As It Happens from CBC Radio

"Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration." Well, tonight's show contains a lot of genius -- but we've cleaned up all the sweat and just left you with the inspiration. If you're looking for fashion inspiration, why not look to the trend-setting chimpanzees -- who are accessorizing with blades of grass placed delicately in their ears, and, even more delicately, in their butts. Anna Brynald of Denmark won the whole shebang this year at the world's most important seagull-impersonating contest -- by keeping her feet on the ground and screeching for the stars. The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra produces music from produce -- although, when you first hear it, you might feel like you've been sold a bill of gourds. At 14 years old, Pearl is now the world's oldest living chicken -- and her owner credits her longevity to her joie de vivre, and her close friendship with a mop. When Mitchell O'Brien found himself being slowly swallowed by a patch of quicksand, he and a longtime friend admitted they both admired one another romantically -- emphasis on "mire".

Buckle your seatbelt and prepare for take-off. Here is "Fireside" Al Maitland's classic reading of "The Shepherd", by the late Frederick Forsyth.Mr. Forsyth lived many lives before becoming a best-selling author, including the life of a RAF pilot. He told us what it's like to be thousands of metres in the sky when fog sets in, and how that experience inspired his haunting Christmas story.When Tony Kent was growing up reading gripping thrillers, including "The Day of the Jackal," he never imagined that one day he would help write Mr. Forsyth's final novel -- and that he'd be on the same book cover as the man he idolized. The annual broadcast of "The Shepherd" has become a tradition for the program. And, that is in large part because of the calls and emails we've received from listeners ever since it first aired in 1979.

As Brown University tries to reassure its community about safety on campus...we reach a student who's been here before. While Australia has vowed to crack down on hate speech, a politician there says antisemitism has become 'part of life' in his country. The World Health Organization's chief scientist tells us why the W-H-O is taking a closer look at traditional remedies...and says it's time to marry many of those with modern medicine. As It Happens holiday readings are kicking into high gear. There's only one more sleep until our annual broadcast of 'The Shepherd.' Tonight we present Chris Howden's annual reading of a Cape Breton classic that highlights the bittersweet notes of a Christmas get-together. Heads Will Scroll. A BC highschool student heads to the finals of an international scholarship competition ... with a video that lays out the science that keeps us addicted to our phones. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that appreciates his off-screen achievement.

Russian investigators suggest Ukraine could be behind a car bomb that killed a top military official in Moscow. Our guest tells us whoever's behind it, the message is clear. Cyclone reconstruction is just the latest shock to Sri Lanka's bottom line. And an economist in Colombo says the way forward is mixed at best. We reach a National Cancer Institute scientist in Maryland who's raising eyebrows with his latest research: A vaccine he's making in his kitchen, and drinking in beer form. As Hanukkah draws to a close, we bring you our second reading of the holiday...involving the arrival of a surprise, winged visitor who portends the unexpected in more ways than one. Two Dalhousie University computer scientists pull off a Christmas miracle ... by getting an enormous, terrifying, yet locally-beloved mall attraction back into working order. Scientists discover that Hawaiian Monk Seals...who they'd frankly considered pretty inarticulate...actually have about 25 different vocalizations including a pronounced "Whine". As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that wishes those whiny seals would just knock it arf.

A fellow scientist remembers his friend Nuno Loureiro -- the beloved MIT professor authorities believe was killed this week by the same man suspected of killing two students at Brown University.Air Canada reaches a settlement with passengers after a crash-landing in a Halifax snowstorm more than 10 years ago -- an event that left our guest with an understandably visceral fear of flying.As part of a ceasefire deal with Israel, the Lebanese army must disarm the militant group Hezbollah by the end of this year. A former MP in Lebanon weighs on whether that's possible -- and what it could mean if it isn't. The Canadian couple who were struggling to secure a travel visa for their adopted Ugandan daughter have finally made it home for the holidays.In tonight's holiday reading, a child's Christmas wish for new ice skates is badly misinterpreted -- to the extreme dismay of that child, and then his mother. This year's World Pie-Eating Championship has a sur-pies winner -- but the contest's pie master laments the much faster competitors of days gone pie.As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that's off the tarts.

Months ago, the Democratic Party commissioned a report on what went wrong in the 2024 presidential election. Now, party leaders are saying they're actually not going to release the details. Our guest says that just makes him more anxious to see it. After 23 years in an Ontario prison a new legal victory means Tim Rees can finally consider his name cleared. He'll tell us how that feels. A young Indigenous resident of Northern Ontario tells us the Premier's announcement about "shovels in the ground" within the Ring of Fire sounds less like a promise, and more like a threat.To celebrate Hanukkah, we have our annual reading of Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Zlateh the Goat" -- so go get the kids. After the house featured in “Home Alone” suffered a shocking renovation, the property is now being returned to its original glory -- to the relief of fans, and its original owner. Female praying mantises sometimes eat males after mating -- but in one newly discovered species, the males don't just pray: they dance as if their lives depended on it.As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that's a hopeless ro-mantis.

The surviving accused gunman in the Bondi Beach attack is charged -- and an Australian investigative reporter reveals disturbing allegations about the father-and-son suspects. We'll talk to an artist who is painstakingly recreating one of the Bamiyan Buddha statues that was destroyed by the Taliban over two decades ago. After corruption allegations are levelled against the Quebec Liberal Party, their new leader Pablo Rodriguez says he's resigning. Our guest tells us the next leader needs to right the ship -- fast. Olympic skater Kaitlyn Weaver says that as a Canadian, and a queer woman, she's proud of Skate Canada's decision to no longer host major events in Alberta.A Kansas man rents out an entire store to display his late wife's sprawling collection of holiday figurines. He says sharing her passion for Christmas with others is the best gift he could hope for. Before “A Streetcar Named Desire” or “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, Tennessee Williams was a student in Iowa trying his hand at a novel new format: the radio play. And now, nearly 90 years later, that gothic drama has been published. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that knows he was a great dramatist -- and this is a "Stella!" example.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan was supposed to be visiting both Israelis and Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank. But we'll reach her in Jordan -- after she and the rest of a Canadian delegation were blocked by Israel for what it describes as “security reasons”.Media mogul Jimmy Lai's daughter says she made the difficult decision to leave Hong Kong to advocate for her father's release -- and now that he's facing life in prison, she says that is more important than ever.Rob Reiner was a superstar director -- but to Kris Perry, he's the man who fought alongside her to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage in California. The late Donna Summer lit the fuse of the mid-'70s disco explosion -- and now, she's been honoured for writing some of the most enduring dancefloor-fillers of all time.We'll bring you another classic from our catalogue of holiday readings -- "The Gift of the Magi", a story of a couple unlucky in gift-giving...but lucky in love. On what would have been Jane Austen's 250th birthday, New York Times writers and "Pride and Prejudice" enthusiasts try to answer once and for all: who is the definitive onscreen Mr. Darcy?As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that knows pride cometh before a ball.

A cousin of a rabbi killed in the Bondi beach attack says Eli Schlanger devoted himself to bringing joy and love to others -- and his family plans to continue that tradition. A Syrian father of two who risked his life to disarm one of the alleged shooters is being hailed as a hero; our guest sat with his family as they waited for news. Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai faces a possible life sentence for sedition and foreign collusion; a fellow activist is crushed -- but not surprised. A Scotland fan was excited to buy tickets to the FIFA World Cup -- before he learned prices were, in his words, "extortionate". Former "As It Happens" co-host Jeff Douglas takes us gliding down a quiet frozen river -- when we air his annual holiday his reading of the poem "The Skater."A group of linguists urge the Prime Minister to stop messing with Canadian identity by relying on British spellings that use an "s" -- not a zed -- in words like "analyze".As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that hits you like a ton of Brits.

Another Conservative crosses the floor to join the government -- and now the Liberals are one vote shy of a majority. A Conservative strategist discusses the winter of his party's discontent. It's been nine months since he was deported to a prison in El Salvador. Now, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is out of detention. But his lawyer says that, under the Trump administration, his client is not going to relax. Iranian security forces violently arrest Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi after releasing her a year ago; her brother tells us he's afraid of what might happen next. A U.S. medical student volunteers to get an ultrasound in front of her class -- and discovers she has a dangerously enormous kidney stone. A linguist in Wales tells us why he's putting together the world's first dictionary of ancient Celtic -- and shares a few of his favourite words.An Australian politician is out to dinner when he looks at his pet cam -- and sees his cow and horse are hoofing it around his living room.As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that guesses they got tired of his stall tactics.

People in British Columbia's Fraser Valley could only watch as torrential rain triggered widespread flooding…again. A campground owner tells us parts of her property were swept away without warning. The United States jacks up tensions with Venezuela by seizing an oil tanker — a tactic our guest says is meant to catalyze regime change, an outcome he endorses. UNESCO formally recognizes the Haitian music and dance genre konpa, to the delight of Sony Laventure who teaches the art form. Paleontologists conclude that they've discovered a one-time "dinosaur freeway" in a Bolivian national park. And Raúl Esperante helped count its many thousands of footprints. Canada designates the extremist network 764 as a terrorist entity. The executive director of the Institute for Countering Digital Extremism tells us if that move will actually prevent the group from targeting kids online. For a long time, scientists believed dolphins and orcas were enemies when it came to preying on salmon. But new footage suggests they're actually working together. The U.S. Secretary of State demands that American diplomats switch to Times New Roman, and abandon the Calibri font, but the man who designed that font insists it's the strong, silent typeface. As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that wants you to know there's a new serif in town.

A Royal Canadian Navy sailor is rescued after going missing -- in the Pacific Ocean; we'll talk to a commander on a ship that got the mayday call. The Alberta government has used the notwithstanding clause yet again, this time to push through laws that will affect young transgender people. A trans advocate tells us it's too much -- and they've gone too far. A Liberal MP says he has concerns about an Alberta-built pipeline -- but Conservative attempts to get MPs like him to break from the federal government aren't going to fly. Australia enacts the world's first social media ban for children under the age of sixteen; one woman tells us that for her son, who has a disability, it's like losing a lifeline. We'll remember Sophie Kinsella, whose "Confessions of a Shopaholic" novels earned her legions of fans. Her editor tells us the author was as special as her books. After we heard about a rank ginkgo tree in a Nova Scotia historic garden, we heard from you about your own gingko struggles -- and how you odour-came them. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that turns over an "ew" leaf.

A Virginia farmer tells us what he thinks of Washington's 12 billion dollar aid package -- and whether it can actually help save farms collapsing under the weight of the U.S. President's tariffs.Maryland's top public defender tells us the heating at a youth jail in Baltimore has been broken for weeks in winter temperatures -- says the state should not be freezing those young people out.Dozens of students have been rescued after last month's mass kidnapping in Nigeria, but many are still being held captive -- and fears of a similar fate mean many more children across the country are being forced to abandon school altogether. An activist says a giant yellow cedar that was recently cut down in B.C. should have been protected under the law -- and its disappearance exposes gaps in the province's promise to safeguard its forests. For decades, a ginkgo tree on the grounds of Nova Scotia's Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens has been feted, as in celebrated -- but this year it's being fetid as in: it reeks. A world record number of golden retrievers gather in a park in Argentina -- but they were so incredibly chill it seemed like barking was arf-limits. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that knows silence is goldens.

Last week, it seemed Netflix had made a deal to take over Warner Bros. -- but now, Paramount Skydance has swooped in with a surprise hostile takeover bid.New numbers show that already high rates of over-crowding in Ontario jails are getting worse. And our guest warns that promised bail and sentencing reforms will just exacerbate the problem.His app lets anonymous users report sightings of U.S. ICE agents; now, he's suing Trump officials, alleging the administration pressured Apple to bury it. A U.S. public health researcher believes cervical cancer can be eliminated in her lifetime -- and says an expansion of at-home HPV tests could help achieve that goal. A B.C. couple is working around the clock to reunite a lost house cat that disappeared six months ago with its worried owner, all the way in Oklahoma --before Christmas.An English landscape photographer went to the beach to capture images of some washed-up shipping containers -- and discovered the cargo was lots and lots of unripened bananas. As It Happens, the Monday edition. Radio that rolls with the bunches.

As It Happens host Nil Köksal speaks with Yoruba Richen about her new documentary about the life of Joan Little, an unlikely civil rights figure who became the first woman in U.S. history to be acquitted of murder on the basis that she was defending herself from sexual assault.

The Netflix-Warner Brothers merger is a multi-billion dollar blockbuster -- a business journalist tells us what the deal might mean for where -- and what kind of blockbusters -- you'll be watching from here on out.The chair of the expert panel advising the government on reaching net-zero goals says he had no choice but to resign -- because he doesn't feel like anyone in power was listening. A student editor was floored by the University of Alabama's decision to pulled the plug on publications focused on women and Black campus life, citing new federal limits on DEI initiatives.For the first time in generations, Siletz tribal members in Oregon got the opportunity to salvage a whale; our guest tells us about an emotional day on the beach.We remember Frank Gehry -- the Canadian-born architect whose daring and imaginative style re-defined what a building could be. After almost 15 years of planning, Detroit finally gets its two-and-a-half ton, 11-foot-tall sculpture of science fiction icon "Robocop". As It Happens, the Friday edition. Radio that follows a statue of no limitations.

Donald Trump says he could let the Canada-US-Mexico trade deal expire -- but our guest, the president of the Business Council of Canada, argues the agreement is crucial to American and Canadian prosperity. A new trove of thousands of photos shows the horrors of detention under the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. British Columbia makes a move to seize three properties from the group it says is using them for crime -- that group being the Hell's Angels. Even if you don't know his name, you know his songs -- a fellow Stax Records musician tells us about the legendary guitarist and songwriter Steve Cropper. An Arizona lineman confronts a bear that has climbed a power pole and cannot, or will not, get down -- and discovers the most effective way to convince it is by prodding it with a stick. If you've ever been told you sound like a "dying walrus" when you thought you were outdoing Celine, Sharon Marnell wants you in her musical group. It's called the Tuneless Choir. As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that believes everyone deserves some tenor loving care.

A Somali-American says his community is living in fear, after a series of ugly comments by U.S. President Donald Trump -- language he says need to be called out as racism, pure and simple.The ICC's first chief prosecutor says American strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats are definitely illegal -- and possibly a war crime. One family's hopes of bringing their adopted daughter from Kenya to Canada to celebrate Christmas with her grandparents are fading -- after two failed attempts to secure a travel visa for her. Pioneering sociologist Kai Erikson spent his life studying and validating the effects of collective trauma -- work, his friend tells us, that drew on his own compassion.We'll talk to the winner of this year's un-prestigious Turnip Prize, which honours the worst and laziest artist in Britain -- if he can be bothered to pick up the phone. Police get multiple complaints about a Brantford, Ontario resident who put up signs denying the existence of Santa Claus during the town's Santa Claus parade -- proving you give some people a grinch, and they'll take a mile. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that guesses he's some kind of rebel without a Claus.

Before the Prime Minister even arrived at a Special Chiefs Meeting today, the Assembly of First Nations had already voted to oppose Ottawa's pipeline agreement with Alberta. After getting hundreds of thousands of signatures, Alberta's 'Forever Canada' petition will be submitted to the provincial legislature. The man who started it says he hopes it will put any question of separation to rest.The U.S. delegation presented Vladimir Putin with an amended peace plan today; a journalist tells us that a workable deal with Russia is still a long way off -- but we could be seeing the beginning of the end of the war.Christmas will be pretty bleak this year in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario -- where hundreds of steelworkers are facing unemployment, in large part because of Donald Trump's trade war. Biologists have come up with a new way to do health check-ups on North Atlantic right whales by collecting the spray from their blowholes.An outdoor rink in Italy is built around a bronze of Luciano Pavarotti, so he appears to be knee-deep in ice -- and that's getting a chilly reception from the legendary opera singer's widow.As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that guesses someone's got cold feet.

The man accused of killing a member of the National Guard served in a CIA-backed paramilitary group in Afghanistan called the "Zero Units"; we'll find out what that is, and what those who served with him are saying about the attack.A Toronto man says he doesn't know if anything from his childhood home was saved from the catastrophic fire in Hong Kong -- but he's grateful to know for sure that his parents and his sister all survived. On World AIDS Day, a doctor tells us about new HIV-prevention guidelines -- and why he believes his fellow physicians need to stop being so judgmental about who gets the pre-exposure drug protocol, PrEP.An Alberta man recalls the day he can't forget 65 years ago -- when he was on a school bus that was hit by a train, killing 17 of his classmates. For the first time in club history, the Vancouver Whitecaps are headed to an MLS Cup final. Two fans tell us they're not afraid of Inter Miami -- or its star player, Lionel Messi.Time Magazine quotes a truly shocking statement from the US ambassador to Canada from a very reliable source -- by which I mean a reliably funny, entirely satirical Canadian website. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that suggests you to be careful what you swallow -- could be a joking hazard.

After Donald Trump's threats to annex Greenland, Denmark's Foreign Affairs Ministry establishes a new "night watch" of bureaucrats -- who keep an eye on the U.S. President after hours. A B.C. Indigenous leader says he's not interested in sitting down with a minister from Alberta's government -- because he is never going to support a bitumen pipeline. There are furious calls for accountability after a video the UN is calling an "apparent summary execution" by Israeli border police is broadcast. A human rights advocate tells us that accountability won't happen. After months of pressure, Nova Scotia releases a draft report from a special panel on environmental racism. Our guest tells us it's about time the province answers the call for a formal apology.Archeologists say they now have hard evidence that a ring of large pits discovered near Stonehenge were made by humans some 4,000 years ago -- but why is still a mystery. A South Korean man was charged with theft after taking about a dollar's worth of treats from the office refrigerator -- and after his employer takes him to court, he finds himself snack-dab in the middle of a major case. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that shares an embarrassment of fridges.

Alberta and Ottawa gleefully shake hands on an agreement that promises to fast-track a pipeline project. We'll ask Calgary's only Liberal MP if this newly chummy relationship between Mark Carney and Danielle Smith can last, and what dissent from other province, First Nations and now his own party says about the project's future. The Quebec government expands its push for secularism -- and a Muslim student in Montreal tells us a new bill that would ban prayer rooms on campus would be devastating for her and her peers.The shooting of two National Guard Members shakes people across the U.S. – including resettled Afghans who fear the suspect's background makes them a target for the Trump administration.Italy passes new legislation making femicide a criminal offense distinct from murder – but an advocate tells us it just distracts from efforts that would do far more to protect women. Thanks to the thrilling discovery of a single, ancient tooth, a researcher at McGill University is shedding new light on the habitat and lifestyle of the woolly mammoth.A Calgary artist tells us how he turned his fascination with armour into a decades-long career of making tiny suits of armour for mice. We'll also see if he can tell us why.As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that presents a Knight's Tail.

The White House went into lockdown this afternoon after two members of the National Guard were shot in Washington; we'll get the latest from the U.S. capital.A reporter in describes the catastrophic scene in Hong Kong, after a fire rips through high-rise apartment towers, killing at least 40s -- including a firefighter.A huge donation to a Toronto hospital will finance new research that could change the way we screen for cancer; we'll talk to a scientist who hopes that one day, doctors will be able to diagnose early-stage cancer with one simple blood test. The UK's fiscal watchdog accidentally scoops the government by releasing the budget an hour early -- causing chaos on trading floors and catcalls in parliament. A dispute over tennis courts in Palm Beach, Florida, morphed into a tale of hate mail, stolen DNA -- and now, 15 years later, a civil suit decision worth 50 million dollars US.A group of British students are asking for the public's help to find a lost toy bear after he took a tumble from a great height -- specifically, the stratosphere. Where they sent him on a balloon.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that figures sending stuffed toys to space has its plushes and minuses.

Anishnaabe columnist Niigaan Sinclair says the news that renowned author Thomas King is not Indigenous is a painful breach of a trust -- and demands that Canada ask itself some serious questions.After violating anti-doping rules, swimmer Penny Oleksiak -- Canada's most decorated female Olympian -- is banned from competition for two years.The fire that destroyed a historic Toronto church is being investigated as arson; the priest-in-charge tells us that news is yet another blow for her congregation.A new study reveals that the human brain goes through five distinct phases -- and the adolescence phase might be longer than you think. We'll say goodbye to a beloved Galapagos tortoise named "Gramma" -- and revisit our conversation about a tortoise named "Mommy" who became a mother for the first time at the approximate age of one hundred.The late, legendary toy inventor Burt Meyer made success look like child's play -- by creating such all-time diversions as "Lite Brite", "Mouse Trap", and the slugfest "Rock Em Sock Em Robots".As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that's glad he didn't pull any punchers.

A US federal judge dismisses the criminal cases against former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James. But a former US Attorney tells us this may not be their last day in court. The editor of a Toronto magazine tells us he was ready to take a chance on an ambitious young writer -- but the more he dug in to her work, the more it seemed like she'd had help from AI. The late Jimmy Cliff helped bring reggae to the world; Roger Lewis of the group Inner Circle reflects on the incredible cultural impact his friend had. An American magazine giant is facing tough questions after firing four employees who tried to ask management some tough questions of their own.If you worry about food that scorches your mouth, you'll benefit from a new synthetic tongue that can determine the exact spiciness level beforehand.Disappearing into thin hair. Conchologists and citizen scientists have joined forces in London, England to track down -- and save -- the endangered German hairy snail. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that's always in hot hirsute.

After months of mutual criticism, New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and U.S. President Trump have a surprisingly warm meeting. Bill de Blasio tells us he knows why Mr. Trump was impressed by the man he once called a "Communist lunatic."A survivor of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein explains why she took on Donald Trump and Congress to secure a promise that files on the serial predator would finally be released. Given the serious concessions it demands from Ukraine, that country's foreign-affairs chair says it's hard to believe the American-led peace plan is meant to be serious. After a horrifying grizzly bear attack in B.C., a woman from Bella Coola Valley tells us about her own grizzly encounter -- which convinced her a tragedy like this was only a matter of time. A legendary collection containing some of the rarest vinyl records in the world is now accessible to all online. We'll hear about it ... and hear some of it.Psychologists find people become more altruistic when a growly costumed vigilante shows up -- a phenomenon they call "the Batman effect".As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that knows some science is beyond our cape abilities.

Ukrainian officials are pushing back on a purported peace plan that would require major concessions to Russia. A former American ambassador to Ukraine tells us Kyiv won't accept any deal that looks like surrender. A paramedic in Saskatoon tells us a toxic drug supply caused more than a hundred overdoses in just seven days -- and that crisis has also taken a toll on first responders. An Indigenous woman whose mother lost her status for marrying a non-Indigenous man celebrates a change meant to ensure that status passes through generations -- regardless of who you marry. An Oxford University biologist traces the history of the kiss -- and finds that the ancestors of humans and other large apes were locking lips at least 16 million years ago. When an NBA rookie's parents suggested he invite some friends over for dinner, they weren't expecting the whole Charlotte Hornets roster to turn up.We hate a mosquito's proboscis when it's sucking our blood -- but we love a mosquito's proboscis when scientists take it off the mosquito, and use it as a nozzle in a 3D printer. As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that presents a good nose/bad nose scenario.

Despite investor jitters, there are strong projections in chip-maker Nvidia's earnings report; a market reporter tells us what this means for the AI boom-or-bubble debate.Prime Minister Carney is off to the U.A.E., and Canada's former ambassador to that country says it's about time and says there is a lot to gain from a strengthened relationship. The Ontario government says impaired drivers who kill a parent should have to pay child support. Our guest says that would have helped his family, after a drunk driver killed his son. A longtime campaigner against price gouging supports the UK government's plan to make it illegal for ticket resellers to extort people -- provided it actually becomes law. An animal sanctuary staffer in Utah says it's not every day you get the call to help an owl that got caught in a cement mixer -- and knowing how to help was the hardened-est part.A major Hollywood agency signs a huge new client. Well, a huge new aged client: Parmigiano Reggiano -- the classic, 1000-year-old Italian cheese.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that's got you in the parm of our hand.

In Nigeria -- two dozen girls are missing after armed men attacked their school. Bukky Shonibare helped draft the rules that are supposed to protect the country's youngest citizens. A nonprofit director in Charlotte, North Carolina, tells us what an onslaught of federal agents is doing to his city, as the Trump administration's immigration crackdown continues.After that tense vote on the federal budget, interim NDP Leader Don Davies tells us this contentious Parliament needs to focus on helping Canadians, and not on party politics. The excavation of a 1200-year-old clay sculpture of a goose attempting to mate with a woman suggests Paleolithic hunter-gatherers had a more complex belief system than we knew.A wolf in British Columbia is caught on camera reeling in crab traps in order to eat the bait -- and scientists say that could be the first evidence of wolves using tools.Science says that, unlike their rural cousins, urban raccoons are adapting to become less wild and more chill -- because they've developed a taste for our garbage.As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that guesses the raccoons has become the pest of all possible worlds.

We'll take a close look at the political manoeuvering behind Prime Minister Mark Carney's first budget as he tries to make sure it passes.After an explosion on the railway line from Poland to Ukraine, a Polish Senator says she believes it's part of a larger effort to sow confusion and terror -- and she's got a suspect in mind.One of Donald Trump's most aggressive supporters is publicly changing course; a political reporter from Georgia tells us what she thinks is behind the political evolution of Marjorie Taylor Greene.A research scientist tells us what it's like to follow the exact routes of individual monarch butterflies as they make their journey south -- thanks to tiny electronic tags. Divers locate a rare, pristine shipwreck from the depths of Lake Ontario. One of them tells us it's the find of a lifetime. In line with the Trump administration's order to remove "political messages and artwork" from roads, Lubbock, Texas is reluctantly remove a crosswalk with giant Buddy Holly glasses on it.As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that tut-tuts: they're unmaking spectacles of themselves.

On his last day after five years as Canada's Ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae reflects on his time in the post -- and makes some order of the chaos. Indigenous activists stage multiple protests at the UN climate summit in Brazil; a delegate tells us that's because the meeting isn't living up to its billing as an "Amazonian COP".The U-S company that makes Sour Puss liqueur lost a huge chunk of its sales when it was taken off Canadian liquor-store shelves. So to stop things from going south, they've moved production -- north.The late Diane Keaton made one documentary in her entire movie career -- a quirky film called "Heaven". Now that it's getting a posthumous re-release, its producer tells us about Ms. Keaton's vision. A South African town is mourning the abduction of its beloved Beverley. Beverley is a mannequin in a bikini that stood in a reservoir on a country road -- but has vanished without a ripple.As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that believes no body's perfect.

Energy production in the Arctic is on Prime Minister Carney's latest list of nation-building projects; We'll speak with the woman in charge of the Inuit-owned clean energy corporation with big plans for Iqaluit. It may have Indigenous backing but a liquefied natural gas facility fast-tracked by Ottawa is facing tough opposition from several First Nations in B.C.When a room-rental company suddenly went bankrupt, an Arkansas man found his family's suitcases unceremoniously dumped in the hall -- but he tells us that wasn't about to stop them from staying the night. As Iran suffers through its worst drought in decades, all possibilities are on the table for the city of Tehran, population ten million -- including total evacuation. Paris marks the tenth anniversary of the massacre at the Bataclan; our guest tells us he still can't bring himself to go to the ceremony at the site where his son was killed. They clipped her wings to keep it at a wildlife sanctuary in England -- but a young flamingo tested them by escaping and flying all the way to France, and they passed with flying colours.As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that guesses she gave them the pink slip.

The U.S. government shutdown cut off funding for a crucial food program; a grocery store owner says he's heartbroken to see his customers suffering -- and he has a special message for Donald Trump. A survivor of a deadly typhoon in the Philippines tells us about the day she lost her home -- and how she's hoping to make fossil fuel giants pay. A small-town Kansas newspaper receives a hefty settlement and an apology -- two years after local police raided its offices and the home of its editor. The widow of Alex Tilley -- inventor of the Tilley hat -- tells us what elevated the cotton duck cap from sailing accessory to Canadian classic.We've picked a pack of tickled pipers. 374 bagpipers, to be exact -- who came together in Australia to play along to a certain AC/DC song, at an event that turned out to be a big honking deal. You had us at 'gull-oh'. A scientist plays to our love of seagull stories with new research into the best method of scaring one off when they are trying to eat your food -- one of which is a roaring success. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that's always moving the gull posts.

Two separate explosions shake the capitals of India and Pakistan in as many days. An expert helps us make sense of what those bombings could mean for the fragile peace in the region.After Quebec passes a bill reforming the way they're paid, hundreds of doctors apply to be able to work in Ontario. The largely untold story of two First World War veterans who each lost a leg in the war -- and then hiked across Canada in the 1920s to raise awareness about disability rights. An avid trail runner in Wyoming ran into trouble for taking a restricted path -- and was stunned to receive an unexpected pardon from the President of the United States. We speak to the manager of a Manchester pub who helped to bust an insidious conspiracy of quiz night cheats.A mystery man strolls across the Purdue University campus, covered in what appeared to be peanut butter -- and everyone finds it jarring.As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that salutes a guy who appears to be a smooth operator.

Canada loses its gold star for measles elimination. A doctor in Alberta tells us how that happened, and what has to happen now to keep one of the world's most infectious diseases under control. Donald Trump has welcomed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House -- and our guest says it's one of the most significant moments in his country's history. As the November skies turn gloomy, we'll remember the nautical disaster that spawned a Canadian classic -- with the daughter of the man who immortalized it. 55 years after he was shot by the National Guard at Kent State University, John Cleary has died. A fellow survivor tells us what she wants people to remember about that day...and about her friend. The husband-and-wife team behind a West Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia food truck get their minds deep-fried when a mystery order comes in from three thousand kilometers away. A photograph of a chic young man wearing a fedora outside the recently-burgled Louvre sparks feverish speculation -- until he's revealed to be none other than...a chic young man standing around outside the Louvre in a fedora. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that considers this case clothed.

As Brazil unveils a much-anticipated fund to preserve tropical rainforests around the world, Norway's environment minister tells us why his county has pledged billions -- and why he thinks everyone will benefit. A political analyst from Sudan tells us what a ceasefire could mean for her country -- but she says she's not holding her breath just yet.A Vancouver woman explains why she's added her personal stamp to a petition to save the only post office in the city's Chinatown ... which is set to close next week. An orphaned baby llama has found a new home at an animal sanctuary in B.C. -- but six-week-old Peanut is struggling to find her place in the pack. They were derided as an invasive species -- but new research proves that iguanas were living on one Mexican island well before humans showed up. If you win a lottery in Paris, you could be buried among the legends in one of the city's deteriorating cemeteries -- but it's gonna cost you. As It Happens, the Friday edition. Radio that knows sometimes you have to take one for the tomb.

An educational toy company takes its case against the U.S. President's tariffs all the way to the Supreme Court.In Chicago, ICE agents arrest a daycare teacher in front of the kids. An alderman tells us that shattered people's sense of safety, not just at one school, but at schools across the city. A scientist in Italy tells us how she convinced volunteers to let her bury them face down in the snow for more than half an hour. A lion on the loose caused panic, questions, and panicked questions in Ireland -- before it turned out the suspect had already been collared. In a story that sounds like someone from another country's idea of what happens in this country, a Mountie uses a Canadian flag to help steer a moose to safety. At last, the UK loosens its rules for lawyers -- and allows them not to wear hot, uncomfortable horsehair wigs in court, if they're really itching not to.As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that knew the system was wigged.

In a historic victory, New Yorkers elect Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor -- thanks, in part, to a surge of young voters. One 24-year-old tells us why she jumped to help him run. A fellow Nova Scotia candidate says he did everything he could to get his friend Chris d'Entremont elected as a Conservative -- so it's a serious betrayal that he crossed the floor to the Liberals.A controversial new proposal would see teachers in Germany educating students on a subject that hasn't been on the curriculum for a long time: wartime preparedness. We'll get hold of a Catholic Priest from Chicago in the middle of his weeks-long trek to Ellis Island, New York -- to send a message of support for immigrant rights.A TikToker rates pedestrians on their sidewalk manners, becoming a social media darling in the process -- and you may find his sidewalk criticisms to be a real change of pace. People are still very upset about the shocking jewelry heist at the Louvre -- and now, they're arguing that the museum has never really had security down to a fine art.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that eavesdrops on a Louvre's quarrel.

The Liberals brag that their brand-new budget is big and bold. Opposition leaders have have some less-positive adjectives to describe it. And now a Conservative MP has left caucus over it. One of the big winners in today's federal budget is the Canadian military. We'll ask a defence analyst if this new financial attention compensates for what he feels were years of neglect.Kelowna is the first Canadian city to be named a UNESCO "Creative City of Gastronomy". The head of a First Nation pushed for the title -- and says he's savouring the success. A journalist who wrote several books about the late Dick Cheney reflects on how the most powerful Vice President in American history wanted to be remembered -- and how he'll actually be remembered. The next stop on this week's Hometown series is Vulcan, Alberta -- where they leaned in to their inadvertent "Star Trek" connection, sat back, and watched the Spocks fly.Scientists have finally discovered precisely how mosquitoes court and have sex -- and all it took was staring at close-up footage, frame by frame, in agonizing slow motion, for literally hundreds of hours.As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that's proud to announce: no more guess-ti-mating!

Before tomorrow's federal budget, Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canadians are going to have to make some "sacrifices" -- which is not what anyone who's already making sacrifices wants to hear. It's already created a crisis for families that rely on federal food assistance -- and now, the U.S. government shutdown is threatening the child care program many of those same families depend on.The late actor Björn Andrésen reluctantly found fame as director Luchino Visconti's "most beautiful boy in the world". A friend tells us that's not how he wanted to be known, or remembered.We'll take you to Tantramar, New Brunswick -- in the first of a weeklong series on smaller communities across Canada, and the controversies, characters, and cultures that defy their size. A tourist returns a human skull he stole from an Austrian cathedral decades ago -- which reminded us of the inebriated Beatles fan who thought better of a theft nearly 50 years later.A New York man doesn't just talk a good game, he talks the best game: after 20 years of complex computing, he's revealed the Boggle board that would contain the most possible words. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that minds the Boggle.

Amid a messy breakup with the U-S, Canada looks elsewhere -- and our guest says today's meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping suggests the start of a new chapter. As the UN reports on mass killings and executions in the Sudanese city of El Fasher, families struggle to reach their loved ones there. A D.C. woman tells us she hasn't slept for days waiting for news of her uncle. All systems goo. According to science, when you zone out, it's not just all the thoughts leaving your brain -- a certain amount of cerebrospinal fluid gloops out as well. We have just learned that bats in Georgia glow -- and not only that, but a bunch of them glow in precisely the same way. A researcher tells us this new information is illuminating in every sense. If you're trying to figure out how to fulfill your responsibility as a Toronto Blue Jays fan and as the parent of a trick-or-treater, an Ontario man says it's like taking candy from a ... neighbour. As It Happens, the Halloween edition, Radio that listens for things that go ump in the night.

The world is stunned, and arms control experts are up in arms, over U.S. President Donald Trump's comments about potentially testing nuclear weapons for the first time in more than three decades. The most jaw-dropping story in this World Series is the Blue Jays' rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage. His former coach tells us what makes him so singular -- and what it's been like to watch him make history. An Illinois police officer is found guilty of killing Sonya Massey -- an unarmed Black woman who'd called police for help. Her father tells us their family is profoundly disappointed was not convicted of first-degree murder.We'll look back thirty years at the day Quebec nearly voted for sovereignty. A columnist tells us what has changed since then - and what divisions still remain. In Quebec, doctors are being encouraged to prescribe visits to the symphony – and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra says it can't wait to fill those ‘scripts'.A British paper quotes a former New York City mayor criticizing Zohran Mamdani - only to find it quoted a Bill de Blasio, but not the Bill de Blasio.As It Happens, the Thursday edition, Radio that presents an exciting double Bill.