As It Happens

CBC News & Politics
  • 3.7 (3)
  • NEWS
  • UPDATED DAILY

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. 16 HR AGO

    What gas field attacks mean for the Iran war — and the world

    After Israel strikes the biggest gas field in the world, and Iran retaliates by hitting Qatar’s main gas complex, a reporter in Doha tells us the war has entered a volatile new phase.  Alberta is hoping to pass the strictest restrictions on medical assistance in dying in Canada. A disability advocate tells us why she fully supports new constraints.  Charges against the self-proclaimed “Queen of Canada” have been stayed. Now the mayor of Richmound, Saskatchewan fears she'll return to his village, which is still recovering from her cult's takeover attempt.  A Latino civil rights organizer shares his horror after the late, legendary labour rights activist Cesar Chavez is accused of numerous cases of sexual assault — some involving minors.  A scientist in Fiji spends a lot of her time swimming with bull sharks and she’s delighted to share that the ocean’s apex predators are actually pretty good at making friends.  A Belgian court rules that a former diplomat must stand trial for the murder of the first Congolese Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba. Mr. Lumumba's granddaughter tells us that's a win for the family, but only the very beginning of justice for the country.  At the end of this month, Yellowknife’s only movie theatre will be going out of business — unless local movie lovers can find a way to keep the doors open.  He never met a metaverse he didn't like. But after spending 80 billion dollars on that virtual world, Mark Zuckerberg is effectively shutting it down — to the chagrin of all the virtual characters stuck inside it. As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that guesses they're not going to live happily ever avatar.

    59 min

  2. 1 DAY AGO

    Life inside a Beirut neighbourhood on edge

    A woman in Lebanon’s capital tells us she and her family are ready to flee at a moment's notice now that their home is on the edge of an evacuation zone.  Canada's athletes brought home gold from the Games, but not as much as fans might have expected. And Own the Podium CEO Anne Merklinger thinks she knows why our medal count is slipping.  More troops are preparing to head to Haiti, and a U.N. expert says he's hopeful they'll change things at last for those caught in the crossfire in a country overrun by gangs.  Cuban journalist Daniel Montero tries to make sense of where his country is headed, as it deals with major blackouts and Donald Trump's renewed threats of a takeover.  Nearly five years after wildfire destroyed Lytton, B.C., the province's auditor general finds the village wasn't given sufficient tools and support to rebuild.  Margareta Magnusson — who spread the word about the Swedish art of death cleaning — has died. Her daughter tells us she leaves behind few possessions, but a big legacy.  A team of researchers attends hundreds of boring, humourless talks at scientific conferences — and concludes that the presenters need to develop a stronger gag reflex.  And...the saunter of attention. Scientists believe they've made great strides with a new study revealing that you can tell how people are feeling by the way they walk, but others resent their gait-keeping. As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that really hates to overstep.

    58 min

  3. 2 DAYS AGO

    ‘Not our war.’ Germany responds to Trump’s call for allies

    The European Parliament's top lawmaker on Iran tells us why the EU won't be sending warships to the Strait of Hormuz.  One of the few aid workers still allowed in Afghanistan describes the moment Pakistani airstrikes hit Kabul and the devastation that followed. A Palestinian activist is out, after a year in US immigration detention. Leqaa Kordia’s lawyer tells us that's a huge relief, but there's still a long road ahead until her client is truly free.  Months after being forced from their homes yet again, Kashechewan First Nation got a visit from the Indigenous Services Minister. Mandy Gull-Masty tells us when they might finally be able to go home.  When a waterfall owned by Oregon monks for over a century hit the real estate market, the public was shocked, then worried, then relieved. We remember Paula Doress-Worters, who drew on her own experience of post-partum depression to contribute to one of the most influential books on women’s health: Our Bodies, Ourselves.  A confident cat in South Surrey, B.C. is brazenly flouting international law with his cross-border travel. U.S. authorities haven't captured him, but he has captured millions of hearts.  While trying to pull his cousin's ATV out of a swampy area, a Mississippi man got stuck in the muck himself.  As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that guesses he developed a sedimental attachment.

    1h 3m

  4. 3 DAYS AGO

    Oscar winners spend five years on 17-minute masterpiece

    The Montreal filmmakers behind "The Girl Who Cried Pearls" tell us all about their Academy Award win for Best Animated Short Film.  As oil prices climb, Donald Trump insists NATO countries could help reopen the Strait of Hormuz — suggesting refusal would be "very bad" for the alliance. But not all NATO members are convinced.  The facts of life-giving. A new study shows dangerous — but largely preventable — pregnancy-related complications often happen outside labor and delivery, threatening lives.  A recently discovered tape labelled "fish noises" turns out to be the oldest-known recording of humpback whales — and lets us hear what the oceans sounded like in 1949.  For years, anti-cruising laws in cities across the US tried to keep lowriders off the roads. But now, the customized cars and the people who love them are getting their due, in the form of a new U.S. postage stamp. After two lost episodes of "Dr. Who" are discovered in a private archive, a TV historian tells us what it takes to keep classic film from getting lost in time.  A renowned Italian museum is bending the rules — and letting visually impaired visitors touch some of their most famous sculptures.

    59 min

  5. 6 DAYS AGO

    The waterway the world is suddenly watching closely

    American officials claim they've got the situation under control -- but a former diplomat tells us that Iran throttling the Strait of Hormuz could spell political disaster for Donald Trump. An Iranian strike hit a Canadian bunker on a military base in Kuwait, almost two weeks ago. No one was hurt, but the government said nothing about it -- and the Conservatives' defence critic says that's a problem.  Bill Kurtis has deployed his dulcet tones on the airwaves for six decades now; tonight, he'll tell us about leaving his gig as the judge and scorekeeper of the NPR news quiz show "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" This weekend, director Geeta Gandbhir is up for two Oscars; she's nominated in both the short and feature-length documentary categories.  Nil talks to her about her short doc "The Devil is Busy" -- which covers one day at Georgia abortion clinic -- and her feature "The Perfect Neighbour," which tells the story of a neighbourhood shooting through police bodycam footage. A new high-tech glass floor for basketball courts is great at blasting your retinas with statistics and ads and graphics -- but it turns out to be not great at having basketball played on it.  As It Happens, the Friday edition. Radio that finds itself in contempt of court.

    1h 6m

  6. 12 MAR

    What a day in London, Ontario says about the overdose crisis

    Police in London, Ontario are searching for someone they say was driving around downtown handing out free drugs -- and triggering a wave of overdoses on the doorstep of a local outreach centre.  History in the unmaking. American and Israeli strikes have severely damaged at least four cultural and historical landmarks in Iran. An Iranian-Canadian scholar she says it's heartbreaking to watch -- but eerily familiar.  When two young women left a cinema in the early 70s, they found an abandoned newborn. And now, half a century later, they’ve all reunited.  A Norwegian researcher has not-so-fond childhood memories of getting his tongue stuck to a frozen pole. Now that he’s all grown up, he’s delving into the science -- to tackle tundra tongue.  Colm Dalton can tell you what makes a real Irish pub -- because he's been to more than a hundred of them on four continents, as he attempts to drink at every single one on Earth.  Scientists discover that we blink unconsciously to the beat of music -- although so far, they've only tested that theory on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.  As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that thinks they should start thinking outside the Bach...s.

    59 min

  7. 11 MAR

    A floor-crossing eases Carney’s path to a majority

    Another MP -- this time from the NDP -- has crossed the floor to join the Liberals. A by-election candidate in what was a must-win riding in Quebec tells us what that means for her campaign. A neighbourhood in central Beirut is in shock after an Israeli airstrike hits an apartment building. A journalist on the ground describes the scene. The British government is mulling a social media ban for children -- but the father of a teenager who took her own life after being exposed to harmful content online says just blocking those platforms isn't the answer.  An Alabama restaurant never thought anyone would take up their offer of free oysters to any customer 80 years old accompanied by his father. But we'll talk to two men who are putting that pledge to the test.  A para-alpine skier shares his frustration over mild March weather in Italy that's messing with the Paralympics -- and argues they need to be held much earlier.  A British construction worker rushes to hospital after he wakes up with a bright blue body -- but is relieved and embarrassed to discover the blue-ity is only skin deep.  As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that admires anyone who's so self-azured.

    59 min

  8. 10 MAR

    The survival of Carney’s government may come down to this

    The one thing standing between Mark Carney and a majority government may turn out to be a by-election in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne -- where the Bloc Quebecois candidate says she's confident she'll win.  It's not clear when the war in Iran will end -- but we'll ask an Iranian-Canadian historian what kind of order he foresees after the chaos.  New Brunswick serial killer Allan Legere dies in prison; a reporter who covered the murders, the manhunt, and the trial tells us a lot of people are breathing easier.  Heavy rain in Nairobi last week led to deadly floods. And for many including our guest, those floods cut off electricity and running water.  A neuroscientist tells us about the leap he's made in understanding how mice view their surroundings -- with the help of action movies. Just weeks before athletes were scheduled to run the Pyongyang Marathon, the North Korean regime cancels the event -- and the reason it gives is "reasons." As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that assumes, for the out-of-shape runners, this is a staggering loss.

    57 min
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3.7
out of 5
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About

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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