As It Happens from CBC Radio

A political commentator says he's shocked that Gregor Robertson has been appointed Canada’s federal minister of housing -- because he couldn't get the housing crisis under control when he was Vancouver's mayor.

Canada's first-ever Indigenous Minister of Indigenous Services, Mandy Gull-Masty, tells us a cabinet post was never a job she imagined having -- but has big plans now that she’s in the role.

After the Taliban bans chess, a player who fled Afghanistan for safety in Belgium says he won't let the game he loves die in his homeland.

As fires burn through parts of Manitoba, one man describes his family's dramatic escape.

Producers uncover the long lost pilot episode of Thomas the Tank Engine TV show and put it up online, for fans longing to see how the show got itself on track.

And, new research reveals that flamingos aren't passive feeders, but "super feeding machines" -- that use their bills to create a vortex that sucks up their shrimpy prey.

As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that moves in for the krill.

Longtime Liberal minister Steven Guilbeault talks to us about today's cabinet appointments, and what his present company means for Canada's future. 

British Columbia is making the case that American health care workers worried about Donald Trump should relocate to Canada. A nurse from Texas tells us things are unsettling, so she's considering resettling. 

Honda delays its multi-billion-dollar EV plant in Alliston, Ontario. The town's mayor tells that –- auto industry troubles aside – he believes the project just needs some time to recharge. 

New research into WIFW – which, of course, stands for "water-inducted finger wrinkling", reveals some analog truths about our digital appendages.

A group of Finnish Eurovision fans are driving a sauna to Switzerland for this year's contest. One tells us getting people to grab a towel and join them is proving to be no sweat. 

And, one of the world's largest snails is filmed for the first time doing something with its neck that makes the hairs on ours stand on end – laying an egg. 

As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that provides full-throated support.

There is celebration as the last living American hostage in Gaza -- 21-year-old Edan Alexander -- has been released by Hamas. A close friend of the family describes their elation. 

After the US and China agree to put tariffs on hold for 90 days, a supply chain expert tells us that's great -- but a suspension isn't the same as a solution.

A sociology organization decides to move some sections of its upcoming conference north of the border -- because some Canadian members refuse to travel to the US. 

A Soviet-era spacecraft was meant to land on Venus spent more than 50 years trapped in Earth's obit -- until this weekend, when it finally came crashing down. Somewhere.

The Professional Women's Hockey League breaks a record for the longest game, as Montreal and Ottawa battle their way into quadruple overtime. A fan who was there tells us how she survived the five-and-a-half hour match.

And, it's the end of the end of the world as we know it. Scientists reveal that the universe will decay billions and billions of years earlier than they previously thought -- meaning the end of the world is merely billions and billions and billions of years away.

As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that greets you with open armageddons.

Running for coverage. A Russian journalist flees house arrest and a possible prison sentence, and escapes to France. She tells us leaving her loved ones behind was the only way to break free.

Dishonourable discharges. Rae Timberlake has served their country in the U.S. Navy for 17 years. But as the Trump administration begins its removal of a thousand trans troops, they don't feel like their country is serving them.

Out of office replies. I'll talk to Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai about his surprise resignation announcement; he tells us that, when it comes to his children, it's time to make up for lost time.

Disaster aria. A new opera sets a horrendous case of wrongful conviction to music. The composer behind "The Central Park Five" tells us its themes have a whole new resonance right now. 

 

I get where they're coming from. No one knows what to call people from Chelsea, Quebec -- and the mayor tells us the city's 150th anniversary is the perfect time for residents to decide how to identify themselves. 

 

And, indubitably, unreservedly sorry, not sorry. A UK researcher reveals that the more uncommon and sesquipedalian vocabulary you utilize in an apology, the more sincere it will seem.

As It Happens, the Friday edition. Radio that never cuts a long sorry short.

Holy smoke. A Canadian Catholic tells us what it was like to stand with thousands in St Peter's Square when the white smoke billowed -- and waited to hear the first words of the first American Pope.

Well, the first except for the pretend American Pope, chosen by university students in Chicago recently, in a re-creation of the Conclave of 1492. The history prof behind it explains the powerful lesson in that exercise. 

And: the Young Pope. We hear from a childhood friend of the boy known as Robert Prevost -- long before he became Pope Leo the Fourteenth. 

It's kind of a big deal. The UK becomes the first country to hammer out a new trade agreement with the White House. An expert in business diplomacy tells us it won't be so easy for Canada.

 

 Getting his message across. The sister of a murder victim used artificial intelligence to generate a victim impact statement from her late brother. She tells us she believes he would have offered his killer the forgiveness she can't.  

The bleat goes on. Sheep are still by far the dominant population in New Zealand -- but a new count reveals that humans are closing the gap. Slowly, and slightly. 

As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that puts people behind baa-ers.

Flight from fight response. After India attacks Pakistan and Pakistan authorizes "corresponding action", a journalist in Kashmir tells us the threat of escalation has people unsure what to do or where to go.

Search me. American authorities in a Washington state border town inspect cars and question drivers heading toward Canada. A local lawyer says that might destroy whatever was left of the town's cross-border business. 

Spyware and tear. An Israeli cyber-intelligence firm is ordered to pay more than 2-hundred and 30 million Canadian in damages, for surveilling hundreds of WhatsApp users.

Your chance to pontiff-icate. While the conclave is in session, Italians are guessing who the next Pope will be -- by playing a fantasy-league game called "Fantapapa". 

A true sensation about real sensations. A graduate student in Finland wins this year's "Dance Your PhD" contest with a powerful performance about the science behind sensations such as burning, cooling, and tingling.

And...villain the blanks. A British woman is given tens of thousands in compensation, after her colleagues filled out a Star Wars-related personality test on her behalf -- and declared her a "Darth Vader".

As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that survives a near-Darth experience. 

Face to face, but not quite eye to eye. Former Canadian ambassador to Washington Frank McKenna says that, despite his bluster about the 51st state, when Mark Carney visited the White House, the president seemed to respect the prime minister.  

From bad to worse to worse. The head of a British charity supporting Palestinians tells us he's trying to stay hopeful, despite Israeli plans that promise to make life for civilians in Gaza even more dangerous. 

Zero compromise on zero tolerance. As cardinals gather in Rome to choose a new Pope, a survivor of sexual abuse tells us now has to be the time for the Catholic church to make things right.

It's a free country; well, right now, it's a free province. But we hear from activist Dennis Modry who says Alberta should be its own country -- and is confident a referendum would deliver just that verdict.

The needles and the damage undone. During the NHL playoffs, an Edmonton Oilers fanatic is crocheting emotional support chickens for her fellow stressed-out fans -- in the hopes that her handiwork will unknit their brows. 

Thrust into the limb-light. We'll cuttle up with the cuttlefish -- which science suggests is using its many flexible arms to communicate in some kind of sign language.

As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that's also available as a cephalopodcast. 

According to the Taliban, Manizha Bakhtari no longer represents Afghanistan abroad. But that hasn't stopped the country's one-time top diplomat in Austria from keeping the doors of its embassy in Vienna open and now her efforts are the subject of the new documentary, The Last Ambassador. Nil Köksal sits down with Bakhtari and director Natalie Halla on the eve of three Canadian screenings.

Plus: Nil reaches Nardwuar the Human Serviette, who’s snagged more interviews with Canadian political leaders during this campaign than anyone. 

 

Also: Up until 2015, academics at Oxford drank wine out of a chalice made from the human skull -- likely that of an enslaved woman. Archeologist Dan Hicks uncovered that history and says it's now his goal to make sure this woman is given back her dignity and humanity.

Plus: How getting stuck in quicksand led to a rom-com worthy love story for a Michigan couple. 

 

Also: Canadian author Robin Stevenson’s book Pride Puppy is at the centre of a Supreme Court decision on 2SLGTBQ+ books in schools. She says she was shocked to hear a Justice repeat the false claim that her alphabet book -- about a puppy at a Pride parade -- included a mention of bondage.

Plus: Boston Globe reporter Billy Baker investigates a shockingly violent woodpecker terrorizing Rockport, Mass.

Also: It was no surprise that Paige Beuckers was picked first overall at last night's WNBA draft -- least of all to Gary Knox, a dad who just happened to be at the right place at the right time and predict her stardom way back in 2013, when she was in the sixth grade.

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: 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.

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: 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.

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: 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.