- Trump, fascism and a warning from the past
Friday, December 20th 2024
After Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, historian and professor Timothy Snyder wrote a long post on Facebook. Here's how it started:
"Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience."
Snyder went on to share twenty lessons about authoritarianism from the 20th century. They would lay the groundwork for his 2017 book On Tyranny. Fast forward to 2024, and Snyder's warnings about authoritarianism are being amplified once again.
He joins the show to look ahead to the next four years of the Trump presidency, through the lens of his latest books: the just-released On Freedom and On Tyranny.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
- Trudeau troubles: embattled at home, mocked abroad
Thursday, December 19th 2024
The fallout from Chrystia Freeland’s resignation is far from over. As more people demand Justin Trudeau’s resignation he appears to be in no hurry to heed the calls.
Meanwhile, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump pokes fun at Canada’s ongoing chaos, reprising his jokes about the country becoming the 51st state. What does the drama in Ottawa mean for Canada’s position as it prepares for a potential trade war with Washington?
We're joined by J.P. Tasker from CBC's parliamentary bureau and Alex Panetta, a Washington-based CBC News correspondent.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
- Is Israel committing ethnic cleansing in Gaza?
Wednesday, December 18th 2024
The charge of ethnic cleansing is not, on its own, considered a crime under international law. Experts consider it to be part of the overall charge of genocide.
In this episode we take listeners to northern Gaza and examine the words and actions of politicians, academics and settlements organizations in order to better understand whether Israel is perpetrating a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
Our guest is Meron Rapoport, a 30-year veteran of the Israeli news industry who formerly worked as the head of news at Israel's Ha’aretz newspaper. Today he’s an editor at the Israeli publication Local Call. He joins the show to discuss whether Israel is guilty of committing a program of ethnic cleansing, and the prospect of a ‘Second Nakba’ in Gaza.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
- Can Trudeau survive Freeland’s resignation?
Tuesday, December 17th 2024
Chrystia Freeland's bombshell resignation as finance minister has thrown Justin Trudeau's fragile government into chaos. The decisions that led to this are raising questions about the Prime Minister's judgment, loyalties, leadership and ability to stay in power.
Paul Wells and Stephen Maher are our guests.
Paul has a substack under his own name and has written about Canadian politics for decades.
Stephen is a longtime federal politics reporter and author of The Prince: The Turbulent Reign of Justin Trudeau.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
- Is Canada Post doomed?
Monday, December 16th 2024
Late last week, federal labour minister Steven MacKinnon recommended that Canada Post workers, who have been on strike for more than four weeks, be ordered back to work until May 22, 2025. In the meantime, an inquiry would look into the roadblocks preventing the two parties from getting to an agreement.
This labour dispute has led to a lot of debate and discussion about the future of Canada Post.
Ian Lee is an associate professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University and has studied Canada Post for many years.
He walks us through the crown corporation’s grim financial situation, how its business could adapt, and its uncertain future.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
