At Night With Dan Riendeau

Canada is doing a terrible job of providing timely medical care mainly because of a doctor shortage.  My next guest is a Canadian surgeon who was trained at a foreign University.  Dr. Joshua Ramjist, Surgeon         

Last week the Assad regime targeted and destroyed two of the remaining hospitals in Aleppo killing scores of doctors, nurses and patients.  Dr. Anas Al-Kassem, Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations    

Things were pretty bleak in the music scene of late 1970’s Los Angles until a band came screaming out of Hermosa Beach.  They called themselves Black Flag – a band that nearly single handedly invented hardcore punk rock.  Keith Morris was the first singer of Black Flag and he has documented his storied career in a new book My Damage: The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor.  Keith Morris, author, legend

When was the last time you made a phone call to an old friend?  What was once a routine activity has became increasingly rare in a world of text messaging and social media and in a new piece for Slate Timothy Noah laments the death of the humble phone call.  Timothy Noah, journalist for Politico and contributor to Slate Magazine  

In his new book A Kingdom of their Own journalist Joshua Partlow tracks the rise of the Karzai family in Afghanistan and the corruption and violence that resulted from their rule.  Joshua Partlow, Mexico City Bureau Cheif for the Washington Post and author of 'A Kingdom of Their Own'          

Everyone is focused on the upcoming US election but just a few months after the new President take office Iran will also hold elections that will define the relationship between those two countries for the rest of the decade.   Andrew Apostolou, Middle East expert based in Washington DC 

In his new book former journalist Ian Gill tries to explain why Canada’s big media institutions are fading away and offers options for creating a vibrant journalism for the future.      Ian Gill, Author of No News is Bad News: Canada’s media collapse and what comes next         

For  years a team of researchers at a Sony facility in France have been trying to teach a computer how to write a song.  Now they’ve done it.         Dr François Pachet, Director of the Sony Computer Science Laboratory Paris

Who won the first debate between Trump and Clinton? Allen Abel, Writer for Macleans                                                                         Greg Anderson, Political Science Professor University of Alberta 

Earlier this year a Montreal journalist released a security camera video showing a Quebec judge allegedly drunk while berating colleagues at a staff Christmas party.  Today police raided his offices seizing a computer and accusing the reporter of obtaining the information through a hack.   Ben Makuch, National security reporter for Vice    

The hit Netflix show Narcos has won accolades for its gritty depiction of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.  But my next guest says the show profoundly misunderstands the real history of the US led drug war in Latin America. Steven Cohen, Columbia based freelance journalist

Colin James has been one of this country’s top blues players for nearly three decades.  His new record Blue Highways honurs some of his favourite players with covers of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Freddie King.

China’s first space station is now hurtling out of control and will soon crash into a city near you. Well probably not.          Nancy Atkinson, Contributing Editor, Universe Today author of "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos”

The Trudeau government has opened talks with the Chinese government on a possible free trade deal much to the chagrin of the Conservative opposition.  Wenran Jiang, Director of the Canada-China Energy and Environment Forum    

In November Pink Floyd will release a massive new boxset of the band's early material - much of it never released.  The Early Years - 1965-1972 - will be a 27 disc set and includes the very first demo the band ever recorded.

A new investigation into where electronic recycling firms has revealed a tremendous level of dishonest and possible illegal business practices that inevitable lead to the dumping of toxic waste in developing countries. Jim Puckett, Executive Director, Basel Action Network            

North Korea regards the United States as its number one enemy but my next guest argues that the US has been one of the key reasons why the Kim regime continues to rule that country.  Eli Lake, Columnist for Bloomberg View

Many people in the United States are unhappy with the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and that has some throwing their support behind the Libertarian and Green Parties.  Jim Newell, Politics writer at Slate         

The Federal Government has promised to legalize marijuana in less than a year.  My next guest says the only way to do that is to consult with the people that know the plant best.  Max Montrose, founder/president of Trichome Institute      

 For 10-years author Ranj Dhaliwhal has been writing stories about gang life among Indo-Canadians in the lower mainland.  His novels Daaku and The Gangsters Life have become best sellers but he combines his writing with a public awareness campaign aimed at keeping kids off the streets.  Ranj Dhaliwal, Author