As It Happens: The Friday Edition
Part One
Iran nuclear scientist
An Iran-watcher says the assassination of a top nuclear scientist isn't about preventing the country from getting the bomb — it's about scuttling peace talks between Iran and the incoming U.S. administration.
Utah monolith
Authorities in Utah didn't reveal the location of a mysterious metal monolith in the desert — but our guest stands by his choice to find it, and stand by it.
Diagram Prize winner
A Canadian professor didn't expect to win a prize for "oddest book title" for his work about animal metaphors in Indonesia — but now he's the cat who ate the canary.
Part Two
Stuck in Lebanon
A series of setbacks have left a refugee bound for Canada stranded in Beirut — and the latest one is the most frustrating of all: bureaucracy.
Quebec/New Brunswick students
An Indigenous student in Quebec faces down police to travel to her high school in New Brunswick. The province says it's just simple COVID border rules — but she says it's discrimination.
Part Three
Mask innovation award
A University of Alberta researcher wins an innovation award for developing a mask that is coated in salt — whose crystals serve as nasty spikes to destroy droplets.
African crested rat
The African crested rat is the rare rodent you just want to pick up and cuddle. There are several reasons why that's not a good idea. But the main one is that its fur contains dangerous toxins.
As It Happens was produced this week by:
Jeanne Armstrong
Kate Cornick
Katie Geleff
Chris Harbord
Lito Howse
Sheena Goodyear
Sarah Jackson
Mehek Mazhar
Jon Ore
Chloe Shantz-Hilkes
Kate Swoger
and Tomas Urbina.
Our technicians this week are Brittany Amodeo and Reynold Gonsalves. The show director is John McGill.
The writers this week are Chris Howden and Lisa Bryn-Rundle. Austin Webb is our senior producer. And the Executive Producer of As It Happens is Robin Smythe.
We'd also like to thank some other people who helped us out this week:
Mary-Catherine McIntosh in Halifax
Susan McKenzie in Montreal
Jennifer Chen and Paul MacInnis in Ottawa
Varad Mehta, Eric Van, Brandie Weikle and Luke Williams — all in Toronto
Suzanne Dufresne in Winnipeg
Jennifer Keene in Calgary
and Anne Penman in Vancouver.
As It Happens will be back again on Monday. Good night, and good weekend.