Front Burner

What happens when a human becomes intimately enmeshed with a chatbot? From people who’ve married their bots or who grieve their loved ones with the help of AI, host Victoria Hetherington (author of The Friend Machine) dives into the stories of the people who have invited these digital avatars into their hearts, minds, and even beds. And asks what do we gain and what do we stand to lose? Our intimacy, our resilience, even our grasp on reality? This latest season of Understood looks at who made the decisions that allowed chatbots to move way beyond digital assistants and into the most intimate parts of our lives.

Understood takes you deep inside the seismic shifts reshaping our world right now. From online porn and crypto chaos to the rise of tech oligarchs, deepfake AI, and the broken promises of the internet.

More episodes of Understood are available wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/AIxFB

CBC parliamentary reporters Aaron Wherry and Catharine Tunney are back to talk about the big political stories of the week including: Prime Minister Mark Carney losing high-profile MP Steven Guilbeault over climate policies, digital surveillance blowback from Bill C-22, and how Carney will handle Alberta separatism.

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

There’s an old adage from the days of the Watergate scandal: “follow the money.” And in Donald Trump’s second term as President of the United States, these words remain incredibly relevant.

From foreign investments, to real estate, cryptocurrency, personal stock trades, taxpayer settlement funds, personal gifts, and presidential pardons the news environment has been flooded with reports about the ways in which critics say Donald Trump is using the Presidency to profit personally.

Zack Beauchamp is Senior Correspondent with VOX. He joins the show to discuss the flood of corruption allegations surrounding Trump, the politics of self enrichment, and the ethical loopholes that make much of it possible.

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

Western Premiers gathered in Kananskis, Alberta this week to discuss shared issues like trade, defense and energy projects. But another topic overshadowed the meetings: Alberta separatism.

Late last week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the province will hold a referendum on the prospect of independence in the fall. But rather than a straight question about leaving Canada, the referendum will ask Albertans whether they support another referendum on seceding. The question has both separatists and federalists upset.

Kathleen Petty, host of the CBC podcast West of Centre, and Jason Markusoff, writer and producer with CBC in Alberta, join us to talk through the fallout. What does this mean for the country, for Albertans and for Smith herself?

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

As we inch closer to the July 1st CUSMA review deadline, there still aren’t any formal trade talks between Canada and the U.S. planned. The government says there are informal talks happening at different levels.

Other recent developments aren’t great. U.S. officials have blasted a substantial hike in what big streamers have to pay into Canadian content, and they’ve suspended a joint defense board that’s been around for 80 years. This week as talks between the U.S. and Mexico begin, Canada is excluded.

Our returning guest is Eric Miller, the president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group and a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

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