Front Burner

In his 14 months as director of the FBI, Kash Patel has not only overseen a radical transformation of the bureau, but has also embroiled himself in a seemingly endless list of controversies.

Late last week, The Atlantic published a scathing story with allegations of erratic behavior, excessive drinking, and unexplained absences. In response, Patel filed a $250 million defamation suit against the magazine, accusing it of publishing false and damaging claims.

Reporter Marc Fisher joins us to talk about the controversies, the transformation of the FBI, and the implications. Fisher is a former senior editor with the Washington Post, and co-author of “Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power”. He reported and wrote a piece for the New Yorker last fall called “Kash Patel’s Acts of Service.”

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

A conflict playing out in British Columbia is testing the limits of reconciliation in the province. It’s a fight that involves resource extraction, democracy, political flip-flops, and a test of values. It has set off fears that people may not own their homes and raised the legal prospect that Indigenous groups could veto laws around resource extraction. Others have called this fearmongering, and it has many Indigenous people and leaders asking if the province takes reconciliation seriously.

Rob Shaw, who covers politics for CHEK News and Glacier Media, walks us through how we got here.

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

Jayme sits down with Nobel laureate economist, Daron Acemoglu, a professor at MIT, and one of the leading thinkers about labour, politics and technology.

He’s the author of the best-selling book “Why Nations Fail” and the forthcoming work “What Happened to Liberal Democracy?”. They talk about the decline of western liberal democracy, the alienation of the working class, AI, and more.

This was a live conversation at a summit put on by OCAD and Toronto Metropolitan University called the Democracy Xchange.

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

During the spring, farmers around the globe work to get the seeds and enough fertilizer in the ground to maintain the growing season. If that doesn't happen, food prices spike and farmers could face lower crop yields.

That is very much at risk of happening right now because of the Strait of Hormuz’s closure. About a third of the world’s seaborne fertilizer goes through the strait and prices have skyrocketed. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warns that this could lead to a global food catastrophe. Marcia Brown covers food and agriculture for Politico. She’s here to explain.

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

U.S. President Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, following diplomatic talks in Washington. This follows an intense period of violence, in which more than 2100 people have been killed in Lebanon, including a Canadian citizen.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has condemned Israel’s actions in Lebanon, which he characterized as an illegal invasion. CBC’s Evan Dyer says that’s a major change from how Prime Ministers Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau spoke about Israel. He discusses why that change came about, and what it says about how Carney views Canada’s place in the world.

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