A little over a month after China was enforcing some of the world’s strictest COVID-19 policies, the country has now removed most of those restrictions. This followed unusually widespread and sustained protests in December. Mass testing and quarantining has ended. On Sunday, China lifted international travel restrictions for the first time in three-years. But while the government’s numbers on COVID-19 cases and deaths remain low or unavailable, accounts from inside the country indicate the virus is spreading faster than ever. Today on Front Burner, Wall Street Journal China bureau chief Jonathan Cheng gives us a look at what’s happening in Beijing after China’s policy reversal.

Supporters of outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro ransacked the country’s capital buildings this week in a show of defiance against the country’s recent election results. New President Lula da Silva accused his predecessor for inciting the violence and vowed to punish those who took part. Journalist Gustavo Ribeiro has watched and reported for years on false claims from President Jair Bolsonaro that Brazil’s election system is faulty. He describes how Bolsonaro has created a deeply divided Brazil.

Not long ago, Tesla seemed unstoppable. But Elon Musk's electric vehicle juggernaut closed out 2022 as the worst-performing stock among the most valuable tech companies — and its shares have dipped even lower since then. Today, Patrick George — a contributing writer with Vox Media's The Verge and an editor with The Autopian — joins us for a look at where things went south for Tesla, and the hurdles the company faces going forward.

During a high-profile Monday Night Football game this week, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin made a tackle that nearly ended his life, live, in front of millions of people tuned into the TV broadcast. Hamlin was resuscitated after medical staff applied CPR. He was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre where he has remained in critical condition. According to today's guest, Jerry Brewer, national sports columnist with the Washington Post, the tackle barely ranked on the scale of how brutal the game can be. He says team owners and the league need to do more to provide immediate and long term healthcare for players.

Bill C-18 would require big digital platforms like Facebook and Google to pay Canadian media outlets for posting or linking to their news content. According to Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, the measures would fairly compensate Canadian media, keeping journalism healthy and strengthening democracy. According to critics, the bill would line the pockets of big broadcasters and threaten freedom of expression online. And as for platforms like Facebook – its parent company Meta has threatened to remove news content in Canada altogether. Today on Front Burner, a conversation with University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist about why he believes this bill could harm both the internet and the media for Canadians.

Andrew Tate, the controversial influencer and self-declared misogynist, was arrested on Thursday in Romania on charges of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organized crime group. Depending on your social circles — and your algorithms — you may not have heard of Andrew Tate before. But he has quickly risen from relative obscurity to become one of the most-discussed people on social media. His controversial video clips, including some where he describes hitting and choking women, have been viewed billions of times. Today, we dive into the story of Andrew Tate: who he is, his arrest, and what it means that a man known as the “king of toxic masculinity” could gain so much fame and influence.

Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed US congress and is now pushing a "no-compromises" path toward ending the war in his country. But neither Ukraine nor Russia have shown any signs of compromise in the ten months of conflict, and as the fighting rages on, peace seems out of reach for now. Today on Front Burner, BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams explores how far apart the Russian and Ukrainian sides are, what their standings are internationally and what that could all mean for a new year of war.

It’s 2023, and Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has now been in power for more than seven years. This year promises more challenges for a government prone to controversy and scandal: a choking economy, potential fallout from using the Emergencies Act, a widely-criticized gun control bill, and an increasingly complex international stage. Meanwhile, the NDP are trying to leverage their deal that props up the Liberals’ minority government, and new Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is determined to put Trudeau at the center of the issues Canadians are struggling with. Today on Front Burner, a conversation with our chief political correspondent, Rosemary Barton, about how these issues could shape Canadian politics in 2023.

The high seas are beyond the reach of international law – and beyond the beat of most reporters. But Pulitzer-Prize-winner and former New York Times journalist, Ian Urbina, has sailed into uncharted territories. Urbina sets out on a years-long quest to investigate murder at sea, modern slave labour, environmental crimes and quixotic adventurers. Part travelog, part true-crime thriller, this 7-part series takes listeners to places where the laws of the land no longer exist. The Outlaw Ocean is brought to you by CBC Podcasts and the LA Times and produced by The Outlaw Ocean Project. More episodes are available at http://hyperurl.co/theoutlawocean

Pauline Dakin’s childhood was marked by unexplained events, a sense of unseen menace, and secretive moves to new cities with no warning. When Pauline was a young adult, her mother finally told her what they were running from – organized crime, secret police and double lives. It was a story so mind-bending, so disturbing, Pauline’s entire world was turned upside down. Run Hide Repeat is the story of Pauline’s life on the run, her quest for the truth – and her search for forgiveness. Based on the best-selling 2017 memoir, this powerful 5-part journey spans decades and an entire country — and it will leave listeners questioning what’s real and who they can trust. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/32Wc7aeP