52 countries in 52 weeks? One man’s whirlwind trip

The relationship between an elderly Toronto woman and her tenants is at the center of the Fifth Estate’s most recent investigation. Within months of the tenants moving in, the woman signed a will leaving everything to the two virtual strangers. They say they were her caregivers, but her family calls them predators. 

In the depths of the pandemic, CBC reporter Justin McElroy hatched a plan to see as much of the world as possible. He ended up visiting 52 countries in 52 weeks, and shares some of the amazing things he saw — and ate! — and what he learned by stepping out of his comfort zone.

A Senate bill would have banned zoos in Canada from bringing in or breeding any new elephants. But the legislation died when Parliament was prorogued in January 2025. Now animal activists are calling for it to be brought back. Filmmaker Fern Levitt describes what she learned making a documentary about Lucy, the only elephant at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. Then Scott Blais describes how his experience at African Lion Safari in Ontario motivated him to create elephant sanctuaries.  

Jessica Rosval was 15 years old when she started working in a restaurant in Montreal. Now she's based in Italy where she runs a Michelin star restaurant, having earned the reputation of one of the world's best. Last week she was named the Best Female Chef of 2026.  

A $52 billion data centre near Regina, Saskatchewan is being met with fierce opposition from its community. We hear from a reporter on the ground about what it means for Sherwood, Saskatchewan, and what we need to consider about building Canadian made AI infrastructure. 

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich spent 16 months inside Russia’s Lefortovo prison after being arrested on espionage charges. He was eventually released as part of a high-profile prisoner swap. His new memoir, “This Cursed Beautiful Land” reflects on his relationship with Russia and its people.

Former Canadian Senator and Public Policy fellow Ratna Omidvar says scaling up assessments of internationally trained doctors could revitalize Canada’s healthcare system, with each doctor taking on 1500 patients. So what’s stopping the provinces? 

Last week’s federal budget included an ambitious plan to end homelessness within a decade. But is it possible? Some parts of the country are already making headway, with Ontario city St. Thomas driving down homelessness, and Manitoba pledging to end chronic homelessness by 2031. What we can learn from those jurisdictions, and why this is an issue worth billions of dollars of investment. 

This Remembrance Day, CBC’s Robyn Bresnahan has a documentary about a veteran's fight for benefits, as he lives with a rare, aggressive terminal cancer he believes results from his time in service overseas. If he were an American soldier, the law would back him up, so why isn’t he getting the help he needs? 

Sportswriter Chris Jones's life blew up in one night when he found out his wife was having an affair. In his new memoir 'Legs Hearts Minds: Loss and Its Remedies' he recounts how he wrestled with his own responsibility for the end of his marriage, how he picked himself up and figured out how to be a better man, and why an unlikely underdog of a soccer team helped him throughout it all.