Hosts Erin Wai and Zac Delaney, nicely spaced
Midweek co-host Zac Delaney kicked off this week’s show with a look at the disappointing fan turnout for the Ottawa Senators win over that other team from that other Ontario city, and then reporter Cindy Tran told us what’s really exciting and drawing the crowds: geocaching!
Zac’s fellow host, Erin Wai, spoke with an astrology buff about the significance of this month’s Hunter’s Moon and its transit into the zodiac sign Aries.
Midweek’s Jen Osborne out in British Columbia has been covering the Fairy Creek protests against old-growth logging, but this week she tells us about an often-overlooked endangered species: the loggers themselves, who are increasingly being replaced by machines. Through Jen, we meet Paul Ropponen of Port Renfrew, B.C. — that’s him up-top, standing beside a feller buncher, a machine he calls a “job stealer” because it’s put a lot of loggers out of work (photo by Jen).
Yolande Laroche performs at the NAC’s Fourth Stage under her solo project pseudonym Orchidae on October 15, 2021. (Photo by Ming Wu, provided by Yolande Laroche)
Ben Andrews reported on growing cost overruns for Ottawa’s new central library — and then on how the turmoil at the top of the federal Green Party is turning off even some committed party faithful.
Midweek’s Jen Siushansian took us to the first Ottawa Military Heritage Show, and then it was back to Fairy Creek to hear more from Jen about the arrests of protesters and questions about how the rule of law should apply on unceded Indigenous territory.
Then a reporter made the news herself: Rachel Watts, a fourth-year journalism student at Carleton University, was just announced as the winner of the 2021 Fraser MacDougall Prize as best new Canadian voice in human rights reporting. She spoke to Midweek’s Cassandra Yanez-Leyton about the story she wrote about the struggles of asylum seekers resettling in Canada during the pandemic that won her the award.
Then it was off to the National Art Centre’s Fourth Stage to catch a performance by the solo artist Orchidae, a creation of Ottawa musician Yolande Laroche, who spoke with Midweek’s Rebecca dePencier before her show. Erin Wai followed that story with a look at other local musicians now finally getting back in front of live audiences.
The control room crew, from left: Producer Maia Smith, audio technologist Dave Sarazin, and music producer Sarah O’Leary
With the university fall break week coming up, Zac spoke live with an expert on stress and mental health about the importance of putting demands on pause for a bit, especially with all the accumulated tensions and strangeness linked to nearly two years of pandemic disruptions.
Midweek’s Meagan Gillmore then looked at the persistent need for more accessible housing, also introduced us to an Algonquin College student with disabilities whose search for a roommate was more complicated than just seeking a pal to share the rent and fridge.
And finally, among all the other things — good, bad and odd — that this pandemic period has brought us, it’s apparently brought a boom in indoor gardening. Midweek’s Kim Moriarity met with one plant collector who assured her a green thumb isn’t a symptom to worry about.