The Current for Oct. 7, 2020
Today on The Current:
A five-year-old Canadian girl known as Amira has been repatriated to Canada from a Syrian refugee camp — where she ended up after her parents, believed to be ISIS members, were killed. The federal government says hers is an "exceptional case," but it raises questions about the other Canadians left behind in Syria, and whether they can safely be brought back. Matt Galloway speaks to Lawrence Greenspon, lawyer for Amira's uncle, Farida Deif, Canada director at Human Rights Watch, and Phil Gurski, a former CSIS strategic analyst.
Plus, money is the root of many things, good and evil. In a new book, Jacob Goldstein, the co-host of NPR's Planet Money, charts the fascinating history of money, from giant coins to paper currency (helped by warlord Kublai Khan), to our cashless society.
Then, former Conservative MP and interim party leader Rona Ambrose discusses her new book, the 2011 push to establish the International Day of the Girl (which falls this Sunday), and the need for more women in politics.
And author and Calgary Public Library's storyteller-in-residence Richard Van Camp is helping people tell their own stories during the pandemic, as a way to stay connected and remember what it means to be human. He tells us why he's embraced this difficult moment.