The Current

We have a tradition at The Current of helping you build your summer reading list. Our panel of book experts is here to help. Penny Warris owns Analog Books with her husband Scott in Lethbridge, Alberta. And Josh Cockerill is a Manager at Type Books in Toronto. They talk through their picks for best beach reads, hidden gems, non-fiction, kids books, and more.

A team of Canadian high school students took the top prize in an international culinary competition in France. We speak with cooking champions, Matea Thiessen-Unger and Avery Van Solkema about their journey from an after-school cooking program in Winnipeg to the Tablée des Chefs' Kitchen Brigades International Final in Paris, and Canadian celebrity chef Ricardo Larrivée about learning cooking skills for life.

Andrew Tate built an empire based on the idea of female subjugation and hyper masculinity. His message to men, particularly young men, is that they are victims of a feminized society.

Andrew Tate was arrested in Romania in 2022, along with his brother Tristan, for human trafficking. He's also accused of sexual assaulting multiple women — and is facing investigations in Romania, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Heidi Blake is an investigative reporter at the New Yorker and recently wrote a detailed and deeply reported story titled "Andrew Tate’s Empire of Abuse." She joins us to talk about how Andrew Tate built a business based on abuse, the charges he's facing, and Andrew Tate's influence on the MAGA movement.

As Quebec marks the Fete Nationale, we look at the new and very online generation of Quebecois independence activists. We speak to a 25-year-old Alex Valiquette about the explosion of pro-independence music and memes — and how the movement is reaching out to allophones and newcomers. Then, poll analyst Philippe Fournier gives a reality check about movement's strength among young people and the Quebec public at large — and how the Parti Quebecois promise to hold a referendum within four years could play into the upcoming fall election.

Portugal fans in Toronto's little Portugal nieghbourhood were celebrating the team's 5-0 win against Uzbekistan. It comes after Portugal received heavy criticism for a draw against Democratic Republic of the Congo last week. The win also makes veteran leader Cristiano Ronaldo the first player to score at 6 World Cup Tournaments.