche revealed Jean Vanier sexually abused at least six women. Less than a year ago, longtime Globe and Mail reporter Ian Brown wrote the obituary of Vanier. Brown wrote about how the beloved Canadian founder of L’Arche, an international network of communities for people with intellectual disabilities, will be remembered as a radical philosopher of disability. Today on Front Burner, Brown covers how the disturbing revelations have sent shockwaves through the disability and Catholic communities and beyond.

The shelving of the Teck Resources Frontier project — an oilsands mine twice the size of Vancouver — has many arguing over the right balance between climate action and resource development. Today on Front Burner, we get two viewpoints on Canada's energy future: former TransCanada executive Dennis McConaghy and Stand.earth program director Tzeporah Berman. McConaghy says Canada is punishing itself while the rest of the world continues to profit off hydrocarbons. Berman believes markets and political leaders are turning the page on fossil fuels and Canada needs to do the same.

A New York City jury has found Harvey Weinstein guilty of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and of third-degree rape. Today, Megan Garber of The Atlantic joins Front Burner to unpack the court proceedings that led to Weinstein's conviction and discusses whether this trial is a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement

A challenge to Canada’s public healthcare system resumes Tuesday in BC’s Supreme Court. Dr. Brian Day -- who runs two private healthcare clinics in Vancouver -- says Canadians should have the right to pay for private treatment and that a two-tier system will cut down on wait times for everyone. Critics say this could undermine the entire Canadian public healthcare system. The CBC’s Dr. Brian Goldman joins Jayme to explain.

A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Syria's Idlib province. Nearly one million people have been displaced since a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive began in December, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee to ever-shrinking camps along the border with Turkey. Today on Front Burner, we talk to CNN senior correspondent Arwa Damon, who was just in Idlib, about what she saw on the ground. “These are families that have been displaced multiple times,” she tells Jayme. “What makes this time so much more different is that it’s almost as if there is a sense of finality to it … they’re going to reach a point where they can’t run anymore.”

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said this week he will donate $10 billion to fight climate change — working with others "both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting thedevastating impact of climate change." Today on Front Burner, we ask: What can $10 billion do for the environment? Guest host Michelle Shephard talks to David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth, which describes the frightening consequences of global warming.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is asking Canadians to show "resolve" as he seeks an end to the rail blockades locking up trains in Canada. Hundreds of millions of dollars in goods are sitting idle on the tracks and CN Rail is laying off hundreds of workers as protesters demand police leave the territory of a B.C. First Nation. Trudeau is calling for dialogue, but offering few other details about his path to resolution. Today on Front Burner, CBC senior writer Aaron Wherry tells us how Trudeau's record on reconciliation frames — and complicates — the way forward.