The Current-logo

The Current

CBC Podcasts & Radio On-Demand

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...

Location:

Canada, ON

Description:

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.

Language:

English

Contact:

The Current CBC Radio P.O. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6 (877) 287-7366


Episodes
Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

What it’s like to be stuck on a cruise ship with a deadly virus

5/6/2026
As passengers aboard the HV Mondius deal with the spread of a rare strain of hantavirus, we look at what it’s like to be stuck on a cruise ship and what can be done to prevent the spread of hantavirus in Canada.

Duration:00:19:31

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Tracking Telegram

5/6/2026
When the Canadian Centre for Child Protection found what is says are images of child sexual abuse on the messaging app Telegram they took that allegation to Britain's online safety watchdog Ofcom. That is because Canada doesn't have a regulator to look at how online platforms deal with this type of illegal content.

Duration:00:23:22

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

From toys to medical gloves: how the Iran war is hiking prices

5/6/2026
Oil shock has been synonymous with the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but the oil byproducts that make plastics aren't making it through the strait either, and as Beth Gardiner, author of the book, "Plastic Inc.: The Secret History and Shocking Future of Big Oil's Biggest Bet," explains it could start impacting the cost of goods here at home, from toys and clothes to the supply of medical gloves.

Duration:00:16:15

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Are the Habs Canada's team?

5/6/2026
The Montreal Canadiens will be facing the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. This game comes from their win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Alex Rougas is confident that his team will succeed in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Duration:00:08:23

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

What's next for Alberta separatism?

5/5/2026
Alberta separatists say they have collected more than 300,000 signatures, well over the 178,000 needed to prompt the province to consider a referendum question. This comes after a court injunction forced a separatist group to shut down an online database built from an electoral list that contained the personal information of millions of Albertans. So what's next for Alberta's separatism movement? Our Alberta political panel joins us to break it down.

Duration:00:15:52

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

The robots are here, will they replace us?

5/5/2026
Robots are breaking world records and breaking the internet, doing seamless backflips and sidekicks online, but as they get more integrated into our world, are they going to help us, or replace us? Matt Galloway speaks to WIRED's Will Knight and Karol Hausman, co-founder and CEO of Physical Intelligence.

Duration:00:25:32

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

How “Bailey’s Law” could change laws around intimate partner violence

5/5/2026
A Conservative private member’s bill named after Bailey McCourt, a 32-year-old mother of two killed in a Kelowna parking lot in July 2025 is making its way through the Senate. Her estranged husband has been charged with first-degree murder. The legislation proposes changes to the criminal code; making the killing of an intimate partner an automatic first-degree murder charge; empowering courts to hold individuals charged with domestic assault for up to seven days for a risk assessment if there are red flags; and changing bail rules for those with a previous domestic violence conviction.

Duration:00:19:48

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Are the tides changing for the North Atlantic right whales?

5/5/2026
This spring, scientists have documented 23 North Atlantic right whale calves born off the U.S. coast, the highest number since 2009. It's hopeful news for the critically endangered species, whose population has fallen to fewer than 400 in recent years. We speak with Amy Warren, the scientific program officer for the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life who has been tracking the whales.

Duration:00:08:59

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Canada's steel industry faces new tariff headaches

5/4/2026
U.S. President Donald Trump dangled a carrot in front of Canada’s steel industry recently, offering a break on tariffs if steel companies commit to moving production to the U.S. Meanwhile, his administration has introduced new and different calculations for tariffs on manufactured goods. All this adds up to a Canadian steel industry that's facing uncertainty, layoffs and upheaval.

Duration:00:19:56

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

What does thin mean in the age of GLP1s?

5/4/2026
Extreme thinness is on the rise since the introduction of GLP1s — it has been hard to miss the parade of skinnier-than-ever celebrities. Now, Health Canada has approved the first two generic versions of Ozempic, and more are likely coming, driving down the price and making them even more accessible. It is raising complicated questions about what it means to be fat, thin, and healthy in the age of Ozempic.

Duration:00:24:16

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Doc: What is sports betting doing to young men?

5/4/2026
A recent study suggests the rate of young men contacting Ontario's mental health helpline for gambling-related problems has increased by more than 300 percent since the province allowed online gambling. CBC producer John Chipman dug into the world of online gaming, speaking to those who are most impacted by it. A warning: this story contains details about suicide.

Duration:00:26:41

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

An unprecedented plan to ban kids from using AI chatbots

5/1/2026
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says he plans to ban kids 16 and under from using AI chatbots. If the legislation passes, the province could be the first jurisdiction in the world to do this. But not everyone agrees that a blanket ban is the most effective way to keep kids safe. We speak with Sara Austin,the founder and CEO of Children First Canada, and Mahtab Laghaei, a policy analyst with The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she researches AI chatbots, data and privacy.

Duration:00:19:26

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Solar and wind energy, a big opportunity for Canada

5/1/2026
At a time when the world is facing an energy crisis, solar power grew by 30 percent in 2025, with China leading the charge in harnessing the power of the sun. And yet, Canada has fallen behind other G7 nations when it comes to renewable energy from solar and wind. We speak with Nicolas Fulghum, senior data analyst with the international energy research agency, Ember, about that group’s latest report, and Mark Winfield, professor of Environmental and Urban Change, and co-chair of the Sustainable Energy Initiative at York University, about what has held Canada back, and the potential of renewable energy.

Duration:00:21:22

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Michael Pollan on the labyrinth of human consciousness

5/1/2026
Why is it so hard for us humans to come to grips with what it means to be conscious? Bestselling author Michael Pollan talks to Matt Galloway about how scientists have tried - and often failed - to unlock the mysteries of consciousness, whether plants could be considered conscious, and why he believes that we need to "defend" human consciousness against those who may try to simulate it with computers and AI.

Duration:00:21:22

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

What does it take to run a marathon in under 2 hours?

4/30/2026
The two-hour marathon was an unreachable limit for decades. Now, Sabastian Sawe has officially broken it. So what changed? Matt Galloway speaks with Alex Hutchinson, senior writer at Canadian Running Magazine, about what this moment tells us about the limits of human performance itself.

Duration:00:09:20

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Ex-Homicide Inspector calls out the Toronto police

4/30/2026
For decades, Hank Idsinga led some of Toronto's most high-profile murder investigations. In his new memoir, 'The High Road: Confessions of A Homicide Cop', he talks about what he says is rampant racism, anti-semitism and corruption in the largest police force in Canada.

Duration:00:24:24

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

What does it mean to be cured of HIV?

4/30/2026
For the first time in Canada, a 62-year-old man is poised to be Canada's first person to be cured of HIV. There are currently only a handful of people world-wide considered cured of HIV. We speak with one of them, Adam Castillejo, about what it means to be cured. We also speak to the doctor of the Canadian patient, Dr. Sharon Walmsley, about what this breakthrough represents -- and the future of HIV treatment.

Duration:00:17:47

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Closing the skilled trades gap

4/30/2026
The federal government wants to address worker shortages in the skilled trades. At the spring economic update they announced a 5 year plan -- worth 6 billion dollars -- to help recruit, train and hire young people into the skilled trades.

Duration:00:19:32

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

"When the Forest Thrives, We Thrive"

4/29/2026
UBC forest ecologist Suzanne Simard's viral TED talk about forests as communities turned her into a "celebrity scientist" and taught the world how to think differently about trees. Now she's written a new book, arguing that the way we harvest and cut down those trees urgently needs to change. We talk to her about what she's learned about logging from indigenous colleagues — and whether politicians and the logging industry are ready for her message.

Duration:00:24:31

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

A headband that translates thoughts into action

4/29/2026
Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) have been around for more than 50 years. Calgary doctor Dion Kelly developed Think 2Switch, an app allowing kids with disabilities, like Claire Sonnenberg, to control devices with their thoughts alone and play an active role in life. We’ll talk about the possibilities this technology can bring.

Duration:00:23:39