The Current from CBC Radio (Highlights)

This documentary is not available as a podcast due to music rights but you can listen online off our website at cbc.ca/thecurrent. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Faster, higher, stronger ... richer. More Olympic medallists are stepping off the podium feeling the weight of the medal around their necks -- and the weight of cash in their pockets. Many countries - including Canada - reward medal winners with prize money. Today, we talk to Olympians Rosannagh MacLennan and Silken Laumann to try to find out if money can be an Olympic motivator.

Due to music that is not cleared for use in downloadable podcasts, we can not make this documentary available. However, you can listen online if you live in Canada off our website cbc.ca/thecurrent. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Earlier this week, when Iran's security chief told Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and the rest of the world, that Iran considers Syria an essential ally... and that Iran will not allow that alliance to be broken, new questions were raised about the year-and-a-half-long conflict in Syria.Today we look at the relationship between Syria and Iran and talk about the way forward in Syria with a man who has been a foreign policy advisor to two U.S. Presidents.

The Mounties always get their man, but they put up an awful fuss getting their first women. Now that the RCMP faces many sexual harassment lawsuits, it's easy to forget how hard many women fought hard to get into the force. We hear from some of the first women to wear the red serge in our documentary.

If you've watched any coverage at all of the London Olympics, you've probably been struck by the intense, almost unrelenting, focus on the parents of the athletes. And not just during the competition... even watching the commercials on Olympic broadcasts can leave you misty-eyed. Big sponsors tug at your heartstrings with stories of Mom and Dad's own journey to the Games, while cameras in Olympic venues focus on proud and anxious parents, watching their sons and daughters compete. Today, we look at the Olympic sport of parenting.

When a band of female punk rockers took over Moscow's cathedral to perform an anti-Putin song, they quickly found themselves facing years in prison. Now, musicians around the world are trying to convince Russian authorities that singing in church shouldn't be a crime.

One of the reasons members of the Christian sect known as the Sons of Freedom Doukhobors left Russia for Canada was to be rid of government interference in their lives. Nevertheless, they found themselves on a collision course with the British Columbia government in the 1950's. Today, we look at how the ramifications of that conflict are still being felt today.

The Sunday attack on a Sikh temple in the U.S. has many American Sikhs wondering if it is the latest and most deadly example of the persistent violence and hatred experienced by Sikhs since the attacks of 9/11. We look back on a decade of abuse Sikhs have suffered for no reason other than their appearance.

Earlier today, a bomb exploded on the third floor of the Syrian state TV and Radio building in Damascus. It was also reported that the Syrian prime minister has defected, fleeing with his family to Jordan. This news comes as Syria's army continues its attempts to recapture the country's commercial centre, Aleppo. Today we look at the on-going conflict and the challenges it's posing to groups trying to deliver aid to the thousands of Syrians who have been displaced.

Today we introduce you to three people who transformed the world they live in ... because they didn't see things the way others did, didn't accept the status quo, or just didn't know any better.

In sports there are all kinds of examples of strategic losing, but not too many examples of players or coaches being punished for it. That changed this week when eight women badminton players were sent home from the London Olympics. Today, we look at whether the punishment fit the crime.

The job of the prison librarian -- selecting the appropriate prose for cons. Today we introduce you to a man who took on the job of running an inmate library -- and he could write a book about the experience.

Schoolyard victims of taunts and teasing know they don't have to do much to attract attention. We hear from one teenager who says she lost her outgoing personality thanks to the unwelcome notice of bullies.

U.S. soldiers are expected to be a band of brothers in battle. But there's one struggle that divides many U.S. servicemen and women. Gay and lesbian soldiers have had to take their fights to the courts to get the same treatment as their brothers and sisters in arms.