There’s nothing like live radio — for the listeners, true, but especially for those doing it in front of the mics and behind the scenes, scrambling to get the stories done and the scripts into the hands of the hosts.
Our team had its one practice run on Feb. 9 in the newsroom and studios they were entering for the very first time, and then it was “Showtime!” for real this week. And what a show it was, anchored by hosts Ben Sylvestre and Michelle Liang!
Yes, Ottawa was still undergoing the noisy disruptions of the convoy protests in downtown and some other pockets, but we weren’t going to let them dictate our show’s lineup: Midweek’s Talar Stocketon opened with a look at concerns of people who actually live here about plans for parking facilities at the Ottawa Hospital’s new Civic campus now in the planning stages.
Then we heard from reporter Ann Pill about calls from Brampton’s mayor for cities like his to step up and contribute financially to the legal fight against Quebec’s “Bill 21” law restricting public employees from wearing religious symbols, such as the hijab. And reporter Morgane Wauquier profiled Montreal musician Stephen Voyce, telling us about how his struggles have influenced his music, and how his music has been a healing force.
But yes, the convoy protest couldn’t be ignored: Michelle Liang, as a reporter this time, spoke with an organizer of a counter protest demanding an end to the occupation of downtown, and Jack Baines told us how the Shepherds of Good Hope homeless shelter has been swamped with a cascade of donations after reports of how its employees were harassed and services were disrupted during the first days of the convoy protest. Our reporters also took to the streets to find out how the occupation of downtown has disrupted the commutes for students at Carleton University.
On to other things and other protests: Rebecca Weston spoke with former Canadian Olympic skater Elizabeth Manley about her thoughts — and anger — about the latest Russian skating scandal at the Beijing Winter Games, and our reporters asked passersby what they think about the…Olympian-level price tag for Lululemon’s Team Canada mittens.
Reporter Eesha Affan explained to us how the Ottawa Black Diaspora Coalition was making love, success and wellness its theme for this Black History Month, and Midweek’s Tamanna Khan in Toronto took us inside A Different Bookstore there — that’s actually its name — that’s trying to fill in the gaps left on the shelves of most mainstream bookstores by featuring writers from the Caribbean, Latin America, South Asia, Africa and the rest of the Global South so often overlooked.
With tension and dread building along the borders of Ukraine, Midweek’s Jonathan Tovell checked in with people in Ottawa with family ties over there about what their local community is doing to help each other and those back in danger. And as the next potential disaster looms there, Midweek’s Ann Pill and a team of colleagues looked into how the Yazidi of Kurdistan continue to suffer from the aftermath of the genocide launched against them by ISIS and Turkey’s strikes against some Kurd factions.
And after all that, it was time to sit back, let out a long sigh, and turn to other sides of life: Midweek’s Katherine Zhang spoke with local jazz musician Kellylee Evans about her new album and how her music has helped here over these pandemic years, and reporter Ben Sylvestre found out how the Kanata Theatre group is bringing to Ottawa a tale of love in the Irish countryside.
And we ended with the story behind the story…or rather, maybe, the story of the board under the cheese: Midweek’s Melissa Gammage found out how a woman in Oshawa used free time during the pandemic to create a growing business making charcuterie boards.
Yup, that’s a classic Midweek: what a mix! And what a start to a delayed but promising season!