The Current

The Current for July 21, 2020

Today on The Current: ‘Wall of Moms’ protects protesters in Portland, Could robots solve the social ills exposed by pandemic?, André Picard on promising early COVID-19 vaccine results, Episode six of CBC podcast Uncover: Sharmini
Ottawa Morning
Robyn Bresnahan hosts Tuesday's edition of The Current (CBC)

Today on The Current

Dozens of women in Portland have formed a nightly "wall of moms" between Black Lives Matter protesters and federal agents, dispatched to the intensifying protests by President Donald Trump. The agents have been accused of violence, and picking up protesters in unmarked vans. We speak to a florist who's joined that wall, and a lawyer discusses whether civil liberties are under attack by the Trump administration.

Plus, technology has eased some of our lockdown problems, but Yale computer scientist Brian Scassellati thinks "social robots" are the real upgrade we need: built to homeschool kids, or check in on elderly relatives.

Then, there are promising signs from a COVID-19 vaccine trial in England. The Globe and Mail's health columnist André Picard discusses the very early findings, as well as new clusters of infections in Canada, and what that means for schools reopening.

And all summer long The Current is airing some of the most critically-acclaimed CBC podcasts. We continue today with episode six of Uncover: Sharmini, about the unsolved 1999 homicide of a Toronto teen. Click here to find out more about each podcast, or skip ahead to hear more.

Full Episode Transcript