As It Happens

Nil Köksal speaks with Rick Westhead about the documentary "Code of Misconduct" which follows his reporting that led to the trial — and eventual acquittal — of members of Canada's National Junior hockey team, as well as his attempt to figure out what has gone wrong in Canada's national sport.

Vancouver’s mayor makes the pitch for a Major League Baseball team in his city -- and responds to critics who say the idea will remain in the Field of Dreams. On Wednesday, Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday. A colleague tells us she never stopped doing work she believed in, even in the face of threats. The family of a 19-year-old Nova Scotian was shocked to learn hospital staff sent him to a homeless shelter less than a day after he attempted suicide. A Nigerian scientist tells us about her shock and delight at receiving the prize known as the "Green Nobel" for her work protecting a species of endangered bats. Comedian Tim Heidecker has played any number of bloviating buffoons over the years -- and if The Onion manages to take over the conspiracy site InfoWars, he could have one of his juiciest roles yet. When you're using Tinder, it helps to be a real people person -- by which I mean Tinder will now allow you to scan your eyeball to prove you're a person who's people -- and not AI. As It Happens, the Friday edition. Radio that's glad they're giving power to the pupil.

The former climate change minister says the impending energy deal between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will either bolster Canada’s climate commitments -- or ignore them, at our peril. The Bloc Québécois used to hold considerable sway in House of Commons committees, but the party's house leader Christine Normandin says the Liberals are using their new majority to an unfortunate advantage. Canada was the first country to designate the extremist network 764 as a terrorist group -- and now a 26-year-old Quebec man is facing terrorism charges. We remember the late Iris Long, who became a vocal advocate for people living with HIV/AIDS -- and helped speed up approvals for life-saving treatments. A court in Japan sentences a man to 18 months in prison -- because he posted ridiculously thorough spoilers for a movie about a certain giant mutant lizard. And...it's like "The Pitt", except nothing happens and the doctors are moose. Millions of viewers are glued to the round-the-clock livestream of the epically slow, undramatic Swedish moose migration. As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that suggests you just absorb it through os-moose-iss.

Hundreds of Afghans risked their lives to help U.S. Forces fight the Taliban. Now, they're being told the U.S. may send them back to Afghanistan...or to Congo. An American vet tells us that's a grave injustice. In the face of a crackdown on protest, young activists in Madagascar worry that the new regime they fought for is as bad as the old one ... or worse. It's not the first time flooding has forced the people of Peguis First Nation out of their homes -- but one resident tells us that this year, the community is newly prepared. A Nunavut man got stranded in a blizzard on the way to a volleyball tournament, walked through the snow for days -- and still managed to go home with the trophy. We unpack the culinary mystery that is the 'Steak Canadian' sandwich -- a British delicacy that one Yorkshire restaurant owner tells us is the absolute best thing few Canadians have ever tasted. An investigation of a collision between two South Korean fighter jets reveals the likely cause: each fortunately uninjured pilot was taking a picture of the other pilot's aircraft. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that knows what it's like to regret a snap decision.

Researchers have identified YouTube accounts starring people purporting to be Albertans, making the case for separation. But it turns out those content creators have never set foot in Wild Rose Country. Former Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole tells us what he's bringing to the table, as the Prime Minister convenes a new council on Canada-U.S. economic relations. Donald Trump will attend the White House Correspondents’ dinner this week, with a room full of journalists he's maligned for years. One of whom hopes her colleagues aren't mealy-mouthed at the meal. In 1907, Tom Longboat made history as the first Indigenous winner of the Boston marathon. Now his great-great grandson is trying to match his winning time. Bruce the parrot has gained the upper hand in his flock despite having lost his upper beak -- and because of what he's learned to do with his lower one. An "endless shrimp" promotion nearly sunk Red Lobster -- but now, a similar deal is back, and restaurant staff could not be more seasick about it. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that's always skeptical of grand prawn-ouncements.

The seizure of an Iranian ship by the U.S. military throws the next round of peace talks into question. And Rob Malley, lead negotiator for the 2015 nuclear deal, tells us if JD Vance should even bother packing his bags. The owner of a gas station in Newfoundland and Labrador tells us customers are thrilled to see prices drop -- now that Ottawa has suspended the excise fuel tax until Labour Day. The U.S. government opens its online portal for tariff refunds; one business owner says the process was smooth -- but he won't relax until he actually gets the enormous sum he believes he's owed. A new study on anglerfish reveals a dual purpose for the lures that protrude from their foreheads -- and suggests at least some of those appendages are for attracting mates. Our guest knitted a Blue Jays sweater during last year's playoff run, and now it's headed to the Canadian Museum of History. She'll tells us how it went from a ball of yarn -- to a heritage moment. After an airborne bandit is photographed with stolen treasure in the UK, someone comes forward to say he doesn't know the thieving bird -- but he does recognize the sausage rolls it's holding. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that's always ready to drop a banger or two.

With long-term care workers in Nova Scotia on strike, a woman whose father is in one of those facilities says the province needs to understand how crucial those workers are to families like hers. Anthropic says its new AI model is so good it poses a grave cybersecurity risk. Our guest says its hard to separate the truth from the hype when most of the information is coming from the company itself. A conservationist shares his concern after the US Senate votes to end a moratorium on new mining projects in an enormous watershed near the Minnesota-Ontario border. We'll hear from a Quebec man who made the decision to follow some smoke to its source -- and ended up saving five people from a house fire. A Houston ice-cream shop owner tells us customers are raving about a seasonal favourite: crawfish-flavoured ice cream, which comes with a full-sized crustacean on top. Air New Zealand introduces bunk beds on economy flights, with a couple of caveats -- one of which is: no couples. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that warns romantic pairs: you'll be separated at berth.

A frustrated ticket-buyer who testified at the Live Nation antitrust trial says she was genuinely shocked that a jury found the company does have a harmful monopoly on concert venues, but it's music to her ears. There's tension between the Vatican and the White House after Pope Leo comes out as pro-peace and anti-tyrant — and U.S. President Donald Trump says the Pope "should get his act together". The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations says her members need more than contrition from the RCMP for surveilling Indigenous people. Cindy Woodhouse-Nepinak tells us the police, and CSIS, need to hand over all of the unredacted files. A 91-year-old peace activist walks across Ireland to protest the American military's use of an airport in Shannon — which she says is a direct violation of Irish neutrality. A church in a small British village that rivals the leaning tower of Pisa for its slanted spire also has crooked floors — and the congregation is inclined to do something about it. Millions of years ago, the state of Maryland was teeming with megalodons — and now, lawmakers there have just designated that gigantic, terrifying, fortunately extinct creature the official state shark. As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that hopes it doesn’t come back to bite them.

As Sudan enters its fourth year of civil war, a Sudanese Canadian tells us what her family had to endure to escape and what the world is losing by ignoring the humanitarian crisis there. The war in Iran has left thousands of civilian sailors trapped on vessels in the Persian — with no idea of when they'll be free. A lawmaker in Maine tells us about the new bill that could make her state the first in the U.S. to pause the development of large AI data centres. Marionettist Ronnie Burkett remembers a children's television legend, puppeteer Sid Krofft — and the hilarious, hallucinatory programming he and his brother Marty created. Adam Wilkie isn't an elite athlete, but he is training to match an Olympic swimming champion's winning time from 50 years ago — because the champion was his late father. A Japanese fire official is suspended for standard workplace infraction that doesn't appear in the employee handbook: designing his own board games and forcing his colleagues in the fire station to play them. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that thinks they were living with a fool's pair of dice.

Mark Carney secures his majority government. And Liberal Party caucus chair James Maloney tells anyone concerned about floor-crossers that growing diversity of opinions in the party is a good thing. The new NDP leader Avi Lewis explains how his party's half-dozen MPs will face off against the new Liberal majority — and how he'll lead them, without a seat of his own in Parliament. Nigeria says an airstrike targeted militants, but an NGO worker investigating the attack says it actually killed as many as 200 civilians shopping at a local market. It's been more than fifty years since anyone screened Inuit films made in the 1970s using sand stop-motion animation — and the ethereal images are enchanting audiences. To lure real sage grouse back to Grand Teton National Park, conservationists are deploying sage grouse robots that mimic the male birds' sensual mating rituals. NASA is taking a victory lap for Artemis's victory loop around the moon, but a backyard astronomer in Australia proves you don't have to work for a big space agency to reach for the stars. A U.S. man wanted to make his own bourbon at home so badly that he challenged a 158-year-old law prohibiting home distilling — and won. Ten years on, a British artist is still seeing red and complaining until he's blue in the face about another British artist, who has exclusive rights to the world's blackest black. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that wishes they'd make love, not noir.

A former U.S. diplomat tells us Donald Trump is making yet another catastrophic miscalculation by blocking access to Iran's ports -- and that it could be just as destructive for the global economy as anything Iran does. A decade ago, a devastating oil spill wreaked havoc along the B.C. coast. The Heiltsuk Nation says the damage wasn't limited to the environment -- and it's taking that argument to the UN. After 16 years, Viktor Orban's time leading Hungary is now over. Michael Ignatieff tells us Orban's loss is a win for Hungarians, Europeans, and liberal democracy worldwide. Scientists find a once tightly-connected group of chimpanzees in Uganda now locked in lethal conflict. A researcher tells us what we can learn from their ugly war -- and spoiler alert, it's not all bad. We'll remember the Bollywood legend Asha Bhosle -- with the leader of a band that paid tribute to her in a 90s hit. Montreal Canadiens defenceman David Reinbacher faces a classic rookie ritual -- getting the local press corps to pronounce his name in both official languages. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that’s not sure if that should have been "back check", "bock check", or "Baccch check".

A former advisor to Stephen Harper's government concedes things are not going great for the Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre -- but he says MPs need to fix the party from within rather than cross the floor. The mayor of Sarnia, Ontario says some constituents feel betrayed by Marilyn Gladu's defection to the Liberal government -- and the only solution is a byelection. A Manitoba First Nations Chief describes the suicide crisis unfolding around her -- and what it will take to stop it. A small town in north west England is plagued by an overwhelming stench from a nearby landfill that residents say is not complying with environmental regulations. A man spent years building a precise replica of the Orca, from "Jaws". He says it's a dream come true -- with a touch of nightmare. You might think it's fun to add emojis to your work emails, but your colleagues may not agree -- according to a new study that looks at the big picture in terms of small pictures. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that knows a laughing emoji can drive you up the LOL.

A fourth Conservative MP defected to the Liberal government yesterday -- and another recent floor crosser tells us there are still more Tories who may be considering switching allegiances. Despite the ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is nowhere near back to normal. One shipping company says it could take weeks -- or months -- for things to stabilize. A Lebanese MP says Israeli strikes on her country were unjustified, but she doesn't think Lebanon should have anything to do with that ceasefire -- because she doesn't think Lebanon should have anything to do with Iran. We'll reach the 14-year-old winner of this year’s Junior African Spelling Bee – who defeated opponents from more than 30 countries, spelling in more than 20 languages. We hear from a New Brunswick engineering student whose team was able to track the Artemis 2 mission using a tiny satellite dish on a campus rooftop. The CEO of McDonald's was mocked for a video in which he took a tiny bite of a burger he claimed to love -- and a new interview suggests it's really gnawing at him. As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that thinks he bit off less than he could chew.

Lebanon awoke to news of a ceasefire, and a surge of optimism -- which was shattered by deadly Israeli strikes. An aid worker in Beirut describes the aftermath. Despite the ongoing war of words between Iran and the U.S., Norway's Foreign Minister tells us the two-week ceasefire is the best possible result for the region and the world -- in the short term. It’s been decades since the body of his first victim was found, and a 62-year-old New York architect has finally confessed to being the Gilgo Beach serial killer -- pleading guilty to killing eight women. Biologists in Northern California believe their conservation efforts are making a difference for the California Condor -- because a pair of birds appear to be tending to the region's first egg in a century. When their school board threatens to cut several middle school music programs, a trio of high schoolers in B.C. step in to ensure nobody pulls the strings. New research finds that merely doing hours and hours of meditation every day for a week can completely rewire your brain and body. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio with namaste-ing power.

Donald Trump has agreed to suspend promised attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran for two weeks. A former State Department official tells us what likely happened behind the scenes today. And we hear from an Iranian-Canadian professor about her conversations with loved ones in the leadup to today's now-extended deadline -- and about the anxieties Iranians around the world are experiencing, day in and day out. With polls suggesting he might be headed for electoral defeat, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán phones a friend: U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. When our minds wander, our bodies are affected. A researcher explains the phenomenon of "body-wandering," and how it can affect our mental health. A senior in Washington State tells us how he managed to survive a crocodile attack -- and why the experience renewed his faith in humanity. A British Airways plane on its way to Houston, Texas is forced to land in St. John's -- and from the headlines, you'd think the passengers had been abandoned in a frozen wasteland. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that guarantees they got tundra loving care.

The members of the Artemis II mission will get an extremely rare glimpse of the dark side of the moon. A retired astronaut says that even watching this mission from Earth is a dream come true. After an Iranian missile kills four Israelis, a reporter in Haifa tells us the increasing cost of the war has people questioning the political leaders who pushed so hard for this fight. The former MP who introduced a bill to legalize single-game sports betting says he never imagined an explosion of online gambling ads was in the cards -- and now he's calling for tighter restrictions. A conservationist in Ukraine describes the moment hundreds of people gathered to watch endangered bats be released into the night. A new study takes a closer look at bee stomachs -- and finds the gut health of the individual members of a colony can tell us a lot about the strength of the whole colony. Scientists declare a Swiss court made the right decision when it ruled cheesemakers should be allowed to add hay powder to their cheese curd -- because it is responsible for the holes. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that emphasizes the importance of a hole-some diet.

After a U.S. fighter jet goes down in Iran, American forces launch a search-and-rescue mission. A defence expert and retired colonel tells us about that mission -- and what today’s developments mean for the prospect of peace. Researchers in Denmark are painstakingly excavating the wreck of a ship that exploded in battle more than 200 years ago. Our guest tells us what it’s like to get a close-up look. A Radio-Canada investigation spurred by a reporter’s breakfast finds a major Quebec producer selling altered maple syrup. We get to the bottom of the sticky situation. We bring you Fireside Al’s reading of the Oscar Wilde classic “The Selfish Giant” – a reminder that community makes a garden grow. Researchers discover a new way to cook french fries that makes them less greasy -- but just as crispy. Despite the use of a microwave. We reach an engineer who explains the technical features of the Orion spacecraft –- including a piece of infrastructure essential to the Artemis II mission: the toilet. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that boldly goes where no man has gone before.

As the UK hosts an emergency meeting on the Strait of Hormuz, one country is notably absent. A former ambassador says the U.S. is snubbing international allies at a time when it needs them the most. A new report says that if Ottawa's ambitious military spending promises are met, Canadians will need to be prepared for big tax hikes -- and, possibly, deep cuts to other government services. When Syracuse International airport told a sexual harassment lawyer the ad she wanted to run there was a "bit harsh", she sued. And now she's got herself an even bigger billboard. Two, actually. A New Zealand helicopter crew rescues Molly the border collie -- who went missing after her owner accidentally fell 50 metres down a remote waterfall. Scientists discover that male octopuses have a favorite arm -- and, maybe unsurprisingly, it's the one that plays a crucial role in octopus sex. A tour guide in Iceland says even rising costs won’t keep locals from lining up for their unofficial national dish: the hot dog. As It Happens, the Thursday edition, Radio that never shies away from a frank conversation.

A century ago, Wong Kim Ark took his fight for birthright citizenship in the U.S. all the way to the Supreme Court; today, his great-grandson was at the court as the government argued to overturn it. An American journalist is kidnapped in Baghdad by a militia allied with Iran; a former colleague tells us Shelly Kittleson is a "gutsy" reporter who believes in the importance of the work, despite the risks. A petition in support of Alberta separatism now has more than 170 thousand signatures; one of the organizers tells us why he's so keen to extricate his province from the country. We'll meet a Columbia Business School professor who decided the best way to deal with his students' use of AI was to create his own chatbot to help them learn. The detailed designs for hundreds of thousands of ships are being made available to the public for the first time -- including the plans for the Titanic. A once-wild mustang sets a new world record by performing dozens of complex tasks in under 3 minutes; his trainer explains how she taught an old horse new tricks. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that supposes the doubters were saddle-ly mistaken.

Stephen Lewis tackled global issues such as poverty, AIDS and children in armed conflict. An African activist remembers her friend’s "fiery" passion for justice -- and his ability to connect with anyone to bring about change. A member of the Knesset shares her objection to a new law that allows for the hanging of Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis -- legislation that doesn't apply to Israelis who commit similar crimes. As NASA prepares to send the first Canadian to the moon, fellow astronaut Joshua Kutryk shares his excitement about that journey -- and what could come next. Derek Sheely died after suffering a head injury during a college football practice. Now his mom is raising awareness by modifying a popular NFL video game to replicate what it’s like to play after a big hit. A fourteen-year-old hockey player and a former NHLer pay tribute to the Dawson City Nuggets' attempt at a Stanley Cup victory, by transporting the trophy to a local tournament by dogsled. A Wisconsin petting zoo owner describes the three-day rescue effort after her adolescent kangaroo escaped, despite a 2-and-a-half-metre-high fence. As It Happens, the Tuesday edition. Radio that senses it was a roo'd awakening.