Espionage, chips and the 'Nvidia state'

The tech world had one of its biggest scandals ever this week when Jensen Huang, the CEO of the world’s most valuable chipmaker Nvidia, apologized for having an extra-marital affair with a woman believed by the U.S. to be a Chinese spy.This story is about so much more than an alleged honey pot operation. It's about who leads the AI industry, the AI arms race with China and maybe most of all, how dependent the U.S., and even the global economy, has become on one single company.Matteo Wong writes about AI and Silicon Valley for The Atlantic and joins me today to talk about what’s at stake.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

On Monday afternoon, Republican congressman Thomas Massie took to the house floor to introduce eight articles of impeachment against the U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of a series of abuses of power and violations of the law related to the American war in Iran, an allegedly illegal war in Yemen, strikes in the Caribbean, and the capture of the Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, among other violations. On Tuesday evening House Republicans halted the impeachment process, for now. But with Democrats poised to take control of Congress in January, this is far from over. So, what exactly is Pete Hegseth accused of? And how did he become the Trump administration's primary target for impeachment? With us today is David Smith, The Guardian's Washington bureau chief. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts 

Last week, more than 100 people rioted outside a compound near Kyiv that was being used by Ukraine’s National Guard, alleging the military was abusing new recruits inside. Videos of the incident have gone viral, with unverified allegations of a “neo-Nazi torture chamber” spreading across social media.Evidence is now emerging that this incident may not have been as organic as it seemed — that it may have been orchestrated by provocateurs. But it has highlighted the very real anger in Ukraine over the military’s use of forced conscription. Today we’re going to take a look at Ukraine’s conscription practices, and the backlash against them, with Dan Peleschuk, a Reuters correspondent based in Kyiv.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

For the first time in 22 years, Canada has released a new national security strategy. The 13-page document lays out the government’s goals and priorities for, as they put it, a “stronger Canada”. It covers everything from military spending and protecting the Arctic to bolstering Canada’s intelligence services and vaccine procurement.But as Canada puts up its defences, is it losing sight of itself? Our guest, former Foreign Affairs Minister and retired chair of the World Refugee and Migration Council, Lloyd Axworthy, wrote a piece for the Toronto Star headlined, “Mark Carney has flipped the plan on how to protect Canada and here is why I’m concerned.”For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The federal budget was unveiled Thursday afternoon, and it lays out some of the big bets the Carney government plans on making in the years ahead. A $36-billion tax break to kickstart an “investment supercycle”. A number of affordability measures. A plan to end homelessness within a decade. But those bets also raise some uncomfortable questions.Can we really fast track huge nation building projects and still hit our climate goals? How much debt are we taking on to pay for it all? And will any of this actually make life more affordable?CBC senior parliamentary writer Aaron Wherry was in the budget lockup, and he’s here to break it all down.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

In the wake of the Democratic sweep of the U.S. midterms, we take a deeper look at the factors that got us here, from Iran to data centres. We also examine what could come next from a rejected Republican Party and a blue Congress.David A. Graham joins us. He's a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts 

Trump-backed picks lost and Republican strongholds crumbled as Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate. Alex Shephard, senior editor at The New Republic, is here. We talk about some of the stunning Democrat wins, like Texas and South Carolina. How will they wield their newfound power?For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts 

As the U.S. voters head to the midterm polls, Republican candidates and leaders are targeting Muslim and Arab Americans casting them as suspect, questioning their loyalties, and their place in American life.Much of this has centred on Michigan Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and Minnesota Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, but they are not alone.Today, we take a closer look at Islamophobia on the Republican campaign trail and ask how anti-Muslim fear, skepticism and hate can be cultivated and used for political ends. Moustafa Bayoumi is a professor of English at Brooklyn College and the author of 'How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America.' He's our guest today.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts 

Earlier this month, U.S. ambassador Pete Hoekstra, made the dramatic allegation that Canada could be engaging in election interference in the U.S. The ambassador was pointing to a few different things. One, was comments made by Industry Minister Melanie Joly about Canada’s tariff strategy. Another was Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s anti-tariff ads that ran in the U.S. last fall. They also pointed to Canadians that have been charged or sentenced in the U.S. with voter fraud-related incidents as part of a broad crackdown on non-citizen voting. So what actually counts as foreign interference? We’re joined by Leah West, an associate professor of international affairs at Carleton University – and a former advisor for Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

On Wednesday, for the first time in three years, the Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate. It’s a modest hike — just 0.25% — but it’s been a controversial one, with several economists arguing that governor Tiff Macklem was jumping the gun, when Canada has by some measures been dealing with a sluggish economy.But Macklem also had his reasons. Today we take a look at the Bank’s rationale, what the impact of this rate hike may be, and what it says about the state of Canada’s economy.Our guest is Kevin Carmichael, Economics Columnist and Editor-at-Large at The Logic.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts