The Current

CBC

CBC Radio's The Current is a meeting place of perspectives with a fresh take on issues that affect Canadians today.

  • 24 minutes 40 seconds
    Canadians desperate for information about friends and family in Iran

    It's been one month since Iran was rocked by what’s being called the country's deadliest crackdown in modern history. On January 8th and 9th, security forces brutally attacked protesters who had taken to the streets calling for regime change. It’s still unclear how many people were killed. A shut down of communications has made it tough for people living outside of the country to get information on exactly what happened. CBC's Liz Hoath brings us this story about Canadians who are slowly learning what’s happened to friends and family back in Iran.

    11 February 2026, 5:10 am
  • 45 minutes 16 seconds
    What we know about the deadly shootings in Tumbler Ridge, BC

     


    An 'unimaginable tragedy' in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Yesterday afternoon, a shooter entered the local secondary school and opened fire. At least 10 people in the tight-knit rural community are dead, including the suspected shooter. It's the second deadliest school shooting in Canadian history. We check in with the community to hear what happened, and how they are leaning on each other in the wake of this tragedy. We also speak with Dr. Shimi Kang, a child psychiatrist about how to talk to your kids about school violence.


    11 February 2026, 5:10 am
  • 25 minutes 1 second
    Throwing shade on those super bright headlights

    Recently Vancouver city council passed a unanimous motion calling on Transport Canada to do something about LED headlight glare. Saskatoon optometrist Rachael Berger welcomes the motion because she's seeing more and younger patients who are finding it difficult to drive at night. Vehicle lighting expert Daniel Stern says Canada needs to change its current regulations because they had halogen bulbs in mind, not modern LED lights.

    10 February 2026, 5:10 am
  • 20 minutes 25 seconds
    Rafah crossing is open but few people are getting through

    The Gaza-Egypt border crossing partially opened last week, after the return of the body of the last Israeli hostage. However very few people have been able to leave Gaza for medical care or return to reunite with their families. A pediatrician describes the young patients he saw dying or suffering in Gaza, unable to get outside help. A 29-year-old woman says she fears her dream to study abroad is in jeopardy.

    10 February 2026, 5:10 am
  • 19 minutes 54 seconds
    How popular is Alberta’s separatism movement?

    President of the Angus Reid Institute, Shachi Kurl breaks down new polling data that shows the number of Albertans committed to leaving Canada remains low, despite a number of events held by separatist around the province. Plus veteran strategists talk about how the separatist movement could play out politically across Alberta and the rest of the country.

    10 February 2026, 5:10 am
  • 24 minutes 9 seconds
    Zadie Smith loves Billie Eilish, clubs and third-rate novels

    Zadie Smith wonders if she's weird. She pays attention to a lot in an age when our attention has been captured and her phone-free life can be lonely. It's been twenty-five years since Zadie Smith published her widely acclaimed novel 'White Teeth.’ We talk to her about aging, attention, clubbing, why she loves Billie Eilish, and her most recent book of essays 'Dead and Alive.

    9 February 2026, 5:10 am
  • 20 minutes 51 seconds
    Ask Me Anything: Jason Kenney on Alberta Separatism

    We've got a special episode today of Cross Country Checkup. It is Canada's only national phone-in show, broadcasting live from coast to coast to coast. Checkup is Canada's weekly town hall — a place for raw, honest perspectives on the most pressing issues of the week. For over 55 years, it's where Canadians gather to listen to each other every Sunday afternoon. This week, the host Ian Hanomansing is joined by Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney for a special Ask Me Anything.

    9 February 2026, 5:10 am
  • 24 minutes 32 seconds
    Why men are travelling to Turkey for hair transplants

    Turkey has become a top destination for the booming business of hair transplants. But why are so many men opting for the procedure? We talk to John Paul Brammer, a writer and artist based in Brooklyn about his own experience with hair transplants. Plus, Glen Jankowski, an adjunct lecturer and researcher in the School of Psychology at University College Dublin, and the author of a forthcoming book, Branding Baldness, about how our perception of baldness changed over the years. 

    9 February 2026, 5:10 am
  • 17 minutes 8 seconds
    A grocery rebate can help, but by how much?

    Food prices have climbed for years and for families on fixed incomes, every increase means another trade-off. As the federal government rolls out a new grocery rebate, we hear from a single mother of four on the Ontario Disability Support Program about what it could change for her family, and from food economist Michael von Massow on what the rebate can and can't do to ease food insecurity.

    9 February 2026, 5:10 am
  • 7 minutes 27 seconds
    Why Canadian ice cream is a hit in Mexico

    Scrap chocolate and vanilla: mango, coconut, and pistachio are the hot new Canadian ice cream flavours… in Mexico, that is. Ice cream is one of many Canadian products making its way to Mexican shelves right now. We talk with Pierre Morin, the owner of Quebec ice cream manufacturing company Top Glacier, about why Mexico is hungry for Canadian products right now, how Canadian businesses are thinking about Mexico and the U.S. as trading partners, and what you should do if you want to get your product into the Mexican market.


    6 February 2026, 5:10 am
  • 12 minutes 59 seconds
    The politics of Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show

    Coming off his Album of the Year win at the Grammys, where he made a statement denouncing ICE, Bad Bunny will take the stage at the Super Bowl half time show. What message will his performance send, and why the NFL has gone against the White House to support him.


    6 February 2026, 5:10 am
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