The Current for Aug. 4, 2021
Today on The Current:
Some provinces are lifting mask mandates, but with COVID-19 variants still posing a threat, is it too soon? Guest host Rosemary Barton talks to Rod Russell, vice-president of the Canadian Society for Virology; and Alexander Wong, an infectious disease physician and associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan. We also hear from Crystal Dougan, owner of the Little Hobo Soup and Sandwich Shop in Kelowna, B.C., where a mask mandate was recently reintroduced after a spike in cases.
Plus, Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya was granted a humanitarian visa from Poland Monday, after she publicly criticized officials in her Olympic team. Tsimanouskaya said she was forcibly brought to the airport after the disagreement, and feared "punishment" if she was returned to Belarus. We discuss the country's crackdown on dissent with Franak Viačorka, a former journalist and now senior advisor to an exiled politician, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
Then, Athens has appointed its first Chief Officer of Heat, Eleni Myrivili. She tells us about the task of keeping people cool, and saving lives, in the face of climate change and rising temperatures.
And this summer, we're bringing you a few of the best original CBC podcasts. Today it's Episode 2 of Brainwashed, a disturbing tale of CIA experiments in mind control, what happened at a Montreal hospital, and the lives ruined because of it all.