Hosts Meagan Casalino and Graham Neysmith
This week’s Midweek was all about answering burning questions — about murder mysteries, pot futures, cultural appropriation and Jane Austin’s link to…dinosaurs?
My Favourite Murder is a popular true crime podcast that shares stories about famous murderers in a lighthearted context. Fans of the podcast — called Murderinos — got together in Ottawa to share stories about murder most usually wouldn’t find funny. Midweek’s Julie Tierney was there asking murderinos: why?
Cannabis is becoming big business since legalization a year ago. Midweek’s Sarah Williscraft spoke to a moderator at one of the expo’s panels about the importance of cannabis in medicine now that it’s available recreationally.
The currently standing ban on pitbulls in Ontario is hotly contested, and this week, an MPP introduced a bill to change that law. Midweek reporters Sarina Mohan and Katharine Sherwood asked Ottawans what they think of the law.
Producer Alexandre Robaey updates the lineup (and maybe says a quick prayer it will all fit while he’s down there).
The Canadian Elite Basketball League is the highest professional basketball league in Canada. Graham Neysmith spoke with a manager of a CEBL team in B.C. about the league and what it means for the sport in our country.
The Glebe Craft and Artisan Fairs was one of the first craft fairs of the season with displays piled high with crafts and food, giving locals a chance to shop for gifts for friends and loved ones and buy them straight from local artisans. Midweek’s Menaka Raman-Wilms visited the fair to see what’s available for holiday shoppers.
Claire DePoe-Collins has been stitching embroidery for many years as a hobby, but it’s only recently that she began taking it on as a side job. Last year, she presented her work at a craft fair for the first time. Our reporter Sarina Mohan spoke with DePoe-Collins about the inspiration for her work.
Ottawa’s only glassblowing shop, once called Flo Glassblowing, reopened recently as the Ottawa Glassblowing Cooperative. Midweek’s Lauren Hicks spoke to the owner of Flo about the reason for closing, and Yvonne Avis, who stepped in to help reopen the studio.
Our host Meagan Casalino took a trip to Centretown to learn how to make “bead loop bracelets,” an Indigenous art form. Ashley-Rose Machendagoos has been running these beading workshops for years. We’ll hear from her about the significance of this art, and about differentiating between “cultural appropriation” and “cultural appreciation.”
Copy Editor Erica Endemann keeps the In-basket straight.
Carleton University’s therapy dogs are hard at work helping students coping with stress. This week, a new dog is being added to the roster. His name is Floyd and he’s the Faculty of Engineering dog, here to help students who may feel like they don’t have the resources to cope with difficulties that inevitably come with school life. Menaka Raman-Wilms spoke with Shannon Noonan, who runs the program at Carleton, about what you can expect from the program.
“Bingo doesn’t have to be a drag!” Midweek’s Meaghan Brackenbury brings us the story of a weekly karaoke and bingo event, hosted by China Doll, a local drag queen. Held at the Shanghai 360 restaurant, the event is raising money to support the effort to bring a family of Syrians to Ottawa.
A new Book Arts lab has recently opened at Carleton University’s MacOdrum Library. Larry Thompson walks us through the “book arts” and what the new space means for the university community. Regan Brown has the story.
You might not think that Jane Austen, a dinosaur and a 12-year-old fossil hunter have much in common… But Midweek’s Devon Platana spoke to Emma Peacocke, who is leading a seminar on November 21 at the Glebe Community Centre about these very things. It all started in a place called Lyme Regis in England, where a certain 12-year-old discovered the world’s first ichthyosaur, revolutionizing the world of paleontology…
She may not have been a vampire slayer…but this could be the next best thing.
This week’s show also includes a special report by two of our journalists about a rabbi in Ottawa working with children and other members of the community who are just beginning to navigate their sexuality and identity.
Many faiths remain opposed and rather hostile towards individuals who are not heterosexual or cis-gender. Katharine Sherwood and Sarah Williscraft spoke with Anna Maranta, the rabbi who is working towards greater acceptance in the religious community.
For transgender and non-gender coforming indivduals, something like getting a haircut can be quite difficult. Midweek’s KC Hoard has the story of the Crow’s Nest barber shop, which is hosting an event to provide a safe place for people that don’t conform to gender norms to get their hair cut for free on December 8.
On Wednesday night, Sanctuary City Ottawa, a coalition of social service providers, lawyers, advocates, migrants, researchers and advocates for making Ottawa a safer place to live for all, hosted a panel called “We Are the City” to tackle the issues of housing struggles, economic inequality and social exclusion. Midweek reporters Julie Tierney and Meaghan Brackenbury spoke with one of the organizers about the panel.
So all that, and Jane Austin, too. What more could you want?