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
Sep 16, 2025 • 11min
Why calling bots "clankers" is all the rage
Memes and videos mocking AI and robots as "clankers" are having a moment. It's funny, but also reveals our anxiety about tech made to seem increasingly human, not to serve us, but to make a profit, says journalist Clive Thompson, author of Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World.
Sep 16, 2025 • 19min
You've been scammed. Does your bank need to reimburse you?
Canadians lost a staggering $647 million to fraud last year. And a lot of those scams involve money taken fraudulently from Canadians' bank accounts and investments. Melissa Plett was scammed out over more than $14,000. She tells us what happened and shares her warnings for other Canadians. Then we talk to technology journalist and analyst Carmi Levy who says banks can do more to protect your money — and to reimburse you if you've been scammed.
Sep 16, 2025 • 14min
Searching for Ukraine’s abducted children
Ukraine says several thousand children have been forcibly deported by Russia since the start of its full scale invasion in 2022. Parents, Ukrainian authorities, and NGOs have been trying to track down these missing children because some have been given new Russian names and passports.
Sep 16, 2025 • 24min
Arundhati Roy: My mother and I were like two nuclear powers
Her mother Mary's death left acclaimed Indian writer, author of The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy feeling "unanchored in space with no coordinates," even though she'd often been a target of Mary's wrath. Roy talks to Matt Galloway about her new memoir, "Mother Mary Comes to Me," revealing their fraught relationship, and how her mother's trailblazing character influenced Roy's writing.
Sep 15, 2025 • 24min
HIV in Kenya is under control. Trump could change that
Nairobi native Ibrahim Lwingi is scared for his life and he’s not the only one. Decisions being made in the White House, halfway across the world, threaten to turn his world on its head. The proposed cuts to the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief or PEPFAR by the Trump administration had many in the international community rattled. CBC’s James Chaarani met with Ibrahim Lwingi — and others like him — in Nairobi, Kenya for this documentary, “Everything to Lose.”
Sep 15, 2025 • 22min
After Charlie Kirk’s death will political rage boil over?
In the days since Charlie Kirk's fatal shooting, the political rage in the US is HIGH. We examine how some are using Kirk’s death to push further division in the US and beyond - while others look to turn the temperature down. And we ask is Canada immune from this kind of political rhetoric?
Sep 15, 2025 • 20min
Parliament is back! What to expect from the new session
The House is back and so is our national affairs panel. CBC’s chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton, Ryan Tumilty of the Toronto Star and Stephanie Levitz of the Globe & Mail weigh in on what to expect this fall. Pierre Poilievre will be back in the House after reclaiming a seat and Prime Minister Mark Carney has made some big promises – will he be able to deliver? Plus, there's a budget on the horizon, and the Liberals need a dance partner.
Sep 12, 2025 • 20min
Teachers, students grapple with what AI means in highschools
Is asking chatGPT to give you an idea for your high school assignment cheating? Is teaching AI prompts in an English class a good use of time? These are the questions students and teachers are wrestling with as generative AI becomes a part of learning. But without clear guidelines in many school boards across the country, many are left trying to figure it out as they go, begging the question, what is the role of AI at school?
Sep 12, 2025 • 25min
Why can’t the Canadian military recruit enough women?
The military is off its target to have women represent 25% of the armed forces by 2026. We speak to a new recruit who joined the Air Force earlier this year about her experiences as well as Charlotte Duval Lantoine from the Canadian Global Affairs Institute about why women might be cautious about joining up.
Sep 11, 2025 • 25min
Marsha Lederman, on searching for the “humanitarian middle” after Oct 7
Globe and Mail columnist Marsha Lederman has been writing, trying to understand what happened on October 7, the subsequent war, and its ripple effects through Canadian society. She speaks with Matt Galloway about her new book, October 7th: Searching for the Humanitarian Middle.
