Podcast
As It Happens
Hosted by CBC · EN
News that’s not afraid of fun. Meet people at the centre of the day’s most hard-hitting, hilarious and heartbreaking stories — powerful leaders, proud eccentrics and ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. And plenty of puns too. Hosted by Nil Köksal and Chris Howden, find out why As It Happens is one of Canada’s longest-running and most beloved shows. (Ahem, we literally helped make the beaver a national symbol.)
New episodes Monday to Friday by 7:30 pm E.T.
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A former Lebanese politician on his country’s predicament
Mar 2500:58:42Tap to summarizeIsrael announces plans to occupy part of Southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah vows to continue fighting “without limits.” A former Lebanese minister tells us his people are caught in the middle -- and paying a heavy price.Ontario's education minister tells schools to make sure that graduation ceremonies contain no "political views." A Toronto school board trustee says the minister is tackling an imaginary problem. A Canadian woman and her seven-year-old daughter are still in ICE custody after more than ten days. Her mother tells us she wouldn't wish this on anybody. A former student remembers a groundbreaking Canadian primatologist who changed the way we see and understand orangutans ... and ourselves. The people of a very small Texas town would appreciate it if people would stop stealing all their signs -- no matter how much the thieves are delighted by the fact that the town is called Bug Tussle.A German handball team is filled with angst after someone steals the silver plate they were awarded for winning the championship -- but then they find it in the weirdest place, and crack the trophy case themselves.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that hopes they appreciated those stolen moments.
Transcribe →The system she knew was “unsafe” all along
Mar 2400:58:33Tap to summarizeA new report issues dozens of recommendations to repair Canada’s sports system after concluding abuse is rampant; our guest says this is just official recognition of what many athletes know all too well.Both sides are talking about how the U.S. and Iran are talking, or not talking -- but a pro-regime analyst in Tehran tells us that Donald Trump's claims about negotiations are more about calming the markets than ending the war.A years-long CBC investigation confirms that, in the late ‘60s and ‘70s, the RCMP infiltrated and spied on Indigenous organizations -- as part of what they called a “Native extremism program”. A new study reveals that Neanderthals may have figured out how to stave off infections with the help of birch bark -- much farther back than we knew.A pitbull went missing from her family’s yard more than a decade ago -- and tonight, a Pennsylvania pet-owner tells us what it was like to be reunited with the long-lost pooch she never fur-got.An Austrian man sets out to break a record for inserting uninflated, oiled balloons into his nostril and pulling them out of his mouth -- an astonishing...where are you going? I'm not done explaining.As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that reflects on the dangers of rampant inflation.
Transcribe →What an air traffic controller sees in the LaGuardia crash
Mar 2300:58:38Tap to summarizeAfter two pilots are killed at LaGuardia, a longtime air traffic controller tries to answer the question we're all asking: how was a fire truck cleared to cross a runway at the exact moment an Air Canada plane was landing?A doctor in Edmonton says she doesn't know what the Alberta government's new legislation restricting access to MAID is supposed to do, but she knows what it will do: make difficult conversations even harder. Turns out Nigel Farage isn't just making a political comeback in the U.K., he's also making personalized videos on Cameo -- including some for right-wing extremists, and a Canadian neo-Nazi group. Andrew Scott is being honoured by the Halifax art school he dropped out of to perform with a band that seemed promising -- and 35 years later, he says he still can't believe he gets to make music with Sloan. A herpetologist stumbles across a newly discovered species of spider that pretends to be covered in zombie-like fungus to avoid being eaten -- and to eat others.What’s dung is dung. But in one Ontario city, people are demanding to know whose dung is making a huge mess -- and a pigeon expert insists her clients have a built-in alibi. As It Happens, the Monday edition. Radio that guess they may be dirty -- but they're not stool pigeons.
Transcribe →How Iranians around the world are marking their new year
Mar 2001:00:49Tap to summarizeIranians at home and abroad grapple with how to celebrate Nowruz at a time when joy and optimism feel out of step with the bleak realities of war. To preserve confidentiality, the most comprehensive archive of abuse at Canadian residential schools will be destroyed. So journalist Connie Walker has set out to create her own archive of survivors' stories. A Florida priest says he has no plans to shut down his soup kitchen despite racking up more than a half a million dollars in penalties for violating zoning laws.A B.C. woman tells us about getting airlifted out of Coquitlam yesterday after being awoken by an early morning mudslide.Canada takes an unprecedented plunge in this year's World Happiness Report, largely due to the malaise of young people. We get the inside scoop on The Washington Post's annual Peeps diorama contest — an event that's a real chick magnet.Dressed to the canines. The publisher of Vogue is suing another fashion magazine for trademark infringement — even though that magazine has a much furrier demographic. Which is why it's called "Dogue".As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that knows a "Dogue" cover model always looks fetching.
Transcribe →What gas field attacks mean for the Iran war — and the world
Mar 1900:59:08Tap to summarizeAfter Israel strikes the biggest gas field in the world, and Iran retaliates by hitting Qatar’s main gas complex, a reporter in Doha tells us the war has entered a volatile new phase. Alberta is hoping to pass the strictest restrictions on medical assistance in dying in Canada. A disability advocate tells us why she fully supports new constraints. Charges against the self-proclaimed “Queen of Canada” have been stayed. Now the mayor of Richmound, Saskatchewan fears she'll return to his village, which is still recovering from her cult's takeover attempt. A Latino civil rights organizer shares his horror after the late, legendary labour rights activist Cesar Chavez is accused of numerous cases of sexual assault — some involving minors. A scientist in Fiji spends a lot of her time swimming with bull sharks and she’s delighted to share that the ocean’s apex predators are actually pretty good at making friends. A Belgian court rules that a former diplomat must stand trial for the murder of the first Congolese Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba. Mr. Lumumba's granddaughter tells us that's a win for the family, but only the very beginning of justice for the country. At the end of this month, Yellowknife’s only movie theatre will be going out of business — unless local movie lovers can find a way to keep the doors open. He never met a metaverse he didn't like. But after spending 80 billion dollars on that virtual world, Mark Zuckerberg is effectively shutting it down — to the chagrin of all the virtual characters stuck inside it.As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that guesses they're not going to live happily ever avatar.
Transcribe →Life inside a Beirut neighbourhood on edge
Mar 1800:57:37Tap to summarizeA woman in Lebanon’s capital tells us she and her family are ready to flee at a moment's notice now that their home is on the edge of an evacuation zone. Canada's athletes brought home gold from the Games, but not as much as fans might have expected. And Own the Podium CEO Anne Merklinger thinks she knows why our medal count is slipping. More troops are preparing to head to Haiti, and a U.N. expert says he's hopeful they'll change things at last for those caught in the crossfire in a country overrun by gangs. Cuban journalist Daniel Montero tries to make sense of where his country is headed, as it deals with major blackouts and Donald Trump's renewed threats of a takeover. Nearly five years after wildfire destroyed Lytton, B.C., the province's auditor general finds the village wasn't given sufficient tools and support to rebuild. Margareta Magnusson — who spread the word about the Swedish art of death cleaning — has died. Her daughter tells us she leaves behind few possessions, but a big legacy. A team of researchers attends hundreds of boring, humourless talks at scientific conferences — and concludes that the presenters need to develop a stronger gag reflex. And...the saunter of attention. Scientists believe they've made great strides with a new study revealing that you can tell how people are feeling by the way they walk, but others resent their gait-keeping.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that really hates to overstep.
Transcribe →‘Not our war.’ Germany responds to Trump’s call for allies
Mar 1701:02:35Tap to summarizeThe European Parliament's top lawmaker on Iran tells us why the EU won't be sending warships to the Strait of Hormuz. One of the few aid workers still allowed in Afghanistan describes the moment Pakistani airstrikes hit Kabul and the devastation that followed.A Palestinian activist is out, after a year in US immigration detention. Leqaa Kordia’s lawyer tells us that's a huge relief, but there's still a long road ahead until her client is truly free. Months after being forced from their homes yet again, Kashechewan First Nation got a visit from the Indigenous Services Minister. Mandy Gull-Masty tells us when they might finally be able to go home. When a waterfall owned by Oregon monks for over a century hit the real estate market, the public was shocked, then worried, then relieved.We remember Paula Doress-Worters, who drew on her own experience of post-partum depression to contribute to one of the most influential books on women’s health: Our Bodies, Ourselves. A confident cat in South Surrey, B.C. is brazenly flouting international law with his cross-border travel. U.S. authorities haven't captured him, but he has captured millions of hearts. While trying to pull his cousin's ATV out of a swampy area, a Mississippi man got stuck in the muck himself. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that guesses he developed a sedimental attachment.
Transcribe →Oscar winners spend five years on 17-minute masterpiece
Mar 1600:58:47Tap to summarizeThe Montreal filmmakers behind "The Girl Who Cried Pearls" tell us all about their Academy Award win for Best Animated Short Film. As oil prices climb, Donald Trump insists NATO countries could help reopen the Strait of Hormuz — suggesting refusal would be "very bad" for the alliance. But not all NATO members are convinced. The facts of life-giving. A new study shows dangerous — but largely preventable — pregnancy-related complications often happen outside labor and delivery, threatening lives. A recently discovered tape labelled "fish noises" turns out to be the oldest-known recording of humpback whales — and lets us hear what the oceans sounded like in 1949. For years, anti-cruising laws in cities across the US tried to keep lowriders off the roads. But now, the customized cars and the people who love them are getting their due, in the form of a new U.S. postage stamp.After two lost episodes of "Dr. Who" are discovered in a private archive, a TV historian tells us what it takes to keep classic film from getting lost in time. A renowned Italian museum is bending the rules — and letting visually impaired visitors touch some of their most famous sculptures.
Transcribe →The waterway the world is suddenly watching closely
Mar 1301:06:04Tap to summarizeAmerican officials claim they've got the situation under control -- but a former diplomat tells us that Iran throttling the Strait of Hormuz could spell political disaster for Donald Trump.An Iranian strike hit a Canadian bunker on a military base in Kuwait, almost two weeks ago. No one was hurt, but the government said nothing about it -- and the Conservatives' defence critic says that's a problem. Bill Kurtis has deployed his dulcet tones on the airwaves for six decades now; tonight, he'll tell us about leaving his gig as the judge and scorekeeper of the NPR news quiz show "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!"This weekend, director Geeta Gandbhir is up for two Oscars; she's nominated in both the short and feature-length documentary categories. Nil talks to her about her short doc "The Devil is Busy" -- which covers one day at Georgia abortion clinic -- and her feature "The Perfect Neighbour," which tells the story of a neighbourhood shooting through police bodycam footage.A new high-tech glass floor for basketball courts is great at blasting your retinas with statistics and ads and graphics -- but it turns out to be not great at having basketball played on it. As It Happens, the Friday edition. Radio that finds itself in contempt of court.
Transcribe →What a day in London, Ontario says about the overdose crisis
Mar 1200:59:00Tap to summarizePolice in London, Ontario are searching for someone they say was driving around downtown handing out free drugs -- and triggering a wave of overdoses on the doorstep of a local outreach centre. History in the unmaking. American and Israeli strikes have severely damaged at least four cultural and historical landmarks in Iran. An Iranian-Canadian scholar she says it's heartbreaking to watch -- but eerily familiar. When two young women left a cinema in the early 70s, they found an abandoned newborn. And now, half a century later, they’ve all reunited. A Norwegian researcher has not-so-fond childhood memories of getting his tongue stuck to a frozen pole. Now that he’s all grown up, he’s delving into the science -- to tackle tundra tongue. Colm Dalton can tell you what makes a real Irish pub -- because he's been to more than a hundred of them on four continents, as he attempts to drink at every single one on Earth. Scientists discover that we blink unconsciously to the beat of music -- although so far, they've only tested that theory on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that thinks they should start thinking outside the Bach...s.
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