As It Happens

After many days trying to connect, we reach a defiant resident of Tehran -- who says U.S. and Israeli bombs are the wrong way to topple the regime he opposes. We also connect with a longtime rights activist in Kabul who tells us that despite a horrifying new decree, there's not much else the Taliban can take away from women in Afghanistan.An Ontario library dealing with open drug use and near-daily overdoses tries a last-ditch effort to keep from closing its doors completely. At a funeral in Chicago, three former presidents pay tribute to the late civil rights pioneer Jesse Jackson. Researchers turn to the study of trees to discover one of the few mysteries left about what makes the world famous Stradivarius violins the best of the best. An opera singer in Florida shifts gears when the gigs dry up...using his prodigious pipes to sell used vehicles. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that asks: Aria lookin' for some new wheels? 

The brother of a Nobel Peace Prize winner detained in Iran says there's no escape for those trapped in prisons -- and he's afraid of what the regime will do to them in the fog of war. A Nova Scotia father says provincial cuts to programs for people with disabilities, like the one his daughter uses, are a real punch in the gut -- and he's not sure how families like his will cope. We'll pay tribute to Yanar Mohammed, who was killed by gunmen in Baghdad this week -- after decades of fighting for equality and safety for women in Iraq.A Canadian man has been held in ICE detention for the past four months; his brother says his family wants him back home -- but first, they just want him to go before a judge. A curator of old movies tells us about finding a lost gem by a true pioneer of silent film -- and the man who gave him that lost gem tells us just how close he came to chucking it in a dumpster. A Las Vegas casino magnate lays his cards on the table: he wants Canadians who are avoiding travel to the U.S. back at his blackjack tables and slot machines -- and he's willing to take a gamble of his own to get us there. As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that's not sure it'll visit -- but won't roulette out. 

The government of Spain is adamantly against the U.S. - Israeli attack on Iran, and it repeated that position today, even in the face of Donald Trump's trade threats. A non-profit that monitors financial markets says it's concerned that online prediction markets were allowing people to place wagers on the strikes on Iran -- and that many of those betting appeared to know too much. A Texas firefighter tells us what it was like to climb a very, very, very tall communications tower -- to rescue a pair of hot-air ballooners who got tangled up up top.A Vancouver city councillor is baffled as to why the mayor accused him of handing out illegal drugs on Christmas Day. And despite the mayor's apologies, he's not feeling very forgiving. A Canadian comic working in the UK explains how Brits are responding to his blistering take on the peculiar culinary phenomenon known as "picky tea". When certain cockroaches couple up, they demonstrate their commitment by eating each other's wings -- an act of real tenderness. Or toughness, depending on the wings.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that knows sometimes you have plans for dinner -- and sometimes you just wing it.

Ottawa has stated support for military action, but they've also made it clear that Canada had no involvement in that action. Former Foreign Affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy says the government is being unnecessarily unclear.As the U.S. and Israel continue to hammer Iran, an Alberta man fears for his family in Tehran; he tells us they all yearn for change, but he doesn't want them to die for it. A woman in Lebanon tells us about helping feed those who have been forced from their homes and onto the streets of Beirut -- as the conflict widens.Her B.C. town did away with daylight saving time over a century ago -- and now, our guest is welcoming the rest of the province to sit back instead of springing forward. The late Len Garry was a crucial part of the rhythm section in an up-and-coming skiffle band in the UK in the '50s -- but left before they became The Beatles.A partly blind refugee was found dead in Buffalo, New York, days after being released from federal custody. His family wants answers. The author of a new study says there's been a concerning increase in the number of young men in Ontario requiring help for their gambling. And he's pretty sure he knows why. A musician was forced to hold a very delicate, centuries-old violin on a flight, because the airline insisted its case was too big. Now, that airline has changed its policy. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that's glad she refused to play second fiddle.

After three days of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes across Iran -- a journalist tells us that, despite the death of the Ayatollah, the regime remains in full crackdown mode. A pro-regime academic in Tehran tells us the government has a clear plan to stay in power -- and says Iranians are united against their true enemies: the U.S. and Israel. One of Canada's last diplomats in Iran tells us Prime Minister Carney did the right thing by supporting strikes on the country -- no matter the potential fallout at home. Our guest built a seasonings company called Spyce Girlz. But now that the '90s girl-power pop group is threatening to sue her, she's feeling kind of salty. With the world feeling like a dumpster fire, one New Yorker decided to focus on a problem she could do something about: cleaning up the Brooklyn Bridge.Major League Baseball has a new system that can tell for sure whether a pitch was high, low, or just right -- but for it to work, a lot of players are having to admit they're not as tall as they claimed to be.As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that never shrinks from the truth. 

Wilkie has already won a phenomenal number of medals -- but says she's still surprised and thrilled to be representing Canada at the ceremony. After two women in Uganda are arrested for kissing in public, an activist tells us the LGBTQ+ community is on high alert -- and doing everything it can to push for their release. Mark Carney is in India looking to make new trade deals -- and our guest says it's just another instance of a Canadian prime minister putting economic interests ahead of the safety of the country's Sikh community. A Halifax mother tells us about her daughter, who died in a homeless encampment -- in the hope that it will encourage people to be more understanding of others caught in the throes of addiction. A researcher takes us beat by beat through a new study on the way some caterpillars use complex rhythms to gain access to ant colonies.A young pitching prospect believes he cracked the code of athletic excellence -- by cracking, and eating, 30 raw eggs a day for a month. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that's not sure you should rely on a deus eggs machina. 

Just about two weeks after the deadly shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, students and their parents are touring new portable classrooms -- and still unsure about how to move forward. The company behind the AI chatbot Claude is hoping to put guardrails on the Pentagon's use of its tech. But the U.S. military is pushing back. Nova Scotia's government closes a dozen provincial heritage sites, to the shock of our guest -- whose family once lived in the now-shuttered Fisherman’s Life Museum. For years, a pediatric surgeon at Winnipeg's Children’s Hospital has been pushing for a designated space for Indigenous patients. And now, construction is finally underway. Having uncovered why Scotch tape squeals, we are once again providing an answer to a question you didn’t ask: why basketball shoes squeak that squeak.To ensure customer courtesy, Burger King will deploy AI in employees' headsets, that will keep a tally of the number of times they say "welcome", "please", and "thank you."As It Happens, the Thursday edition, Radio that suggests they mind their cheese and Qs. 

Canada's Immigration Minister is under fire after Radio-Canada journalists reveal the organizations who work with her, and some of her own Liberal colleagues, says she's often unreachable -- and perhaps not up to the job. Hundreds of American nurses have been welcomed north of the border, after leaving the U.S. during Donald Trump's first year in office; one tells us he's never going back. Zambia needs to replace healthcare funding slashed by U.S. cuts -- and our guest tells us the sub-Saharan nation is about to accept some pretty unhealthy terms from the Trump Administration. A researcher wanted to test the so-called "drunken monkey hypothesis" -- and that meant he had to perfect a technique for collecting chimpanzee urine in the wild.An elementary school basketball team in Utah is obsessed with attending the local high school team's games. But their minds were blown when the high school team showed up to watch them. Researchers finally solve a mystery that has vexed...well, researchers: the mystery of why Scotch tape makes a sort of screeching sound when you peel a piece off.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that knows tape research is tough -- but you just stick to it. 

The fire chief in St. John's tells us that, after a series of punishing snowstorms, he and his crew worked overtime to help dig Newfoundlanders out -- and also helped deliver a new one.Canada's Minister of Artificial Intelligence meets with OpenAI over the company's failure to report disturbing posts by the Tumbler Ridge shooter to law enforcement. Four years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there is still no end in sight. We'll return to a guest who's working to honour Bucha's dead and to help the city move forward.A brand new American inter-agency task force may have helped Mexico track down El Mencho -- another indication of the increased militarization of the battle against the cartels.  A WWII historian tells us the story that stopped him in his tracks -- a story that ended with a 108-year-old Ontario woman being presented with a long-overdue wartime medal. During a soccer game in Turkey, a gull is felled mid-flight when it's smacked by a ball -- and saved when a player immediately begins CPR.As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that tells the whole story -- from death to rebirdth. 

A resident of Puerto Vallarta tells us what it's like in the Mexican city one day after the killing of a cartel leader triggered waves of violent retaliation across the country.A geopolitical analyst tells us how the U.S. is putting pressure on Mexico to rein in the cartels -- and reflects on the effectiveness of taking out the kingpins like El Mencho.Canada's Artificial Intelligence Minister summons OpenAI officials to Ottawa -- to explain what they knew about the Tumbler Ridge shooter, and when. A UN fact-finding mission to El Fasher says what they found after the capture of the Sudanese city by the RSF bears the "hallmarks of genocide".Profile writer Susan Sheehan's daughter remembers her mother's remarkable gift for disappearing into her subject's lives, and revealing the forces that shaped their struggles.A restaurant in a small British town installs up an official-looking plaque claiming the group Toto wrote a hit song on the premises -- but the local historical society does not bless the claims about "Africa".As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that wouldn't expect this behaviour from a Toto stranger.

The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a swath of Donald Trump's tariffs and Nil speaks with a VP from the family toy company behind the winning case -- who tells us what it's like to be insulted by the president. Joss Reimer will be Canada's next Chief Public Health Officer. We'll ask her what's at the top of her to-do list -- and what keeps her up at night.  For decades, the United States' relationship with Cuba has been fraught, at best. Now, long-time observers say it's time to start calling American measures what they are: a blockade. He says a Toronto hospital changed his life by treating his mental health condition -- and now, he's hoping his $10-million donation to that facility will change other patients' lives too. A paleontologist sets off for the Sahara Desert with nothing but an old monograph of an ancient tooth and unearths something truly ferocious, with an appropriately ferocious nickname. Two Michigan men break a record that was exciting to them -- and annoying to everyone in their general vicinity -- by playing pickleball for 28 straight hours. 

British police arrest former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – on suspicion of misconduct in public office. An anti-monarchist tells us he thinks pressure from his group helped lead to this moment.Manitoba’s Health Minister responds to the family of a woman who died after a long wait for care in a Winnipeg hospital –- and says the province hears their calls for change.A new, peer-reviewed study that suggests that, if anything, official tolls of Gaza's wartime dead have understated the extent of the devastation. In a heartbreaking Olympic women's hockey final, Canada loses to the U.S. in overtime. A fan tells us through tears that she’s still grateful she was there. Scientists reveal the shocking truth: not only are humans the only primates with chins, but the chins themselves may not actually serve much of a purpose.An operation in Bangkok combined police procedural with costume drama -- as officers track a suspect at a Lunar New Year celebration while disguised as lion dancers.As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that's glad they weren’t injured in the lion of duty.

At least, eight people are now confirmed dead after an avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains, near Lake Tahoe. A skier who just missed that storm wonders why the group -- and their guides -- left the safety of their hut.A Conservative strategist says MP Matt Jeneroux betrayed his principles and his constituents by crossing the floor to the Liberals -- but he doesn't believe people should read too much into the defection.Stacey Ross is now one of several Manitobans who've died after long waits in Winnipeg emergency rooms. Her sister tells us a full, province-wide public inquiry is the only response she'll accept. A mall owner in Minneapolis tells us about the Ramadan festivities he's organizing tonight -- and why he hopes they can be a source of support for his Somali neighbours.A producer of the mockumentary "Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie" tells us about recreating a bizarre Canadian beverage from the '90s called Orbitz. Think lava lamp -- but a drink.A courtroom drama for the ages, as an Illinois judge rules that a fast-food chain can leave "boneless wings" on the menu because it's not misleading -- even though boneless wings aren't boneless wings.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that's always seek nuggets of truth. 

The federal government announces a new -- and ambitious -- defence strategy that prioritizes Canadian-made military equipment -- and promises up to 125,000 new jobs.A U.S. radio host claims that a Google AI tool that creates uncannily real-sounding podcasts copied his voice without permission -- so he's taking the company to court. We remember the late civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson -- whose activism and presidential run fundamentally changed American politics. Determined divers found a Lake Michigan shipwreck after 150 years -- then sat on the news until they could fully document it. One diver tells us keeping the secret was a struggle. After an unfortunate error during the Olympic slalom, and a terrible personal tragedy, a Norwegian skier takes his skis off and walks into a nearby forest.In the '90s, photographer Anne Geddes dressed babies up as plants, cabbages, and pea pods for her first coffee table book "Down in the Garden." Now she's inviting the 30-something former models to get back in touch.As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that assumes she's trying to make a peas offering.

A large delegation of Canadian businesses are in Mexico this week to talk trade. We’ll hear from an industry rep taking part, who says the sky's the limit when it comes to the two countries.Mourners in Solwezi, Zambia gather to remember a member of their community: Abel Mwansa -- one of the young victims of last week’s mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge.A California mother pushes her school district to give her children homework that doesn't involve screens. She says despite the challenge, every parent should be given that option.Nordic combined is a sport that involves both ski jumping and cross country skiing. And you can watch it at these Olympics, but only the men's event. There isn't one for women , and a U.S. athlete tells us why she's fighting so hard to change that. A trio of New Yorkers take daily shifts to take care for -- and protect -- a now-famous wild turkey named Astoria who has made the streets of Manhattan her home. A herd of llamas thwart a suspected thief’s escape by encircling him in their field. As It Happens, the Monday edition. Radio that respects a fleece and desist order.  

The Trump administration strips the Environmental Protection Agency of much of its power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions -- revoking a ruling that said they pose a threat to public health. As the people of Tumbler Ridge, BC gather for a vigil, an Alberta father who lost his son in a school shooting also mourns their loss -- and tells us how he survived his.  After student protests toppled the longtime leader of Bangladesh, the country elects a new government. One young voter tells us it was his first chance to vote for his future. Researchers discover that a nineteenth-century house-turned-museum in New York City was a stop on the Underground Railroad, after deciphering a cleverly hidden secret compartment. Scientists develop a wearable device to measure human flatulence -- with the noble goal of creating a complete flatus atlas. Italy's national broadcaster for airing an Olympics promo in which a famous male figure drawn by Leonardo da Vinci appears, with his genitals erased. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that thinks you've gotta draw the loin somewhere.

A librarian in Tumbler Ridge tells us who's been stopping by after this week's shooting -- and what she's doing to ensure everyone knows they have a place to go.There's another surge of measles cases in Manitoba; a doctor there explains where the highly contagious disease is believed to be spreading, and why.From the ashes, Part One. An Alberta woman fulfills a years-long wish and visits the mountain peak where the ashes of her late husband and daughter are scattered.From the ashes, part two. An art exhibit featuring the works of the late Jenifer Darbellay is set to open in B.C. -- nearly a year after she was killed in the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy.Cool and calm -- but uncollected. A small town mayor tells us what it's like to live in one of 35 Ontario communities that were promised recycling pickup at long last -- only to learn they'll be waiting months, or maybe a year.And ... The family silver. Canadian flag bearer and skier Mikaël Kingsbury won a silver medal in Italy today after a history-making tiebreak. He says competing in front of his son was as good as gold.As it Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that knows every second counts.

Canada is stunned and heartbroken, after one of the deadliest mass shootings in the country's history. Yesterday, eight people were killed -- six of them children -- in the small municipality of Tumbler Ridge, BC. The school library was the epicentre of the violence.We'll find what authorities know so far about what happened. And we'll talk to people in Tumbler Ridge -- including a local pastor -- about the horror and heartbreak that has gripped their community.It's been a week-and-a-half since Savannah Guthrie's mother Nancy disappeared. And the mystery of her apparent abduction is only deepening.A new video game by a South African company allows you to conduct heists at some of the fanciest museums in Europe -- so you can steal back African artifacts and return them to their rightful homes. The Trump administration has cut thousands and thousands of workers from the civil service. Now, dozens of them have decided to come out from behind the scenes, and run for office.It never rains but it pours -- and it never doesn't rain. It's true that a lot of British towns are used to fairly regular drizzle. But the town of Cardinham is getting pretty fed up with the weather -- after forty-two consecutive days of rain. Meaning the entirety of 2026 so far. 

Windsor, Ontario’s mayor Drew Dilkens says Donald Trump's online rant about the new bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit is “full of lies” -- and insists that bridge will open soon.Years after his office first flagged major inequities facing military reservists, the Canadian Forces ombudsman says little progress has been made towards helping them access the supports they need. After more than a year of handing out meals to people in need outside an apartment building, a group of Toronto volunteers says they're being told they're trespassing and need to go.An engineering student describes the thrill of taking part in the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race. Which is exactly what it sounds like. A football fan tells us about the weeks he spent preparing for Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show. A show that saw him, and hundreds of others, dress up as bunches of grass. As it Happens, the Tuesday edition. Radio that hopes to go down in a blade of glory.

At least three workers at a Vancouver-based mining company operating in Mexico who were kidnapped last month are confirmed dead. And our guest fears they are victims of cartel infighting. Months after making history as Japan's first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi leads her party to a landslide victory. And a Tokyo reporter tells us her win could mean more pressure on foreigners living in the country. Previously thought to be extinct, the greater Bermuda snail is now thriving, after being bred and then released by keepers at an English zoo. Fearing he'd be the last doctor left at his community's clinic, our guest approached the municipality with an idea: help recruit new talent, but using local tax dollars to cover some of the clinic's costs.Friends and former students of Don Glickman recently got a surprise postcard from the longtime professor stating: "If you're reading this I'm dead, and I really liked you." As it Happens, the Monday edition. Radio that appreciates the desire to have the final word.