The Current

Just 4 months after electing Kerry-Lynne Finlay as the new leader of the BC Conservatives, the party is in disarray. So far, 9 MLAs have left the party. Of those, a faction of 7 MLAs has joined together to create another, yet unnamed, right wing party. Rob Shaw of Check News explains what's been happening and tries to give a sense of why.

After years of decline, the monarch butterfly population is bouncing back. We speak to The Atlantic's Vann R. Newkirk II, who travelled to Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve and tracked the migration journeys of three monarchs: Cinderella, Eric and Carle. He explains what's behind this butterfly's remarkable comeback and whether it can last.

AI insiders have increasingly been sounding the alarm on the risks of out-of-control superintelligence, with some claiming a non-zero chance that AI could kill all humans before the end of the decade. Author and investigative journalist Stephen Witt lays out the potential scenarios and the corporate interests at play.

A forest fire northwest of Summerland, British Columbia started around dinnertime on August 7th. It’s not unusual for the Okanagan to see fires spark in the summer. But what was unusual was how aggressively it spread, causing more than 20-thousand people to flee. Fires are getting bigger and faster. And they’re causing more devastation. So, residents and politicians are now trying to figure out how to better prepare. CBC’s Sarah Penton explores all that in her documentary, With Speed and Violence.

Doug Kitchen was depressed and lonely after his wife left him. He says using a chatbot was key to his recovery. He's one of a growing number of Canadians turning to AI-powered tools for mental health support. Montreal psychiatrist Vincent Paquin says chatbots can help, but says we still need guardrails for this powerful tech.