Childhood obesity guidelines; the absurdity of English spelling; and how leaders fared in the French debate

CBC

17-04-2025

Al Martin has lived with obesity since his teens. He says new guidelines for treating childhood obesity will offer new tools to help kids, but some approaches — like weight loss surgery — shouldn't be taken lightly. Matt Galloway discusses the stigma around weight with Martin, an advocate with Obesity Matters, and Dr. Stasia Hadjiyannakis, one of the guidelines' authors. Then, everyone has certain words they struggle to spell, whether it's stumbling on silent letters in words like 'doubt,' or words like 'fuchsia,' that just look very different from how they sound. In his new book Enough is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Eezier to Spell, Gabe Henry looks at how spelling reformers have long tried — and failed — to simplify English spelling. Plus, Radio-Canada parliamentary reporter Laurence Martin breaks down what was said at the French federal election debate Wednesday night, where Liberal Mark Carney, Conservative Pierre Poilievre, the NDP's Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois's Yves-François Blanchet fought it out for francophone votes. And deep in the forests of Germany, a Canadian company is drilling deep into the earth to tap into geothermal energy, aiming to pump clean power into the electricity grid. The CBC's Paula Duhatschek explains how it works — and whether geothermal energy could be harnessed in Canada.