As It Happens

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.

A member of the Inuit delegation who travelled to Nuuk and a local resident explain what that solidarity means in this moment.More than 30 people are dead and over 100 injured after a mosque in Pakistan was bombed during Friday prayers. A journalist there describes the aftermath.Just before he died last week, Vince Gianotti built his 50th dollhouse for sick children. His daughters say giving back made life worth living for him, right up until the end.A scientist dared to ask the question: do bonobos imagine? And to test it, she hosted a pretend tea party for a world famous bonobo named Kanzi.A Connecticut fire chief is used to rescuing people and animals from all sorts of situations. But a recent rescue call at a frozen -- was a first he says he'll never forget.A sled dog in Greenland captured its own caper on film after it managed to turn on a journalist’s camera that it was using as a very expensive chew toy.As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that is excited to learn you can teach an old dog new clicks.

Ottawa is scrapping its EV sales mandate but Climate Change Minister Julie Dabrusin insists the new rules will protect the environment and auto workers' jobs. Toronto cops are charged in a major investigation into organized crime. And the former head of Ontario's police watchdog tells us major changes will be needed to regain the public's trust. Ifunanya Nwangene was just starting to live her dream of being a professional singer. Her choir director tells us it's terrible she had to die before the government would pledge to make sure more anti-venom is available at Nigeria's hospitals.A new ad celebrating the U.S. Olympic team has a surprising star: Canadian pop star Tate McRae - which has some of her fellow Canucks positioning their elbows in a decidedly upward direction.A New York Times reporter says donating an organ restored his belief in a person's ability to make a difference -- something he believes is needed now, more than ever.Archeologists in Utah discover a fully intact bottle of booze that dates back about 150 years - and we hear from the distiller who couldn't wait to knock it back.  As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that tries to avoid making pour choices. 

A commissioner there tells us he was not worried about the integrity of those election ballots - until now.It's a dark day for the paper whose motto is "Democracy Dies in Darkness": the Washington Post has fired more than one-third of its staff.  British politician Peter Mandelson's close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein is back in the spotlight. And this time, the controversy has triggered a criminal investigation -- and questions from within the Prime Minister Keir Starmer's own party. The U.S. has cut off oil to Cuba, and Canada is warning it might not be the best time to travel there. A cab driver in Havana tells us how he and his neighbours are dealing with that one-two punch.Two great cultural forces finally come together, as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra provides a live soundtrack to a pro wrestling match. If it's standard for you to sleep to the soothing, sibilant sound of pink noise, science suggests stopping -- saying such sustained static simply sabotages slumber.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that urges you not to get a sound sleep.

A major attack on the energy system - a day before scheduled peace talks - causes huge power outages. A Ukrainian MP tells us, from the darkness of her home, she doesn't see light at the end of the tunnel.Israel and Egypt re-open the Rafah crossing, but tightly restrict the number of Palestinians crossing the border -- which leaves our guest uncertain as to when she'll be able to get back into Gaza. After a long list of performers cancel their Kennedy Center shows, Donald Trump announces he's shutting down the venue for extensive renovations -- to the horror of the architect who oversaw renovations just a few years ago. Minneapolis civil rights lawyer and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong maintained her dignity when federal agents arrested her -- so she was astonished when the White House released an image doctored to make it look like she was sobbing. Summer Decker usually does medical imaging on the living -- but when a team asked her to scan a pair of Egyptian mummies, she felt a real esprit de corpse. As It Happens, the Tuesday edition. Radio that knows teamwork can turn "sarcophag-I" into "sarchophag-US". 

The humanitarian leader Jan Egenland sounds the alarm about a region of Sudan that's facing a new catastrophe -- because of a war he says the world is still ignoring. Tens of thousands of people in the southern U.S. are still without power -- more than a week after a powerful winter storm hit the region. She's the lead doctor for Canada's women's hockey team; he's the lead doctor for the men's hockey team. And they've learned a lot about teamwork from being married for more than twenty years.The top prize at the Grammys goes to Bad Bunny's love letter to Puerto Rico -- which is the first Spanish-language album to win "Album of the Year". Our guest tells us what that means to Puerto Rico.Day after day for the better part of a century, the late Virginia Oliver went out to sea to catch lobsters. The author of a children's book about "The Lobster Lady" tells us about her remarkable friend.And...bubbling over. Well, in reality, the bubbling never started -- but dozens of people who went to visit the Weldborough Hot Springs in Australia didn't know that AI had just made them up.As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that's just glad no one got into hot water. 

Fans everywhere -- and especially in Canada -- are stunned and heartbroken to hear that Catherine O'Hara has died. Actress and comedian Aurora Browne (Baroness von Sketch Show) tells us what made her such a phenomenal talent.Dozens of community members from the Kashechewan First Nation in northern Ontario test positive for a parasite that causes gastrointestinal illness. A healthcare worker tells us what people are dealing with.A human rights activist tells us the painful and nearly impossible work of confirming how many thousands of protesters have been killed during the crackdown in Iran.Weeks of flooding have killed dozens in southern Africa, and forced people in Mozambique to climb onto their homes or into trees to escape the floodwaters. Our guest says what comes next may be even worse. If the roll-out of the documentary about, and entitled, "Melania" seems unusual, well, our guest has some ideas why Amazon paid so much to promote a film about Donald Trump's wife. And...Australian researchers bore witness to bored subjects in a jaw-dropping new study on an important subject: yawning.As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that's proud to do the yawners.

Hundreds of auto workers in Oshawa, Ontario are working their last shifts this week, as GM scales back its Canadian operations. One of them tells us he’s not sure how he’ll support his family now.The emcee of the Conservative Party's convention tells us delegates are still firmly behind Pierre Poilievre, as he prepares for his leadership review. Two years after a ship smashed into a bridge in Baltimore, four members of its crew are still stuck in the city -- even though they aren't facing criminal charges. The mayor of Budapest is charged for allowing Pride celebrations in his own city. A member of his party says they won't let reprisals rain on anyone's parade. After more than a decade behind the mic, Paddy Daly is leaving Newfoundland and Labrador’s famous call-in show “Open Line”. He'll talk about some of the moments he felt most dialed-in.  An intense competition pits five of Japan's laziest capybaras against one another, in a contest to see who can luxuriate in the tub the longest.As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that takes the bath of least resistance.

Minnesota's Attorney General tells us about his push to end the federal immigration crackdown there -- and about the dozens of other lawsuits his state has launched against the Trump administration. The families of two Trinidadian men killed when the U.S. bombed their boat near Venezuela mount their own legal fight against the Trump administration -- saying their loved ones had nothing to do with drug cartels. A farmer on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire tells us he's thrilled by a landmark court ruling that orders the government to make a plan to protect him and his neighbours from the ever-present effects of climate change. We'll talk to a record collector who's been on a mission to find, and promote, the band whose old, beat-up album he found in a thrift store. A Kenyan climate activist tells us why she hugged a palm tree for three full days and nights. And also -- since we're all wondering -- how. After learning Pamela Anderson's grandfather was from Finland, our Scandinavian so-called allies risk an international incident -- by starting an ad campaign aimed exclusively at luring her there.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that urges Ms. Anderson not to cross the Finnish line. 

While Minneapolis deals with ICE agents on its streets, and two shooting deaths at the hands of those agents – Pam Bondi is demanding Minnesota's state government hand over its voter rolls. The Secretary of State tells us he has no plans to respond to what he calls -- ransom.A rescue organization in the Mediterranean says almost 400 migrants are feared dead -- after they tried to make the perilous crossing into Europe during last week's cyclone. Millions of dollars worth of research equipment is destroyed when pipes burst at an aging Montreal hospital. A researcher there says repairs are long overdue, and it's hard to imagine feeling safe walking back into that building.Families were at a hotel in Canmore, Alberta for a hockey tournament -- but a suspected chlorine leak meant kids wound up at the hospital, instead of the rink. We remember legendary drummer Sly Dunbar -- a revered reggae artist and prolific collaborator. When a San Francisco writer realized a new Taco Bell location was exactly five kilometres away from an existing Taco Bell location, he made an unwise decision: to run the five kilometres from one to the other while eating Crunchwraps Supreme. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that considers this a worst-quesadilla scenario. 

Another deadly ICE shooting shakes Minneapolis; we reach a volunteer who supported protesters and mourners on Saturday, at a restaurant-turned-field hospital. The government of Yukon slams the federal government's gun buyback program -- saying Ottawa's ban on thousands of firearms shows it doesn't understand the northern way of life. After years without a health-care professional, help is on the way to Change Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador -- where the mayor has been busy answering 9-1-1 calls herself. A reporter in Montana who dug into a local mystery tells us it's still not clear who affixed three bicycles to a giant piece of driftwood in the Missouri River -- but he thinks he has figured out why.The vice-principal of an Ontario school tells us what happened after a golden budgie found its way out of the January cold -- and into a kindergarten classroom.A plush horse made to mark the Year of the Horse is galloping off the shelves in China -- after a factory workers accidentally sewed its smile on upside-down.As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that's throwing in the scowl. 

We want to recommend a show by our friends at Cross Country Checkup. Every Sunday, Ian Hanomansing hears directly from Canadians on the most pressing issues. This week, he's joined by experts to analyze how Prime Minister Mark Carney is dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump. Canadians also called in to have their say and gave their grades on the prime minister's strategy so far.

We hear from an investigative journalist who's been covering the story for more than a decade. A Canadian who served in Afghanistan tells us there's no place for the kind of insulting rhetoric the U.S. president is spreading about his country's NATO allies. As Valentino Garavani is laid to rest in Rome, director Matt Tyrnauer tells us about the fashion insight, friction, and friendship...that came with capturing the beloved designer's life and work in the documentary, The Last Emperor. It's a simple enough concept -- but knitters will tell you that it's a game changer. And it exists because of the late Barbara G Walker, who revolutionized the craft.  Canada Post honours pioneering Canadian hiphop artists with their own stamps -- including the groundbreaking Michie Mee. She tells us it's a big deal to be on a small rectangle. Science thought a prehistoric kangaroo was just too gigantic to jump -- but now, new science has changed the old science's mind. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that finds this whole discussion pretty roo-dimentary. 

After a provocative speech at Davos, Mark Carney returns to Canada with a message of unity. A former Trudeau speech writer tells us if she thinks it hit the mark. Three more journalists are killed in Gaza, adding to a staggering total -- on one of the deadliest days since the ceasefire began. In Minneapolis, some schools have had to pivot -- and quickly -- to online learning. It's to protect students from ICE agents; a teacher tells us she hopes small acts of kindness can counter the fear her students are dealing with.When production was halted at their plant, a family of auto workers made the difficult decision to move to a city hours away, so the whole 18-member-strong clan could get back to work, together. We still don't know how dozens of giant stones got to Stonehenge -- but thanks to new science, we know one way they didn't get there.A Quebec film-maker talks to us about her Oscar-nominated documentary -- which follows a trio of donkeys on a journey to get a glimpse of the cosmos. As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that hopes they spotted some ass-teroids.

In Davos, Donald Trump says he won't use military force to acquire Greenland -- which alleviates one worry. But a Danish journalist tells us it is impossible not to be very concerned about what else could come next.70 years after the execution of a Black man convicted of murdering a white woman in the 1950s, the state of Texas publicly exonerates him -- and admits its terrible mistake. As ICE agents continue to occupy Minneapolis, many people are afraid to leave their homes, whether they are immigrants or not. So a local pastor is organizing thousands of food drops for families.An academic researcher has analyzed the way stand-up comics use timing -- and she tells us the silences and hesitations...are as important...as the laughs. I'll speak with a father-daughter duo who started singing together for fun -- and are having more fun than ever now that they're nominated for a Grammy. On a 13-billion-dollar aircraft carrier stationed off the coast of Venezuela, American troops are doing battle with a merciless enemy: constantly malfunctioning toilets.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that really hopes they can get their ship together. 

A Globe and Mail reporter reveals that, for the first time in a century, the Canadian military has modeled a hypothetical U.S. invasion of Canada.At a tense public meeting, a group of New Brunswick residents expressed serious opposition to a planned new gas plant. A vice-president of the utility tells us public support does matter -- but so does keeping the lights on. A reporter in Chile tells us how fire overcame one coastal community in the blink of an eye -- and shocked locals are now wondering if this is the new normal.The tale of a small, strangely popular boulder in British Columbia called "Portable" -- which is finally heading back to where it belongs, months after it went missing. And.... A new scientific paper introduces the world to a brilliant cow by the name of Veronika -- who uses a broom to sweep away her itches, in an incredible example of bovine tool use. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that assumes she just started from scratch. 

Donald Trump is threatening to hit Europe with tariffs for their support of Greenland, a Swedish Member of Parliament tells us it’s time for the EU to take the gloves off, and launch what's known as the trade bazooka. The U.S. president has invited world leaders to join his new Board of Peace, overseeing the future of Gaza. A former diplomat says he's not sure there's room for all these peace-makers to say their piece. A civil liberties advocate tells us her organization is hoping Canada's Supreme Court will rule that random police stops are unconstitutional -- because they've enabled racial profiling for too long.For about 20 years, the smell from an abandoned fish sauce plant has tormented the people of a Newfoundland town. But the mayor says he's hopeful non-odour will be restored. We'll celebrate the 80th birthday of an artist who's been platinum since she started out: the endlessly quotable Dolly Parton. We'll hear from the man who set a new world record for fastest garbage can -- who says he's scared every time he drives it.As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that guesses the former fastest garbage can is now just a has-bin.

Prime Minister Carney strikes a deal on Canadian canola exports with China; I’ll speak with an Alberta farmer who’s feeling cautiously optimistic -- after losing six figures to the trade war. Canadian auto industry leaders are feeling incautiously pessimistic about a new deal with China, saying a promise to import Chinese-made EVs puts the domestic auto sector on the road to ruin.Hearing the other side from the other side. Our guest says he was talking to Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine just moments before security forces took him away -- further evidence, he says, that the presidential election was rigged from the start. A CBC journalist is heading to Italy -- not to cover the Olympics, but to cover the skis of Canadian biathlon athletes with wax; to make sure everything, and everyone, goes smoothly. A reporter in Florida is being criticized for commiserating with the local NFL coach after a huge loss, instead of questioning him. In one Swedish community, it's an annual tradition for authorities to dismantle a particular sculpture chop-chop -- because it’s a giant, distracting snow penis in the center of a roundabout.As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that guesses it doesn't always help to be a member of the inner circle.