Front Burner

He was “Captain Canada” last year and at one point, the most popular conservative in Canada.
But now Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s taken a hit in the polls after a series of decisions that include the purchase and almost immediate sale of a $28.9-million private jet that his critics are calling the “gravy plane”.

Two recent polls have seen the Ontario PCs drop enough to find themselves almost on par with the Liberals, a party that’s currently helmed by an interim leader. Doug Ford’s personal approval ratings are worse, with more Ontarians unhappy with him than not. Can he turn this around? We’re joined by Robert Benzie, Queens Park Bureau chief for The Toronto Star.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

We are entering week two of a dramatic trial that pits two of the biggest names in tech against each other: Elon Musk and Sam Altman.

Musk is suing OpenAI, a company that he co-founded, claiming they betrayed their original mission in order to chase profits. According to him, the fate of the world is at stake.

But OpenAI says it’s all sour grapes, and that he's just upset that they did so well after he stepped down.

New York Times technology correspondent Mike Isaac has been covering the trial in Oakland, California. He joins us to break down the stakes of the trial, as well as what it’s taught us about the AI race.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Following the recent shooting connected to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, false-flag conspiracy theories emerged almost instantly online.

A false-flag is a covert operation designed to appear as though it was carried out by someone other than the true perpetrator.

And the complicated thing is that false-flag operations are not just the figments of paranoid imagination. Throughout history, governments have used deception, staged attacks, and manipulated attribution to justify war, consolidate power, and shape public opinion.

Today, we’re joined by Kathryn Olmsted, author and distinguished professor of history at University California, Davis, to discuss the history of false flag operations, conspiracy culture, and the relationship between real government deception and modern political paranoia.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The shockwaves triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran have made clear the extent to which the global economy relies on oil, and the U.S. dollar. It’s no accident.

So today we are going to try and understand how and why the U.S. and Saudi Arabia created this system, and how severely it’s being tested by this war. David Wight is our guest. He’s a lecturer at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and the author of Oil Money: Middle East Petrodollars and the Transformation of U.S. Empire, 1967–1988.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has delivered its spring economic update amidst an unpredictable global backdrop. It included a better-than-expected deficit figure and billions of dollars for skilled trades workers, as well as a sovereign wealth fund. Senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong breaks down what the document tells us about Canada’s finances and the Liberal government’s priorities.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts