As It Happens

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.

After U-S Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra’s unleashes an expletive-lace rant about Doug Ford’s anti-tariff ad, Ontario premier's says his trade envoy deserves an apology. Paul Well says he shouldn't hold his breath. Blossom Davis tells me about the moment Hurricane Melissa crashed through her neighbourhood in Rocky Point, Jamaica, and the terrifying moments that have followed. A Virginia soybean farmer says the US president has to end the tariff war with China - because it's already cost him this year's crop, and he could lose a farm his family has worked for generations. It’s not clear when the National Guard will be deployed in Chicago, but an active member of the force says that if that order does comes down, he won’t follow it. Thanks to the “mummification” of a 66-million-year-old dinosaur in ancient clay, scientists are able to uncover some incredible new details -- like its pretty special set of hooves. Seems like some Australian teachers don't spent enough time thinking about the Roman Empire -- because they taught students about Augustus Caesar when the exam was on Julius Caesar. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition, Radio that knows the dangers of running with Caesars.

We'll reach a government minister who is among those trying to make sure people have what they need to make it through the chaos. Donald Trump cozies up to Japan's new Prime Minister and signs a deal that will see billions in Japanese investment in the U.S. An expert tells us that's good for those two countries, and a clear message to a third country: China. Alberta uses its federal Charter override to force teachers back to work. One teacher tells us the labour action wasn't about higher pay -- but about ensuring the best learning environment for the kids she cares about. They had pivotal decisions made for them. Now, the authors of a new report hope their work will help Canadian survivors of forced sterilization make informed decision about their reproductive health and fertility moving forward. A bar and grill in Iqaluit is a local hub for baseball fans -- and after Blue Jays commentators mentioned it on air, praising its hospitality, its manager feels like she hit a home run. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that's always raising the bar.

A Jamaican living in the path of what could be the worst hurricane in the country's history says he is preparing as best he can -- and thinking a lot about what he endured thirty-seven years ago, when Hurricane Gilbert hit. We'll talk to a Wisconsin mom who's started a one-woman food bank to help families who, in just days, could lose their federal food benefits because of the U.S. government shutdown. Police in France make two arrests in connection with robbery at the Louvre -- and our guest is among museum officials from around the world speaking up to defend the honour of their French colleagues. Chicago's mayor shuts down a reporter who asked about so-called "illegal aliens" by objecting to the use of that term -- and by reminding Americans of some other offensive descriptors that were once commonplace. Maligned and reduced to a footnote for centuries, our guest reveals the real story of First Daughter Eliza Monroe Hay -- and helps get her remains back to the United States -- 1-hundred-85 years after she died, destitute, in France. We'll talk to a diehard Blue Jays fan in the UK -- who, along with dozens of others -- has been taking over pubs in the early hours of the morning to watch the team's historic run. As It Happens, the Monday edition. Radio that senses now's the time to give in to our base instincts.

A former Canadian ambassador to the US weighs in on what's really going on with Ontario's anti-tariff ad, former president Ronald Reagan's own words and the current president's reaction. A Toronto faith leader says the city's decision to replace a homeless encampment outside her church with eight foot fences and a bunch of concrete blocks serves no one. One of the researchers behind new research on antidepressants hopes mapping out their varied side effects will help doctors and patients navigate a complicated pharmaceutical landscape. The PA announcer for tonight's Blue Jays Games got his start at a small radio station in northern Ontario ... and now his voice is the one sports fans inside the Rogers Centre will hear as the World Series gets underway. After an Anne of Green Gables doll becomes online famous, for not the best reasons -- the son of the artist who made it tells us what he thinks about its nickname: "Anne of Scream Gables." Water skiing squirrels aren't enough anymore. No, in this age of death-defying internet one-upmanship it takes a skateboarding pig to turn our heads. As It Happens, the Friday edition. Radio that promises never to be a boar.

Just as the NBA begins its new season, federal officials announce dozens of arrests in a sweeping gambling investigation that includes allegations of mob involvement. A Ukrainian journalist rushed to a kindergarten near her home earlier this week, after sirens alerted her there’d been a Russian strike. She describes seeing smoke everywhere. An ex-boxer in BC fights off a mother grizzly bear -- and lives to tell the tale. If you’re inclined to ask an AI chatbot for advice, the Dutch Data Protection Authority has some advice for you: Don’t ask it who to vote for. Soft Cell defined the sound of eighties pop with 'Tainted Love'. A musician tells us about meeting one half of that duo -- the late Dave Ball -- outside a record store -- and the collabs that came next. At only 8 and 10 years old, siblings and baseball superfans Meredith and Hugo Fu explain how they got their start in sports reporting...and landed interviews with Blue Jays stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kevin Gausman. As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that gives minor leaguers major props.

Canada's financial-crimes watchdog levies its heaviest fines ever against a crypto currency exchange -- but a journalist tells us that, knowing what he knows, it's going to be tough to collect. A spokesperson for the largest UN agency providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians says she's hopeful that today's advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice will help her colleagues get back to life-saving work in Gaza and the West Bank. The fallout from a jewel theft at the Louvre throws the French government into damage-control mode -- but the mayor of central Paris tells us he's still holding out hope some of the artifacts could be recovered. When an enormous manta ray ends up in a tuna net, it's bad for the creature and the crew. So now fishermen and scientists have created a new kind of safety net. We'll talk to an athlete who'll be representing Canada at the upcoming Pickleball World Cup; she says she was sour on the sport at the beginning, but now she relishes it. Monday's worldwide outage didn't just disrupt banking and email -- it also disrupted the sleep of people whose smart beds went haywire. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that knows sometimes technology just makes mattress worse.

Ottawa is giving new and shockingly long wait time estimates for immigration applications to be processed -- and to those waiting, it feels like Canada is rolling out the unwelcome mat. The man behind "Operation Inflation" shares the very serious reasons he has for dressing up American protesters in very silly inflatable costumes. A Connecticut museum celebrates the omnipresent, underappreciated ant. Not thrilled? Our guest insists they're the ant-tithesis of dull. Work has begun on Donald Trump's new White House ballroom -- and one historian says it's not just an offense to the Presidential residence, but to the intentions of the Founding Fathers. A Blue Jays fan had the night of his life last night when he caught the pivotal home run ball. He says the ball came down, but he sure hasn't. Radio legend Ira Glass reveals that he listens to other podcasts at twice the usual speed -- and believes we should all put our best foot fast-forward. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that would never engage in double-talk.

When Amazon's cloud service crashed, it disrupted everything from social media sites and games to businesses and Blue Jays tickets. A cybersecurity expert tells us that's a downside of so few companies being in charge of so much. The host of one of Italy's top investigative journalism programs is targeted with an explosive device -- but his editor says the team will keep reporting on organized crime regardless. Officials at the Louvre are struggling to explain how thieves were able to stage a daytime heist with some basic tools -- and get away with irreplaceable, historic jewelry less than ten minutes. A new study suggests that telling parents to expose their babies to peanuts was good advice -- and may have lowered the rates of potentially lethal peanut allergies. Bangers from our adolescence still seem more significant than anything we've heard since -- and now, researchers have calculated the point in our teenage years they call the "reminiscence bump". As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that knows some jams you can't get out of.

Bestselling author John Irving is about to publish a sequel to one of his biggest books. But he won't be promoting it in one of his biggest markets -- because of Donald Trump. John Bolton is the latest Trump critic to be indicted on federal charges. He's accused of sharing classified information while working on a book. But a former US attorney says there might be more to this case -- than revenge. One of the physicians behind a new Ontario standard for menopause care says it doesn't get half as much attention as it should for something that affects half the population. Trailblazing activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy spent her life carving out a safe space for fellow Black trans women. One of her many adopted trans daughters says she's forever indebted to the woman who changed her life. A new study into how toads managed to spread across large parts of the world millions of years ago found the key is what most of us thought it was: the poisonous glands behind their eyes. For the 30th year in a row, a band of mysterious pranksters have stuck a pumpkin on a clock tower at the University of Montana and vanished -- like their equally mysterious pumpkin-piercing forebears. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that guesses they've faded into obscurity -- emphasis on "skewer".

The family of a man convicted of a murder he didn't commit was shocked when ICE detained him again -- before he was even allowed to leave the prison where he'd been held for decades. Doctors Without Borders announces it is closing its emergency center in Port-au-Prince -- and the head of MSF's mission there tells us it means Haitians are losing one of their last lifelines. The mayor of a Louisiana town at the heart of a U-S Supreme Court battle says people who want to redraw the current electoral maps should check their moral compass. Obstetrics may soon be on hold at a Kamloops hospital where all seven OBGYNs announced their resignations -- citing inadequate support for women's healthcare. A friend and protegee of the late Drew Struzan tells us just what it was about his iconic movie posters that were so unique and inspired such pure excitement. A story that will take your broth away: the disquieting tale of a cat that contributed a dead mouse -- tail and all -- to its foster family's pot of soup. As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that's always stirring up trouble.

The mayor of Brampton says it's just more proof that Ottawa has to get tough in U.S. trade negotiations. Israel has released hundreds of detainees, but a Palestinian pediatrician arrested in Gaza nine months ago is still in Israeli custody. An advocate for Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya tells us he's far from alone. Months of dry weather are forcing a Nova Scotia farmer to make some tough decisions -- and she's not sure how much longer she can keep up the struggle to keep some of her animals. We were all deeply impressed by the rat-shaped impression on a Chicago sidewalk. But now, a researcher who dug into the Chicago Rat Hole tells us he's confident a different rodent made the indent. A Saskatchewan woman was shocked when something smashed into her windshield out of a clear blue sky. But she was way past shocked when she realized it was a fish. German police -- and soon, you -- are confused to discover that someone turned a train compartment into a chicken coop, complete with straw, and left three chickens on board. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that brings you the inside coop.

An unlikely collection of news organizations from across the political spectrum say new limits on their access to the Pentagon are a bridge too far. And our guest says he can no longer do his job properly. A Palestinian analyst says he's cautiously optimistic that the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas can hold -- despite the difficult road ahead. A Northern Ontario First Nation leader declares a state of emergency as drug-fueled violence continues to rock local communities. A Newfoundland mayor pitches his small town as a new home for a group of beluga whales facing the prospect of euthanasia at a defunct amusement park. Derrick the donkey didn't seem made for international stardom, but he's taking his new record as the world's tallest donkey in stride. We reach the winner of a Pennsylvania art contest that sees competitors make sculptures out of scrapple -- which is a mush made of pork scraps. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that keeps you in the gloop.

Celebrations broke out in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square today as twenty hostages held captive for more than two years were finally set free. Our guest describes the relief of seeing them returned – and the kinds of hugs she knows are being shared. Ireland introduces a basic income program for musicians and artists after the success of a pilot version. We hear from an artist who says it’s a good start -- but far from picture perfect. Canadian Peter Howitt is among the economists honoured with this year's Nobel Prize. He says his passion for the field all started with a high school job in Guelph, Ontario. It took years for scientists to complete analysis of an ancient marine fossil. But now they are sharing the news that it's actually a new species –- and they've given it a pretty cool name: the sword dragon. After a Pennsylvania cat stows away on a family trip -- we revisit our interview with a woman who made it all the way through airport security -- before her cat made it out of the bag. Researchers have documented the dramatic lengths some bats will go to to track down and devour birds – all while remaining airborne. As It Happens, the Monday edition… radio that warns they could be a flight risk.

As the Toronto Blue Jays' playoff journey continues, the owners of the bakeshop "Wanda's Pie in the Sky" reminisce about ins-pie-ring Joe Carter's World Series-winning home run in '93 -- with their coconut cream pie. A former federal prosecutor is disgusted that the U.S. Department of Justice has laid charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James -- who brought civil charges against Donald Trump. A UN aid worker in Gaza says now that a ceasefire is in place, Israel needs to open the floodgates immediately to get desperately needed food and supplies into the strip. Two years after a Wyoming librarian was fired amid a dispute over keeping challenged books on the shelves -- a big settlement has her feeling vindicated. A former Loyola Chicago basketball player remembers Sister Jean -- the team chaplain who counselled him and many other players through trials and tribulations both on and off the court. LA Lakers fans thought LeBron James was teasing retirement, but he was just teasing a new brandy endorsement -- so now everyone's angry, and one fan is suing. As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that hears no cheers, just booze.

A non-fighting chance. After Hamas and Israel raise hopes for a lasting peace deal, we'll speak with an Israeli survivor of the October 7th attack -- and a Palestinian sheltering with his family in Gaza. Both tell us that the U.S.-brokered peace deal has given them reason to feel optimistic for the first time in two years. A Dutch cargo ship that was stranded in the Franklin Strait for more than a month is now afloat again; a maritime expert tells us how you get a 172-metre-long vessel off the rocks. Nearly two weeks after a wildfire forced them to evacuate, people are heading back to King’s County, Nova Scotia. And our guest says while he's grateful for the help he got- there's nothing quite like putting your feet up, in your own home. The battle-scarred remains of King Richard The Third were discovered beneath a parking lot years ago -- and now, new research reveals the monarch faced the grim hardship of severe gum disease. Undetectable, in search of the delectable. The Washington Post's food critic retires -- and shares the secrets of how he used the art of disguise to get the real scoop on the restaurants he reviewed. As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that puts the "neat-o!" in incognito.

The French government is in chaos yet again after the country's latest Prime Minister resigns abruptly. Even veteran political experts aren't sure what will come next, but our guest says one thing is clear: "ego issues" are to blame. A human rights watcher tells us about a devastating aerial attack on a candlelit gathering in Myanmar -- and what the military government's airpower suggests about the trajectory of the civil war. They're not from Eswatini, and had never been to Eswatini -- but tonight, we speak to a lawyer representing two deportees who were sent to the tiny kingdom of Eswatini, where they're in a maximum security prison. When students at a high school in Maine get detention, they can sit in a classroom -- or they can go for a hike. The teacher who started the program says it helps students to walk a mile in their shoes. An Ontario photographer tells the magical tale of his encounters with an incredibly rare beaver whose existence was foretold in the Canadian prophecies -- a beaver that is entirely white. James Bond fans are badly shaken and stirred to action when a streaming service puts up photos of their hero's movies -- in which his trademark pistol has been Photoshopped out. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that enters the arms erase.

It sure seemed like today's high-stakes meeting between the Prime Minister and the U.S. President went well -- but we'll ask an international trade consultant what he thinks. The U.S. government shutdown is threatening an essential food aid program for low-income families. A mother of three says she's rationing her supplies -- and hoping that the uncertainty ends soon. She was convicted of mischief for her role in the Ottawa protests -- but Tamara Lich's lawyer says his client is relieved today's sentencing didn't end with more jail time. We'll pay tribute to longtime CBC broadcaster and former “As It Happens” host Dennis Trudeau; a colleague says he had a voice that sang through the radio. An astronomer in Italy recalls the moment he received some unusual data and learned that a rogue planet was devouring gas at a record-breaking rate. You'd expect to hear that the runners in a recent ultramarathon ran a lot. You would not expect -- or want -- to hear they had to visit ten Taco Bells during the race -- and eat at nine of them. As It Happens, the Tuesday edition. Radio that assumes they hurled themselves across the finish line.