The Current

The Current for March 27, 2020

New York in crisis; Feeding hungry Canadians; Tracking cell phone data to curb COVID-19; Stranded Canadians; China easing restrictions; Poetry in the pandemic; Michael Bublé; Sports historian Johnny Smith.
Matt Galloway is the host of CBC Radio's The Current. (CBC)

Full Episode Transcript

Today on The Current

New York has a third of all COVID-19 cases in the U.S., but not enough face masks and ventilators to go around. We talk to patients and doctors who say the situation is desperate.

The pandemic has left some people struggling to get groceries or a hot meal — but here come the helpers. We talk to food banks and workers who are helping to feed hungry Canadians.

Data from your cell phone could be used to track your movements and compliance with pandemic rules. We're talking to experts about the practical benefits, and the ethical concerns.

Canadians were urged not to travel, but for some that wasn't an option. We talk to people stranded abroad — including a man who went to India to see his dying father — and ask what's being done to help them.

China plans to lift restrictions as new COVID-19 cases in the country drop off, but is the timing right? Reporters Nathan VanderKlippe and Shawn Yuan bring us the latest from the country, and we hear from Mark Henshaw, a Canadian who has been in lockdown in Wuhan province for two months.

Poetry can connect and comfort us in uncertain times. That may explain why all your friends are sharing poems online, according to Canadian poet Meaghan Strimas. She shares some of the poems helping her cope.

Michael Bublé is on a personal mission — to get Canadians to stay home and take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously. He talks to q host Tom Power.

Sports historian Johnny Smith says Major League Baseball survived the deadly 1918 flu pandemic, and future historians will look back at how sports today survived COVID-19.

Plus, Tom Power speaks to Vanessa Carlton about her new album.