Hosts Lisa Johnson and Jane Skrypnek
A brand new team launched a fresh season of Midweek on Jan. 30 amid an exceptional cold spell with a show that went from marching down frigid streets to blowing molten glass, right from the furnace.
Those chanting in the streets included students protesting planned changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program and also those taking part in the third annual Women’s March — and our reporters had them all covered.
Just one example of the many grievances that keep bringing women and others back out into the January streets risking frostbite is the cold shoulder female comedians feel they get from the management at comedy clubs, including local ones, and we heard how that’s a serious issue.
Audio producer Ash Abraham came dressed for the cold…and she had an inside job.
Out on Ottawa’s cold streets, too, on any given day are those left waiting for late buses, and we heard about a new lobby group for those steamed about unreliable transit service. And of course there are grumbles about slow progress in making streets passable after heavy snows.
But Midweek also brought some sobering, humbling perspective as we found out about far more profound struggles than those through snowdrifts: survivors of sexual assault telling their stories at a recent gathering at the Museum of Nature.
Another solemn gathering brought together Canadians of many backgrounds to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and remember those millions who were murdered, those who struggled to survive, and those who fought so desperately to end the horror.
Glassblower Melody Jewitt fashions delicate glass petals
Other Midweek stories told of a local dog rescue organization struggling under crushing vet bills, a fitness class based on dancing to Broadway show tunes, the soothing (and sometimes downright tickling) effects of ASMR soundtracks, a disruptive fire in a lab at Carleton University, and how local glassblower Melody Jewitt is giving modern folks a new appreciation for a delicate ancient art.
All that and lots more on this edition of Midweek — and much, much more in the weeks ahead as our new season continues!
This week’s production team: producer Maz Atta, audio producer Ash Abraham, copy editors Levi Garber and Lisa Johnson, music producers Jenn Colavincenzo and Katherine Lissitsa, and chase producer Dylan Parobec.