“So do I have your attention now?” asked Nature, with a stern scowl…and yes: Midweek is certainly paying attention.
The glamorous world of radio writing…
We open this week with a first-hand account of damage done by severe winds to a homestead near Keremeos, B.C., in the interior between Princeton and Penticton. As Midweek’s Jen Osborne reports, its owners had ironically designed it so as not to contribute to climate change…of the kind that walloped them hard.
Then Ariel Harker reported on a rally outside the Prime Minister’s office in Ottawa calling on the federal government to get serious about transitioning away from fossil fuels, and Rebecca dePencier introduced us to a resident of the area near Ottawa’s Montfort Hospital who’s worried their well water quality is in jeopardy.
Jen Siushansian checked on the National Capital Commission’s decision to ban gas-powered small tools from its operations, and Jen O. was back to report on the arrest of two journalists covering the Wet-suwet’en people’s resistance to pipeline corridor plans.
The Ottawa Police Service is getting a much smaller than requested budget increase, and Midweek’s Maia Smith got reaction from a local grassroots organization. We then met Farhat Rehman, co-founder of the Ottawa-based group MOMS — Mothers Offering Mutual Support; Meagan Gillmore spoke with her about the group’s work on behalf of those who have a family member who’s incarcerated.
Producer Erin Wai feigns interest as a colleague mansplains about his bowling technique.
Zoya Davis asked students on Carleton University’s campus if the retreat of sunlight this month is causing them sad or SAD (as in Seasonal Affective Disorder) times, and Jen S. returned with details of one community group’s holiday gift program to cheer up residents in supportive housing.
Speaking of gifts, Camille Vinet took us to the Glebe neighbourhood’s annual craft and artisans fair — now back as a real-world, in-person thing!
Then a bit of retro: Meagan Gillmore and a team of other reporters (pic at top) went out to test what today’s university students know about a singing quartet from last century called the Beatles (answer: not a lot), and Sarah O’Leary found out what attracts those who shop for vintage and second-hand items for their décor. Coffee, on the other hand, is better fresh than vintage, and Jodi Gillam spoke with an exec at the Bridgehead coffeehouse chain about how the pandemic opened up new opportunities for their business.
Zoya Davis found out what some students of colour feel they’re up against as they try to match their identity with law school application hurdles, and Kimberley Moriarity spoke with a childcare activist who says the federal government’s plan to create a $10-a-day childcare system is critically important. Ralph Jean-Jacques ended our show with a visit to the Ottawa Children’s Festival’s art fest at the Canadian War Museum.
So windstorms, green initiatives, environmental protection, families, sunlight (or lack thereof), the passage of time, coffee, and kids — all parts of nature. Yup, Nature, you have our attention.