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The AIH Transcript for August 1, 2017

Hosts: Piya Chattopadhyay and Karen Gordon

STORIES FROM THIS EPISODE

Prologue

PIYA CHATTOPADHYAY: Hi, I'm Piya Chattopadhyay.

KAREN GORDON: Good evening, I'm Karen Gordon. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

KG: Tonight:

PC: Casting doubt on casting ballots. He was in charge of making sure next week's election in Kenya goes smoothly. But now, that Chris Msando has been brutally killed, our guest sees danger ahead.

KG: When the going gets tough, the tough get what's coming. He called himself “America's toughest sheriff”. Now, former lawman Joe Arpio, who built a career on contempt for criminals, has been convicted of criminal contempt.

PC: The best of times amid the worst of times. Just weeks ago, the president of B.C.’s Cattleman's Association gave birth at a hospital that was being evacuated. Now, she's worried about the financial devastation the fires will have on her fellow ranchers.

KG: Conditions critical. Our guest tells us about helping rescue one of the three survivors of a fatal boat capsizing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while the wind was howling and the water was icy cold.

PC: In this fight, the wieners are the losers. Reykjavik’s famous downtown hotdog stand is forced to leave a location it's held for decades. And residents are disappointed to see the owners move their buns.

KG: And… a whisper to a screen. It's called “ASMR”, and it sounds like this. And tonight, one practitioner of the art tells us why millions of people are making the sound decision to explore the softer side of YouTube. As It Happens, the Tuesday edition. Radio that's getting away with murmur.

[Music: Theme]

Back To Top »

Part 1: Kenya attack, BC fire labour, ASMR video maker

Kenya attack

Guest: Abdullahi Halakhe

KG: He was tasked with making sure next week's presidential election in Kenya goes smoothly. Which is why the news of Chris Msando’s death is so shocking. Mr. Msando was the I.T. specialist behind Kenya's brand-new electronic voting machines. Yesterday, the police in Nairobi announced that the election official had been found brutally tortured and killed. The presidential vote is just one week away. And Mr. Msando’s violent death has the potential to make a politically tense campaign, where the two frontrunners for president are virtually neck-and-neck, even more tense. Abdullahi Halakhe is Amnesty International's Kenya researcher. We reached him in Nairobi.

PC: Abdullahi, the man tasked with fixing Kenya's electronic voting system has been killed. What message does it send to Kenyans?

ABDULLAHI HALAKHE: The message that it sends really is that things could go wrong, you know? When we speak about Chris, Chris is somebody who has been tasked with ensuring the integrity of the elections. And you know losing him or him being martyred one week before the election on the day when you know that those systems who are supposed to be tested was a signal to anybody out there who you know might stand in the way of people who are interested in getting to power that the same fate might visit them. You know Chris’s loss is everybody's loss in this country. I wish you would have seen how passionate he was speaking about ensuring these processes that people were are not supposed to vote are going to vote. You know dead voters on the voter role, or even people who would want a vote more than once. So I think it's a big loss. I'm hoping that you know his perpetrators will be brought to book.

PC: And tell us more about Chris Msando? How significant was he in context to next week's election?

AH: We cannot overemphasize how significant he is to the entire process. Let's just step back a little bit and just look at this series of elections that we've had. And you know the violence that preceded or followed after those elections was largely because a lot of people did not have faith in the entire process from the beginning to the end. In 2007-2008, most election observers and people who follow Kenya and do a lot of analysis say that you know the eventual loser was actually the guy who was supposed to win. And so having an electronic system was one of the keys to that process. This is an integrated electronic voting system that has your biometric data. So what happens is that you that you come in, you put in your fingers and generate all your bio data. So that is cross-checked with you ID — that is the national ID that we have here in Kenya — so he's that significant to the process. And he's been working around the clock. People know him say he stays in the office probably even past midnight to ensure that this process works. It is not underestimating to me to say that he probably is one of the most significant people in the entire process.

PC: And to your point, this election was supposed to be a game changer in Kenya. That the new electronic voting systems were supposed to limit the kind of vote-rigging that is alleged to have happened in past elections that that you talked about. So with news of Mr. Msando’s death, how much faith do voters have in this election now?

AH: Piya, it's very hard to really say how much you know Kenyans have faith in the process. I mean like as a Kenyan, I mean like one of the things that you know is these are people who are civically engaged. I mean there are gaps, obviously, a lot of it is based on ethnicity on the rest. But a lot of people that I've spoken to including myself, who until I learned or Chris's death I was like OK look, it may not be a perfect election. We'll have an election that will meet certain standards. But right now, to be honest with you, I don't know how I feel? And when I’m saying this, I'm speaking for a great deal of people out there who woke up to these bad news that not Chris is no more. People die, but you know there are too many things that have happened. I’ll just take you back a little bit. On Friday last week, the opposition party coalition came out and said you know the government is intending to use the military to rig the elections, right? On Saturday, the deputy president's house was raided by a machete-wielding, lone person. On Sunday, we are being told Chris has disappeared. On Monday, we are being told Chris's body has been found. So all these things you know cast you know a dark cloud over the electoral process, whether it's the legitimacy, whether it's the trust in the institutions that are going to deliver these. So I think a lot of people are not at a good place where they'll say look, there's going to be a free, fair, peaceful and legitimate elections.

PC: Do you think Mr. Msando’s death was targeted?

AH: All indications are. I don't want to engage in conspiracy theory when I don't have all the information with me. I think to the best of our knowledge to the information that we have, including the information from the chair electoral body, Msando was tortured before he was eventually murdered. Why would you torture him? You know unless you're trying to extract something out of it.

PC: We're seeing one of the tightest presidential races ever in Kenya. How are the candidates reacting to Mr. Msando’s death?

AH: the president, you know until this afternoon never issued a statement. You know he instructed the police to carry out you know a thorough and speedy investigation. The other candidates have said look, this doesn't all go well for peace. So I mean all of them are saying the right things right now. But we've been in similar places where people — a high ranking government or public official — dies or is being killed and you know the government promises no stones will be unturned. You have so many stones that they say will not be unturned and they’ve now all turned into mountains. So I'm not holding any hope, but I think you will just be useful for everyone involved that this state comes and the Kenyan authorities come out and do you know a good job in terms of investigating and give people credible information. Otherwise they'll be giving rumors, speculation and conspiracy theories that don’t do anybody a favor, including Mr. Msando.

PC: I don't have to tell you that Kenya is no stranger to election-related violence. 2007 election after that, a thousand people are killed during protests. Do you think Kenya is capable next week of having a fair, free and safe election?

AH: I hope so because it's not just for Kenya. I mean like it's for the entire region. I mean it's one of the few vibrant — if not noisy — burgeoning democracies. This is going to be the sixth election that we are having. All of them have either been preceded by violence or you know followed by violence, except 2013 and 2012. So it is in the interest of a lot of people for us to have a good, credible and clean election. But I cannot bet that we might not be you know having some violence, but anything less than a clean election might not satisfy a lot of people. I can say that we might not have anything you know similar to 2007-2008, which is not a very difficult record to beat. But you know my sense is that we might have pockets of violence. And I'm hoping that the security agencies will be able to deal with them within the law, proportionately and as much as possible.

PC: Abdullahi, thank you for your time.

AH: No problem. All the pleasure is mine.

PC: Good luck. Bye bye.

AH: Bye bye.

KG: Abdullahi Halake is Amnesty International's Kenya researcher. We reached him in Nairobi. And for more on this story, go to our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Xylophone rock]

BC fire labour

Guest: Cordy Cox

KG: It's been nearly a month since Cordy Cox was discharged from a hospital in British Columbia threatened by wildfire. And she's still concerned how ranchers in her province can afford to rebuild? Ms. Cox is president of the Cariboo Cattlemen's Association, and has her own ranch in the community of Kleena Kleene in BC's interior. For weeks, she's been trying to help out colleagues. She was even fielding calls while she was in the hospital last month, where she gave birth under pretty dramatic circumstances. We reached Cordy Cox in Chilliwack, where she has been staying.

PC: Ms. Cox, first of all, congratulations on the birth of your daughter.

CORDY COX: Thank you.

PC: And before we get to that birth story, tell me what are you hearing from your fellow ranchers about the toll the fires are having on them?

CC: Well, ranchers are in quite a predicament right now. The tolls that are being put on these ranchers are unprecedented in the fact that they have not only lost animals, but they've also lost their summer and fall pastures, which are their range lands. Hayfields, they've had numerous fences burn, as well as some of them have lost buildings and homes as well as haystacks.

PC: And what about you? You have your own ranch in Kleena Kleene. Have the fires affected your property?

CC: Yes, they've affected one of our ranges for sure. We run a-thousand-cow calf pairs, and so that will affect you know our summer and fall pasture. But we've been very fortunate in the fact that we haven't lost any cattle or buildings at this point. The fire is somewhat contained out there.

PC: Where are your animals right now?

CC: The animals that we evacuated from our main ranch are at one of our other ranches about an hour farther west in Anahim Lake, BC.

PC: And will you be able to bring them back?

CC: Yeah, we'll be able to bring them back to the deeded land on the property closer to fall. But they will not be able to return to their summer range or fall range. It is currently still on fire and you know there isn't much grazing left for them there, it all has been burned.

PC: And so it's still hot in BC, it's smoky where you are. How difficult will it be for you and other ranchers to recover from all of this? What are your biggest concerns?

CC: It's going to be seriously difficult for ranchers to recover from this. I mean the economic impact of this is going to be massive and long lasting. I mean these are major infrastructure costs with buildings and fences. I mean some ranchers it's not a kilometer to or fences you know it's hundreds of kilometers of fences. As well as the last from those dead or injured cattle and also the cost of hay and with this huge drought in BC right now, there isn’t a lot of hay around. And a lot of these ranchers are going to need to be buying hay to make up for the pastures that have been burned and that's going to come at a hefty price.

PC: And as you're dealing with all of this you're also taking care of a new addition to your family, your daughter Harlow, how's she doing?

CC: Harlow is doing great. I don't think she has any clue what's going on. And when she gets older, I think she'll have an interesting story to tell.

PC: She's only a couple of weeks old, right?

CC: Yes, she was three weeks old on Saturday.

PC: And so what happened on the day in early July when Harlow was born?

CC: Well, that was the day that the firestorm started in the Cariboo area, and especially in the Williams Lake area. When I was getting admitted into the hospital, we had a huge thunder and lightning storm that started. And within a few hours of my admission, there were numerous fires in the immediate vicinity. And the next thing you knew because of fear of the exits being closed off to the town of Williams Lake, they were talking about evacuating the Cariboo Memorial hospital that I was giving birth in.

PC: So while you're in labor, you're hearing that you might have to evacuate the hospital?

CC: That's correct.

PC: I bet that wasn't very calming for a woman in labor?

CC: I didn't really pay it that much mind actually. I was quite busy you know talking to my colleagues and other producers and ranchers about what was going on because in that time, those fires had already threatened numerous ranches and livestock and whatnot. So I didn't really have a lot of time to think about you know how stressful it was. But I did think it was quite ridiculous that I was giving birth at the same time that they were talking about evacuating.

PC: OK, wait a minute! So while you're in labor, you're on the phone trying to help your fellow ranchers?

CC: Yes, that's correct. I was texting and e-mailing and talking with BC Cattleman's Association and trying to you know make the transition smoother for producers that you know we're going to be dealing with these issues. It just exacerbated from there. I mean in the following days as you know.

PC: That's a pretty good birth story.

CC: It was definitely ridiculous.

PC: You're in Chilliwack now. That's where you've been staying for the last while.

CC: Yes.

PC: Yeah. When do you think you'll be able to go home to Kleena Kleene?

CC: In the next couple of days. Now that the evacuation order has been lifted off of the ranch where I live and we're put back alert, I can get home. I was unable to you know get out there because, first of all, the air quality has been so terrible for a newborn. And then you know when you're in an order area you can't have a child there.

PC: So you’re looking forward to going home?

CC: I definitely am looking forward to getting home and getting caught up. And running the ranch by phone is one thing, but it is definitely something where you have to be hands on as well.

PC: Ms. Cox, we'll have to leave it there. Thank you.

CC: Thank you very much.

PC: Bye bye.

CC: Bye bye.

KG: Cordy Cox is the president of the Cariboo Cattlemen's Association, and a rancher in Kleena Kleene, British Columbia. We reached her in Chilliwack, where she's been staying because of the fires.

[Music: Electronic]

ASMR video maker

Guest: Lilliana

KG: You know that odd, fuzzy feeling you get when someone whispers in your ear? That's what A-S-M-R feels like. Except the other person doesn't even have to be in the room. If you haven't heard whispers about it yet, you will: the first ASMR YouTube channel has just surpassed one million subscribers, a milestone that's being celebrated by the entire community. Here's a bit of what an ASMR video sounds like.

SOUNDCLIP

LILLIANA: Hey guys, welcome to this video in which I will be sharing some tingly sounds with you.

KG: That's from and ASMR video posted on YouTube by Lily Whispers ASMR, or Lilliana. She has 156,000 subscribers. Because of her big online following, she keeps her last name to herself to maintain some privacy. We reached Lilliana in Pittsburgh.

PC: Lilliana, we've just heard a bit of what sounds like someone whispering. I have to say I'm kind of freaked out! What the heck is ASMR?

L: Yeah, ASMR stands for “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response”. It essentially means that if you've ever been to a salon and you're getting your hair done or you're getting a facial at a spa or something like that you feel really relaxed and sleepy. ASMR is supposed to kind of recreate that feeling.

PC: It's supposed to make me feel tingly and nice and calm?

L: Yep.

PC: And you do that by whispering to me?

L: And speaking in a soft-spoken manner and using an assortment of other sounds. Tapping is a popular trigger as we call them in the ASMR community. Kind of like close up whispering as well. Whispering seems to be the most common though.

PC: Can we test drive this thing right now?

L: Sure. [whispering] Hi there, thank you so much for having me on the air. I’m going to share with you tapping triggers. So that's a little bit.

PC: OK. I don't know if I'm relaxed, but I get it. We're miles apart many miles apart — many miles apart — but I get the idea. If I was looking at you that the visual would also help me, I suppose?

L: The visual definitely helps. There's a lot of like audio-based ones and those are mainly for sound. So it's usually like rainfall or different types of sounds. Not so much like an immersive like someone speaking to you experience.

PC: How did you become an ASMR artist?

L: I actually got suggested a video on YouTube and I watched one and I was getting anxiety during my freshman year of college, as oftentimes people do. And I fell asleep and I felt so calm and relaxed and I was like you know what? This is cool. And I started to make my own.

PC: The first ASMR YouTube channel as I understand it just passed 1 million subscribers. So what does this all tell you about what people are getting from this?

L: It works and I strongly believe that it works. And people are spreading the good word. It's incredible to see how much the community has grown.

PC: Is there a technique and some expertise behind this?

L: Everyone kind of has their own thing that they like. Like for instance, I like brushing sounds. The next person might hate tapping. Some person might like the sound of gum. I know that sounds strange, but gum chewing is a popular trigger as well. But yeah, it can be anything.

PC: And when you say brushing sounds, you mean what? Tooth brushing, hair brushing?

L: Because I like getting my hair brushed and getting my makeup done. So a lot of YouTube videos are kind of like role plays where you pretend like you're getting your makeup done or your hair brushed. And those are my favorite.

PC: I'm glad you brought up the word role playing because some critics find these videos creepy and or sexual. What do you say to that?

L: I think that it's not. I think that it's comforting. And if you think about the world that we live in, they can sexualize anything. And just because we're whispering yeah, it comes off as a little bit creepy because of the nature of whispering. But, when it comes down to it you can sexualize anything.

PC: You just go by Lilliana. You don't give out your last name, right?

L: No, I do not.

PC: And is that because of the negative response you get? What's behind that?

L: No, not at all. The internet is a really big, scary place sometimes. So I like to protect myself and where I live and who I am and my workplace.

PC: So if I go on your YouTube channel, what will I see? You brushing your hair, you whispering, you tapping some sounds. What else will I see?

L: You’ll see role plays. One of my most popular videos just actually also surpassed a million views, which I was really proud about: I pretend to be a big sister doing somebody’s makeup. And that was really well received on my channel.

PC: You know when I listened to you whispering, I did get the sort of tingling sensation. I don't know if it was a good one or bad one, but does everyone get these tingles or get triggered?

L: Not everyone actually. Some people gain immunity to it and then other people just don't have it.

PC: What's next in this genre of online videos do you think?

L: I think augmented reality and more virtual reality. I think that fully immersive experiences and that's what we try to provide. We you know provide an escape from reality. And I think that is going to continue in that direction.

PC: Well, Lilliana, thank you very much for explaining this to me. I appreciate it.

L: Yeah, of course.

PC: Take care.

L: You too.

KG: Lilliana is an ASMR artist or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response artist. We've agreed to use her first name only because she wants to maintain her privacy. We reached her in Pittsburgh.

[Music: Jazz]

Iceland hot dogs

KG: For 80 years, it's operated in Reykjavik, Iceland, serving up lamb-based tubes of meat to locals and curious tourists. And for about 50 years, that world famous hotdog stand has been in the same location. It's hard to say what's so special about the place. It's also just as hard to say the name of the place, but here goes… it's called Baejarins Beztu Plysur, which means “The Town's Best Sausages”. That pronunciation may have been hard for Icelanders to hear. As is this pronouncement: the world-renowned Reykjavik stand is no longer standing in the same spot. In Iceland, this is considered an outrage. Especially because of the reason it's been forced to move. The city is installing a new relay station nearby to help power an enormous new multipurpose complex. Now Baejarins Beztu Plysur has multiple locations in Reykjavik and this one isn't closing, it's just being relocated. Temporarily, its owners insist. So is this original location so special because of its dogs? Opinions vary. Some would say “Yes”. My co-host, Piya, who's eaten one, would say no. And she would say “No” again and again. So really it's just special because it's been in one place for a very long time. A kind of North Star for discerning hot dog lovers and undiscerning drunk people alike, an unchanging thing and a rapidly gentrifying city. As a columnist for the Reykjavik Grapevine put it, quote, “It's one of the last landmarks of a society that no longer exists. The old, isolated Iceland where beer was illegal, people thought Oslo was exotic and everyone was always bored. These things aren't great. They are nostalgia. But isn't their value to something staying the same?” Unquote. Good question, but moot. A hot dog stand is moving and people will find it because Reykjavik may be a growing metropolis, but there's no shortage of dogcatchers.

Back To Top »

Part 2: Arpaio case, capsized boat

Arpaio case

Guest: Daniel Magos

KG: He once proclaimed himself as “America's toughest sheriff”. But now, he could face up to six months in jail for his own crimes. Yesterday, Joe Arpaio — the blustery former sheriff in Arizona — was found guilty of criminal contempt for racially profiling people of Latin American descent and turning them over to immigration authorities. Beyond his crackdowns on illegal immigration, he also made headlines for forcing inmates to wear pink underwear and housing them in canvas tents in Arizona scorching heat. And for profoundly promoting himself doing all of the above. Daniel Magos was a key witness in Mr. Arpaio’s trial. Back in 2009, he and his wife Eva were pulled over and searched by a deputy working under the sheriff. We reached Mr. Magos in Phoenix, Arizona.

PC: Mr. Magos, what was it like for you to see former Sheriff Joe Arpaio found guilty of criminal contempt.

DANIEL MAGOS: Well, I think it was like being in Disneyland for the first time. I was quite happy to receive this news.

PC: Your wife Eva, she died from cancer last year. What did she say to you about Mr. Arpaio before she died?

DM: Out of nowhere, you know this was two weeks before she passed away out of the blue. She just said we're going to get him. I said get who? She says we're going to defeat Arpaio. I said OK, we will do that. You know the reason that it came to her mind is that quite often she would remember the incident because it was quite traumatic for her to see the injustice that was being committed to myself and her, two American citizens that were being treated as second-class citizens and as criminals.

PC: Tell us what happened to you and your wife when you were stopped by a police officer?

DM: The officer was driving in the opposite direction as we were. When he came parallel to our truck, we were stopped waiting to make a left turn. He's gone down almost to a rolling stop and he was staring at us — both my wife and I. And then he speeded up all of a sudden and made a U-turn and came back with his siren and his lights on. So I continued on to the next street going west. I thought he was on a call, so I kind of pulled off to the right of the road. And he pulled off along with me. So I continued on to the next street and stopped there and that's where the traffic stop began.

PC: He got out of his car and he came to your window. What did he say to you?

DM: He did not get off his car immediately. It took him at least three to five minutes before he came out of his car. And my wife and I were anxious as to why he was taking so long. So we proceeded to get off the vehicle and he came out of his vehicle screaming at us, yelling in of to get back in. He never talked to us in a civilized tone of voice, always yelling at both the left with his right hand or his gun.

PC: What did he tell you about why he pulled you over?

DM: He did not say even though I asked him twice. Until later on — ten minutes after the stop — I asked him for a third time. And then he said that the reason for the stop was that he could not see the license plate on my truck. But in Arizona, we only carry a license plate on the rear.

PC: You were a key witness at the trial against Mr. Arpaio. Did you ever find out why you were pulled over and searched with any confidence? Did you get a clear answer?

DM: No, I never did. The officer that made this stop was never called to testify or to contradict my statements. And that's why it was ruled that we were in effect racially profiled.

PC: You believe you were part of a pattern from the police department that was led by Sheriff Arpaio at the time of racial profiling?

DM: Correct. That was the only reason for the stop. They would stop anybody that looked Mexican. Arpaio said in a few instances that 90 per cent of the illegals or undocumented were from Mexico, which is not true. Undocumented people come from all countries.

PC: You said that your wife Eva was deeply affected by the stop by the police. What about you? How did the incident affect you?

DM: I lost total respect for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and their officers. And if I needed police assistance, I made a point to call other police agencies such as Department Public Safety or Phoenix Police because I didn't cross Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. I lost total respect for what their job was intended to be. And that was to protect the public, no matter what ethnicity and he was not doing that. In some instances, he sent deputies out to arrest people because some Anglo-person called and said I heard three people over here speak in Spanish. So he would send his deputies to investigate them and usually arrest them. He would arrest them for knock offs or not having an identification.

PC: Mr. Arpaio is to be sentenced at the beginning of October. He could face six months in prison, but he's already said that he plans to appeal. How concerned are you that the decision by the court could be overturned?

DM: I am not concerned at all because every time that the court takes any action. Anything that the court tells Arpaio to do, he'll appeal it. And at this point, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, it's my belief that they're tired of not hearing Arpaio’s appeals, but just seeing the appeal come in. And up to this point, they have denied every appeal that he has filed.

PC: Mr. Magos, what do you think would happen to you in the conviction of Mr. Arpaio says about the relationship between police and radicalized minorities in your country?

DM: Overall, even nationwide, there has been any improvement. Some people don't see it, but I see the improvement in the sense that a lot of police agencies have been directed by the court or by their own department to wear a body camera. So the video when they make an arrest and make a detention or the incident is recorded. And they can see the truth rather than two stories. This way they can see and that's one of the ramifications of this case I believe.

PC: Mr. Magos, thank you for taking the time to speak with me today and I'm sorry for the loss of Eva.

DM: Oh, Thank you. Thank you very much.

PC: Bye. Take good care.

DM: You too. Thank you. Bye now.

KC: That was Daniel Magos. We reached him in Phoenix, Arizona.

[Music: Under The Knife/ Indie pop]

NFL Player

KG: Jamal Adams is conflicted. Mr. Adams is a rookie with the NFL's New York Jets. He's landed the job he's dreamed of, trained for and suffered to get. But he's also a football player in the age of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. That's the brain disease that's linking athletes who take repeated hits to the head with violence, depression, dementia and death. Last week, the Journal of American Medical Association published a study on 111 former NFL players and they found CTE in 110 of their brains. So when Jamal Adams was asked about CTE at a fan forum yesterday, he was clearly torn.

SOUNDCLIP

JAMAL ADAMS: I’m all about making the game safer, but as a defensive player?

[Sound: Laughing]

JA: You know…. Yeah, I’m not a big fan of it. But I get it. But again, I can speak for a lot of guys who play the game. We live and breathe and this is what we are so passionate about. If I had a perfect place to die, I would die on the field.

[Sound: Clapping]

JA: I would be at peace and that’s not a lie. It is so much sacrifice we go through as a team and just connecting as one and winning ball games. There’s nothing like playing the game of football. But again, I’m all about making the game safer. That’s all I can say about it.

KG: That was Jamal Adams, a rookie with the New York Jets, speaking at a fan event yesterday in Florham, New Jersey. He was seated alongside NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

[Music: Folk rock]

From Our Archives: Son of Sam

KG: 40 years ago, in New York, it seemed like the color of your hair might get you killed. The city was sweltering through the Summer of Sam — one of the hottest on record — and a serial killer was on the loose. The Son of Sam appeared to be hunting couples in cars. He’d shot 13 people and killed six in just over a year. And police said he had a pattern: the killer was drawn to women with long, dark hair. That's why As It Happens called Bernadette Kozlowski on August 1^st, 1977. She was a 25-year-old waitress. She worked near where the killings were taking place and she had long, dark hair. Host Michael Enright wanted to know if Ms. Kozlowski was frightened?

SOUNDCLIP

BERNADETTE KOZLOWSKI: Well, I’m very frightened. I've been following him in the newspaper since this happened over a year ago. And because I have long, brown hair I do wear it up, I have a reason to be concerned.

MICHAEL ENRIGHT: What kinds of precautions have you taken now?

BK: I have been escorted with people at night. I'm never really alone. Locking the doors at night and making sure all the windows are really securely tight. And I'm very, very aware when I'm driving my car apparently to look to the side of you to see who's driving next to you. And it's pretty frightening.

ME: Yeah, I would think so. You say you wear your hair up now, eh?

BK: I wear it up now, yes.

ME: Because apparently his victims wear their hair down.

BK: Yes, brown hair, shoulder length. But after this killing yesterday, it kind of changes everything because she had short, blonde hair.

ME: What about your girlfriends? Are they also taking precautions?

BK: Very much so, yes. When they finish working, or going out somewhere, they do have someone escort them home even though they weren’t with that person on the date. They’ll have a friend come home with them and make sure that they're in the house safely. And the males are frightened to be with a girl with shoulder-length, brown hair. They’ll say wear it up, or put a blonde wig on.

ME: Bernadette, do you ever get the feeling that you might have seen them on the street or in a store or in the bar?

BK: Yes, and it's scary because if you see a single man sitting by you in the car or something. And his hair is parted and he has light brown hair, you do a double take and you really don’t take your eyes off him. If he is in a car by himself, you’re always looking behind you to see if he’s following you.

ME: This must be pretty nerve racking day after day to you know govern your life that way?

BK: It is. It really is because it changes a lot of things. Even in the grocery store, or anything, you're always looking at the next person. You don’t know who it is and one man could have so much power over the whole of New York City. I can't believe it.

KG: That was New York waitress Bernadette Kozlowski speaking to Michael Enright on As It Happens on this day in 1977. It would be another nine days before David Berkowitz was arrested and charged with being The Son of Sam. He claimed that he'd been ordered to kill by a dog named “Harvey”, who belonged to his neighbor “Sam”.

[Music: Rock]

Capsized boat

Guest: Reiss Bilodeau

KG: Five people headed out on a boat to attend a wedding in St. Agustin, Quebec. Only three of them made it to the shore alive. The small boat was no match for the cold choppy water last Thursday. It flipped, throwing all passengers into the Gulf of St Lawrence. Reiss Bilodeau and his brother, Faron, rushed out in their fishing boat to help rescue the survivors. We reached Mr. Bilodeau in Bonne-Esperance, Quebec.

PC: Mr. Bilodeau, when did you realize that something had gone terribly wrong out on the water?

REISS BILODEAU: Around 4:20 I guess. We had a call from the police informing me there was a marine situation and advised to go to a fishing vessel to listen to the coastguards.

PC: And so you went and listened to the call. What did you hear?

RB: Actually, I called my brother, faron, and we hit it to the dock and advised the other fishermen at the dock to turn on the distress channel. And soon as we heard the distress call and got the location of the incident, we decided to go as soon as possible.

PC: When you got down there, I mean what was the weather like? What was the water like? What's going through your head as you're thinking I'm getting out there?

RB: We're in a sheltered cove old fort, so we knew the wind wasn't no problem until approximately six miles west, where we get into open water conditions. The sea conditions got pretty bad up to two-and-a half to three metre seas.

PC: When you see those two meter and two three meter seas what do you think? This is bad!

RB: For the size of both that we knew that they used it, it was bad and especially with a bit of weight in a boat. It wasn't good conditions for that size of a boat to travel. The size that we used was a little bit safer, but still had to travel at a real slow speed.

PC: And what did you see when you got out into the water. Once you got past those still waters into those choppy waters, what did you see?

RB: Nothing. When we got close to where the site was at, we kept a close watch and we weren't able to see the capsized boat until we were about 50 meters from the boat. So it was quite windy. Lucky enough, we passed close enough where we can get a visual on the boat and a man waving to us, holding on to the motor of the capsized boat.

PC: What did you think we spotted a man holding onto a capsized boat in choppy waters?

RB: Relieved at least there was another survivor and it was a good feeling just to know that that there was one more survivor at least.

PC: And so when you get to him… I mean how did you even get him on the boat?

RB: The waves were pretty choppy, so we tossed him a rope and advised him to wrap it around his arm. Once he felt he was secure enough, we advised him to let go of that motor and we pulled him to the side of our boat. And we had to get him to go back towards the stern of our motor and I shut down my motor and at him step on the tail part of our motor and used the power trim to lift him up out of the water and just slide in into the boat.

PC: I understand the two other survivors had such bad hypothermia they had no motor control, but this gentleman could move?

RB: Yes. We were lucky enough that he was capable of answering all of our questions. And knowing that the chance of hypothermia might set in, we wrapped him in a tarp and made the decision to just take a quick look around and head right back to old fort.

PC: The way you tell the story you seem pretty calm. Were you calm at the time?

RB: Pretty much, I think. And I think we held it together pretty good, me and Faron. And just knowing that Craig was alive and doing fine was good in our book. He was kind of concerned and worried the other persons still in the water, but we knew there was another bigger fishing vessel that was going to do the search. So we took the initiative of getting right back to old fort.

PC: You weren't the only ones who went out to help that day. What do you think would have happened if you and others in the community hadn't sprung into action?

RB: I think might have been another casualty for sure. And I think we were lucky enough that there was a passing zodiac that made all the difference for three survivors. But in passing by and sending a distress signal I think it would have been five casualties instead of two.

PC: How’s the community been dealing with the loss of those two people?

RB: We’re from a different community from the actual people that surround. But they’re known throughout the villages and it's a shock I guess knowing that things happen pretty fast. And the situation shouldn't have been there and knowing that the weather conditions were rough. I think a lot of people are just saying it was a bad decision to go on such a windy day.

PC: How are you doing? I imagine there's a lot of emotion in saving a person's life and thinking about it afterwards.

RB: Just happy that we were able to pick up someone that was actually living instead of picking up a corpse, more or less. I'm pretty happy that we were one of the ones to find a living person. Yes, it's a good feeling and knowing that we were able to be around and jump in action pretty quick to do such a thing.

PC: And have you talked to Craig — the guy that you pulled out of the water?

RB: Not yet. Not yet. No, there was I guess a lot of emotion going on with him. And probably in days to come, I’ll probably sit down and have a chat with him. But I know he’s get a lot on his mind. I think the funeral service is today. So kind I’d kind of like to let him have his own time I guess.

PC: Mr. Bilodeau, thank you for going out on the water that day and for telling us about it. I appreciate your time today.

RB: OK, no problem.

KG: We reached Reiss Bilodeau in Bonne-Esperance, Quebec.

[Music: Ambient]

New National hosts

KG: CBC-TV’s “The National” has a brand-new host. And another host. And also, two others. Four award-winning journalists will be taking over the new National when it launches in November. Adrienne Arsenault, Rosemary Barton, Andrew Chang and Ian Hanomansing. The hosts will be based in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. The Quartet were on CBC News Network earlier today, talking to Lindsay Duncombe about the big shoes they'll be filling.

SOUNDCLIP

LINDSAY DUNCOMBE: I looked on Peter Mansbridge’s Twitter feed, it did not take long for him to say that..

ROMARIE BARTON: What has Tweeted?

LD: He thought it was excellent choices, all four you.

RB: Oh, good!

LD: But tell me that about you know there has been such a consistency for decades. How challenging is it to bring the audience in to new faces and a new format given the loyalty that viewers have to Mansbridge and the show?

ADRIENNE ARSENAULT: Well, I guess the thing is we're not really new. We're not at all, actually…

IAN HANOMANSING: Well, you and I certainly are not new!

RB: I’m a little new. Andrew’s totally new.

IH: Adrienne and I are actually pretty old. Thanks for asking!

AA: And it's still you know I keep going back to this. You know we're not abandoning the core values of this treasure. You know we are acutely aware of the responsibility that working for this program carries. And we're not taking that lightly. But again, the focus is going to just have to be on the story. It's just about the story and that's I think what we're looking forward to.

RB: But it was it was very clear we were not going to be able to clone Peter and no one was going to be able to have 30 years of covering every major Canadian world event. Like that wasn’t going to happen again. So instead of trying to say well here's the next Peter. They said here's all these different people that bring all these different perspectives and let's try and do something different. So people should be prepared for it to be different.

ANDREW CHANG: Capital “D” on the different, right? I think not a single one of us would have been here today if we didn't honestly believe that we could you know maintain the core values of the program, but then also to take a sort of beyond the boundary of what is comfortable.

KG: That was the new team hosting CBC's “The National”, speaking on CBC News Network earlier today. Ian Hanomansing and Adrienne Arsenault will be hosting from Toronto, Rosemary Barton from Ottawa and Andrew Chiang from Vancouver. But next week, you can hear Rosemary Barton on the radio hosting this show. The new National launches in November.

[Music: Cultural]

Sound of the Day: scream choir

KG: A quick update now on a story we brought you back in June, when Vancouver composer Bob Smart was auditioning screamers. As part of an ad campaign to get more people screaming through rides at the Pacific National Exhibition’s Playland, Mr. Smart had been hired to put together what was being called “a scream choir”. And yesterday, the company released a video of the results. It features a gray-haired Bob Smart dressed in the black tails of a classical conductor. Baton in hand, he waves to his yellow-robed shriekers, and then beauty fills the air.

SOUNDCLIP

[Sound: I’ve been to a few amusement parks in my day. None of them sound like this.]

KG: That was Vancouver composer Bob Smart conducting the Playland Scream Choir's performance of Strauss's “Blue Danube Waltz”. And that was our sound of the day.

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August 1, 2017 episode transcript

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