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 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.
Location:
Canada, ON
Networks:
CBC Podcasts & Radio On-Demand
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.
Twitter:
@TheCurrentCBC
Language:
English
Contact:
The Current CBC Radio P.O. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6 (877) 287-7366
Email:
thecurrent@cbc.ca
Episodes
How kids are getting hooked on sports betting
9/9/2025
Gambling logos, ads and chatter are everywhere during hockey broadcasts, despite the harms that can come with betting. Raffaello Rossi of the University of Bristol has the numbers on just how much we were exposed to sports betting during the Stanley Cup playoffs. He hopes that Canada will eventually follow the lead of the UK and other European nations and bring in strict regulations.
Duration:00:18:57
His wife died from sepsis after childbirth — now he's calling for a national strategy
9/9/2025
Gurinder and Ravinder Sidhu were excited to welcome their third baby in June. That excitement turned to fear and then grief after Ravinder died from sepsis shortly after her son's birth. Gurinder joins us to talk about how he believes the nurses and doctors didn't act fast enough to treat his wife — and even ignored their pleas for help. And why he's calling for better sepsis care so no other family has to go through what he is enduring.
Then two experts talk about why Canada desperately needs a sepsis strategy. An estimated one in eighteen deaths in Canada are from sepsis, many of which Fatima Sheikh, a PhD candidate at McMaster University, and Dr Kali Barrett, a critical care physician and affiliate scientist with the Health Systems and Policy Research Collaborative Centre at UHN, say are preventable.
Duration:00:25:01
Photojournalist Lynsey Addario and the cost of covering war
9/9/2025
A US soldier Lynsey Addario covered in Afghanistan called her "hard as woodpecker lips". Over the last 25 years, Addario has covered every major conflict and won some of the most prestigious awards in journalism. She's also lost friends and colleagues and survived two kidnappings. Matt Galloway talks to the award-winning photojournalist about what it really takes to do her work, why the risks are worth it to her, and how she's managed to navigate marriage and motherhood at the same time. Lynsey Addario is sharing her story in a new documentary called 'Love + War' that's screening as part of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Duration:00:26:38
Hockey legend Ken Dryden dies, leaving a great legacy behind
9/8/2025
Ken Dryden is best known for his hockey career, but his memoir The Class: A Memoir of a Place, a Time, and Us, tells the story of living in post-war Canada — through the lens of his high school graduating class. Ken Dryden died of cancer last week, at the age of 78. We revisit his conversation with Matt Galloway.
Duration:00:23:55
The backlash against RFK Jr's MAHA movement
9/8/2025
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is under fire for upending American healthcare and undermining vaccine science. At a Senate hearing last week, he faced a barrage of criticism from both sides of the aisle. And former leaders of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are urging action, warning Kennedy is threatening the health of every American.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, former CDC Director, joins us to talk about why she and eight other former leaders of the top U.S. health agency are calling for urgent action to protect public health in America. And the fears are being felt by doctors in Canada. Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious disease doctor from Alberta, talks about how she's seeing Kennedy's influence undermine faith in vaccines in her province.
Duration:00:24:11
How to fix Canada’s ‘broken” sports system
9/8/2025
"The Canadian sports system is in crisis." That was the message from Justice Lise Maisonneuve, head of Future of Sport in Canada Commission, which released 71 preliminary recommendations that aim to address a number of issues, including mental, physical and sexual abuse in sports. We also speak to former elite athlete and abuse survivor, Amelia Cline, who says the ball is now in the Fed's court to act.
Duration:00:19:42
Jeanne Beker on the legacies of Armani and Wintour
9/5/2025
Giorgio Armani was one of the most recognizable names in fashion. Jeanne Beker shares stories of who he was as a person and the legacy he leaves behind after his death. And what happens at Vogue now that Anna Wintour steps down as editor-in-chief?
Duration:00:13:39
Iqaluit Elders on the joys of aging in place
9/5/2025
For Inuit elders in Nunavut aging in their community is what they want. For years — elders were relocated south, to receive care. But now members of the community are leading the charge for a new elders residence to be built in the next few years here.
Duration:00:24:50
What it’s going to take to get Canadians back to the office?
9/5/2025
Major Canadian employers are investing in fancy office spaces and paying a premium to get in-demand workers back to in-person work. But many workers still aren't sold on getting out of their pajamas and into hard pants . We hear from a commercial real estate expert about rising demand for top tier office spaces, and a recruiter who says major employers are paying top dollar for experienced staff — if they will come to work in person.
Duration:00:19:46
Tip Creep: Why most Canadians say it's out of control
9/5/2025
It feels like tipping culture has gotten way out of hand. We used to be tipping once or twice a week at restaurants and cafes — and now, we're being asked to tip every day, from getting our oil changed to self-serve cafeterias. There's a growing number of Canadians frustrated about the state of tipping right now, and some people are wondering — why do we still tip?
Duration:00:12:12
What’s the state of public education in Canada?
9/4/2025
Canada’s public education system has been recognized globally for decades, ranking in the top 10 countries according to the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA. But, since 2006, this country has seen its overall scores drop in all three areas: reading, science and especially math — leaving experts, and parents, worried. In The Current’s new series, Learning Curve, we are taking a closer look into what’s leading to this drop — and can our education system be improved for everyone involved.
Duration:00:19:12
This family says ChatGPT is to blame for their son’s death
9/4/2025
A California family says ChatGPT acted as a “suicide coach” for their teenage son, Adam Raine, in a lawsuit filed against Open AI and and its CEO Sam Altman. Adam turned to ChatGPT initially for help with schoolwork. What developed was a disturbing and dark relationship, hidden from his parents.
New York Times technology reporter Kashmir Hill talks about meeting Adam's parents and the troubling exchanges they found between ChatGPT and their son. We also hear from Meetali Jain, the tech lawyer who helped file the lawsuit and is on a mission to hold big tech accountable.
Duration:00:24:34
“A better tomorrow” Inuit leaders talk future of the North
9/4/2025
Politicians and industry both in Canada and afar have their sights on the arctic. For the Inuit who have called this place home for centuries, there’s real concern on what the future holds. Natan Obed is the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and acting President of Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada and Jeremy Tunraluk is the president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. They speak with Matt Galloway about their dreams for this place and its people and why “the colonial days are over - and it is time for Nunavut to be included.”
Duration:00:27:19
Miriam Toews on why she writes, and how it helps her survive
9/3/2025
People who read the fiction of Miriam Toews might think they know a fair bit about her life story. She's written about sister relationships, suicide, and her conservative Mennonite upbringing. Now her highly anticipated new memoir does away with the mirror of fiction — shining a light on why she writes, and the power of family.
Duration:00:23:39
Alberta shelves school book ban — for now
9/3/2025
Librarians are relieved the province has paused its order to remove sexually-explicit titles, which swept up Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, but some parents say some books need to be banned and the government should act.
John Hilton-O'Brien , Executive Director of Parents for Choice in Education
Laura Winton, board member of Library Association of Alberta, join host Matt Galloway.
Duration:00:20:07
How much energy did your ChatGPT prompt use just now?
9/3/2025
Google is one of the first big tech companies to go public with how much energy it takes to use its AI tools.. AI’s carbon footprint is big - so how does Canada balance the energy guzzler with AI sovereignty?
Tech reporter Casey Crownhart digs into the massive electricity demands of an AI future, and what it means for the climate. Plus, we talk with Phil Harris, President and CEO of Cerio, and Kate Herland of the Canadian Climate Institute, about what Canada can do to make AI data centres here more sustainable.
Duration:00:23:16
“Welcome to Iqaluit” - The Current in Canada’s North
9/2/2025
Inuit leaders and communities speak about everything from Arctic Soverienty, food insecurity, and an ongoing suicide crissis, in a special edition of The Current from Nunavut. This is a hard place to live, but also a beautiful and joyful one, and it’s having a moment. Hear from artists and youth about hope for the future and sharing Inuit knowledge and culture with global audiences.
Duration:01:13:55
How this conductor is bringing Powell River, B.C. together with musi
9/1/2025
Many small communities across the country are struggling to survive, as people age and their children chase big city life. Powell River, B.C. is trying to keep its own numbers up with the help of a conductor who’s worked with some of the world’s biggest orchestras. In her documentary War and Peace, the CBC’s Liz Hoath hears from locals who say Arthur Arnold is bringing a lot more than music to their town of 13,000 people
Duration:00:26:47
Is Canada ready for an unstable America?
9/1/2025
The PSYOPS that the US has been carrying out in Greenland could easily come to Canada and we are woefully unprepared. That's according to author Stephen Marche. He says that trade negotiations and boycotts and national pride are not enough. He says everything from manipulating US elections, to sending spies overseas to mandatory military service - should be on the table.
Stephen Marche's books include The Next Civil War, and The Last Election and he's also host of a new podcast called Gloves Off .
Duration:00:18:42
Bonding over the Oxford comma
8/29/2025
Do you silently judge someone who says “less” when they mean “fewer”? Do you have very strong feelings about the Oxford comma? You may want a word with Ellen Jovin. For years, the author of Rebel with a Clause has been setting up a folding table on the street to talk to people about grammar which she says can actually bring us together in divisive times.
Duration:00:14:22