As It Happens

CBC News & Politics
CBC News & Politics
  • 4.5 (375)
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News that’s not afraid of fun. Meet people at the centre of the day’s most hard-hitting, hilarious and heartbreaking stories — powerful leaders, proud eccentrics and ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. And plenty of puns too. Hosted by Nil Köksal and Chris Howden, find out why As It Happens is one of Canada’s longest-running and most beloved shows. (Ahem, we literally helped make the beaver a national symbol.) New episodes Monday to Friday by 7:30 pm E.T.

  1. 1h ago

    Witness to Six Flags death wants to set the record straight

    Rollercoasters are closed across the U.S. and Canada after a man is thrown to his death from a ride at a Six Flags amusement park in Georgia. Our guest had just been on that coaster — and tells us what he saw from the ground.  Saudi Arabia strikes an oil facility in the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen in retaliation for multiple attacks on Riyadh's international airport. And an analyst tells us the tit-for-tat risks fuelling a wider conflict.  A linguistics professor has reviewed the questions Albertans will answer in next week's referendum and she says they're substantially above the average person's reading level.  Charges laid against the man accused of Prince Edward Island's only unsolved murder are dropped just weeks before the trial was set to begin — after police reveal key evidence has gone missing.  Hundreds of scientists sign onto a letter calling for an international authority that would set standards for the safe development of artificial intelligence. One of the authors tells us he thinks it's our best shot at keeping the machines at bay.  Researchers find that elephant carcasses boost the ecosystem in the area where they died for years afterwards.   NASA’s Perseverance rover breaks the record for the longest drive on another planet; a rover scientist shares the highlights of the trip so far.  New research suggests extreme monotony can make people extremely aggressive — a conclusion that's been a yawn time coming. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that keeps a close eye on the interest rates.

  2. 1d ago

    U.S. plan to buy Russian diesel, “a deal with the devil”

    U.S. president Donald Trump announces a plan to buy diesel from Russia and an "energy ceasefire," but it doesn’t take long for Ukraine’s president to accuse Russia of attacking six energy facilities across the country. We speak to an Alaskan woman who is reburying her aunt today, over a hundred years after she died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. As women across Canada face shortages of estrogen patches, the founder of a menopause support group says she is frustrated that more isn’t being done. Alan Turing fought the Nazis, and foresaw both the computer and the rise of artificial intelligence. But he probably didn't anticipate that he'd be the subject of an album from Pet Shop Boys. Our guest helped the band put two and two together. A gardener hauls his 1,700 pound pumpkin to an Ontario competition, but is disqualified after organisers discover the pumpkin has a soft spot. As it Happens, the Monday edition… Radio that is never afraid to get a little mushy.

  3. 4d ago

    A Fort Hood survivor reacts to livestreamed execution plans

    A retired U.S. Army Sergeant who was shot seven times in the Fort Hood Massacre says he has no problem with his shooter being executed, but he balks at the Pentagon's plans to livestream his death by firing squad.  Geely wants to become the first Chinese mass-market electric car brand to gain a foothold in Canada, which is creating anxiety for boosters of the domestic auto industry. A human rights lawyer says there's no one more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than her former mentor Navi Pillay — who has fearlessly sought accountability for war crimes from Rwanda to Gaza. A witness describes a horrific scene as U.S. immigration agents shoot and injure a driver in a car in New York City, in front of his five-year-old son who was in the back seat.  We'll hear about one of Dolly Parton's last recording sessions, which resulted in a new version of "Jolene" performed in the Welsh language.  We’ll talk to the hero waste-water worker who found a long-lost class ring while clearing a sewer clog and returned it to the finger of its grateful owner.  A new study suggests humans sleep soundly when sharing a bed with dogs, but that we may actually be disrupting their rest. As It Happens, the Friday Edition, Radio thought we were letting sleeping dogs lie.

  4. 5d ago

    Alleged torture victim applauds new charges against Maduro

    An American who says he was electrocuted and threatened with execution in a Venezuelan prison welcomes new torture charges against the country's deposed president, Nicolas Maduro.  The eviction of an 87-year-old woman drove people in Spain into the streets in protest, and our guest says the woman's death has only made them angrier.  Steelworkers in Hamilton, Ontario are starting to get their layoff notices from Stelco. A father of two tells us his future is somewhere between uncertain and disastrous.  One of his campaign slogans is "I Barely Want to Do This," but a reluctant city council candidate in Kelowna tells us just because he's using humour doesn't mean he's not a serious contender. Dozens are killed in Eastern Ukraine, when Russian bombs hit two city buses. Our guest says he didn't leave when the war started, and he's not leaving now.  The late computer programmer Margaret Hamilton was critical in getting a man on the moon — and her four-year-old daughter helped her foresee a pretty major design flaw.  Scientists have sequenced the genome of Jonathan, a 194-year-old tortoise, and hope to unlock the key to his longevity.  The University of Nebraska is selling off parts of its football stadium — including the vintage urinal troughs so many thousands have used over the decades.   As It Happens, the Thursday Edition, Radio that assures potential urinal buyers: everyone will gush over it.

  5. 6d ago

    The son of an Oct. 7 victim delivers a plea for peace

    On the anniversary of her murder, the son of Canadian-Israeli peace activist Vivian Silver reflects on the lessons she left behind and tells us her memory should not be used to justify violence.  A psychiatrist reflects on the Carney government's decision to allow medical assistance in dying to people with conditions that will eventually leave them unable to ask for it, but to deny it to patients suffering solely from mental illness.  Stand-up comics are calling out a famous colleague for taking over a satellite radio channel — and then dropping hundreds of lesser-known acts from its airwaves.  There was a time when scientists seeking the world's heaviest insect heard nothing but crickets, but now our guest says New Zealand's giant Wētāpunga have rebounded in spectacular fashion. A McGill University researcher says he's found evidence of a pain gap between women and men. We find out who's hurting the most, and the answer may not surprise you.  A self-styled movie nerd says film historians are all wrong about the first talking picture. He blames a filing error for leaving an obscure Scottish feature to gather dust.  We hear from one of the rescuers of a B.C. teen who went on a hike with the assistance of Anthropic's AI chatbot — only to find himself clinging to a cliff called The Widowmaker. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that won't Claude your judgement.

  6. Oct 6

    U.S. suspect ‘encouraged and aided’ mass shooter in Canada

    The FBI announces the arrest of a Washington State resident who allegedly spent at least six months in contact with the shooter who killed eight people in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.  A young woman from Okinawa tells us why she joined protests after a U.S. Marine allegedly killed a local woman. She tells us it's time for the American military to leave the island for good.  A Canadian scientist who works with the winner of this year's Nobel Prize for Physics explains Francis Halzen's work on the small but mighty particle called the "neutrino." Best-selling British author, politician, and scandal magnet Jeffrey Archer is remembered by a journalist and biographer who followed his every move.  A tourism group in Finland wants to hire someone to spend a week sniffing around its islands — in the hopes of proving that the Turku Archipelago is the best-smelling destination in the world. A press-freedom advocate says the Paramount/Warner Brothers merger isn't just bad for Hollywood; it could pose a serious threat to journalism and media independence in the United States. It could be the end of the rodent for Alberta's World-Famous Gopher Hole Museum, which features taxidermied creatures re-enacting scenes from the town's history.  The city of Birmingham, England is fighting for the future of a primary school after it was accidentally sold to a local businessman.

  7. Oct 5

    His father was kidnapped by a cartel in Mexico

    Months after ten people employed by a Canadian mining company in Mexico were kidnapped, our guest's father remains unaccounted for. Now, he's asking the RCMP to get involved — and get his family some answers.  For weeks now, high school students and educators in France have been demanding better classroom conditions. We speak with a teacher about the violence in the streets and what's in store with more nationwide protests set for tomorrow.  A Toronto company that helps people circumvent online censorship says if the federal government's controversial "lawful access bill" is passed as-is, Psiphon will have to leave Canada to avoid putting its clients in danger. We hear from the head of a salvage crew who spent days stabilizing a shipwreck that's been stuck in the Thames since the Second World War and is jam-packed with explosives. A Floridian tells us her state's plan to lower her property taxes by making Canadian snowbirds pay more is a disaster waiting to happen. A new report suggests Canadian troops struggled with the extreme cold during a recent training exercise in Alaska. A retired colonel who served in the north offers some suggestions on how to fix that.  We talk to a finalist for the 2026 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, who captured a photo of a "sexy" praying mantis that we give an antennae out of ten.  As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that has a tendency to ro-mantis-size.

  8. Oct 2

    Her client survived execution months before Christa Pike

    We hear from a lawyer whose client lived through a botched lethal injection in Tennessee just a few months before the state made another failed attempt to execute an inmate this week. Days before Quebeckers go to the polls, a political reporter in the province explains how its next premier could win with less than a third of the vote.  After witnessing a plane crash, a group of skydivers in Wisconsin made the spontaneous decision to jump to the aid of the survivors below. A Canadian banker who was detained in Dubai for months, fearing for his life, reflects on his sudden, unexpected freedom after being dumped at the side of a desert road.  After a CBC investigation reveals salespeople giving dangerous advice about e-bikes and e-scooters, we speak with a doctor who says she sees the effects of that advice in her ER.  Diesel prices keep fluctuating and a South Dakota truck driver says he doesn't have much hope that things will ever return to the way they were before the war on Iran.   Julia Donaldson's latest tale of the monster known as "The Gruffalo" and the new character in it are breaking records; she tells us what she sets out to achieve with her beloved children's books.  Thieves believe they've made a smooth getaway with trailers full of expensive computer chips, but the truth is much, much grittier. As It Happens, the Friday edition. Radio that's not afraid to get granular.

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News that’s not afraid of fun. Meet people at the centre of the day’s most hard-hitting, hilarious and heartbreaking stories — powerful leaders, proud eccentrics and ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. And plenty of puns too. Hosted by Nil Köksal and Chris Howden, find out why As It Happens is one of Canada’s longest-running and most beloved shows. (Ahem, we literally helped make the beaver a national symbol.) New episodes Monday to Friday by 7:30 pm E.T.

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