What's going on behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel this week, as the Catholic Church's cardinals meet in Rome to choose the next pope?

It's a centuries-old tradition, but this time, the college of cardinals is bigger than ever, with a growing contingent from Africa and Asia — many of them attending their first conclave ever. That means lots of different priorities, and of course the lingering question of whether to continue the liberal legacy of the late Francis, or to opt for more stability and traditionality.

Charles Collins is the managing editor of the Crux, an independent publication covering the Catholic Church. He is our guest to break it all down.

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

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump had their first face-to-face meeting, amidst an ongoing trade war between Canada and the U.S.

The relationship between the two countries is at a historic low. On top of existing tariffs, Trump said on Monday that he wants to impose 100 per cent tariffs on movies produced outside the U.S. The move could have devastating implications for the Canadian film industry.

On top of all that, there was the potential for things to go sideways, given how the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump went earlier this year.

There was a lot at stake.

Aaron Wherry is a senior writer with the CBC’s parliamentary bureau. He spoke to Front Burner guest host Elaine Chau about how the meeting went, and where Canada-U.S. trade negotiations go from here.

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

Dr. Agnès Callamard has been a leader in the human rights sector for decades, and since 2021 has worked in the role of Secretary General for Amnesty International. She joins the show to discuss doing human rights work at this difficult historical moment, the future of international law, Canada’s role on the world stage, the question of genocide, and some of the lessons that can be drawn from the world’s most precarious frontiers.

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

The first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second administration have been turbulent, controversial, and transformative. Today we’re joined by Alex Shephard, a senior editor at the New Republic, to take stock of the most consequential changes, their impact on the United States and its place in the world, and to what extent they are irreversible.

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

For many Canadians, travel to the United States is a yearly routine. But that’s started to change.

People around the world have shared stories about travel to the U.S. gone wrong. Some have been pulled into the back rooms of airports for additional screening, others have been pressured to share their social media accounts for examination and in the worst case scenarios, detained.

Now, out of fear or even national pride, many travelers are rethinking their travel plans. In March, nearly 900,000 fewer Canadians visited the U.S. So, what might you encounter if you choose to head down south? Is there reason to be concerned?

Today, Hannah Sampson, a travel reporter with the Washington Post, joins the show to break down the reality of traveling to the U.S. under Trump.

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

The Conservative Party of Canada is once again the Official Opposition.

Now, the Tories are grappling with the disappointing results of Monday’s election. They lost to the Liberals after leading in the polls mere months ago and their party leader, Pierre Poilievre, failed to win in his own riding.

But it wasn’t a total loss. The Conservatives won 41 per cent of the popular vote, and picked up more seats than any other party, flipping both red and orange seats to blue.

Top Conservative strategist, Kory Teneycke, joins the show to talk about the path forward – what the results mean for Poilievre and what kinds of challenges he will face, if he stays on as leader, in uniting Conservatives and expanding their base.

It's official: the Liberals have a minority government.

They've got ambitious plans, and they've made big promises. But even though they got a substantial 44 per cent of the popular vote, they're now leading a country where 41 per cent of voters coalesced around their biggest opponent, the Conservatives. And they're still dealing with Donald Trump's trade war.

So how will they make it work?

Today, Paul Wells — a longtime political journalist who also publishes a Substack under his own name — joins us to talk about the Liberals' path forward.

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

A whirlwind election campaign has ended with Mark Carney leading the Liberal Party to victory, coming back from disastrous polling numbers just months ago. The NDP has been decimated, with leader Jagmeet Singh stepping down. Yet, despite losing, Pierre Poilievre's Conservative Party still earned the support of a large percentage of the population, leaving the Liberals with the prospect of leading a country dealing with persistent political divides.

CBC Ottawa senior writer Aaron Wherry and David Coletto, CEO of the polling firm Abacus Data, recap the biggest moments of the night and what to expect in the coming months.

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