Chase producer Wafa El-Rayes works on the lineup with show producer Ali Khaleghi, who was much taller when the season started.
And so … that’s that!
Our fall season of nine Midweek shows (and a best-of compilation show in the middle) is now at an end, and this terrific crew will be replaced early next year with a whole new group of storytellers who’ll take us through to spring.
A final show can bring with it a bit of giddiness, but live radio is still serious business — as were many of the stories we still had to tell.
Mayson Maharaj started us off with a look into a controversy mushrooming at the National Gallery of Canada over sudden leadership changes among curators that are affecting Indigenous art specialists in particular.
Then Sam Konnert reported on the blow that’s hitting families of those in the Madonna Care Community now that this long-term care home is having to close due to extensive water damage and mould.
Copy editor Ben Skene wonders why That Reporter Over There still isn’t putting the proper headers on their script…
And then Sam came right back with our updater on the 2022 FIFA World Cup — a more subdued one than we had the week before when Canada’s ill-fated opening game was still an hour and a half away.
Ora Massabuau, one of today’s hosts, spoke with a leader of Ottawa Riverkeeper about what the conservation group would like locals to do to ease impacts on the rivers that converge in the National Capital Region, and Jodie Applewaithe reported on Ontario’s resistance to renewing its longstanding energy-sharing agreement with Quebec.
Also uncertain is the future of the Mooney’s Bay sledding hill that’s been deemed unsafe by the City but some residents are pushing to have re-open this winter — at least in part — and Sam was back yet again with more on that.
Lilian Fridfinnson then spoke with an Ottawa restaurateur whose downtown eatery has ended tipping because he insists it’s his job to ensure his employees are paid a fair wage. Shriya Balachandran was next with a look at Planned Parenthood’s current fundraising campaign that runs all through December.
…but fellow copy editor Jingyao Yu is letting this season peace out peacefully.
Reporter Sophie Kuijper Dickson sensibly stayed home because she was battling a bug, but joined us by phone to file her in-depth look at the provincial government’s new moves to limit the powers of local conservation authorities in Ontario as part of an effort to spur housing development.
Then our other Sophie — Sophie Price — brought us tips on how students can conserve some health and happiness during this end-of-term burnout season.
Midweek’s Lahari Nanda went a step further, looking at the struggles of those whose depression isn’t a seasonal response to conditions but instead is an ongoing condition that can make the simplest tasks a mighty challenge.
Reporter (and co-host of this show) Joy Spearchief-Morris then lightened our mood by taking us Christmas tree shopping in the Glebe, getting tips from an expert on what to look for when picking one.
Reporters Shriya Balachandran and Mariana Tawil, licensed to … use the tube modelled compressor to adjust amplitude.
Our festivities continued as we spoke live with Merrilee Hodgins, artistic director at The School of Dance in New Edinburgh, about what seeing a seasonal performance of The Nutcracker can mean to young aspiring ballet students.
Ora Massabuau had the final story of the show — and our season — as she looked ahead to the holiday theme that’s taking over the regular 613flea market at Lansdowne Park during December, speaking with one vendor about how she’s preparing.
And that’s a wrap, as we say in show business. We’ve learned a lot from this season as a team, and we hope you have too from listening to our Midweek shows.
We’ll be back on CKCU-FM at the start of February 2023!