Front Burner

On the first day of his second term as U.S. president, Donald Trump signed an executive order effectively gutting USAID — the United States Agency for International Development. It's an arm of the government that, in 2024, was operating in more than 130 countries worldwide, providing food, medicine and other life-saving support.At the time, advocates said the cuts would result in preventable deaths from starvation, malnutrition, and easily treatable diseases. Now, nearly a year later, reporting from ProPublica suggests that’s what happened, particularly in several African countries.Anna Maria Barry-Jester, a reporter with ProPublica, breaks down her investigation into the fallout of the collapse of USAID.

It’s been almost a year since Alberta Premier Danielle Smith met with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. He was on the brink of a trade war. Since then, a lot has happened, from a renewed push for a separatist referendum, to election recall campaigns, to a shift in the relationship between the province and Ottawa.We are joined by two CBC colleagues. Kathleen Petty is the host of the West of Centre podcast and Jason Markusoff is a writer and producer in Calgary.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Today, an in-depth look at puberty blockers and their use on minors with gender dysphoria. These drugs have come under an enormous amount of scrutiny in recent years, with some questioning their benefits, safety and long-term impact.After banning the use of puberty blockers for gender treatment of people under 18, a new clinical trial in the U.K. aims to get to the bottom of those concerns.Azeen Ghorayshi is a science and gender reporter for the New York Times.She’ll parse through what we know and don’t know about the effects of blockers in minors, how this became a hugely divisive and politicized debate around the world, and whether this new trial could change our understanding.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

First, the latest on the massacre at Bondi Beach in Australia. The mass shooting targeted the Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah.We speak with Sean Tarek Goodwin, a reporter with ABC News, who was one of the first to arrive on the scene.Second, a surprise defection on Parliament Hill.Late last week, just hours after Parliament wrapped for the year, the Liberals welcomed another floor crosser into the party. With 171 seats, they are now just one MP away from holding a majority.Aaron Wherry is a senior writer with CBC’s Parliamentary bureau.He’s here to talk about all that, and look back at Prime Minister Carney’s first sitting.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

‘Make America Great Again' has been Donald Trump’s brand for a decade, riding the movement’s anti-elitist wave into the presidency and remaking the Republican Party. But cracks are now showing in the coalition, raising questions about Trump’s commitment to MAGA goals. One of his staunchest allies has become his loudest critic: Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who recently announced she would resign her seat next year. CBC’s Washington correspondents — Katie Simpson, Paul Hunter and Willy Lowry — discuss if Greene’s defection is a sign of growing discontent from Trump’s base.