
The Current
<p>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.</p><p><br></p><p>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. </p><p><br></p><p>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. </p><p><br></p><p>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.</p><p><br></p><p>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.</p><p><br></p><p>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.</p>
Latest episodes

May 20, 2025 • 20min
Mark Carney promised affordable housing. Will he deliver?
<p>“Build baby, build” is how Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to tackle Canada’s housing crisis, but his new housing minister says that won’t mean reducing house prices. Matt Galloway asks housing experts to unpack the new Liberal government’s strategy, and unpick the “Gordian Knot” of whether Canada can create affordable housing without prices dropping?</p>

May 19, 2025 • 19min
Wildfire season is almost here. What can Canada expect?
<p>Wildfire season hasn’t officially started, but Manitoba has already declared a state of emergency after a deadly blaze in Lac du Bonnet. Guest host Mark Kelley breaks down the fire forecast and top-of-mind questions with Ed Struzik, author of The Future of Fire, and climatologist emeritus David Phillips.</p>

May 19, 2025 • 25min
What it’s like growing up as a ‘restaurant kid’
<p>Rachel Phan was three years old when her parents opened a restaurant in Kingsville, Ont., a venture that quickly ate up most of their time and energy. In a conversation from last month, the Chinese-Canadian author discusses her new memoir, Restaurant Kid, and why she felt like the restaurant had stolen her parents away from her.</p>

May 16, 2025 • 12min
Menendez brothers are eligible for parole. Will they walk free?
<p>After 35 years behind bars for murdering their parents, Erik and Lyle Menendez will now have a chance at parole. Investigative journalist Robert Rand has covered this story since the 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez, even uncovering new evidence along the way. </p>

May 16, 2025 • 12min
Why the ban on nudity at Cannes red carpet is ‘hypocritical’
<p>Halle Berry had an emergency outfit change at the Cannes Film Festival this week, after organizers implemented a new dress code that bans nudity and “voluminous outfits,” especially those with large trains. Fashion critic Katharine Zarrella says the new rules are hypocritical: demanding women cover up on the red carpet, while celebrating and commercializing nudity on screen.</p>

May 16, 2025 • 17min
The top 10 vacation spots in Canada — voted by you!
<p>Where’s the best place to visit in Canada? For weeks, listeners have been voting for the vacation spots they love across this big, beautiful country to build <em>The Current’s</em> travel bucket list. Rick Mercer joined Matt Galloway earlier this month to reveal the top 10. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/canada-travel-destinations-list-top10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Did your favourite place make the list?</a> </p>

May 16, 2025 • 19min
U.S. border towns lose tourism dollars as Canadians stay home
<p>Canadian tourists were once regular shoppers at Ali Hayton’s grocery store in Washington state, but these days she’s more likely to get “nasty emails” from Canadians angry about U.S. tariffs. Guest host Mark Kelley talks to business owners about the sharp drop in Canadians travelling to the U.S., and the impact on border communities who rely on tourism dollars to survive.</p>

May 15, 2025 • 19min
Visiting a Mennonite community where measles is spreading
<p>A Mennonite community at the centre of Ontario’s measles outbreak, one woman says she trusts remedies made from dandelions and strawberries more than modern medicine. The Current’s James Chaarani went there to speak with community members, and found a deep distrust of vaccines and the medicine system.</p>

May 15, 2025 • 16min
Making friends as an adult is hard. Here are some tips
<p>We all know that making friends as an adult is difficult. Everyone’s busy with their families and careers, while time online and remote work is leaving some people increasingly isolated. We meet some young adults finding creative new ways to meet potential new friends in the real world, from dinner with perfect strangers to making conversation at a run club.</p>

May 15, 2025 • 22min
What will Trump’s pledge to lift sanctions mean for Syria?
<p>U.S. President Donald Trump surprised the world by pledging to lift crippling sanctions on Syria this week. We dig into what this means for rebuilding the country after the fall of Assad, both for Syrians who have grown up in the brutality of the civil war, and those who fled and are longing to return home.</p>