The Current

The Current for March 24, 2022

Today on The Current: Advances in gene therapy bring new hope to people with sickle cell disease; tackling injury and fatality on Canada’s roads; the strategic and symbolic importance of Mariupol; and why a surge in Canada’s wild pig populations is nothing to snort at.
Matt Galloway is the host of CBC Radio's The Current. (CBC)

Full Episode Transcript

Today on The Current:

There is no universal cure for sickle cell disease, but experimental therapies are giving patients new hope. Matt Galloway speaks with Revée Agyepong, one of the first adults to be cured of the rare blood disorder in Canada; and Dr. Dhruv Khullar, a physician-researcher at Cornell University's Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.

Then, what will it take to bring down road fatalities and make Canada's roads safer for all? We talk to Jessica Spieker, who was hit by an SUV in 2015 and is now a spokesperson for Friends and Families for Safe Streets; and Bella Dinh-Zarr, a senior advisor in public health and transportation at the Traffic Injury Research Foundation.

Plus, we discuss the strategic and symbolic importance of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, with Aurel Braun, professor of international relations and political science at the University of Toronto.

And a recent surge in wild pig populations in the Prairies has raised concerns about the potential impacts. Researcher Ryan Brook and pork farmer Jurgen Preugschas explain what's at stake — and why wild pigs are nothing to snort at.

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