Hosts Ben Andrews and Meagan Gillmore (at table) rehearse and time scripts.
Two-thirds of our fall season is now behind us, and as we go into the home stretch, the Midweek newsroom is humming (but not because we can’t remember the words — that’s what scripts are for!).
Hosts Ben Andrews and Meagan Gillmore brought us a show this week with documentaries that took us from tinsel to … well, tears. Ben’s own doc introduced a man fighting to stop the killing of cormorants on the Rideau Lakes by those who claim the birds are depleting fish stocks.
Then a doc by Jen Osborne — our Western Canada bureau chief (the whole bureau, in fact) — told us about an animal rights activist who suspects she and her pets are the targets of those who resent her work, and show co-host Meagan took us inside the life of a man caring at home for his wife, whose dementia means their life has become small but still deeply loving.
Reporter Jen Osborne, based in B.C., confers with show producer Ariel Harker.
So lots there to make the throat catch a bit — but Cassandra Yanez-Leyton came through in the nick of time, ending our show with an upbeat visit to a year-round Christmas store that’s gearing up for a second great year in a row: Last year, they say, was busy because people couldn’t celebrate in groups and so went all-out inside their home, and this year, now that they can celebrate with others, they’re going even more all-out!
In between those documentaries were loads of other great stories: Zac Delaney told us why to have the popcorn handy for the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival, and how we can enjoy it at home. Then Midweek’s Rebecca dePencier took us down to Beandigen, a new Indigenous-owned café and store at TD Place here in the capital.
A sign made by animal rights activist Kerry King of Lethbridge, Alta., protesting pig farming methods she sees as cruel. (photo by Kerry King)
Cindy Tran explored the delicate issue of tipping with the owner of one local restaurant that’s doing away with it, and Jen Siushansian reported on a group that’s trying to get local restaurants to put more imagination into their plant-based dishes with vegans in mind.
The Diwali festival this month featured family gatherings, much good food and brilliant lights — and Midweek’s Kim Moriarity brought us insights into the roots of the holiday in the traditions of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others who celebrate it. Erin Wai then spoke with a Canadian studying in the U.S. about a November festival celebrated in that country called Thanksgiving.
We also heard news about a continuing webinar series on neo-fascism and popularism, reaction to Canada’s icy win over Mexico in men’s soccer, concerns about some Carleton University courses moving unexpectedly to online for the Winter term, relief over the restarting of the university’s attendant services program for students with disabilities after three terms on hold, and satisfaction that gay and bisexual men will finally be treated like all others when it comes to donating blood.
A very full plate!