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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Episodes
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How to survive a tornado, and what happens next
May 800:56:40Tap to summarizeA Mississippi woman hunkered down in her bathtub. She tells us that just those few minutes rendered her community unrecognizable. B.C. Premier David Eby announces Tumbler Ridge Secondary School will be demolished. The chair of the local school district tells us that's the best way to move on from the horror of February's mass shooting. Tennessee Republicans take advantage of the U.S. Supreme Court's gutting of the Voting Rights Act, and cut up the state's only majority-Black congressional district. A Memphis state senator tells us the result is devastating.A coyote that turned up on the former prison island turns out to have swum twice as far as scientists initially believed -- and maybe farther than any coyote ever. A longtime fan of Sir David Attenborough pays tribute to his hero's one-hundredth birthday by naming a parasitic wasp after him -- which he swears is a compliment. Residents of a condo building in Denver give the weightlifters who use the gym the floor below them an F for effort -- and file a lawsuit to make them stop grunting so loudly.As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that guesses the suit came as a real punch in the guttural.
Transcribe →Alberta separatism hits close to home for Jason Kenney
May 701:00:35Tap to summarizeThe former Alberta premier tells us he's lawyering up — after a separatist group allegedly shared the personal information of millions of Albertans, including him.A rise in HIV infections prompts Manitoba to declare a public health emergency. The province’s top doctor says solving that crisis will mean tackling its root causes.It's not completely clear whether Jeffrey Epstein wrote the suicide note media outlets are publishing today — but a New York Times reporter explains why the public deserves to see it.To celebrate the 2026 Census, Statistics Canada shares curated playlists with titles like "FrancoFunky" and "Ketchup Chips and Road Trips." A French academic is on trial for fraud, after winning a prestigious award in his field — an award he apparently made up, and gave to himself. A German YouTuber breaks the world record for solving a Rubik cube while in free-fall; he says his main strategy was not focusing on the fact that he could die. As it Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that follows the adage "parachute first — ask questions later".
Transcribe →How CNN’s Ted Turner changed the media landscape forever
May 601:01:34Tap to summarizeIn the latest controversy for OpenAI, Canada's privacy commissioner says the company broke the law by training ChatGPT on "vast amounts" of users' personal data. A former colleague remembers Ted Turner, the irascible billionaire who changed the world — and the world of news — by founding CNN, the first 24-hour cable news channel in the U.S. A new study reveals the troubling treatment suffered by South Asian women working on farms in B.C. and one researcher tells us the exploitation they face is often built into the system. A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter explains how her reporting prompted real change for Californians who survived wildfires, only to battle for payouts from insurance companies that systematically under-estimated rebuilding costs. For the first time since the classic sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati" hit the airwaves, an actual radio station in that city has now acquired those call letters.Airbus and the federal government celebrate a huge new order for Quebec-built planes. But an aviation expert says the company has its work cut out for it — given that it's already struggling to fill existing orders. At NYU, some students are putting their phones away, to see what happens when you actually have to talk to the person in front of you. One sophomore tells us about the exhilaration and the challenges involved.Two people are suing a New Jersey company for "tomato fraud" — claiming it sold them canned San Marzanos that turned out to really be some tasteless, commonplace substitute. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that supposes the tomatoes were whole, but the customers were crushed.
Transcribe →New Governor General a ‘hero’ to her former law clerk
May 501:05:48Tap to summarizeCanada's next Governor General will be former Supreme Court justice and war crimes prosecutor Louise Arbour. One of her former clerks tells us this appointment is the perfect choice for Canada. The City of Amsterdam bans ads for fossil fuel products and meat in city-owned public spaces — and our guest says it's necessary in the fight for a better future. The Montreal Canadiens have made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs — and the owner of a local pub tells us his customers are hoping the Habs can buffalo the Buffalo Sabres.An animal disease expert tells us what's next for passengers on a nightmare cruise in which three people have died after an outbreak of hantavirus — a disease typically contracted from rodents.The winner of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing tells us why he felt compelled to share the traumatic story of surviving last year's flash flooding in Texas that killed dozens — including his young nephew. Running for coverage. A new private member's bill is hoping to secure better cell coverage for rural communities. The Quebec MP behind it says it’s not just a matter of convenience, but of public safety. Coming unglued. Elmer the kitten falls into a bucket of paste, but is spared a gluesome end. An abrupt change of heart. A CPR instructor was demonstrating the symptoms of a heart attack for his students when he began having the symptoms of an actual heart attack. Luckily, he survived to tell us what happened next.As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that makes a good first compression.
Transcribe →Why so many Americans are calling New Brunswick’s archivist
May 401:03:21Tap to summarizeOttawa's new law restoring citizenship to so called "Lost Canadians" — is prompting a flood of calls from Americans looking to get proof of their Canadian citizenship. Canada announces new military funding for Ukraine — and one analyst tells us the cash infusion is timely, given Russia's faltering campaign. Researchers say that, by the turn of the next century, New Orleans will be a vulnerable island in the Gulf of Mexico — so now is the time to relocate the entire city. Palestinian-Canadian artist Samar Hejazi is the designer behind the two hundred very shiny mannequin heads on display at tonight's Met Gala exhibit. She'll reflect on what they'll reflect. The competitors were trembling with excitement before Saturday's thrilling Chihuahua races in Calgary. And most of them trembled afterwards too, for whatever reason. At last, scientists believe they've figured out why male mayflies consistently perform a bizarre dance in the air —which sometimes lands them inside your mouth. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that knows sometimes a bug puts itself in your ear.
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Special Episode: "My Father and Qaddafi"
May 300:28:24Tap to summarizeWhen Jihan Kikhia was six, her father went to Cairo for a human rights conference. He never came back. Jihan and her mother sit down with Nil Köksal in the "As It Happens" studio for a conversation about her new documentary: "My Father and Qaddafi." It follows her search for answers about how her father became an official in Muammar Qaddafi's government, then a leader of the democratic opposition movement and, ultimately, a target.
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Special Episode: "Saigon Story"
May 200:23:45Tap to summarizeNil Köksal speaks with director Kim Nguyen about his new documentary "Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom." In it, he pulls back the curtain on one of the most famous images from the Vietnam War: Saigon Execution. The film explores how the act of violence captured in that picture, and its aftermath, have rippled through generations, and tells the stories of those who've had to live with its impact.
Transcribe →Is this a new vision for climate action?
May 100:42:48Tap to summarizeIn the midst of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, France's envoy for climate explains how his country's timely plan to ditch oil, coal and gas completely is going to work.Researchers at McGill University have no problem with the federal government protecting young people against online harms -- they just want young people to have a say in writing those laws. Our guest shares his anxiety about an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision that could lead to the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Haitians, including him and his family.A shelter in Fredericton, New Brunswick once welcomed everyone. Now it's shut down. We'll find out where the people who relied on it will be sleeping tonight. We'll pay tribute to the late Mattel toy designer Roger Sweet -- who created a toy that muscled its way into the hearts and rec rooms of millions: the super-buff superhero He-Man.A filmmaker is forced to check his Oscar, after airport security claims it could be used as a weapon. And then the airline promptly loses it. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that supposes they were worried it could become a mile-high club.
Transcribe →Blue Jays’ Davis Schneider on mission to stop opioid deaths
Apr 3001:05:05Tap to summarizeThree million Albertans discover the personal info they entrusted to provincial elections officials has wound up in the hands of a separatist group and Calgary professor Tom Keenan says that’s a betrayal. In honour of his late brother, Toronto Blue Jays star Davis Schneider partners with the makers of Narcan — the nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose.The head of the UN’s humanitarian agency Tom Fletcher says governments would rather spend on war than aid — even when there’s more than enough money to help millions of people in need. Canada's Public Sector Integrity Commissioner tells us her office is worn down by a flood of complaints — and it needs more than a trickle of new funding. Jonathan Wilkinson will go from being a North Vancouver MP to Canada’s new Ambassador to the EU. He gives us the diplomatic answer to a big question: should Canada join? A veteran war correspondent tells us that, nowadays, a press flak jacket puts a target on a journalist's back — and she's calling for independent investigations into the killings of reporters in war zones.Visitors flock to a San Francisco pier to see a local celebrity who's really throwing his weight around: the stout, unflappable, one-tonne sea lion known as "Chonkers." As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that hopes the docks don't succumb to his pier pressure.
Transcribe →He’s taking on OpenAI for the Tumbler Ridge families
Apr 2900:42:31Tap to summarizeThe families of the victims of the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge are suing OpenAI for not alerting authorities to the shooter's troubling use of its chatbot. Their lawyer tells us, unlike CEO Sam Altman, he's met with the families -- and they're prepared for a fight. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is vowing to ban AI chatbots and social media for anyone under the age of sixteen. He'll tell us how he's planning to make his proposal work IRL. A Polish-Belarusian journalist and activist is finally free after being held in a labour camp in Belarus. A colleague tells us what it was like to lay eyes on his friend for the first time in years. After discovering a touching letter to a grand-daughter left in a book, a Washington D.C. woman goes to great lengths to track down the recipient she knew only as "Jackie."A farmer tells us she definitely knew her ewe Teemu was pregnant -- but she had no idea just how pregnant...A surprising study reveals that urban birds react differently to different genders -- and, for some reason, are noticeably more frightened of women.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that serves up the surly bird special.
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