The Current

The Current for Sept. 16, 2020

Today on The Current: Increased demand for COVID-19 testing, Isabel Wilkerson on Caste, Pandemic impact on the fashion industry, U.S. wildfire smoke shrouding B.C.
Matt Galloway is the host of CBC Radio's The Current. (CBC)

Today on The Current:

Demand for COVID-19 testing is up in many places across Canada. In some cities, that means waiting in line for hours to get a swab — but who should be getting tested and is there a better way? Dr. Isaac Bogoch, Dr. Dick Menzies and Dr. Stephanie Johnson-Obaseki weigh in.

We speak to award-winning author Isabel Wilkerson about her acclaimed book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, and why she argues there's a caste system at work in North America.

We look at the impact the pandemic has had on the fashion industry, particularly for low-cost products and fast fashion. We talk to Imran Amed, founder and editor-in-chief of The Business of Fashion, and Vancouver designer Molly Spittal, about finding a more sustainable way to put clothes on our backs.

Photographer Joshua Berson has been capturing images of the smoke shrouding Vancouver, after it drifted north from the U.S. wildfires. He tells us why he feels it's imperative to document the smoke, as a reminder of the urgency to fight climate change.

Full Episode Transcript