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Front Burner is a daily news podcast that takes you deep into the stories shaping Canada and the world. Each morning, from Monday to Friday, host Jayme Poisson talks with the smartest people covering the biggest stories to help you understand what’s going on.

Front Burner

The seizure of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro by military force. Promises to "take back" the Panama Canal. Massive tariffs on Brazil. Threats to take action against cartels in Mexico.

Donald Trump's foreign policy in Latin America in recent months has been chaotic, even contradictory at times. But it all seems to be part of what Trump has referred to as the "Donroe Doctrine": a reinvention of the Monroe Doctrine that saw America looking to exert hegemonic dominance across the entire western hemisphere.

John Feeley worked as a diplomat for the American government for nearly 30 years, including serving as ambassador to Panama. He breaks down the current geopolitical situation and lays out the Trump administration's goals for the region — and beyond.

A veteran diplomat explains the 'Donroe Doctrine'

Right now, the future of Greenland hangs in the balance. 

And with it, an entire system of military and political alliances that has underpinned the global order since the end of the Second World War.

So when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he’s going to meet with Danish leaders to talk about Greenland this week, that’s what diplomats, historians and politicians the world over say is at stake.

This could have massive implications for Canada, both as a NATO member and target of Trump’s expansionist appetites.

Casey Michel joins us. He’s a journalist and author of the upcoming book ‘United States of Oligarchy’. He recently wrote a piece for Foreign Policy titled “Annexing Greenland would be a Strategic Catastrophe.”

What if Greenland’s next?

Whether you think it’s world-changing or over-hyped, it’s undeniable that artificial intelligence has transformed the tech industry.

But as tech companies chase the dream of building a human-like intelligence and revolutionizing everything from doctor’s visits to movie-making, the industry continues to face big questions around things like the mental health of users, copyright infringement, reliability of large language models, and its financial future.

Murad Hemmadi, a reporter with The Logic, is here to talk about how all of these questions could play out in the year ahead.

Where is AI headed in 2026?

In 1999 Hugo Chavez was elected President of Venezuela, beginning a years-long ‘Bolivarian Revolution,’ following multiple coup attempts, and time in prison. Chavez would go on to govern the country as President until his death in 2013 — passing sweeping anti-poverty programs, nationalizing oil and industry, and opposing US hegemony in the region.

 

Just before his death, Chavez hand selected Nicolas Maduro as the person to carry forward his political program and legacy. Maduro’s time in power was hamstrung between domestic mismanagement, US sanction regimes, and authoritarian crackdowns. But at the core of his time in power was the ‘Chavismo’ political ideology, created in the image of his predecessor. 

For a better sense of Venezuela’s modern political history, we have a look at its central characters: Simon Bolivar, Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro. Today, we’re joined by Alejandro Velasco, a professor of Latin American history at New York University, and author of ‘Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela.’

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

Chavez, Maduro, and the making of Venezuela

Today, Gerry Butts – former principal secretary to Justin Trudeau and current adviser to Prime Minister Carney – is on the show.

Butts is also the vice chairman of the global political risk firm, the Eurasia group, which releases a “Top Risks” list every year. We’ll drill down on a few of them, including their number one risk, the “U.S. political revolution”. The report makes the case that, outside of the U.S. itself, America’s political upheaval has the greatest impact on Canada. We’ll also discuss the “Zombie USMCA” deal and the future of NATO.

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

The world’s biggest risks, with Gerry Butts

In the wake of the U.S. arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, there has been a flurry of concern about what that country’s oil could mean for the Canadian economy.

Is American access to the world’s largest proven oil reserves a major threat to Canada? Have we lost leverage with the U.S. as we move forward in trade negotiations? 

Over the last few days, Trump has threatened Cuba, Greenland, Iran, Colombia and Mexico. What are Canada’s primary concerns as we navigate this new reality?

 

From CBC’s Parliamentary bureau, senior reporter Evan Dyer is here. Evan has a lot of experience covering Canadian foreign policy, Latin America, and has reported extensively from the region.

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

Canada’s Venezuelan oil problem

After months of rhetoric, military presence and strikes, U.S. forces have launched an attack on the Venezuelan capital Caracas. They seized the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, and flew him to New York to face narco-terrorism charges.

U.S. officials say Maduro heads up a cartel responsible for flooding the United States with drugs, but critics — and Maduro himself — say the charges are just a pretext for regime change — and access to the country's vast oil reserves. U.S. President Donald Trump says the United States will "run" Venezuela for the immediate future, and that American oil companies will move in to take over the country's oil industry.

Jon Lee Anderson is a staff writer with the New Yorker who has covered conflict in Latin America for decades. He explains the complicated power dynamics at play with Maduro out of the picture, and what we might see in the weeks ahead.

What will follow Trump's Venezuela attack?

In the fourth and final episode of Understood: The Making of Musk, host Jacob Silverman launches into Musk’s ultimate quest, his desire to colonize Mars, and how he went from wanting to save earth to wanting to escape it. 

You’ll hear the origin story of SpaceX. And hear from an astrophysicist who says Musk’s plan is completely delusional. 

You can find Understood wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/FBxMoM4

And be sure to follow the feed for even more stories that define our digital age.

Front Burner Presents: The Making of Musk, Episode 4

What does Musk, father of 14, expect from his quote, “legion” of children? In episode 3 of Understood: The Making of Musk, host, Jacob Silverman unravels Musk’s quest for genetic optimization, including alleged embryo screening, and his pronatalist views. And we hear from his estranged daughter, Vivian.

You can find Understood wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/FBxMoM3

Front Burner Presents: The Making of Musk, Episode 3

Where did Elon Musk’s epic ambitions begin? In search of clues, the latest season of Understood: The Making of Musk returns to his sheltered youth in apartheid South Africa, a world engineered for white supremacy. 

In this second episode, host Jacob Silverman explores whether Musk’s authoritarian streak traces back to his Canadian grandfather. Before Joshua Haldeman brought his family to South Africa, he made waves as part of the radical 1930s Technocracy movement. And while the two men’s lives only overlapped for three years, we find echoes of Elon’s worldview in Haldeman’s pro-tech, anti-democratic ideology.

You can find Understood wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/FBxMoM2

Front Burner Presents: The Making of Musk, Episode 2

A bankruptcy deal for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma gave a legal shield to the Sackler family that ran the company. Now, a challenge to the settlement has gone to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Why are families of opioid victims split on whether they want the multi-billion dollar settlement to stand?

How could the ruling change who can get immunity from lawsuits in massive corporate settlements?

Why have the Boy Scouts of America and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops submitted briefs calling for Purdue’s deal to stand?

David Ovalle is a national reporter with the Washington Post focusing on opioids and addiction.

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

Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

An earlier version of this episode stated that the movie Pain Hustlers was inspired by Purdue and Oxycontin. That film was based on a different company which also sold opioid based pain medication. We've corrected this episode to remove that error.

Will Purdue’s opioid settlement be overturned?

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