The Current

The Strathcona area was once a hub for Vancouver’s black community, including Jimi Hendrix’s grandmother

UBC president Santa J. Ono was afraid to speak out about his mental illness; now, he’s a champion for mental health on campus.

Today on The Current: Why are so many students suffering from anxiety and depression? We talk to UBC president Santa Ono, who knows the issues both professionally and personally. Then, our national affairs panel brings us the latest on protests, pipelines, and blockades. Next, we explore Hogan’s Alley, which used to be a hub for the black community in Vancouver. And finally, members of Canada's running community are reeling because of misconduct allegations made against a top coach. 

Haisla Outreach worker James Harry forges a unique connection with fellow Haisla members struggling with addiction get to get them off the streets and into treatment — and in some cases, even get them home to Haisla.

The Current's Matt Galloway laced up his sneakers and stepped into the ring at Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling's training facility in Surrey, B.C., to learn about the local wrestling scene firsthand.

Wrestling shows like Vancouver's Glam Slam are subverting old stereotypes that abound in the genre by mixing in burlesque, drag and queer culture, along with women wrestling just as well as the men. But pro wrestling writ large still has more growing up to do, says one podcaster and critic.

Today on The Current: Businesses in Vancouver are suffering because of the coronavirus outbreak and experts say they’re not alone ⁠— there’s significant economic fallout in Canada and beyond. Plus, a former addict from Kitimat, B.C., now works on Vancouver's downtown eastside looking for members of the Haisla First Nation who are struggling. Then, wrestler Scotty Mac explains the Vancouver wrestling boom and teaches Matt how to wrestle.

Today on The Current: We discuss the opposition of the hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation to the Coastal GasLink pipeline in B.C., and the protests that have spread across the country. Plus, we bring you highlights of our town hall forum in Vancouver, a wide-ranging discussion on the challenges faced by the city’s Chinatown.

In a new book, Ramesh Srinivasan, a professor of Information Studies at UCLA, argues that the power that big Silicon Valley companies have over people's lives is not inevitable — and that examples of small, community-based tech worldwide show that other possibilities exist.

Should politicians on parental leave be able to vote by proxy? We talk to a panel of politicos who argue the provision would encourage more people with young families to run for office, and set an example that could make the work-parenting balance easier for everyone.

Today on The Current: How is the Chinese public reacting to President Xi Jinping’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak? Then, we discuss a push to let politicians on parental leave vote by proxy; will it be a step towards making work and parenting easier for everyone? Plus, we speak to an author who says we need a digital bill of rights, and an alternative to the big tech companies that control so much of our digital lives. And finally Port McNeill Mayor Gaby Wickstrom talks about her relief at a tentative agreement to end the seven-month-long Western Forest Products strike.

Fighting over the past two months in northwestern Syria is causing one of the biggest waves of internal displacement since the war began nine years ago, according to the UN.

Today on The Current: A massive displacement of Syrians is threatening to become a humanitarian crisis, as civilians flee government forces advancing on the last opposition strongholds in Idlib province and around Aleppo. Then, two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s acquittal, and what he’ll do next. Plus, we talk to a photographer who has captured green shoots in the ashes of the Australian bushfires; and finally we talk to cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc about trying to fight the recent election campaign, while simultaneously fighting cancer.

One month after the Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 crash in Iran, The Current spoke to two family members of victims about the questions they still want answered.

We talk to federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu about the 176 people beginning quarantine in Ontario after flying in from the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan. What are the ethics behind protective measures like this?

Today on The Current: We talk to federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu about the 176 people beginning quarantine in Ontario after flying in from the #coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan. Then, one month after the downing of Flight 752 in Iran, we speak to two people who lost their loved ones, and are left with grief and lingering questions. Plus, are the Toronto Raptors headed to the championship again? And as Sinn Féin leads the polls in Ireland’s general election, is the idea of Irish reunification on voters’ minds?

Journalist and activist Desmond Cole discusses his new book, The Skin We’re In, about being black in Canada, and why he embraces being called a radical.

Join Matt Galloway on Monday, Feb. 10 for a forum all about the future of Vancouver's Chinatown.

You might think of parking as boring, but the father of parking policy, Donald Shoup, promises it isn’t. He’s here to open your eyes to how "fixing" parking can help save cities.