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The morning after the Oklahoma tornado

A woman carries a child through a field near the collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla. (AP/Sue Ogrocki)

A woman carries a child through a field near the collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla. (AP/Sue Ogrocki)

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The people of Moore, Oklahoma listened to weather forecasters in a way few others do. But even warnings that came faster than usual were little defence against the massive funnel cloud that roared through the city yesterday afternoon. Eliminating entire neighbourhoods, hitting schools, killing dozens. Today, we go to Moore on the morning after.

Crowd-sourcing political accountability?

Crowd-sourcing political accountability?
He came into the Mayor's office in Toronto promising a new kind of accountability but it is the voting public, his fellow councilors and the media demanding some new kind of accountability from Rob Ford. In a video The Toronto Star & Gawker have both reported viewing, allegedly showing the Mayor smoking a crack pipe. Crowd-funding has raised tens-of-thousands dollars to buy the video presumably from the dealers. How does the wider quest for accountability get twisted up like this?

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How to use a barcode for a boycott

How to use a barcode for a boycott
A new App enables you to link the company behind any given product to the family tree of corporate owners behind the product. It is being heralded as a rapid-fire tool to know who to boycott or who is supporting the cause you support.

But those pushing for greater corporate accountability question whether the applause over the App hides a lag in legislation.

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PM's chief of staff resigns as Senate expense scandal unfolds

PM's chief of staff resigns as Senate expense scandal unfolds
It's been a busy Victoria Day long weekend for the movers and shakers on Parliament Hill. After a week of political turmoil over the Senate expense scandal, the Prime Minister's chief of staff Nigel Wright has resigned. But questions about the $90,000 cheque he cut for Senator Mike Duffy continue to swirl. We track the story from here.

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Outside with Sarah Harmer: Mixing music and social justice

Outside with Sarah Harmer: Mixing music and social justice
Bruce Cockburn has written some of the most memorable pop songs in the world and blazed a trail for musicians trying to connect their craft to the social and political issues around us. Guest host Sarah Harmer speaks to Bruce Cockburn and Nathan Lawr of the Minotaurs about social justice and music.

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Duffy-Gate: Senate Scandal

Duffy-Gate: Senate Scandal
With Senator Mike Duffy's spending and borrowing habits under scrutiny, he quite the Conservative party to sit as an independent. We hear about the potential damage of Duffy-Gate to the government and why the Senator's been considered so valuable to the Conservatives, even though he once doubted the value of the Senate himself.

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Why thousands of people want a one-way trip to Mars

Why thousands of people want a one-way trip to Mars
From the Red Chamber to the Red Planet, we find out why so many people want to be part of a one-way mission to Mars. And we hear why at least one astronaut believes the colonists' hopes to spend their final days on Mars are most likely to be buried on earth.

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Can the DSM survive the barrage of criticism?

Can the DSM survive the barrage of criticism?
For more than half a century, psychiatrists have turned to it to help diagnose their patients. But some doctors now hope the newest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM is the last of its kind. We hear why some are losing faith in the so-called 'bible' of psychiatry.

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The Power of Polls

The Power of Polls

Before we dismiss the ubiquitous election campaign polls and the relentless public opinion pollsters after polls in the BC election got it so wrong...perhaps we need to look at this differently. The power of opinion polls may not reside in the ability to predict but rather in their ability to Influence voter behaviour.

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Checking-In: Listener Response

Checking-In: Listener Response
We are catching up and updating lots of stories this week ... from vegan fury and grizzly bear worries ...to a man who is literally drawing out the opposition in the upcoming Iranian elections with a fictional character from a popular graphic novel.

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Fighting breast cancer through preventative mastectomies

Fighting breast cancer through preventative mastectomies
When The New York Times printed Angelina Jolie's opinion piece outlining her choice of a preventative mastectomy, the public conversation began anew, sparked by her fame and her candor and the realization that genetic technology offers many women informed choice. Today, we pick up on that conversation with three women who made their own choices.

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