The Current

Last week, The Current asked listeners about the smells that remind them of Canada. Here's what they had to say.

Today on The Current: Nova Scotia’s real estate boom and buying houses through Zoom, COVID-19’s impact in the Yukon and N.W.T., Preparing for the 33rd Annual Spelling Bee of Canada Championship Finals, Tanya Talaga on the power of Anishinaabe storytelling.

On Tuesday, Scotland became the first country in the world to make period products freely available. Matt Galloway spoke to Monica Lennon, the Member of Scottish Parliament who first introduced the bill, and Jana Girdauskas, founder of The Period Purse, about the bill and what Canada can take from it.

Today on The Current: Is Canada at the back of the line for COVID-19 vaccines? Charities shouldering burden as food insecurity grows, Scotland makes period products free for all, Canary Islands becoming route to Europe for large number of migrants and refugees.

New lockdown orders across the country have come at a crushing time for small business owners told to close — while big-box stores stay open.

Therapist Andrea Warnick says the pandemic has meant many people who lose loved ones can’t come together to grieve. She's part of an organization calling for a national grief strategy.

Today on The Current: National affairs panel on rising COVID-19 numbers and how long Canadians might wait for a vaccine, Calls for a national grief strategy to help people cope with impact of pandemic, New lockdown orders come at a crushing time for small businesses.

The Atlantic bubble has popped. As COVID-19 cases rise in the Maritimes, Matt Galloway talks to Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey and P.E.I. Premier Dennis King about the situation in their provinces.

As COVID-19 continues to separate communities, people have looked to the stars and used astronomy as a way to maintain and build new connections.

Today on The Current: Alberta Premier Jason Kenney absent as province tops national number of COVID-19 cases, Boom in amateur astronomy during pandemic, Approaching lockdown like an endurance sport, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey and P.E.I. Premier Dennis King on leaving Atlantic bubble

In his new book, former U.S. president Barack Obama reflects on the “outsized expectations” of his election as the country’s first Black leader, as well as how living up to those expectations wasn’t always possible.

Barack Obama says he's confident that after four turbulent years, Canada-U.S. relations will be restored to a more stable course under president-elect Joe Biden. Obama made the comments in a wide-ranging interview in which he also discussed whether the current president is a racist and the need to repair the U.S. image internationally.

Former U.S. president Barack Obama says the biggest challenge for president-elect Joe Biden will be to bridge the vast political divide that exists in the country and find areas of potential compromise with those who continue to support Donald Trump, without whom he can't govern. Watch excerpts from his full interview with The Current.

Former U.S. president Barack Obama on racism in the Trump era, U.S.-Canada relations, a Biden presidency and his new book A Promised Land. Plus, an investigation from CBC's The Fifth Estate reveals new details of the shooting rampage that started in Portapique, N.S., and what law enforcement knew.

It’s hard enough to complete the Ironman competition as is, but Chris Nikic did something that had never been done before — he became the first person with Down syndrome to finish the triathlon. Guest host Rosemary Barton spoke to him and his father about the achievement.

Today on The Current: National affairs panel on winter and rising COVID-19 cases in Canada, Chris Nikic becomes first person with Down Syndrome to complete Ironman triathlon, The pros and cons of Sweden’s approach to the pandemic, André Picard on the possibility of school closures.

Proposed changes to Canada’s medical assistance in dying law have been described as an existential threat to dignity by some disability advocates, who argue their communities need greater assistance in living instead. But others see it as a necessary balance between autonomy and security.

Today on The Current: Medical assistance in dying and people living with disabilities, Jessica J. Lee wins $60,000 award for memoir Two Trees Make A Forest, Gates Foundation CEO on vaccine access, Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit and women in chess.

Author and journalist Rick Westhead on the story of Joe Murphy, the former Edmonton Oilers player who went from winning the Stanley Cup to living homeless. Westhead says Murphy’s story is part of a bigger discussion about brain injury and mental illness — one the National Hockey League must address.

Today on The Current: Could ‘COVID Zero’ be possible for Canada?, Concern over delay to White House transition, Odeuropa project aims to bring you the smells of the past, How former Edmonton Oilers player Joe Murphy went from winning the Stanley Cup to living homeless.

In his new book, public policy expert Seth Klein argues Canada must mobilize to fight climate change in the same way the country did to fight climate change.