Palantir’s technology has been used by everyone from the CIA and Mossad to Airbus and Morgan Stanley. The multi-billion dollar big data software company is at the centre of many of the major issues of our time.

Michael Steinberger is a reporter with The New York Times Magazine and the author of a forthcoming book on Palantir’s CEO entitled ‘The Philosopher in the Valley.’ He joins the show to discuss Palantir’s wide-reaching technology, and what it tells us about the future of government and surveillance.

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

Longstanding tensions came to a head last week when Israel launched a missile attack on Iran, targeting the country’s nuclear facilities and killing several high-level military personnel and nuclear scientists. In the days following the two countries have exchanged missile strikes, killing at least 78 in Iran and 13 in Israel.

As the conflict continues to escalate, what will it mean for the region? And as the bombardment derails Iran-U.S. nuclear talks, will the U.S. be pulled into an active war? To discuss this perilous moment and its dangerous implications, we’re joined by Greg Carlstrom, a longtime Middle East correspondent with The Economist and author of the book “How Long Will Israel Survive? The Threat From Within.”

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

Starting Sunday, political and economic representatives of a world order that Donald Trump is intent on shattering are gathering in Kananaskis, in Alberta's Rocky Mountains.

That on its own would be high stakes. But add to it Mark Carney's aggressive national to-do list, and you've got two days that could show us how much Canada and the world have changed since Trump became president a second time.

Aaron Wherry, a senior writer with CBC's Parliamentary Bureau, joins the show to unpack what he'll be watching for as he covers the event.

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

For years now Canada's been badgered to pony up, and spend more money on the military. Those calls have come from our actual military itself, our NATO allies, and more recently the U.S. President.

Well it looks like Mark Carney is going to pull out the credit card, and commit to spending an extra $9.3-billion on the armed forces by March, bumping our military spending up to two per cent of Canada's entire GDP.

Carney has also pledged to end this country's reliance on the U.S. for equipment by diverting billions of dollars in spending to Canadian manufacturers.

The timing awkwardly coincided with news about an embarrassing foray into Canadian military procurement: our plans to buy a fleet of F-35 fighter jets from America that the auditor general reported was billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.

So, what is Carney's vision for the future of our military? And how serious are the threats against Canada?

David Pugliese, defence reporter with the Ottawa Citizen, talks us through it.

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

As many as 40,000 Canadians are out of their homes right now with evacuation alerts and states of emergency in effect across much of western Canada, from B.C. through northern Ontario. Many, especially those from Saskatchewan and Manitoba, have been away from home for weeks, with no indication of when they'll return.

CBC Thunder Bay's Sarah Law brings us the story of evacuees from Sandy Lake First Nation, making their way to Thunder Bay, Ont., as fire bears down on their fly-in, fly-out community.

Then, Chief David Monias of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Manitoba tells us about the struggle his community has had getting the resources to effectively fight the fires and support its community members through the ongoing evacuation.

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

The city of Los Angeles has been embroiled in protests for days after a series of ICE raids rounded up dozens of people. Now, after President Donald Trump sent in 2000 members of the National Guard, the city finds itself in the middle of a fight between the White House and state and local governments over the rights of undocumented immigrants.

Jeannette Zanipatin is a lawyer and the Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), an L.A.-based organization that supports immigrants. The group has been involved with some of the demonstrations. She explains how this situation came to be, what the community has been dealing with and the legal and political implications of Trump’s crackdown.

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

A feud between Elon Musk and U.S. President Trump escalated and exploded over the course of 72 hours last week.

It started off with Musk’s criticism of Trump’s new spending bill, calling it a “disgusting abomination.” Trump later criticized Musk during a press conference in the Oval Office, saying that he would have won the 2024 election without the millions of dollars Musk spent to support him. From there, a barrage of attacks ensued over social media, and threats to cancel government contracts and cooperation.

Dasha Burns, Politico’s White House Bureau Chief and host of “The Conversation with Dasha Burns”, is here to walk through the twists and turns of this public breakup, and reflect on who wins and who loses when two of the most powerful people in the world fight.

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

What is Canadian content? And why does it matter? The Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission has been hearing very different answers to that question — as they try to come up with new CanCon rules. Commotion's Elamin Abdelmahmoud talks with storyteller Jesse Wente, policy expert Vass Bednar and showrunner Anthony Q Farrell about why getting CanCon right has never been more important.

Big laughs. Smart takes. Every day. Commotion is where you go for thoughtful and vibrant conversations about all things pop culture. Host Elamin Abdelmahmoud calls on journalists, critics, creators and friends to talk through the biggest arts and entertainment stories of the day, in 30 minutes or less.

More episodes of Commotion are available at: https://link.mgln.ai/L1GJWq