Front Burner

Earlier this summer, the federal government announced that it would build up to ten new nuclear reactors in the next fifteen years to help achieve Canada’s energy goals.

Canada isn’t alone in making this kind of big investment in nuclear power. Plans are underway to build more reactors in the U.S., China, India, and across Europe.

Still, there are concerns about costs, safety and the long term management of radioactive waste.

Jacopo Buongiorno teaches nuclear science and engineering at MIT. He’s also the director of the school’s Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems.

He’s here to talk about what’s driving Canada’s – and the world’s - nuclear power boom, and what risks could come with it.

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

On October 19th, Albertans will head to the polls to vote on whether or not there should be a referendum on staying a part of Canada or separating. So, how is the campaign to keep Canada united faring? What about the campaign for Alberta to leave?

Today on Front Burner, guest host Jason Markusoff in Calgary speaks with Toronto Star opinion writer Richard Warnica about his reporting on both campaigns, the enthusiasm gap, and what it might mean for the future of the country.

IDEAS, hosted by Nahlah Ayed is a daily podcast that explores how ideas over place and time shape our world.

There are 19 centibillionaires and a growing list of 3,000 billionaires worldwide. So it might not surprise you that the richest one per cent possesses nearly half of the world’s wealth. History has never seen such an extreme concentration of wealth. Some economists argue the battle of the 21st century is between oligarchy and democracy. How did we get here? IDEAS begins a four-part documentary series The Billionaire Age.
Listen to more episodes in this series:
Listen to Part Two: Disney heiress on the dangers of extreme wealth
Listen to Part Three: How oligarchs are taking over the world

More episodes of IDEAS are available here: https://link.mgln.ai/IDEASxFB

As the face of America's COVID-19 response, Anthony Fauci was a nearly constant presence in American life throughout the pandemic. To some, he was revered, reaching a sort of celebrity status. But to a movement on the American right, he eventually became a villain, accused not simply of mishandling the pandemic, but of misleading the public about its origins, and even bearing some responsibility for COVID-19 itself.

This week, Fauci testified before the U.S. Senate's Homeland Security Committee, to answer for his response to the pandemic. But the proceedings took a strange turn, as he refused to answer questions, repeatedly invoking the Fifth Amendment.

Daniel Engber is a senior editor at The Atlantic who co-wrote the piece, "What Anthony Fauci Didn't Say." He joins us to talk about why some Americans were so eager to put Anthony Fauci on trial.

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

A key part of Carney's deal to get a new pipeline built in Alberta involved the creation of the Pathways Project, which he touted as "the world's largest carbon capture and utilization and storage project." Canadian political leaders, both Liberal and Conservative, have been pinning high hopes on carbon capture technology for two decades, as a way to keep oil flowing while limiting emissions. But so far, it hasn't been adopted at a mass scale.

Investigative reporter Carl Meyer wrote a piece for The Narwhal about how politicians and oil companies have promoted carbon capture over the years. He joins us to talk about what we know about this technology, why we haven't seen it materialize at a large scale, and what it tells us about the politics around the climate.

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