Front Burner

The IBM-built Phoenix pay software was supposed to save millions of dollars a year by simplifying payroll for federal workers. Instead, it wreaked havoc on workers' T4s and pay stubs -- while the costs for taxpayers ballooned. Parliamentary reporter Hannah Thibedeau explains how we ended up here.

The election in India, the world's largest in history, has just wrapped up after a month of voting. Many see it as a referendum on sitting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's last five years in power. New Delhi journalist Murali Krishnan explains who Modi is, and why his brand of populism raises the stakes of this election.

An online feud between two "beauty influencers," James Charles and Tati Westbrook, has racked up tens of millions of views on YouTube this week. Maybe you've never heard of them, but plenty of people have, and, according to Washington Post internet-culture reporter Abby Ohlheiser, this world is more influential than you might think: "Whether you like it or not, the future of entertainment and the future of industries touched by robust online communities ? are being shaped and changed by what's happening right now on these platforms."

On Tuesday, Alabama's state legislature voted for a measure that would outlaw almost all access to abortion. Political watchers say this is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that legalized abortion in the U.S. Legislation to restrict abortion in the U.S. has been on the rise since President Donald Trump appointed two conservative-leaning Supreme Court judges. CBC's Lyndsay Duncombe has been covering this story from St. Louis, Missouri, and today on Front Burner she explains why pro-choice advocates worry that a woman's right to choose in America is at risk of being overturned.

Today on Front Burner, professor Taylor Owen helps us understand the changing nature of online extremism and what we learned from dealing with ISIS.

With an election this week, two Newfoundlanders, CBC reporter David Cochrane and radio host Tom Power dig into the many issues facing the province, and how voter apathy has spread during the campaign.

Last week Senator Lynn Beyak was suspended by her colleagues without pay for the remainder of this parliamentary session. Her punishment came after posting letters on her official Senate webpage that many, including the Senate's ethics watchdog, deem racist towards Indigenous people. Beyak says she's being punished for exercising freedom of speech. CBC's JP Tasker has been following this story from the very start and today on Front Burner he gets us up to speed.

This week, hearings were held on Quebec's secularism bill - which aims to ban public workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols. There were fiery exchanges: some say the bill institutionalizes discrimination, while others think secularism is crucial to keeping Quebec's distinct identity. Today on Front Burner, the CBC's Jonathan Montpetit brings us highlights from the debate - and we hear from a young Muslim woman who worries her livelihood will be affected by the bill.

Canadian co-author of the new UN report on extinction, Kai Chan, on how the loss of one species can ripple out to affect an entire ecosystem in ways that we often "don't know until it's too late"

Today on Front Burner, CBC Queen's Park reporter Mike Crawley on the cascade of cuts in Doug Ford's Ontario and how they might be felt in the province.