As It Happens

Plus: As Heathrow Airport goes down, a British teacher scrambles to bring students home from Spain. 

Also: A journalist in Khartoum tells us what the army's retaking of the presidential palace could mean for the deadly civil war in Sudan that's approaching the two year mark. 

Plus: A conversation with the man who listed his Washington DC townhouse…with the help of a perfectly scaled LEGO recreation.  

Also: Kenneth Stern helped craft an internationally recognized definition of antisemitism. Now he’s concerned with how it’s being applied.

Plus: Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are back on earth after nine months. A former astronaut takes us inside that kind of extended stay.

Also: Vermont Senator Peter Welch on how tariffs and uncertainty are hurting his state.

Plus: Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan joins Queen and Herbie Hancock at this year’s prestigious Polar Music Prize.

Also: As Mark Carney begins his time as Prime Minister - the Conservative shadow minister for ethics Michael Barrett says he's being anything but transparent about his financial holdings.

Plus: Satirical news site The Beaverton celebrates 15 years during a fertile and fraught time for news satire. 

Also: A US federal judge orders the Trump administration to halt deportations under the Alien Enemies Act -- including flights that had already left the country. But those planes did not turn back -- and Washington is unapologetic. Georgetown law professor David Super weighs in. 

Plus: An Indiana dad says he's grateful his daughter is alive after she spent nearly a week trapped and badly injured in her car. 

Also: A Saskatoon fire fighter fears burnout as he and his colleagues respond to 15 to 20 overdose calls a day; and animal lovers in Michigan try to solve the mystery of a snowy owl that’s inexplicably bright orange.

Plus: New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman on Donatella Versace’s remarkable tenure as chief creative officer at the iconic fashion house. 

Also: Canada’s labour minister Steven MacKinnon promises protections for workers; Yukoners mourn the loss of a beloved community hub to fire; and Christians and Muslims alike celebrate the conversion of a St. John’s church into a much-needed mosque.

Plus: A Columbia professor says the detention of student activist Mahmoud Khalil sets a terrifying precedent — and educators have a duty to speak out.

Also: A Ukrainian government advisor anxiously awaits Russia's response to a U.S. brokered ceasefire; a friend remembers South African anti-apartheid playwright Athol Fugard; and Saturn solidifies its status as the Moon King of our solar system.

Plus: The Canadian women’s rugby team makes the pitch for better funding — and says it could be a game changer when it comes to winning the world cup.

Also: A lawyer representing victims of the Philippines drug war reacts to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest; an ancient canoe unearthed in New Zealand could hold the answers Moriori people have been looking for; and the owner of an Alberta newspaper mourns its closure and celebrates more than a century in print.

“Closure”: After 80 years, an Ontario woman shares her relief after learning where her great uncle, who went missing in action during WW2, was buried.

Irish street busker, Tilly Cripwell, describes her fight to stop passersby from touching the breasts of a statue of Molly Malone; a Severance fan -- facing stage-4 cancer -- meets the show’s cast; and what recent fighting in Syria means for the country’s prospects for peace.

Hockey Night in Canada - in Inuktitut. Pujjuut Kusugak on making history this weekend when he’ll provide colour commentary in his mother tongue.

The head of the U.S. trade association for distilled spirits on Canadian provinces pulling American booze from their shelves; the Vegetable Orchestra sets a new record; a journalist in Lesotho on Donald Trump’s suggestion that no one’s ever heard of the African nation; and why there can only be one “Captain Clutch.”

Why grammar aficionado Ellen Jovin travelled to 50 U.S. states to explore the finer points of the English language -- one conversation at a time.

Canada pledges billions to boost Arctic defence; an American veteran describes being fired from his job by email; the mayor of Laval, Quebec reacts, after several mayors invited to the White House are disinvited; and how a Canadian teen ended up in a Polish prison, accused of being a Russian spy.

Plus: After a long reprieve, one B.C. town faces the prospect of a renewed peacock invasion. 

Also: A conversation with AI pioneer Richard Sutton, co-winner of this year's Turing Award.

A retired entomologist shows off his creative side, and the nether regions of his favourite beetle, in a new exhibit of glass sculptures.

An Israeli human rights organization takes the government to court over its aid blockade; a resident in Point Roberts, Washington, on its connection to Canada and his petition for a humanitarian exemption to tariffs; a fired US federal employee explains why she's attending President Trump’s congressional address tonight; and a childhood friend and former bandmate pays tribute to hip hop trailblazer Angie Stone.

Plus: A Stanford University scientist on new research into the slimiest parts of our brains that could unlock big developments in memory and aging. 

Also: On the eve of US tariffs on virtually all Canadian goods, the owner of a Toronto pizzeria tells us about his decision to banish US ingredients from his restaurant.

Plus: An immigration lawyer on the influx of calls from 2SLGBTQ+ Americans who want to move to Canada, because they don't feel safe in their country. 

Also: Greek protesters demand justice, two years after the country's worst rail disaster killed 57 people; and a sendoff for the town clerk of Heart's Content, Newfoundland and Labrador, who’s held the job for more than 50 years.

Revisit some of our past conversations with Academy Award winners, fans and even the owner of a Matthew McConaughey-inspired parrot.

Plus: A pair of newlyweds explain why they chose to forgo running water and electricity for six months to become caretakers of a remote Irish island.

Also: A tribute to Shawna Forester Smith, who advocated for better patient care from her bed in a Winnipeg chronic-care unit; the German Catholic Church condemns a carnival float in Cologne that draws attention to sexual abuse in the church; and how a man in England, got a pothole fixed -- by making it look like someone is stuck upside-down, inside it.

Plus: “We don’t have a political agenda. We’re trying to feed the country.” Farmers sue U.S. Agriculture Dept after it removes online climate data.

Also: “It was as if the sky just exploded.” We take a visit to Europe’s newest Dark Sky sanctuary, the Scottish Isle of Rum; A Saskatchewan social worker on the province’s plan to classify drug-related items as street weapons; Dallas Arcand wins his fourth hoop dancing world championship; and a trio of Canadian-first surgeries will see a Vancouver ophthalmologist put a tooth in his patients’ eyes, in the hope that it will restore their sight.

Plus: John McCann (aka The Philly Captain) explains the demise of the so-called “p00p game”. Don’t worry, it will all make sense. 

Also: The manager of a community-based theatre in the Jenin Refugee Camp tells us about the Israeli military's displacement of some 40,000 Palestinians from their homes in the occupied West Bank -- and about why his family is staying put.

Plus: One man’s battle to have his right to own a raccoon as a pet enshrined in law. 

Also: People in Bowden, Alberta are in a 51st state of mind as a pro-merger billboard goes up, causing headaches for the town’s mayor.

Plus: Five hockey fans drive from Winnipeg to Boston for the 4 Nations Face-Off final, to cheer on Team Canada and their friend, player Seth Jarvis.

Also: The earliest known cookbook by a Black American woman gets a new edition; paleontologists discover the 30-million-year-old skull of "the king of the ancient Egyptian forest”; why one public health expert thinks changes to BC’s safer supply program could mean the its effective demise; and how snow in Montreal has kept one wheelchair user stuck at home.

Plus: An Italian tour guide shares his concerns as visitors get an up close, and potentially dangerous, look at an erupting Mount Etna.

Also: A hockey fan on the Canadian/US matchup at the 4 Nations final; Nova Scotia’s auditor general on new legislation that would let the Province fire her without cause; and a historic ocean liner that once regularly crossed the Atlantic, takes its final voyage.

Plus: Former Olympian Christina Lustenberger describes what it was like to reach the highest point of the Rocky Mountains, and then ski back down.

Also: What happens when a moose shows up at your door; a Ukrainian reflects on her country’s prospects for peace and its relationship with the US; and a reporter breaks down the charges against Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, and the allegations he took part in a coup and plot to kill his political rivals. 

Plus: Facundo Iglesia from the Buenos Aires Herald on a crypto scandal and Argentina’s leader. 

Also: We revisit the “Giga Pearl”. It holds the Guinness World Record as the largest authenticated natural pearl. The massive, iridescent gemstone has traveled from the Philippines to Mississauga, then to the U.S. for appraisal, and now it’s back in the Greater Toronto Area for an exclusive luxury art exhibit.

Plus: A surprising discovery about how shockingly vicious hummingbirds seem to be learning to get along. 

Also: We reach a woman in the hardest hit part of Eastern Kentucky who says despite her small business flooding, she's most worried for those who just recovered from the deadly 2022 floods.

Plus: We speak with a researcher who’s discovered that different groups of chimps use different gestures to request what she calls "sneaky copulation".

Also: As Donald Trump reshapes the Kennedy Center, Michael Kooman says a tour of his musical has been cancelled out of the blue. And he suspects the president's aversion to drag performance had something to do with it.

Nil Köksal in conversation with Shiori Ito, director, producer and subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary. 

Black Box Diaries begins with a trigger warning: "Close your eyes and take a deep breath if you need to," Ms. Ito tells viewers. "That has helped me many times." It goes on to detail her story of sexual assault and the pursuit of justice in Japan.

Plus: TikTok helps drain global Guinness supplies. We reach a St. John’s pub owner who’s got problems ahead of Saint Patrick’s Day.  

Also: This week, only six of the 46 people who attempted an especially treacherous Yukon Arctic Ultra race crossed the finish line. Our guest tells us how she managed to stick it out, and why she's already gearing up for her next trek.

Plus: A superfan makes a sprint through Manhattan to snag a coveted ticket to Paul McCartney’s ultra rare club show.   

Also: We reach Ahmad Muna, whose decades-old bookshop was raided by Israeli police in Jerusalem.

Plus: Christie’s goes all in on AI art. We reach a (human) artist who’s part of the first auction of its kind.    

Also: A town in northern England finds hundreds of Second World War bombs under a children's playground.

Plus: How one Canadian distillery is trying to create a liqueur similar to chartreuse because of a shortage of the green alcohol.

Also: After Sweden’s deadliest mass shooting last week, we speak to a family member of one of the survivors.

We speak to Liberal MP and leadership candidate Karina Gould and Goldy Hyder of the Business Council of Canada.

Also: A film history student tells us about the moment he discovered a silent film about Lincoln...believed to be lost to time...in the final hours of his internship with a historic film archive.

Nil Köksal speaks with Molly O’Brien, producer and director of the Oscar-nominated documentary, and with the film’s subject: her aunt Orin O’Brien.

Plus: Jeff Douglas on the meaning of “I Am Canadian” then…and now. 

Also: Scientist David Kring on what we can learn from massive canyons on the moon.

Plus: A cave explorer finds a fungus that turns spiders into zombies…so it can kill them. 

Also: An Ottawa furniture store owner on why sourcing Canadian products is easier said than done. 

Plus: New research on bonobos shows the unique human ability to guess what's going on in the minds of others isn't so unique.

Also: . A site on the North Saskatchewan River is revealed to be one of the oldest examples of Indigenous civilization in North America. A Métis archaeologist tells us he could feel that history the first time he saw it.

Plus: When a teenager fell into icy water, Indiana's David Fisher grabbed his double Dutch ropes and jumped into action. 

Also: After a Canadian father comes forward to say his child is purchasing illicit drugs on Snapchat, we'll hear from an American dad about his ongoing fight to hold the social platform accountable for the death of his son.

Plus: The story of a “Pistol Packin’ Mama” who spent decades wanted for murder, undetected in Taber, Alberta.  

Also: Liz Pelly, author of Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist.

She worked with Spencer Lane, a 16 year old victim of the DC plane crash. 

Also: How Newfoundland and Labrador’s snow crab fishery is preparing for the prospect of devastating US tariffs; and we reach former Bernie Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir, who’s running to lead the Democratic National Committee

Plus: The Danish scientists who thought they’d found some fossilized plants…which turned out to be something much more interesting: ancient vomit. 

Also: Casey Katims of the U.S. Climate Alliance on trying to forge a path ahead with states, after Trump pulls the U.S. out of a key international agreement. 

Plus: Receding alpine ice reveals a beautifully preserved forest of 6,000 year old trees, and its secrets are both thrilling and frightening. 

Also: We hear from Washington Post theatre critic Naveen Kumar who temporarily lost the ability to sit, and how standing changed his perspective on the medium he's spent so long covering.

Plus: Beth Shapiro of the bioscience firm Colossal on the ultimate de-extinction project…bringing the dodo back from the dead. 

Also: Months after far-right rioters burst through its doors, Liverpool's Spellow Library is open to the public once again.

Plus: Gwenyth Paltrow went skiing, they made a musical about it. Now it’s blowing up. 

Also: Donald Trump says fentanyl from Canada is a problem, we take a look at what’s real about that and what isn’t.

Plus: How Oscar-nominated costume designer Linda Muir created Nosferatu’s creepy and obsessively period-accurate outfits. 

Also: Today is the first day same-sex couples can legally get married in Thailand. We reach a transgender man on his wedding day, about what today means for his life, and his country.

Plus: Two New Zealand fishermen knew they had a big one on the line, but they didn’t expect to find a shark along for the ride.

Also: Jordan Heber, the Santa Monica painter creating watercolours of lost homes.

Plus: A photographer and model dive deep to get some pictures on the deck of a sunken ship -- and the results are breathtaking and record-breaking.

Also: We reach the former prosecutor who helped put Leonard Peltier in prison, then campaigned for his release.

Interviews with Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson, Thomas A. Saenz of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and more.

Plus: A New Zealand woman sets a new world record for sprinting - on a track covered with Lego. 

Also: Some LA residents who had just gotten into housing find themselves right back where they started thanks to the wildfires;  and an expert provides a nuanced perspective on the ban of Red Dye #3.

Plus: The terrifyingly massive “big boy” that will super size your arachnophobia. 

Also: We speak to one of the Quebec pilots flying water bomber missions over the Los Angeles fires.

Plus: Casey Stoney explains how she’ll lead Canada’s women’s soccer team out of scandal and back into the win column. 

Also: A British pizzeria shows its reluctance to put pineapple on pies by charging the equivalent of 175 dollars Canadian to anyone who dares to order it. And we are pine-appalled.

Plus: On Prince Edward Island, a man nearly gets beaned by a meteorite…and ends up capturing a historic image with his home security system. 

Also: After visiting the region, Canada's Minister for International Development Ahmed Hussen tells us he sees a window of opportunity for countries to support the rebuilding of a peaceful and prosperous Syria.

Plus: Russell Howells hits a “bleak” moment in his long fight to recover a fortune in Bitcoin from a dump in Wales.

Also: A team of Italian physicists think they've found the recipe for the perfect cacio e pepe pasta, featuring…cornstarch?

Plus: Zora Neale Hurston's last novel was almost destroyed in a fire. But the well-timed instincts of a friend helped save it for a new generation. 

Also: We'll hear from the co-owner of a Los Angeles theatre – Public Displays of Altadena – destroyed in the Eaton fire about the livelihoods lost and the fine art of rebuilding.

Plus: That’ll do, donkey. We bid farewell to the beast of burden who served as a model for Shrek’s two-dimensional donkey sidekick.

Also: After our story about a mysterious pile of bananas in England, listeners tipped us off to an equally unexplained phenomenon in Whitehorse.

Plus: We reach a volunteer in Finland who’s getting out his shovel to build the snow drifts seals need to build their next generation. 

Also: Survival of the fittest is a phrase we all learn in biology class. But new research suggests something else might also shape evolution in the animal kingdom: sheer luck.

Plus: When we heard about a mystery plate of peeled bananas on a British street corner we couldn't resist the urge to call up some locals…

And our efforts bore fruit. Also: The head of Physicians for Human Rights Israel calls for the release of a Palestinian doctor detained by the IDF after a December raid on the Kamal Adwan hospital in North Gaza.

Plus: After a fire destroys a new romance bookstore in the DC area, readers come together to show it some love -- and give the story a happy ending.

Also: We reach Kate McElwee of the Women’s Ordination Conference after Pope Francis appoints a nun to a historically important role. She says she still believes that the Catholic Church is capable of full inclusion.

An orca who famously carried around her dead calf for weeks in 2018 is now repeating that behaviour after the recent death of her newborn calf.

In September, Carol Off was back in our studio to speak with Nil about her latest book, “At a Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage.” In it, the former host of As It Happens looks at six words (freedom, democracy, truth, woke, choice and taxes) and how their meaning has been distorted and politicized. She offers insight on how to reclaim those words -- and what’s at risk, if we're unable to do so.

“Kinda feels like it was my house that burned down.” A former employee of Telegraph Cove, B.C.’s whale museum is heartbroken when it’s destroyed by fire.

We revisit Nil’s feature-length conversation with R. Renee Hess. The hockey fan and author spoke to players, hockey parents, NHL employees and journalists for a collection of essays published last year. It’s called, Blackness Is a Gift I Can Give Her: On Race, Community, and Black Women in Hockey, and includes her own journey in a sport that, as she writes, doesn’t always love her back.

We go back to the archives to dig up the stories and guests who took us by surprise.

At least 10 people are dead after a pickup truck driver rammed the vehicle into a crown in New Orleans' French Quarter. The FBI are investigating the incident as a suspected terror attack. Resident Brian O'Brien tells us about waking up to the aftermath of the attack, outside his doorstep. City councilmember Lesli Harris answers our questions about safeguards — and raises some question of her own.

Plus: A housing advocate isn’t surprised a Montreal encampment has popped up again, just weeks after being dismantled by police.

And an encore presentation of our feature-length conversation with Kevin Kwan, who rose to fame with his novel, Crazy Rich Asians. The Singaporean-American author has made a career of satirizing the richest of the rich. His latest book, "Lies and Weddings" features exactly as much of both as you'd hope. 

Plus: A Toronto artist gives unwanted presents a second life at the Museum of Bad Gifts.

And an encore presentation of our feature-length conversation with author and educator Solomon Ratt, on how he carried his mother’s stories with him during his time at residential school -- and found healing, refuge and connection in the written word.

Plus: We reach the man who helped make the bald eagle…finally…the official bird of the United States. 

And our holiday readings continue. In this episode we bring you Al Maitland’s reading of Zlateh the Goat by Isaac Bashevis Singer. 

We delve into the As It Happens archives to celebrate the guests who saw something broken — and decided to fix it. 

A Christmas Eve tradition since 1979. As It Happens presents Frederick Forsyth's The Shepherd, read by our late host “Fireside” Al Maitland.