The Current from CBC Radio (Highlights)

If you're cheering for Saudi Arabia at the London Olympics, here are some events where they haven't got a chance: women's volleyball, women's diving, women's archery. Actually anything with women. No female athletes are competing, and that's the way the Saudi government likes it. But a lot of people aren't happy with the International Olympic Committee with allowing this and there are demands to ban the Saudis from the games.

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae has thrown the race for the Liberal leadership wide open by making it clear he won't be a contender. And the once-mighty party that was so diminished in the last election faces bolstered Conservative and New Democrat camps whose leaders would like to see the Liberals evaporate. But though Bob Rae is stepping aside he's not stepping away. We talk with him about the party, parliament and political life beyond the leader's office.

Canadian executives saw their salaries grow much slower this year than last year. They may put part of the blame on cranky shareholders. Not much has changed in the two years after some of the biggest companies in Canada agreed to let their shareholders have a Say on Pay compensation packages for CEOs. But the so-called "protest vote" among investors is growing and one company has just felt the shareholders' sting.

Failing grades, failing racehorses and failing the environment. It sounds as if a lot has gone wrong. We check in with our listeners for some of their thoughts on the stories of the week.

Her polls have been plummeting and the pundits are pouncing. B.C.'s Premier Christy Clark is facing fights on the environment pipelines and the public service... all divisions her opponents seem poised to exploit.

The double helix and the double-edged sword. Researchers have unveiled a new a way to determine the entire DNA blueprint of a fetus without disturbing its development. It is a remarkable diagnostic tool full of potential and an ethical landmine... giving parents details on thousands of genetic diseases or disorders and confronting them with decisions they might never have thought they'd have to make.

For more than four decades, she's conducted her business using false names, wearing disguises and scribbling notes when she thinks no one's looking... eating her way through assignments that changed daily. When Joanne Kates first began a newspaper column about eating out, good restaurant critics were even rarer than good restaurants. She looks back on a career committed to changing tastes.

By the time it takes effect the penny will be history, U.S. agents will be able to arrest Canadians on Canadian soil, environmental regulations will be forever altered, and the HST and PST will be imposed on fewer goods. As the Harper government prepares to ride its Omnibus Budget Bill through the fast lane and into law, opposition MPs are still trying to throw up roadblocks. The Current examines the Great Big Budget Bill.

Is grading a zero-sum game? As Edmonton's Public School Board prepares to debate grading with zeros we're looking at the wider debate that suggests all grading is a form of punishment and an impediment to learning. Should teachers be handing out any grades at all?

If you're just getting off the night shift, should you be heading to the doctor's office? A new study out of Denmark adds to the body of work that suggests that women who work night shifts may have an increased risk of breast cancer. We explore the perils of disrupting circadian rhythms.

Canadian human rights lawyer and of Executive Director of 'the equality effect', a non-profit organization that uses human rights law to transform the lives of women and girls, is taking the Kenyan government to court. Fiona Sampson says they're not enforcing laws to protect girls from rampant rape in the country.

Former CBS anchorman Dan Rather recalls his career as journalist and sincerely wishes he'd asked tougher questions about the U.S. decision to invade Iraq.

As Europe considers a bail out for Spain, we tap into the human stories of living through this tough time, as people are going to unusual lengths to survive in poverty.

These days some in Toronto are claiming a new right... it may not be up there with life or liberty but there are some in Toronto, including the mayor, who are heading to the barricades to fight for that long overlooked principal: the right to bear plastic.

Lab rats may lead happier lives than wild rats, but critics believe no one is ever going to know until the Canadian Council on Animal Care does a better job. Today we look at how to regulate the treatment of animals in research labs. Canada has a body with a mandate to protect animals in scientific research, but is it protecting them?