Trump’s crypto bills: what does he stand to gain?

U.S. President Donald Trump promised to make America the cryptocurrency capital of the world and he’s been working to make good on that. This week, in what House Republicans dubbed “Crypto Week”, he pushed Congress to pass three major pieces of legislation championed by the industry.Trump hasn’t always been a fan of crypto but after his sons caught on and tens of millions from the crypto industry poured into his re-election campaign, he’s gone all in. Now, he’s got multiple ventures but none as big as World Liberty Financial, the start-up that’s earned his family an estimated $500 million so far. But who is he striking these deals with? And why are some Democrats calling it all a “vehicle for corruption”? To untangle this complex web of policymaking, moneymaking and influence, we’re joined by Jacob Silverman, the co-author of “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud” and the host of The Naked Emperor, CBC Understood’s four part podcast series about the rise and fall of FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

After more than four decades of activism and advocacy, David Suzuki is one of the most renowned and respected voices in the environmental movement. So when he says it's too late to stop climate change, people take notice. And that's now exactly what he's saying.He's delivering this message as Prime Minister Mark Carney's government focuses on fast-tracking major projects it deems to be of national interest, which could include a new pipeline for fossil fuels from Alberta. Suzuki says that, despite his understanding of the climate crisis, Carney — like all of us — is trapped by the economic and political systems we've created. And for Suzuki, our only hope for survival is to scrap those systems entirely.David Suzuki joins Jayme Poisson on the podcast for a wide-ranging discussion from what a world of irreversible climate change looks like to what he describes as the "madness" of continued investment in fossil fuels to the lessons environmentalists of the future can take from the past.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts.

Zohran Mamdani’s win in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York is one of the most stunning upsets in the city’s political history. The 33-year-old assemblyman led a campaign focused on affordability, with a platform that included a rent freeze, free public transportation and free child care.Zohran’s win garnered international attention. It also marked the introduction of the first star the Democratic party has produced in many years, appealing to voters that the party has struggled to retain. But since then, political forces - including many from within his own party - have been trying to stop his rise. Why is that? And why is the Democratic Party establishment in particular, hesitating to back him?Errol Louis is a reporter with New York Magazine and a local anchor in New York City. Louis has written a number of pieces about Mamdani, and joins the show to talk about his rapid ascent to stardom, and the identity crisis at the heart of the Democratic Party. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts.

U.S. President Donald Trump wrote letters to over two dozen trading partners last week, threatening a fresh set of tariffs. Canada was among them and is now facing the possibility of 35% tariffs on all Canadian goods that don’t comply with CUSMA, the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, if a deal isn’t reached by August 1st. Where do our negotiations with the Trump administration stand and how much worse could things get if these tariffs come into effect? What cards can Canada still play at the negotiating table? And what does Trump’s ongoing tariff approach mean for the world? To help make sense of it all, we’re joined by Eric Miller, trade analyst and president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts.

To kick off the week, we tackle a few big stories in two realms of Canadian politics: the military, and the federal public service.First, the Ottawa Citizen's David Pugliese tells us about the investigation into a Facebook group where military members of one regiment regularly share misogynistic, racist and derogatory content. He also shares his thoughts on another story involving the Canadian army: the charges laid last week by the RCMP against military members accused of planning to form an anti-government militia.Then, to get a sense of what Prime Minister Mark Carney's goal to cut tens of billions in government spending might look like, we are joined by Yves Giroux, Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer, the non-partisan watchdog whose job is to promote budget transparency and accountability.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Following years of speculation, this week U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi dismissed the existence of a long-rumored "Epstein client list," and reaffirmed that Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide.This comes after months of hopes — in some quarters — that Trump would make good on his promise to reveal more details about the case and those involved in a powerful network surrounding the now-dead Epstein.Trump's own vice president, J.D. Vance, wanted to know more. So did Elon Musk, who accused Trump of being in the so-called "Epstein files." Folks in the conservative media ecosystem are not taking this well. Vicky Ward is an investigative reporter and bestselling author who has been reporting on Epstein for years. You can read her work on Substack at Vicky Ward Investigates, and her most recent book, The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy, is out on Monday. Ward joins us to talk about the "Epstein files" and how the life and crimes of Jeffrey Epstein became one of the defining conspiracies of the 21st century.

The Dalai Lama has spent almost his entire adult life as a refugee from his homeland of Tibet. Fleeing Chinese persecution in the 1950s, he has built a nation in exile, striving to preserve Tibetan culture as not just the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, but as a global ambassador for his people's cause.But he knows a transition is coming. On his 90th birthday this week, the Dalai Lama announced plans for how his successor will be chosen after his death. Since that successor will be a child, that means years of power vacuum that China is almost certain to capitalize on, including attempting to name a rival Dalai Lama of their own.Mujib Mashal is the South Asia bureau chief with the New York Times. He explains what's at stake for the people of Tibet — and Asian geopolitics more broadly — in the coming power struggle when the Dalai Lama passes on.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Search efforts continue in central Texas after extraordinary flash flooding killed more than 100 people. As the death toll rises, questions are growing about whether local, state and federal authorities should have done more to warn residents, and help them get to safety.The disaster is also placing fresh scrutiny on the Trump administration's enormous cuts to the federal bodies involved in disaster alerts and relief, including the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Many are wondering what this means for the next time disaster strikes.Today we're joined by Emily Foxhall, a climate reporter with the Texas Tribune.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington this week, meeting with Donald Trump and senior members of the Trump administration, in a trip that could end in a Gaza ceasefire agreement expected to last 60 days. The critical questions revolve around Hamas’ attitude toward the repatriation of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages in their custody, and Israel’s hesitancy to agree to a deal that involves a permanent peace. Our guest is Meron Rapoport, a 35-year veteran of the Israeli news industry and was formerly the head of news at Israel's Ha’aretz newspaper. Today, he works as an editor at Local Call, a Hebrew language news organization operating in Israel.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The passing of Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill last week came with over a trillion dollars of cuts to Medicaid, kicking an estimated 12 million Americans off health insurance coverage by 2034. And it was passed with the blessing of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Widespread upheaval of the American healthcare system, including cuts to public health departments and medical research, is all part of RFK Jr.’s plan to further his Make America Healthy Again agenda. But how will MAHA, a movement that’s touted vaccine disinformation among other things, actually impact the health of Americans and the world? Nicholas Florko from The Atlantic joins us. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts