Front Burner CBC News & Politics

On the weekend, more than 90 countries held a conference in Switzerland billed as a “peace summit” for Ukraine.

But Russia was not in attendance. The summit failed to reach a consensus on a final statement. And the way forward on a peace process remains totally unclear, with Russia and Ukraine drawing intersecting red lines on territory and security.

So after over two years of war, what do Ukrainians feel like the path is to ending it?

How are they coping with mounting losses and strains on resources?

And what would they – and Russia – be willing to sacrifice to finally reach peace?

CBC’s Briar Stewart brings us the view from the northeastern city of Kharkiv, where Russia began a new offensive last month.

Over the weekend, tens of thousands marched in the streets of Tel Aviv to protest against the Israeli government. This particular protest was calling for early elections and a hostage deal now. Demonstrations similar to the one over the weekend have been a regular occurrence across Israel for months now.

Today on Front Burner, Amir Tibon on how representative these protests are of broader Israeli sentiment, and what that says about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s grip on power. He’s the diplomatic correspondent for Haaretz in Tel Aviv.

In 2014, a U.S. brainwave scientist claimed he could increase people’s creativity and cure their traumas. And he got permission to experiment on Indigenous children in Canada, offering an all-expenses-paid trip to Victoria, B.C.

But a decade later, some study participants say the testing they went through — which included staff attaching electrodes to their heads and being asked to talk about the most traumatic moments of their lives — wasn’t what they signed up for and may have left side-effects.

We hear from CBC’s Geoff Leo about what his investigation turned up and why critics are demanding more accountability and transparency over how the study was approved in the first place.

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Everyone knows who Céline Dion is. You can’t forget her incredible power ballads, her iconic outfits at the Met Gala or her quirky conversations with journalists and fellow singers alike.

But what fans didn’t know for years was Céline was suffering from stiff-person syndrome. It was causing her body to tense up and spasm, making it hard to use her famous vocal chords. She went public with the diagnosis a year and a half ago, and then stepped away from showbiz and the public eye.

Now, she’s opening up about her story and how stiff-person syndrome has affected her life in a new documentary. Ahead of its release, we hear from CBC’s Adrienne Arsenault, who got an exclusive interview with Céline and tells us what she learned about Celine’s life and her plans to sing in the future.

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Over the past few months attacks that hit Jewish schools, community centres and synagogues have shaken Canada’s Jewish community.

For some Jewish-Canadian parents, there is now a question of whether it’s safe to send their children to Jewish schools.

“Right now, it's a bit fraught to be very Jewish out in the broader world,” says Kim Werker, a Jewish-Canadian mother with a 13-year-old son. 

We speak to Werker and another Jewish-Canadian mother about these concerns, how they’ve been coping and how challenging it has been to talk to their children about the war in Gaza and antisemitism in Canada.

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We dive into the wild story behind The Epoch Times, a fringe conservative newspaper turned right-wing propaganda machine with ties to a mysterious dissident Chinese meditation movement. 

What are its aims? How did it become one of the biggest pro-Trump ad spenders and a destination for the likes of Candace Owens and Conrad Black?

And what will happen now that its CFO is charged in a $67-million money laundering scandal.

NBC disinfo reporter Brandy Zadrozny explains.

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