
The Current
Three stories to expand your worldview, delivered daily. Matt Galloway cuts through a sea of choice to bring you stories that transcend the news cycle. Conversations with big thinkers, household names, and people living the news. An antidote to algorithms that cater to what you already know — and a meeting place for diverse perspectives. In its 20 years, the Current has become a go-to place for stories that shape and entertain us. Released daily, Monday to Friday.Some of the topics we’ve covered recently, include: the results of the Canadian Federal election — a minority Liberal government — and Canada’s new Prime Minister-elect Mark Carney. Also, Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative party, who lost his seat in the Ottawa riding of Carleton but also boosted Conservative popular vote share. Meanwhile, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, who also lost his seat, has resigned following historically low results for his party, which lost official party status in the House. Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet kept his seat in Beloeil–Chambly, but lost about a third of its seats. Elizabeth May’s Green Party held on to her seat but she also lost her co-leader Jonathan Pedneault. Also on our radar: Heather McPherson, the NDP’s re-elected MP for Edmonton Strathcona, who some observers are saying could be the NDP’s next leader. What Conservatives are thinking now about their leader Pierre Poilievre and the path forward for their party. And how Liberal Leader Mark Carney will govern for all Canadians in a politically divided country facing threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. We’re still keeping an eye on: annexation and “51st state” threats, tariffs impacting Canadian jobs, especially farmers, truckers, auto workers, energy sector workers, construction workers and steel and aluminum workers; raising the cost of living, inflation, and unemployment in Canada; straining cross-border relationships, including the historic friendship between Windsor and Detroit. We also discuss “Team Canada,” interprovincial trade, and the rise of “elbows up” Canadian patriotism; Canadian sovereignty and backlash to ‘51st state’ threats; on the world stage, including our relationship with China, Ukraine, India; security and our status in the Five Eyes spy network, NATO and NORAD, and shifting global alliances in general.Other recent topics include: Filipino community reeling after Lapu Lapu street festival killings; “Grey divorce” and the rise of separation in late life; Canadians’ top vacation spots; migrants affected by Trump’s deportation push; the death of Pope Francis; landmark antitrust trials against Meta and Google; the sexual assault trial of five ex-world junior hockey players; the liquidation of Hudson’s Bay; the surge in measles cases, hair loss drug finasteride, extremist network 764, protests against Elon Musk and Tesla; Starlink and the rural internet; the turmoil around Israel and Gaza’s ceasefire; more adults with ADHD, Blue Ghost on the moon, genetically modified pig organs; aging well, wellness, dementia and long term care, as well as cancer and “commonsense oncology,” Greenland and Arctic sovereignty, cuts to USAID; Canada’s critical minerals; inflation; mortgages; opioids and Fentanyl, parenting, Canada’s best vacation spots, teens ditching social media; crypto power brokers in the White House; NASA’s new telescope and the making of a 3D map of the universe.The Current is produced in Toronto, Ontario, Canada — and has recently recorded live shows about the Canadian election in Surrey and Burnaby BC. And shows to come in Oshawa and the 905, Red Deer, Alberta, Quebec City and Halifax.
Latest episodes

May 9, 2025 • 13min
The surprisingly moving tale of Alberta’s gopher museum
There’s something undeniably special about Alberta’s World Famous Gopher Hole Museum, with its taxidermied rodents kitted out as firefighters, hair stylists, or even enjoying a game of curling. The CBC’s Allison Dempster went to Torrington, Alta., to find out how the town came up with such an unusual tourist attraction — and why it ended up drawing the ire of Paul McCartney.

May 9, 2025 • 11min
Drilling into Arctic ice to spy 20,000 years into the past
A small group of Canadian and Danish scientists have been drilling deep into the ice on Axel Heiberg Island, on the western edge of the Arctic Ocean. Ice core scientist Alison Criscitiello explains why drilling into the ice cap can give us a glimpse into the Earth’s past.

May 9, 2025 • 20min
Putin, Trump, Zelenskyy: What 3 personalities mean for peace in Ukraine
Hopes for peace in Ukraine rest with three men: the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. Journalists Simon Shuster and Luke Harding have covered this conflict and its characters in depth. They join Matt Galloway to share their insights into each leader’s personalities and motivations.

May 9, 2025 • 14min
The new pope is an American. Here’s why that’s surprising
Cardinal Robert Prevost is the first American pontiff, choosing the name Pope Leo XIV. Jesuit priest and journalist Father Sam Sawyer explains why that surprised some people, as did the new pope’s social media rebuke, earlier this year, of JD Vance and the Trump administration’s treatment of migrants and asylum seekers.

May 9, 2025 • 11min
Fears of empty shelves as U.S. tariffs disrupt supply lines
Trump’s economic fight with China has already led to a drop in cargo coming into U.S. ports. Supply chain experts are warning that tariffs could soon mean half-empty shelves and higher prices south of the border, which could have a knock-on effect for Canada.
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May 8, 2025 • 38min
The Current Introduces | Understood: Who Broke the Internet
It's not you — the internet really does suck. Novelist, blogger and noted internet commentator Cory Doctorow explains what happened to the internet and why you're tormented by ads, bots, algorithms, AI slop and so many pop-ups. Spoiler alert: it wasn't an accident.In Understood: Who Broke the Internet, Doctorow gets into the decisions made by powerful people that got us here, and most importantly, how we fix it. More episodes of Who Broke the Internet are available at: https://link.mgln.ai/te1tCG

May 8, 2025 • 16min
Remember when the internet was… good? What happened?
The internet was once a user-friendly place built to connect people, but now it’s rife with bots picking fights, AI fakery and algorithms hellbent on selling you something. In the new CBC podcast Understood: Who Broke the Internet?, tech journalist Cory Doctorow breaks down what he calls the "enshittification" of the internet — and who’s responsible.

May 8, 2025 • 21min
Air traffic controllers lose sight of planes for 90 seconds
Air traffic controllers reportedly lost track of planes for 90 seconds at Newark airport recently in a chaotic radar outage that prompted some staff to take stress leave. We look at what led to this nightmare scenario, and what needs to be done to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

May 8, 2025 • 10min
The fight to save the axolotl, an ever-smiling salamander
The axolotl is a salamander that always appears to be smiling, making them popular as aquarium pets or as characters in video games like Minecraft. But the species is endangered in their natural habitat in Mexico, where researchers are working hard to preserve them.

May 8, 2025 • 19min
Is Israel flouting international law by blocking Gaza aid?
Israel has blocked any humanitarian aid from entering Gaza for two months, with aid agencies now warning that thousands of children are experiencing severe malnutrition. Matt Galloway talks to lawyer Michael Byers about what Israel’s obligations are under international law, and Moumen al-Natour, a lawyer who has organized public demonstrations against Hamas in Gaza.
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