As It Happens

An Indigenous Greenlander and former MP says he welcomes more support from Canada as the U.S. President repeats and ramps up his annexation threats. As Donald Trump vows to "take back" Venezuelan oil, an expert in Alberta weighs in on the impact that may have on the Canadian oil industry. A Democratic Congressman marks the anniversary of the January 6th attack on the Capitol by digging up a memorial plaque that's supposed to be displayed prominently -- but he’s up against Republicans who have it hidden away in a basement. A Quebec teacher says new provincial civility rules that ask students to address teachers with more formal titles aren’t about improving education as the government says. The Grammy Awards are recognizing the best album cover for the first time in fifty years. One nominee tells us what that recognition means for his art -- and to the music it represents. Jumping to conclusions. In an effort to cut down on paperwork, a Utah police department starts using AI software to generate police reports. And then, presumably, has to do more paperwork after one report says an officer transformed into a frog. As It Happens, the Tuesday edition. Radio that keeps you on your toads.

A political analyst in Caracas tells us there's an eerie quiet and a feeling of disbelief -- as it sinks in that Nicolas Maduro is no longer in charge. The ousted Venezuelan president was brought to a Manhattan courthouse today in shackles – as questions swirl about the legalities of his capture. Ontario premier Doug Ford’s return-to-office-mandate takes full effect this week – despite backlash from public sector workers. After the second major water main break in as many years, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas is asking Calgarians to conserve water -- so that the city doesn't run out. After spending nearly eleven hours reading “The Hobbit” to his patrons, a bar owner in St. John’s tells us the endeavour -- and the money it raised -- was totally worth it. New research helps uncover exactly how the throat colours of the side-blotched lizard evolved to help win over mates -- a process scientists liken to a game of rock paper scissors. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that's dying to know what tips the scales.

On a special "Hometowns Revisited" edition, we'll take a look back at some of our favourite small town stories of the year that just ended. We'll hear from a man who spent months crossing Canada from town to town, relying on the kindness of strangers -- and listening to their stories. St. Thomas, Ontario vows to effectively end homelessness within its borders; a woman who spent years on the streets reflects on whether that's a promise kept. A decade after its release, a haunting song about the town of Vulcan, Alberta by the Rural Alberta Advantage is a fan favourite. The songwriter tells us he wrote it without even knowing about his own Vulcan roots. n Vulcan, we meet a tall drink of milk named Beef, who holds the Guinness World Record for world's tallest steer. His owner fills us in on what it takes to keep Beef full. As It Happens, the Friday edition. Radio that knows exactly where the Beef is. In Vulcan, Alberta. I literally just told you that.

We'll look back at the heroic figures we spoke with over the past year -- and, regrettably, the dastardly villains, who were actually sometimes the same people. A Sydney snake removal expert arrives at a job to discover a truly mind-boggling number of snakes -- but he rises to the occasion while they're writhing to the occasion. Despite the pain, Lizanne Wilmot put the pedals to the medal, and blazed a new trail on the old-timey bicycle known as the "penny farthing". There's definitely a hero in the surprising story of an octopus hitching a ride on a shark -- we're just not sure whether it's the octopus or the shark, or the hybrid creature they form together known as "sharktopus". A jealous woodpecker lays siege to a Massachusetts town -- shattering reflective surfaces everywhere to destroy the enemy he sees, which is, of course, himself. As It Happens, the New Year's Day edition. Radio that knows not everyone benefits from a moment of reflection.

Hollywood actors and writers are anxious about AI filmmaking, but one Bollywood director tells us that, as far as many Indian creators are concerned, it's democratizing the process. Many Calgarians are once again under a boil-water advisory after the second major water main break in as many years -- and this one left our guest stranded on the roof of her truck. Our guest fills us in on his annual headline-of-the-year bracket -- where the entrants range from the sublime to the ridiculous, except for the sublime part. We revisit our conversation with the Oscar-winning filmmaker Molly O'Brien and her pioneering aunt, Orin O'Brien -- about Orin's many years as the only female member of the New York Philharmonic. We'll hear what it was like to play for Leonard Bernstein -- and why artistry and acclaim don't always go hand in hand. A California man says the 550-pound black bear living underneath his house is no longer welcome -- but for obvious reasons, the bear does not care about that. As It Happens, the New Year's Eve Edition. Radio that knows it's gross when your roommate walks around bear-foot.

First, airstrikes on alleged drug boats from Venezuela. Then the seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers. Now, after an attack on Venezuelan soil, we reach Democrat Adam Smith. Israel is suspending dozens of aid groups for failing to comply with new registration rules -- rules the Norwegian Refugee Council says would jeopardize the safety of their Palestinian staff. When a LinkedIn user saw her engagement tanking, she started using more masculine language. She says the results tell a worrying story about gender bias on social media platforms. In a brief Christmas miracle, a beloved river wave in a Munich park was restored by a surfing vigilante. But then the city stepped in -- and now, a surfer says things are about to get gnarly. The neighbours who once mocked the late Cecilia Gimenez for her botched, simian portrait of Jesus now pay tribute to a woman whose botch job saved their jobs. A Tennessee teacher tells us what kept her at the blackboard for 61 years and 43 days -- the world record for the longest serving teacher in the same school. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that reflects on a campaign of chalk and awe.

Donald Trump says a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia is closer than ever -- but a Ukrainian MP tells us he's not sure where the US president is getting his information. They're about to resume the underwater search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 -- and an independent investigator says it has the best chance yet of solving the enduring mystery of the plane's disappearance. A British researcher who's spent 15 years cataloguing the distinct scents of cities and towns around the world shares her olfactory insights -- including the smell of Montreal in the morning. The death of Annette Dionne has people around the world remembering her and the other Dionne Quints as mid-century Canadian celebrities. But our guest says that fame was often a hardship. Now that the Christmas dust has settled, we'll hear Roch Carrier's reading of the 'The Hockey Sweater', the tale of a timeless rivalry in a time before online shopping. Gävle, Sweden's famous straw ruminant has been attacked yet again -- and this time, it wasn't arsonists or birds, but Nature itself. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that reports on a serious bleatdown.

"Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration." Well, tonight's show contains a lot of genius -- but we've cleaned up all the sweat and just left you with the inspiration. If you're looking for fashion inspiration, why not look to the trend-setting chimpanzees -- who are accessorizing with blades of grass placed delicately in their ears, and, even more delicately, in their butts. Anna Brynald of Denmark won the whole shebang this year at the world's most important seagull-impersonating contest -- by keeping her feet on the ground and screeching for the stars. The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra produces music from produce -- although, when you first hear it, you might feel like you've been sold a bill of gourds. At 14 years old, Pearl is now the world's oldest living chicken -- and her owner credits her longevity to her joie de vivre, and her close friendship with a mop. When Mitchell O'Brien found himself being slowly swallowed by a patch of quicksand, he and a longtime friend admitted they both admired one another romantically -- emphasis on "mire".

Buckle your seatbelt and prepare for take-off. Here is "Fireside" Al Maitland's classic reading of "The Shepherd", by the late Frederick Forsyth. Mr. Forsyth lived many lives before becoming a best-selling author, including the life of a RAF pilot. He told us what it's like to be thousands of metres in the sky when fog sets in, and how that experience inspired his haunting Christmas story. When Tony Kent was growing up reading gripping thrillers, including "The Day of the Jackal," he never imagined that one day he would help write Mr. Forsyth's final novel -- and that he'd be on the same book cover as the man he idolized. The annual broadcast of "The Shepherd" has become a tradition for the program. And, that is in large part because of the calls and emails we've received from listeners ever since it first aired in 1979.

As Brown University tries to reassure its community about safety on campus...we reach a student who’s been here before. While Australia has vowed to crack down on hate speech, a politician there says antisemitism has become 'part of life' in his country. The World Health Organization's chief scientist tells us why the W-H-O is taking a closer look at traditional remedies...and says it's time to marry many of those with modern medicine. As It Happens holiday readings are kicking into high gear. There's only one more sleep until our annual broadcast of 'The Shepherd.' Tonight we present Chris Howden's annual reading of a Cape Breton classic that highlights the bittersweet notes of a Christmas get-together. Heads Will Scroll. A BC highschool student heads to the finals of an international scholarship competition ... with a video that lays out the science that keeps us addicted to our phones. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that appreciates his off-screen achievement.

Russian investigators suggest Ukraine could be behind a car bomb that killed a top military official in Moscow. Our guest tells us whoever's behind it, the message is clear. Cyclone reconstruction is just the latest shock to Sri Lanka's bottom line. And an economist in Colombo says the way forward is mixed at best. We reach a National Cancer Institute scientist in Maryland who's raising eyebrows with his latest research: A vaccine he's making in his kitchen, and drinking in beer form. As Hanukkah draws to a close, we bring you our second reading of the holiday...involving the arrival of a surprise, winged visitor who portends the unexpected in more ways than one. Two Dalhousie University computer scientists pull off a Christmas miracle ... by getting an enormous, terrifying, yet locally-beloved mall attraction back into working order. Scientists discover that Hawaiian Monk Seals...who they'd frankly considered pretty inarticulate...actually have about 25 different vocalizations including a pronounced "Whine". As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that wishes those whiny seals would just knock it arf.

A fellow scientist remembers his friend Nuno Loureiro -- the beloved MIT professor authorities believe was killed this week by the same man suspected of killing two students at Brown University. Air Canada reaches a settlement with passengers after a crash-landing in a Halifax snowstorm more than 10 years ago -- an event that left our guest with an understandably visceral fear of flying. As part of a ceasefire deal with Israel, the Lebanese army must disarm the militant group Hezbollah by the end of this year. A former MP in Lebanon weighs on whether that's possible -- and what it could mean if it isn't. The Canadian couple who were struggling to secure a travel visa for their adopted Ugandan daughter have finally made it home for the holidays. In tonight's holiday reading, a child's Christmas wish for new ice skates is badly misinterpreted -- to the extreme dismay of that child, and then his mother. This year's World Pie-Eating Championship has a sur-pies winner -- but the contest's pie master laments the much faster competitors of days gone pie. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that's off the tarts.

Months ago, the Democratic Party commissioned a report on what went wrong in the 2024 presidential election. Now, party leaders are saying they're actually not going to release the details. Our guest says that just makes him more anxious to see it. After 23 years in an Ontario prison a new legal victory means Tim Rees can finally consider his name cleared. He'll tell us how that feels. A young Indigenous resident of Northern Ontario tells us the Premier's announcement about "shovels in the ground" within the Ring of Fire sounds less like a promise, and more like a threat. To celebrate Hanukkah, we have our annual reading of Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Zlateh the Goat" -- so go get the kids. After the house featured in “Home Alone” suffered a shocking renovation, the property is now being returned to its original glory -- to the relief of fans, and its original owner. Female praying mantises sometimes eat males after mating -- but in one newly discovered species, the males don't just pray: they dance as if their lives depended on it. As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that's a hopeless ro-mantis.

The surviving accused gunman in the Bondi Beach attack is charged -- and an Australian investigative reporter reveals disturbing allegations about the father-and-son suspects. We'll talk to an artist who is painstakingly recreating one of the Bamiyan Buddha statues that was destroyed by the Taliban over two decades ago. After corruption allegations are levelled against the Quebec Liberal Party, their new leader Pablo Rodriguez says he's resigning. Our guest tells us the next leader needs to right the ship -- fast. Olympic skater Kaitlyn Weaver says that as a Canadian, and a queer woman, she's proud of Skate Canada's decision to no longer host major events in Alberta. A Kansas man rents out an entire store to display his late wife's sprawling collection of holiday figurines. He says sharing her passion for Christmas with others is the best gift he could hope for. Before “A Streetcar Named Desire” or “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, Tennessee Williams was a student in Iowa trying his hand at a novel new format: the radio play. And now, nearly 90 years later, that gothic drama has been published. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that knows he was a great dramatist -- and this is a "Stella!" example.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan was supposed to be visiting both Israelis and Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank. But we'll reach her in Jordan -- after she and the rest of a Canadian delegation were blocked by Israel for what it describes as “security reasons”. Media mogul Jimmy Lai's daughter says she made the difficult decision to leave Hong Kong to advocate for her father's release -- and now that he's facing life in prison, she says that is more important than ever. Rob Reiner was a superstar director -- but to Kris Perry, he’s the man who fought alongside her to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage in California. The late Donna Summer lit the fuse of the mid-'70s disco explosion -- and now, she's been honoured for writing some of the most enduring dancefloor-fillers of all time. We'll bring you another classic from our catalogue of holiday readings -- "The Gift of the Magi", a story of a couple unlucky in gift-giving...but lucky in love. On what would have been Jane Austen's 250th birthday, New York Times writers and "Pride and Prejudice" enthusiasts try to answer once and for all: who is the definitive onscreen Mr. Darcy? As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that knows pride cometh before a ball.

A cousin of a rabbi killed in the Bondi beach attack says Eli Schlanger devoted himself to bringing joy and love to others -- and his family plans to continue that tradition. A Syrian father of two who risked his life to disarm one of the alleged shooters is being hailed as a hero; our guest sat with his family as they waited for news. Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai faces a possible life sentence for sedition and foreign collusion; a fellow activist is crushed -- but not surprised. A Scotland fan was excited to buy tickets to the FIFA World Cup -- before he learned prices were, in his words, "extortionate". Former "As It Happens" co-host Jeff Douglas takes us gliding down a quiet frozen river -- when we air his annual holiday his reading of the poem "The Skater." A group of linguists urge the Prime Minister to stop messing with Canadian identity by relying on British spellings that use an "s" -- not a zed -- in words like "analyze". As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that hits you like a ton of Brits.

Another Conservative crosses the floor to join the government -- and now the Liberals are one vote shy of a majority. A Conservative strategist discusses the winter of his party's discontent. It's been nine months since he was deported to a prison in El Salvador. Now, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is out of detention. But his lawyer says that, under the Trump administration, his client is not going to relax. Iranian security forces violently arrest Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi after releasing her a year ago; her brother tells us he's afraid of what might happen next. A U.S. medical student volunteers to get an ultrasound in front of her class -- and discovers she has a dangerously enormous kidney stone. A linguist in Wales tells us why he's putting together the world's first dictionary of ancient Celtic -- and shares a few of his favourite words. An Australian politician is out to dinner when he looks at his pet cam -- and sees his cow and horse are hoofing it around his living room. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that guesses they got tired of his stall tactics.

People in British Columbia's Fraser Valley could only watch as torrential rain triggered widespread flooding…again. A campground owner tells us parts of her property were swept away without warning. The United States jacks up tensions with Venezuela by seizing an oil tanker — a tactic our guest says is meant to catalyze regime change, an outcome he endorses. UNESCO formally recognizes the Haitian music and dance genre konpa, to the delight of Sony Laventure who teaches the art form. Paleontologists conclude that they've discovered a one-time "dinosaur freeway" in a Bolivian national park. And Raúl Esperante helped count its many thousands of footprints. Canada designates the extremist network 764 as a terrorist entity. The executive director of the Institute for Countering Digital Extremism tells us if that move will actually prevent the group from targeting kids online. For a long time, scientists believed dolphins and orcas were enemies when it came to preying on salmon. But new footage suggests they’re actually working together. The U.S. Secretary of State demands that American diplomats switch to Times New Roman, and abandon the Calibri font, but the man who designed that font insists it's the strong, silent typeface. As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that wants you to know there's a new serif in town.

A Royal Canadian Navy sailor is rescued after going missing -- in the Pacific Ocean; we'll talk to a commander on a ship that got the mayday call. The Alberta government has used the notwithstanding clause yet again, this time to push through laws that will affect young transgender people. A trans advocate tells us it's too much -- and they've gone too far. A Liberal MP says he has concerns about an Alberta-built pipeline -- but Conservative attempts to get MPs like him to break from the federal government aren't going to fly. Australia enacts the world's first social media ban for children under the age of sixteen; one woman tells us that for her son, who has a disability, it's like losing a lifeline. We'll remember Sophie Kinsella, whose "Confessions of a Shopaholic" novels earned her legions of fans. Her editor tells us the author was as special as her books. After we heard about a rank ginkgo tree in a Nova Scotia historic garden, we heard from you about your own gingko struggles -- and how you odour-came them. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that turns over an "ew" leaf.

A Virginia farmer tells us what he thinks of Washington's 12 billion dollar aid package -- and whether it can actually help save farms collapsing under the weight of the U.S. President's tariffs. Maryland's top public defender tells us the heating at a youth jail in Baltimore has been broken for weeks in winter temperatures -- says the state should not be freezing those young people out. Dozens of students have been rescued after last month's mass kidnapping in Nigeria, but many are still being held captive -- and fears of a similar fate mean many more children across the country are being forced to abandon school altogether. An activist says a giant yellow cedar that was recently cut down in B.C. should have been protected under the law -- and its disappearance exposes gaps in the province's promise to safeguard its forests. For decades, a ginkgo tree on the grounds of Nova Scotia's Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens has been feted, as in celebrated -- but this year it's being fetid as in: it reeks. A world record number of golden retrievers gather in a park in Argentina -- but they were so incredibly chill it seemed like barking was arf-limits. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that knows silence is goldens.