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
These Calgary artists want a piece of your mind
10/6/2025
Caitlind Brown and Wayne Garrett don't just create public art. They involve people in its creation and invite them to interact with it. That might mean picking up a colourful phone in an Edmonton park and talking to a stranger on the other side. Or peering through a spyglass into a glass globe to see a scene from a book that meant something to one of their neighbours.
Duration:00:21:59
Should we protect kids from violent content online?
10/6/2025
When Charlie Kirk was killed, graphic videos of his death went viral. Many kids opened up their social media and saw the gruesome footage. Experts estimate that by the time children reach middle school they've watched as many as 8,000 murders and 100,000 other acts of virtual violence online. What impact does this have on kids? And what does the exposure to these violent acts mean for their worldview? We're joined by New Yorker staff writer, and father, Jay Kang, who wrote an article titled "What the Video of Charlie Kirk’s Murder Might Do?"
Duration:00:24:29
Is this the beginning of the end of the war in Gaza?
10/6/2025
Hamas and Israel have agreed to some parts of the 20-point US peace plan and talks continue today in Egypt. We talk to Janice Stein, the founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and Zaha Hassan, human rights lawyer and a Senior Fellow in the Middle East program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about what this peace plan means for the region — and what happens next.
Duration:00:19:51
Should Canada Make Young People Do a Year of Service?
10/3/2025
There's a growing call for mandatory national service in Canada — asking 18- to 30-year-olds to spend a year in public health, the environment, youth services, civil protection, or the military. Esprit de Corps editor Scott Taylor says it could strengthen citizenship and even help the Armed Forces. Policy expert David McLaughlin argues it's a way to build unity but warns it won't come cheap. Seventeen-year-old Jaden Braves pushes back, saying young people need to shape the program themselves.
Duration:00:19:36
These Blue Jays fans are all in for the win
10/3/2025
Maddie Cholette, from Oakville, Ont. and Debbie Rafuse, from Chester, N.S, tell us how they're preparing to watch their team go for baseball glory this weekend, why this year's edition of the Jays was so darn lovable — and why both of them have a special soft spot for George Springer.
Duration:00:12:35
Can the U.S. constitution survive Donald Trump?
10/3/2025
The men who wrote the American constitution included its goals right there in the preamble: Establish justice. Ensure tranquility. Secure the blessings of liberty. Lately, there have been plenty of reasons to question whether that document is living up to those goals — and there's real talk of a constitutional crisis. At a moment like this, when the future looks uncertain, Harvard historian and law professor Jill Lepore is an expert at explaining why history matters. We talk to her about her latest book, "We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution."
Duration:00:24:29
The perfect picture took years, but it was worth the wait
10/3/2025
Liron Gertsman's award winning photo was years in the making. Then he got on a plane and took a boat to get it but it earned him the title of Bird Photographer of the Year out of 33 thousand other photos.
Duration:00:11:20
Pick-Your-Own Apple farmers say theft is out of control
10/2/2025
Farmer Paul Brooks is ringing the alarm over a surge in apple thefts on his farm in Uxbridge, Ontario. He is one of many other farmers across Ontario experiencing this and it's threatening the cultural-favourite activity of apple picking altogether.
Duration:00:09:55
Comics face backlash for performing in Saudi Arabia
10/2/2025
Comedians playing at a festival in Riyadh are being skewered by fellow comics for ignoring the country's human rights abuses. But former Canadian ambassador Dennis Horak says this isn't simply Saudi whitewashing. It's part of a move towards limited reforms — and that's good for both Saudis and regional stability.
Duration:00:11:28
The fate of Marineland's beluga whales
10/2/2025
Marineland wanted to ship their 30 captive beluga whales to an amusement park in China — but the federal government stopped them. And with the once iconic amusement park shutting its doors, the question of what to do with whales, and whose responsibility they should be, remains unclear. W
Duration:00:19:38
Remembering Jane Goodall and her ground-breaking career
10/2/2025
Jane Goodall’s research into chimpanzees changed our understanding of the natural world. She died yesterday at the age of 91. So we’re bringing back our conversation with Jane Gooddall from October 2023, where she told Matt Galloway how her youthful curiosity sparked a ground-breaking career — and why her hope for curbing climate change lied with young people
Duration:00:23:41
What raising minimum wage can and can't do
10/1/2025
The minimum wage is going up in some provinces today — for the second time this year in some cases. What does this actually mean for poverty in Canada? And is this meant to tackle the cost of living crisis?
Duration:00:16:12
What’s next for Alberta?
10/1/2025
For the last three months Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been hosting “Alberta Next” town halls. On the agenda — how to get a better deal from Ottawa...and more autonomy
The final town hall happens online tonight. But separatist and pro-Canada groups are also criss-crossing the province with their campaigns. The CBC’s Allison Dempster speaks with host Matt Galloway about what’s next for the province.
Duration:00:19:42
Dr. Mike vs anti-vaxxers: How Gen Z is changing debating
10/1/2025
Gen Z is reshaping debate culture. Online, millions tune in to fiery clashes over politics, identity, and health. It’s raw, awkward, sometimes uncomfortable — and wildly popular.But is this about finding common ground, or just turning polarization into entertainment? We talk to Atlantic writer Spencer Kornhaber about why these debates resonate with Gen Z and what they reveal about how young people have discussions today. Then, physician and YouTube creator Dr. Mike Varshavski joins us to share why he stepped into one of these debates himself — and whether conversations like these can actually change minds.
Duration:00:24:14
Why Gen Z loves subtitles
10/1/2025
A new survey shows that younger generations are watching TV with the subtitles way more than older people. Gen Z journalist Isabel Brooks says she gets why. Young people are watching in a noisy, distracted, TikTok-ified world. But that doesn't mean she likes it.
Duration:00:11:08
The brightness and beauty of being indigenous
9/30/2025
10 years after the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, three members of the family of the late Murray Sinclair, the chair of the commission, reflect on his legacy.
Stephanie and Sara Sinclair are the co-editors of two new collections of writing, "A Steady Brightness of Being" and "You Were Made for this World." They talk about their own family history, and the importance of sharing stories, knowledge and culture — as a path to a better future. And Niigaan Sinclair, Murray's son, and columnist and university professor, reflects on his Dad's lessons of love, and the time he spent with at his father's bedside before he died.
Duration:00:31:00
The "Nouveau" Louvre: How can the museum improve?
9/30/2025
The Louvre is the world's biggest, most visited museum in the world - about nine million visitors a year — and it's getting a makeover. Our conversation with the first woman to lead the Louvre, President-Director Laurence des Cars about the challenges of overtourism, their ambitious billion-dollar plan to modernize the venerable institution, the role of art and culture in 2025, and the future of museums.
Duration:00:25:21
How a criminal gang from India made the Canadian terror list
9/30/2025
Intimidation, extortion, and murder. After months of calls by political leaders, the Bishnoi Gang has been designated a terrorist organization by the federal government. But they're a group without a clear political ideology.
Duration:00:12:18
How Costco became a cultural phenomenon
9/29/2025
Perhaps when you turned 16 you were most looking forward to getting your driver's license. Talk to young people today and many have their eyes on a different rite of passage: a Costco membership. As Canadian communities clamour for Costcos, we speak to Canada's 'Costco Queen' Tina Chow about Costco's exploding social media growth. Then, journalist Ben Ryder Howe breaks down the global retailer's business strategy — and why it's working.
Duration:00:20:29
A custody battle that became a landmark case: Racine v Woods
9/29/2025
It was a court battle that made headlines. In the early 1980's an Indigenous mother fought to get her child back from the foster family that had looked after her from the time she was an infant. Her birth mother went all the way to Ottawa, to the Supreme Court of Canada, and in a landmark decision, the judge ruled that it was in the best interest of the child to stay with the foster family. It was a decision that would change the life of the little girl at the centre of the battle, Leticia Racine, and impact child welfare cases involving Indigenous children for years to come. We speak with Racine today, about her tumultuous life, and her journey back to her First Nation and her Indigenous culture.
Duration:00:25:06