The Current
CBC
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.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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 29, 2025 • 20min
Canadian politics - the summer wrap!
Prime Minister Mark Carney is back from Europe, where he pitched new trade deals and military projects. But back home, he faces Pierre Poilievre’s return to Parliament, a trade fight with Donald Trump, and pressure to deliver on housing and nation-building projects. Our national political panel — Ryan Tumilty of the Toronto Star, CBC’s Aaron Wherry, and Kathleen Petty from West of Centre— weigh in on what Carney accomplished abroad and what’s at stake this fall.
Aug 28, 2025 • 24min
Teaching teens to get smart about their money
Managing money is always challenging, and it’s even trickier when you’re a teenager. In her new book Making Bank, Money Skills for Real Life, certified financial planner Shannon Lee Simmons offers advice for teens: from budgeting and saving for things you enjoy, to dealing with the constant wave of influencers trying to sell them something.
Aug 28, 2025 • 20min
End the “man-made” famine in Gaza, say aid groups
The UN says famine has officially taken hold of Gaza city, with more than half a million people starving. Aid groups say starvation is spreading because of war, blocked aid, and the collapse of health systems. We hear from Joel Onyeke of Save the Children about what families are enduring on the ground. And CBC senior international correspondent Margaret Evans joins us from Jerusalem to talk about growing protests inside Israel, mounting settler violence in the occupied West Bank, and the latest on a ceasefire proposal.
Aug 27, 2025 • 19min
Is Trump turning American cities into military zones?
U.S. President Donald Trump has deployed National Guard troops onto the streets of Washington, D.C., saying it’s necessary to tackle crime. Now he’s warning Chicago could be next. His critics say it’s unconstitutional and a power grab move that creates a militarized environment without solving the root causes of crime. Martin Austermuhle, a journalist with The 51st, a local Washington, D.C. news outlet, talks about what life is like in the capital with National Guard troops on the ground. Then Illinois Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García and Ed Yohnka of the ACLU of Illinois weigh in on Trump’s threats to send the National Guard into Chicago.
Aug 27, 2025 • 25min
Asking doctors to see the person behind the patient
Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov says doctors shouldn’t just focus on diseases or sick body parts, but get to know the person behind the patient. He talks to Matt Galloway about his mission to improve the doctor-patient experience for all of us.
Aug 26, 2025 • 24min
Malcolm Gladwell on what The Tipping Point got wrong
Malcolm Gladwell says he got some things wrong in The Tipping Point, his 25-year-old bestseller about what drives social change — so he’s written a follow-up, Revenge of the Tipping Point. He talks to Matt Galloway about revising some of those theories for a different time, the power of a compelling narrative and the weirdness of Miami.
Aug 26, 2025 • 19min
Why Canada’s economy is showing resilience
Grocery bills keep climbing. Young people are finding it hard to find work. And Trump’s trade war has had experts bracing for the worst for months now. But so far, the Canadian and U.S. economies are holding up better than expected. We’ll hear from RBC Chief Economist Frances Donald on what’s happening here at home and from Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Budget Lab at Yale University, on what Trump’s trade war has meant for the US economy.
Aug 25, 2025 • 19min
Canada’s “exceptional” drought from coast to coast to coast
Across Canada, 71 per cent of the country is abnormally dry or experiencing moderate to severe drought, according to the Canadian Drought Monitor. That includes places like Sunnyside, Newfoundland and Labrador, where the taps ran dry earlier this month. And in Nova Scotia, Farmer Amy Hill in Nova Scotia shares how the dry conditions are straining her farm. John Pomeroy, Director of the Global Water Futures program at the University of Saskatchewan, explains what’s driving these conditions and what Canada must do to prepare for a hotter, drier future.
Aug 25, 2025 • 24min
Born to climb: Mountaineers named to Order of Canada
Barry Blanchard and Chic Scott are two world-renowned mountaineers who have just been appointed to the Order of Canada. They tell us about feeling like they were put on this earth to climb, and surviving a death-defying ascent with an avalanche that continued for 27 minutes.
Aug 22, 2025 • 16min
Why Gen Z is picking up their grandma’s hobbies
Knitting isn’t just for grannies anymore. From quilting to pickling to crocheting, “grandma hobbies” are making a comeback, especially among Gen Z. Clinical psychologist and therapeutic knitting instructor Mia Hobbs explains why these old-fashioned pastimes soothe the nervous system, help people unplug, and may even rewire our brains for better mental health.
