In 1968, As It Happens premiered on CBC Radio, with what may have seemed like a gimmicky premise: so many other shows rely on a call-in format – what if we call out? It was so simple, it was brilliant. It enabled the program to interview people across the country and around the world, just by dialing a number: Canadian and world leaders, regular people in extraordinary circumstances, excited scientists, and proud eccentrics of all kinds.
And it proved prescient as well. We no longer have to reach people via rotary phone in their living rooms or offices — As It Happens can get hold of anyone, anywhere, who's got a story to tell. Night after night, host Nil Köksal brings you in-depth conversations with the people near, or at, the centre of the day's news.
As it Happens. Radio that found its calling: calling.
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Special Episode: “Once Upon a Time in Harlem”In the summer of 1972, the late filmmaker William Greaves sent out invitations that promised a "gathering of artists and intellectuals — the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance." He filmed that cocktail party but never ended up completing a full-length documentary. Now, 50 years later, his son and granddaughter have restored that footage and turned it into a new film, “Once Upon a Time in Harlem.” Nil Köksal sits down with director David Greaves and producer Liani Greaves during the week of their Canadian premiere at TIFF.
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Canada’s Conservative Party facing 'fractured' futureA former Conservative Party campaign manager says if Pierre Poilievre wants to be part of the party's future, he'd better get the situation under control fast. The former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, is being held in terrible conditions in prison. His son tells us that's because of a vendetta by the chief of the army — and he fears it will end in his father's death.A Montreal family doctor is shocked to see himself in videos promoting dodgy cure-alls. He says those AI deepfakes are leading to tense confrontations with people who've been deceived. Parts of Bangladesh are in the dark, as the government deals with oil shortages caused by the US-Iran War. Our guest tells us how that's affecting life in the capital. The editor-at-large of the Merriam-Webster dictionary explains how words like "looksmaxxing" and "rickrolling" made the cut this year, along with more than a thousand other new entries.One summer afternoon in 1972, filmmaker William Greaves invited the biggest names of the Harlem Renaissance to a cocktail party at Duke Ellington's home. Fifty-plus years later, his footage of that gathering is reaching audiences for the first time, thanks to his son and granddaughter. The pair joins Nil for a feature interview about their new documentary, "Once Upon a Time in Harlem."A new study focuses on the bullying behaviour of an Australian dolphin named Bubbles, who torments certain fish around him until they throw up.As It Happens, the Friday edition. Radio that offers an embarrassment of retches.
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The European reaction to Canada’s bid for stronger tiesA German member of European Parliament reacts to plans for a deeper relationship between Canada and the EU. He tells us the alliance is a long time coming, but making it official is no simple matter. The son of the late Nigerian actor Olu Jacobs remembers a man considered one of the architects of the Nigerian film industry known as "Nollywood." Newly released documents detail shocking corruption allegations against several Toronto police officers — including misusing criminal databases, accepting bribes, and dealing drugs. A researcher tells us a one-of-a-kind Canadian lake of fresh water floating on top of salt water is gone for good, thanks to climate change. We take you to Saskatchewan, where some snappy — and pecky — dressers compete in a costume contest for farm birds. A Wisconsin woman recaptures her world record title with her ever-expanding collection of salt and pepper packets.Turns out a Charlottetown Olympic-size pool is a tiny bit short. And now, they'll have to do extensive renovations to extend it by just a few millimetres.As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that refuses to pick a lane.
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The pros and cons of closer collaboration with the EUWe don't know exactly what Canada's new relationship with Europe will look like, but former envoy Stéphane Dion says he welcomes stronger ties — as long as certain strings are not attached. Three people are dead, including a journalist, after an NBC News helicopter crashes in Los Angeles. A witness describes the horrifying moment the chopper fell out of the sky.A building in Gaza City badly damaged in the war collapsed overnight, killing families who were left with little choice but to make it their home. And an aid worker there says the disaster speaks to the territory's desperate need for heavy machinery. A new report says both Alberta and Canada will pay a price if the province becomes a sovereign nation; we'll ask its author to take us through her math. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has an $80-billion plan to revitalize the Port of Churchill. But the CEO of the Indigenous-owned company in charge of the port tells us they can do it for pennies on the dollar.Scientists surprise themselves by combining geography, ecology and linguistics to locate long-lost, native oyster beds in Scotland. Edmonton just got its "Lunchbreak" back. After a beloved statue known as "Lunchbreak Joe" was damaged by would-be thieves, a local artist tells us why it means so much to have it reinstalled. We're all feeling a little lost since the death of Dolly Parton — and now, you can feel lost in at least 20 different corn mazes created in her honour.As It Happens, the Wednesday edition, Radio that knows Parton is such sweet sorrow.CLARIFICATION: This episode description has been updated to reflect that Arctic Gateway's proposal for the Port of Churchill does not encompass the full scale of Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew's revitalization plan.
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Is privatization coming for Canadian airports?Prime Minister Mark Carney announces plans to open up Canada's four largest airports to private investment, and our guest says that will only mean turbulence for passengers and workers. As police raid several 2SLGBTQ+ businesses in Turkey and detain dozens of people, the editor-in-chief of a gay rights magazine there tells us the government is declaring his very existence to be obscene. The NDP candidate who won an unexpected victory in a provincial byelection yesterday says it proves the debate over Alberta sovereignty is hurting the UCP. Mark Carney is talking about a "unique alliance" between Canada and Europe; we'll ask one researcher why she's spent two decades urging the EU to embrace our bit of North America. A 15-year-old boy is pulled from Alaska's frigid Bering Sea after a fishing trip turns fatal. The captain who saved him describes the miracle rescue. When Lillith Caisse heard of an effort to remove public benches in Saskatoon because of cleanliness concerns, she got to work and cleaned them. But she doesn't believe that was the true crux of the argument. The late Bob Mackie spent a long career costuming the stars. Singer Janet Lennon tells us about sharing the stage with Cher in his custom, glittering, show-stopping gowns.
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When a drone struck a train in Ukraine, she was metres away.Yesterday, Russian drones hit a passenger train near the Poland-Ukraine border; a journalist tells us what she was thinking as those drones flew over her own train. The Prime Minister is wooing international investors to support Canadian projects -- but NDP leader Avi Lewis says Canadians should be wary of the idea that we need outside investment to strengthen the economy.Over his long career, no one ever knocked the late Canadian boxing legend George Chuvalo down; his daughter tells us his main support through the toughest fights of his life was his family. To deal with the stresses of our current moment, a San Francisco woman gathers a hundred people to scream together -- and it's a total shriek show. 23-year-old racecar driver Callum Smith was born without arms, so he steers with his left foot -- and now, he's signed his first contract to be a professional driver. When we say competitors in a New Jersey half-marathon were frustrated to find themselves slogging their way through waist-high water due to flash-flooding yesterday, we mean they had it up to here. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that's sorry to keep you wading.
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She filmed the 9/11 attacks and waited 25 years to watchA woman who filmed the September 11th attacks from her New York City fire escape has finally brought herself to watch her own footage from that day.Two British citizens have been detained in Iran for over 600 days on espionage charges. Our guest says the UK government should be doing more to get his mother released. The president of a B.C. Conservative riding association tells us if MPs are going to cross the floor, they should have to reimburse the party that helped pay for their campaign. New analysis from Amnesty International says Russia has been luring foreign nationals to the country by promising them civilian jobs, and then sending them to the front lines in Ukraine. And the lead researcher says that's human trafficking. An urban planner calls out Loblaw for an advertising stunt that lit up the sky over downtown Toronto last night with a swarm of drones promoting an AI health portal.The Ontario Science Centre has laid off everyone in its science department. One former member of that department tells us that after 25 years on the job, he still can't believe it's over. After analyzing rare skeletal remains from Indonesia, an archeologist says there’s now evidence that our ancestors were sucking on psychoactive betel nuts to feel good. When a Georgia man came upon a bald eagle on the ground, he thought it was dead, but its life was saved after it performed a last desperate act: it defecated.As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that celebrates a come-from-behind victory.
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Tasia Fortune is dead. Her mother wants to know why.The mother of a Black woman, whose body was found hanging from a tree in Jackson, Mississippi, tells us she's desperate for answers about what really happened to her daughter.Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Alberta to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney, and shake hands on a hundred-year partnership that will see new investment in energy, security, and defence.An Alberta First Nation defies provincial limits on gender-affirming care – by offering banned medical treatments under provisions of a treaty signed in the 18-hundreds.Oscar Peterson's live performances are documented in a new five-album box set compiled by his wife, Kelly Peterson -- who tells us about the experience of revisiting the art of the late Canadian jazz great.In life, the urban exploration of a beloved mountain-lion known as P-22 captivated the people of Los Angeles -- and now, it has been immortalized in bronze.And… A new study shows that over the past 50-plus years of academic papers, references to Beatles songs show up here, there, and everywhere.As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that always has the Ringo of truth.
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Inside an escalating tit-for-tat in IranIran and the U.S. continue to escalate their attacks, each hoping the other will blink first, but analyst Farzan Sabet says adding fuel to the fire is a risky strategy. For the first time in almost a millennium, the Bayeux tapestry returns to British soil and our guest tells us the 11th-century masterpiece lends itself to 21st-century sensibilities. It took nearly a decade, but a spacecraft is finally nearing its destination: the tiny planet of Mercury. One of the scientists involved explains how he's managed to stay patient over that long haul. A team of parents calls for stricter health regulations in hockey arenas after their kids are exposed to carbon monoxide. After last night's four-hour-plus U.S. Open Match, a tennis reporter who was on the scene explains how their hard day's night covering the quarter final went into the wee hours of the morning. One of the organizers of an ethics complaint against FIFA's President tells us he has a hundred thousand signatures from people who want Gianni Infantino to get the boot.A researcher discovers pygmy raccoons going through garbage — not for food, but for materials that allow them to make, and have, a ball.One team arrived a week before tomorrow's NFL game in Australia and the other arrived a day before, having ostensibly dozed on the flight. Sleep scientists will be monitoring who prevails. As It Happens, the Wednesday edition. Radio that is not to be slept on.
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Canada’s ‘pivot’ away from U.S. easier said than doneIn the midst of a fierce trade war, Ottawa wants to reduce its reliance on the U.S. But Canada's former defence minister says pivoting away from American military hardware is a challenge the government hasn't quite figured out. A former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories praises Canada for joining a ban on imports from Israeli settlements. But Michael Lynk says that move is just a start. Deliberations are about to begin over designs for a revitalized prime minister's residence. The head of the jury, celebrated architect Moshe Safdie, tells us what the future could hold for 24 Sussex.A fungus leaves corn kernels an unappetizing grey-black colour, but those unsightly cobs are a beautiful Mexican delicacy that's now being embraced by foodies north of the Rio Grande. It was in the Smithsonian for more than 150 years, but now, the last known pelt of an extinct woolly dog has finally been returned to its former Pacific habitat. A Sami reindeer herder in Sweden worries about the survival of his culture — as politicians debate whether a desire to mine rare earth minerals trumps his people's land rights. Enter, if you dare, the corn maze of one New Brunswick farm, which celebrates the corn-sistent corn-tributions of PWHL great Marie-Philippe Poulin, by being shaped like her face. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that's always looking at the broader corn-text.
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US/Canada tariffs can’t stop this cross-border partnershipWhen Hurricane Helene destroyed an American tea producer's operation, a Canadian counterpart stepped in. They tell us rising costs and a trade war won't put an end to their cross-border friendship.Germany’s AfD becomes the first far-right party since the Nazis to win a state election. We ask a Christian Democratic politician how his party should meet this moment.A friend of the late Georgina Lightning tells us the Cree filmmaker didn't just do amazing work herself -- she supported the work of the young Indigenous artists who are following in her footsteps.A metal detectorist in Finland discovers what’s believed to be the country's largest Viking-era hoard of silver -- containing thousands of coins. Scientists have used fossilized insect wings to reconstruct insect sounds from 165 million years ago. A bioacoustician tells us what ancient cricket love songs might have sounded like.And… In case you weren't already disgusted by the chaos climbers have wreaked on Mount Everest, a new study reveals that the mountain's glacier is being melted by a vast volume of human urine. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that considers the number one problem to be the number one problem.
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What happens to Lindsay Clancy now?The judge in the Massachusetts mother’s high profile murder trial declares a mistrial and a criminal defence lawyer tells us he’s never seen a day in court quite like this.It’s been 66 years since the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa, when police officers killed dozens of protestors. And our guest says far too many people are still waiting for proper compensation. Emergency workers in Nepal rescue two people who had been trapped in a tunnel for nine days after the floods. A local politician describes the astonishing moment they emerged. Catalina Island has a controversial plan to cull its deer population — all in the name of restoring native plant species. A member of the local nature conservancy assures us they've exhausted all other options.From the team that brought us the best small town, lake, and symbol in British Columbia, comes the heated competition for the best roadside attraction. German researchers have determined that taking a long deep breath before making a choice can lead to bolder decision making.As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that makes a lung story short.