As It Happens

CBC

Nightly news that’s not afraid of fun. Every weeknight hosts Nil Köksal and Chris Howden bring you the 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. Find out why As It Happens is one of Canada’s longest-running and most beloved shows.

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Our Editor's Take

The As It Happens podcast shares the latest news through interviews with those at the center. The series is part of a long-running CBC Radio show with a novel premise. It wasn't a typical call-in show, as the hosts called the guests instead. They could be anyone from world leaders to the residents of a new housing development. These conversations add perspective and truth to help combat the misinformation of news.

The podcast hosts are Nil Köksal and Chris Howden. Nil has spent over 20 years as a journalist and has won many awards in her time. She hosted World Report, bringing stories from her hometown of Canada and beyond. She has presented stories on everything from Royal Weddings to the Winter Olympics. Toronto-based Chris worked as a writer and director on the show before joining Nil as a cohost. He is reportedly responsible for the many puns that appear throughout it. He has worked on shows such as This Morning and Living Out Loud.

Listeners can expect new podcast episodes every day except for Sundays. Each episode lasts under an hour. Nil and Chris begin with a preview of the main stories coming up. Natural disasters have been a recurring topic. The hosts talk to aid workers and those fleeing their homes. One resident in the Canadian city of Kelowna spoke to them with emotion. He explained what it was like to see a fire engulfing everything in its path. Many residents Nil and Chris spoke to echoed this fear of fire and its unpredictable nature.

There's always time for entertainment, as well as stories such as the Trump indictment and arraignment. One podcast episode reveals a new coffee hotel in Rotterdam. Another discusses a fascinating discovery at a local science fair. There are also bonus episodes where the team reviews stories from their archives.

The As It Happens podcast brings together worldwide stories through insightful conversations. They share astounding discoveries and innovations alongside tales of heartbreak and family affairs. Each episode provides a great way to keep updated with all the latest news. New episodes drop multiple times each week.

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Premier Susan Holt on Trump, tariffs and 2025

Premier Susan Holt on Trump, tariffs and 2025

Plus: Zora Neale Hurston's last novel was almost destroyed in a fire. But the well-timed instincts of a friend helped save it for a new generation. Also: We'll hear from the co-owner of a Los Angeles theatre – Public Displays of Altadena – destroyed in the Eaton fire about the livelihoods lost and the fine art of rebuilding.

Episodes

Premier Susan Holt on Trump, tariffs and 2025

Premier Susan Holt on Trump, tariffs and 2025

Plus: Zora Neale Hurston's last novel was almost destroyed in a fire. But the well-timed instincts of a friend helped save it for a new generation. Also: We'll hear from the co-owner of a Los Angeles theatre – Public Displays of Altadena – destroyed in the Eaton fire about the livelihoods lost and the fine art of rebuilding.

Racing to save a home in the burning Pacific Palisades

Racing to save a home in the burning Pacific Palisades

Plus: That’ll do, donkey. We bid farewell to the beast of burden who served as a model for Shrek’s two-dimensional donkey sidekick.Also: After our story about a mysterious pile of bananas in England, listeners tipped us off to an equally unexplained phenomenon in Whitehorse.

Escaping the worst fire in modern L.A. history

Escaping the worst fire in modern L.A. history

Plus: We reach a volunteer in Finland who’s getting out his shovel to build the snow drifts seals need to build their next generation. Also: Survival of the fittest is a phrase we all learn in biology class. But new research suggests something else might also shape evolution in the animal kingdom: sheer luck.

Donald Trump ups the ante on “51st state” threats

Donald Trump ups the ante on “51st state” threats

Plus: When we heard about a mystery plate of peeled bananas on a British street corner we couldn't resist the urge to call up some locals…And our efforts bore fruit. Also: The head of Physicians for Human Rights Israel calls for the release of a Palestinian doctor detained by the IDF after a December raid on the Kamal Adwan hospital in North Gaza.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller on Trudeau’s departure

Immigration Minister Marc Miller on Trudeau’s departure

Plus: After a fire destroys a new romance bookstore in the DC area, readers come together to show it some love -- and give the story a happy ending.Also: We reach Kate McElwee of the Women’s Ordination Conference after Pope Francis appoints a nun to a historically important role. She says she still believes that the Catholic Church is capable of full inclusion.

Are cancer-warning labels on alcohol a good idea?

Are cancer-warning labels on alcohol a good idea?

An orca who famously carried around her dead calf for weeks in 2018 is now repeating that behaviour after the recent death of her newborn calf.In September, Carol Off was back in our studio to speak with Nil about her latest book, “At a Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage.” In it, the former host of As It Happens looks at six words (freedom, democracy, truth, woke, choice and taxes) and how their meaning has been distorted and politicized. She offers insight on how to reclaim those words -- and what’s at risk, if we're unable to do so.

Hosting the Sugar Bowl, the day after a deadly attack

Hosting the Sugar Bowl, the day after a deadly attack

“Kinda feels like it was my house that burned down.” A former employee of Telegraph Cove, B.C.’s whale museum is heartbroken when it’s destroyed by fire.We revisit Nil’s feature-length conversation with R. Renee Hess. The hockey fan and author spoke to players, hockey parents, NHL employees and journalists for a collection of essays published last year. It’s called, Blackness Is a Gift I Can Give Her: On Race, Community, and Black Women in Hockey, and includes her own journey in a sport that, as she writes, doesn’t always love her back.

Special Episode: Unexpected stories

Special Episode: Unexpected stories

We go back to the archives to dig up the stories and guests who took us by surprise.

An attack on New Orleans' Bourbon Street

An attack on New Orleans' Bourbon Street

At least 10 people are dead after a pickup truck driver rammed the vehicle into a crown in New Orleans' French Quarter. The FBI are investigating the incident as a suspected terror attack. Resident Brian O'Brien tells us about waking up to the aftermath of the attack, outside his doorstep. City councilmember Lesli Harris answers our questions about safeguards — and raises some question of her own.

A Guantanamo Bay detainee is repatriated, 23 years later

A Guantanamo Bay detainee is repatriated, 23 years later

Plus: A housing advocate isn’t surprised a Montreal encampment has popped up again, just weeks after being dismantled by police.And an encore presentation of our feature-length conversation with Kevin Kwan, who rose to fame with his novel, Crazy Rich Asians. The Singaporean-American author has made a career of satirizing the richest of the rich. His latest book, "Lies and Weddings" features exactly as much of both as you'd hope.

How Jimmy Carter’s work building homes began in a NY project

How Jimmy Carter’s work building homes began in a NY project

Plus: A Toronto artist gives unwanted presents a second life at the Museum of Bad Gifts.And an encore presentation of our feature-length conversation with author and educator Solomon Ratt, on how he carried his mother’s stories with him during his time at residential school -- and found healing, refuge and connection in the written word.

What NASA learned by getting closer to the sun than ever

What NASA learned by getting closer to the sun than ever

Plus: We reach the man who helped make the bald eagle…finally…the official bird of the United States. And our holiday readings continue. In this episode we bring you Al Maitland’s reading of Zlateh the Goat by Isaac Bashevis Singer.

Setting things right

Setting things right

We delve into the As It Happens archives to celebrate the guests who saw something broken — and decided to fix it.

A Christmas Eve tradition since 1979. As It Happens presents Frederick Forsyth's The Shepherd, read by our late host “Fireside” Al Maitland.

A BC city takes a new approach to attracting doctors

A BC city takes a new approach to attracting doctors

Plus: New Zealanders know there’s only one way to make the biggest splash. We reach scientists who studied the manu…and its epic impact. And we present Chris Howden’s reading of the Alistair MacLeod short story To Everything There Is a Season.

Liberal MP Wayne Long says it’s time for Trudeau to go

Liberal MP Wayne Long says it’s time for Trudeau to go

Plus: We revisit Nil’s conversation with British broadcaster Mishal Husain, whose memoir brings her journalistic skills to bear on own family's story.And as we build toward The Shepherd on December 24, tonight’s reading is another “Fireside” Al Maitland classic: The Gift of the Magi.

An activist in Avignon on the heroism of Gisèle Pelicot

An activist in Avignon on the heroism of Gisèle Pelicot

Plus: We reach a medic in Italy who helped rescue a caver trapped deep in the dreaded Bueno Fonteno Abyss.Also: Our holiday readings continue. Tonight, former As It Happens host Barbara Budd reads from ‘Who Has Seen the Wind’.

A former US Ambassador to Canada weighs in

A former US Ambassador to Canada weighs in

Plus: The director of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation brings the holiday classic home…to Montreal. Also: For 40 years, CBC producer Karen Levine told some of radio's most moving stories, and amplified women's voices on and off the air. Today, she's been appointed to the Order of Canada -- and says she's thrilled at the honour.

‘Prorogue parliament and resign,’ Liberal MP tells Trudeau

‘Prorogue parliament and resign,’ Liberal MP tells Trudeau

Plus: Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson is free after Denmark refuses a Japanese extradition request — and he says he's ready to get back to work.Also: Ex-Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes says the PM’s feud with Chrystia Freeland is part of a troubling and potentially anti-feminist pattern; and a Wendat lyricist helps reimagine the Huron Carol through an Indigenous lens.

A shocking resignation has Ottawa on edge

A shocking resignation has Ottawa on edge

Plus: New archeological evidence of a horrific cannibal attack that shows the lengths our predecessors might have gone to dehumanize their enemy.Also: Postal workers get set to return to work -- but given the backlog and the holiday rush, a small business owner tells us it won't do him much good.