Front Burner

For more than a decade, Nigel Farage has been one of the most influential people in British politics. His anti-Europe crusade was key to securing Brexit. And up until recently, it seemed quite possible that his right-wing populist party, Reform UK, could win the next general election. Then, Andy Burnham took over as the new Labour prime minister. And a string of financial scandals appeared to put the normally unflappable Farage on his heels. In July, Farage quit his seat in parliament, saying he wanted voters to judge him in a "people versus the establishment" by-election. The other main political parties called it a stunt, and refused to put forward any candidates. On Thursday, Farage will face off against his main opponent: a joke candidate who goes by Count Binface. Farage is expected to win, but will still face an investigation and possible suspension when he returns to parliament. Sam Blewett is Politico’s UK Political Correspondent, and he joins guest host Jason Markusoff to discuss, with his approval rating at an all time low, whether Nigel Farage missed his moment. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

When Bashar al-Assad fled Syria in December 2024, it brought a sudden end to a family dynasty that had ruled the country for more than fifty years. The collapse of his government also prompted a new wave of reporting into the lives of the Assads — and particularly Bashar’s wife, Asma al-Assad. Before she became Syria’s first lady, Asma was Emma Akhras, a British-born investment banker from West London. Once profiled by Vogue as a modernizing force and “a rose in the desert,” she became one of the most controversial figures of Assad's brutal dictatorship. Chloe Hadjimatheou is The Observer's narrative editor and host of the podcast 'We Call Her Emma.' She joins guest host Jason Markusoff to discuss the transformation of Syria's former first lady and her complicity in her husband's regime. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

There's been talk of high-speed rain for generations in Canada and while there's been a lot of studies and political promises, there's not a lot to show for it. Finally, plans are taking shape for the Alto high-speed rail project, which could get you from Toronto to Montreal in just 3 hours. Except well before construction begins, it's facing push back. Farmers in Ontario and Quebec are worried about how the proposed route will affect their land. A growing chorus of politicians from the opposition Parti Quebecois to the federal Conservatives are pushing back on its massive price tag. And now, Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives in Ontario are also questioning the project. The Toronto Star’s Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Rob Benzie joins guest host Jason Markusoff to tackle the question: could political disagreement derail this long-awaited train project? For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes throughout B.C. due to wildfires over the past week. The province warns that the fires could get worse in the coming days. The list of communities devastated by wildfires, and the intensity of the fires themselves, keeps growing. What was once a rare event has become disturbingly common. So why haven't we figured out a better way to fight wildfires? And what could we be doing differently? Mike Flannigan joins us to answer those questions. He's a professor of wildland fires at Thompson Rivers University and runs the Canada fire weather outlook. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Last Thursday, spurred by a flurry of online rumours, 72,000 migrants arrived from neighbouring Morocco to the shores of Ceuta, a tiny Spanish enclave in North Africa. According to Spanish media, around 142 of them died at the border, mostly from drowning or trampling. Within two days, most of the migrants left, largely on their own accord. But what’s lingered is a political crisis for the pro-immigration Spanish government in an increasingly anti-immigration European Union focused on border security. And questions surrounding how exactly this came to be and who’s to blame. We’re joined by Aitor Hernandez-Morales is based in Brussels, Belgium and who’s been covering the political fallout over the last week for Politico. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Earlier this summer, the federal government announced that it would build up to ten new nuclear reactors in the next fifteen years to help achieve Canada’s energy goals. Canada isn’t alone in making this kind of big investment in nuclear power. Plans are underway to build more reactors in the U.S., China, India, and across Europe. Still, there are concerns about costs, safety and the long term management of radioactive waste. Jacopo Buongiorno teaches nuclear science and engineering at MIT. He’s also the director of the school’s Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems. He’s here to talk about what’s driving Canada’s – and the world’s - nuclear power boom, and what risks could come with it. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

On October 19th, Albertans will head to the polls to vote on whether or not there should be a referendum on staying a part of Canada or separating. So, how is the campaign to keep Canada united faring? What about the campaign for Alberta to leave? Today on Front Burner, guest host Jason Markusoff in Calgary speaks with Toronto Star opinion writer Richard Warnica about his reporting on both campaigns, the enthusiasm gap, and what it might mean for the future of the country.

IDEAS, hosted by Nahlah Ayed is a daily podcast that explores how ideas over place and time shape our world. There are 19 centibillionaires and a growing list of 3,000 billionaires worldwide. So it might not surprise you that the richest one per cent possesses nearly half of the world’s wealth. History has never seen such an extreme concentration of wealth. Some economists argue the battle of the 21st century is between oligarchy and democracy. How did we get here? IDEAS begins a four-part documentary series The Billionaire Age. Listen to more episodes in this series: Listen to Part Two: Disney heiress on the dangers of extreme wealth Listen to Part Three: How oligarchs are taking over the world More episodes of IDEAS are available here: https://link.mgln.ai/IDEASxFB

As the face of America's COVID-19 response, Anthony Fauci was a nearly constant presence in American life throughout the pandemic. To some, he was revered, reaching a sort of celebrity status. But to a movement on the American right, he eventually became a villain, accused not simply of mishandling the pandemic, but of misleading the public about its origins, and even bearing some responsibility for COVID-19 itself. This week, Fauci testified before the U.S. Senate's Homeland Security Committee, to answer for his response to the pandemic. But the proceedings took a strange turn, as he refused to answer questions, repeatedly invoking the Fifth Amendment. Daniel Engber is a senior editor at The Atlantic who co-wrote the piece, " What Anthony Fauci Didn't Say ." He joins us to talk about why some Americans were so eager to put Anthony Fauci on trial. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

A key part of Carney's deal to get a new pipeline built in Alberta involved the creation of the Pathways Project, which he touted as "the world's largest carbon capture and utilization and storage project." Canadian political leaders, both Liberal and Conservative, have been pinning high hopes on carbon capture technology for two decades, as a way to keep oil flowing while limiting emissions. But so far, it hasn't been adopted at a mass scale. Investigative reporter Carl Meyer wrote a piece for The Narwhal about how politicians and oil companies have promoted carbon capture over the years. He joins us to talk about what we know about this technology, why we haven't seen it materialize at a large scale, and what it tells us about the politics around the climate. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

This week, Sam Altman, CEO and founder of OpenAI, got much of the tech world talking after declaring that we are living in the singularity: a theoretical point when machines, with artificial intelligence, surpass human ability and are able to grow and improve beyond our control. This comes less than a week after OpenAI admitted that two of its models went rogue and hacked another start-up. It has some American lawmakers proposing legislation that would ensure companies and the government have a “kill switch” for AI models that escape human containment. So are we at a technological point of no return? Or is it just hype? Will Douglas Heaven, Senior AI editor at the MIT Technology Review, joins us. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The Trump administration is increasingly conflating communism and the political left, casting them as threats to American national security. The rhetoric is beginning to take institutional form. The administration has directed federal agencies to investigate networks it says facilitate political violence, convened an international summit on so-called “far-left” terrorism, and published a report placing prominent American activists, politicians and organizations within a broader narrative of foreign communist influence. For some, the parallels to an earlier period of American history - the Red Scare - are difficult to ignore. Today historian Ellen Schrecker, author of Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America, joins us to examine the history of the Red Scare and whether it’s repeating itself. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Today, the Gordie Howe Bridge is set to officially open to the public, connecting Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan. Its ceremonial opening on Friday was a one-sided affair. It was originally supposed to be a joint ceremony with U.S. officials, but that was cancelled after President Donald Trump announced his plans to hit Canada with a new whack of tariffs. That’s just one of the many bumps in the road to getting this bridge open. CBC Windsor reporter Emma Loop has been reporting on the Gordie Howe Bridge for years. She talks about the long journey to the opening, and how it represents the Canada-U.S. relationship writ large. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

As part of the federal government’s AI strategy, hyperscale data centres are being built across the country with many more projects being proposed. But, communities are pushing back, and it’s capturing the attention of local governments. Projects in Ontario, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan have been the subject of protests and petitions for moratoriums. A recent Angus Reid poll reported that 68 per cent of Canadians object to a data centre being built near them. As Prime Minister Mark Carney pushes an agenda of digital sovereignty and AI expansion, we look at how Canadians are responding to the rapid construction of data centres, and the risks AI poses to the environment and local communities. Paris Marx joins us. He is a tech journalist and the host of the podcast, Tech Won’t Save Us. He’s got a book coming out this October called 'Hyperscale: The Ambition and Excess of Big Tech's Data Empires.' For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

On Wednesday morning, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to bomb one Iranian bridge or powerplant every time a ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz gets shot at. It’s yet more evidence that the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is over, after twelve days of renewed military escalation. As the conflict wades into this next phase, we look at how things fell apart, the damage taken on both sides, and whether we're headed into endless war. Trita Parsi joins us. He is the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute and the author of several books about the U.S and Iran, including Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

On Monday night, US President Donald Trump signed orders to impose a 50 per cent tariff on a wide swath of Canadian goods ranging from hockey sticks to envelopes to Christmas decorations. The tariffs are scheduled to take effect on August 19th. Prime Minister Mark Carney says he spoke with Trump on Tuesday morning and that they have agreed to intensify negotiations in the coming weeks. Jayme Poisson speaks to trade expert Eric Miller about the significance of these tariffs and why they’re happening now. Miller is the president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group where his clients include critical mineral and potash companies. He’s also a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

It’s no secret that there are factions in the Conservative movement in Canada and that not everyone gets along. But over the last couple of weeks Conservative infighting has spilled out into the public with barbs in speeches, podcasts, and social media. Nick Taylor-Vaisey is the Ottawa bureau chief with Politico Canada. He breaks down the sniping and what it says about the state of the Conservative party. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

In a nationally televised address last week, U.S. President Donald Trump repeated claims about fraud and foreign interference in the 2020 election and announced the release of declassified documents he says reveal a government cover-up. But with the midterms approaching, there remains much concern that Trump's speech, and his years-long conspiracies, aren't really about the election he lost but the midterm elections still to come. David A. Graham is a staff writer at The Atlantic who has reported extensively on the threats facing American elections. He joins us to examine Trump's latest claims, the evidence behind them and whether the U.S. president is laying the groundwork for America's next election crisis. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

As the planet heats up, wildfire seasons are getting worse. Wildfires have caused mass destruction to homes and community infrastructure in Collins First Nation. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their communities across Northern Ontario. Fires continue to rage across the country. Even those of us living in cities, safe from the flames, are feeling the effects. Toronto briefly had the worst air quality in the entire world this week, which led to government warnings to limit time outside, cancelled World Cup screenings and shutdowns of public pools. And it’s more than a nuisance. The Canadian Climate Institute estimates that wildfire smoke is associated with about 2,500 premature deaths per year across the country. David Wallace-Wells is a climate journalist and author of The Uninhabitable Earth. He joins us to talk about what it means that wildfire smoke is becoming a more regular part of our lives, and its place in the larger battle for clean air around the world. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Recently, in the U.S., there’s been a wave of self described democratic socialists running for and winning elected office. There is the improbable case of Zohran Mamdani who won his New York mayoral campaign. But there are other high profile races where establishment incumbents are being unseated by much younger insurgents. From Denver to New York, Washington D.C. to Seattle. Even here in Canada, NDP leader Avi Lewis is a long-time self-described democratic socialist. According to new Gallup polling, “socialism” is officially viewed more favourably among democratic voters than “capitalism.” It’s a big shift from where we were not too long ago. So what exactly is democratic socialism? How does it differ from socialism, communism, or social democracy? Why has it returned now? And what does its resurgence reveal about this hour of history? Bhaskar Sunkara is the president of The Nation magazine, founder and editorial director of Jacobin, the former Vice-Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America and the author of books including ‘The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality.’ For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts