The Current from CBC Radio (Highlights)

New research suggests just by improving the quality of our sleep, we may be able to cut way back on how much we need. But there are those who believe attempts to take away our sleep could rob us of our dreams.

Even as the Prime Minister and his staunchest allies insist the various spending scandals are a distraction, others worry everything combined has the potential to Distract and Disturb the very supporters the Conservatives call their own.

One of the most visible of the gay subcultures may be disappearing. We hear what's happened to many women who once identified themselves as butch.

Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars ... a crib? B.C. cancelled a program that allowed new mothers to keep their babies with them in prison. But today, this motherhood issues faces a challenge in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has become one of the most controversial figures to wear the chain of office. Now his silence and absence from city affairs has many wondering about the lasting consequences to Toronto.

A woman stops to help out at what she thinks is a car accident in a south London neighbourhood. And then, Ingrid Loyau-Kennett finds herself face to face with an angry man waving a meat cleaver. The world admires her bravery but some question her wisdom.

Musician Sarah Harmer puts on her environmentalist hat and tries to discover why the water's draining from the Great Lakes and what the solution might be.

Debunking dreams of Mars and Bunking with your kids. Our listener's thoughts on some of the stories of the week. And Houston, we have a prophet. Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin joins us with his thoughts for the future of space.

This is a story about the new strain of coronavirus and the virus as a commodity where those seeking to find a treatment or vaccine can find themselves navigating political and commercial interests. Today, we look at the politics of potential pandemics.

A quote from Dr. Suess' Yertle the Turtle was considered too political for one BC school district and there's now a court case. Today, we're asking about politics in the classroom and the line between free expression and pushing a cause.

Seven years ago, Stephen Harper pledged new legislation would usher in transparency in govt. Yesterday he said to his caucus, Canada has one of the most accountable and transparent systems of governance in the world. Today, we examine the PM’s statements.

He's taken us to alien colonies, to a robot dominated future and to doom on the Titanic. Film director and explorer James Cameron takes us along a real-life voyage to an alien world that also involves robots. Today, we voyage to the bottom of the sea.

A statistical study using data from the Great Depression of the 30s, to post-communist Russia, to austerity in Greece suggests there is a measurable human cost to severe govt cutbacks. Today, our guests explain the politics of life and death.

The people of Moore, Oklahoma listened to weather forecasters in a way few others do. But even warnings faster than usual were little defence against the massive funnel cloud that roared through the city yesterday, eliminating entire neighbourhoods.

In a video The Toronto Star and Gawker have both viewed, allegedly showing Mayor Rob Ford smoking a crack pipe, crowdfunding has raised tens-of-thousands dollars to buy the video presumably from the dealers. Today questions of accountability on all sides.