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The AIH transcript for August 23, 2024

For more episodes of this podcast, please click this link.

SUSAN BONNER: Hello, I'm Susan Bonner, sitting in for Nil Köksal.

LISA BRYN RUNDLE: Good evening, I'm Lisa Bryn Rundle, sitting in for Chris Howden. This is As It Happens.

[theme]

LBR: Tonight:

SB: No grain, all pain. Amid the uncertainty on Canada's railways, many farms can't ensure their crops will make it to market. And a Manitoba farmer says the impact could be catastrophic.

LBR: Cut short. Life expectancy among First Nations people in B.C. has dropped by more than six years. A public health official tells us what that means on the ground.

SB: Game changer. The creator of Black Crossword tells us her puzzles are meant for Black word gamers like her -- who are too often excluded from traditional crossword clues.

LBR: Open secrets. North Korea is reportedly set to reopen to tourists after five years of keeping its doors closed. One tour operator who's visited more than a hundred times gives us his pitch for making the trip.

SB: Marque my words. A sign war in North Carolina started with an out-of-date birthday wish, and is still going strong -- with dozens of businesses trying to get a word in sign-wise.

LBR: And... Slice of life. Iceland is facing a cucumber shortage, thanks to a viral TikTok star whose motto is "Sometimes you just need to eat an entire cucumber."

LBR: As it Happens, the Friday edition. Radio that never takes its cukes from others.

Part 1: Rail Stoppage: Farmer, North Korean Tourism, Viral Cucumber Salad

Rail Stoppage: Farmer

Guest: Gunter Jochum

LBR: For a moment there, it seemed like a crisis may have been averted. But despite Ottawa's intervention in a dispute between the country's two biggest railways and their workers, strike action remains on the table and work stoppages are ongoing. The Teamsters Union has told CN Railway it will strike on Monday. And workers remain off the job at CPKC Railway. The strike notice comes after labour minister Steven MacKinnon referred the dispute to binding arbitration. But Union president Francois Laporte is challenging the federal government's right to interfere. Here he is speaking on the picket line in Calgary earlier today.

SOUNDCLIP

FRANCOIS LAPORTE: We don't believe to let a third party to decide what is going to be our working condition. So we believe in the fair and honest bargaining. And that's what we want. We will, we will use our constitutional right to, to, to fight this, the company here. So we are here and we are, we going to stay here.

LBR: Whatever the outcome, any stoppage affects businesses across the country -- from energy to mining, construction to agriculture. Gunter Jochum is a grain farmer and the head of the Wheat Growers Association. We reached him in St. Francois Xavier, Manitoba earlier today.

SB: Gunter, how have you been sleeping lately?

GUNTER JOCHUM: You know, Susan, last night I had a very good sleep after the Minister of Labour announced that he will force binding arbitration. And myself and thousands of other farmers across western Canada -- and Canada, actually -- breathed a sigh of relief.

SB: So you told me about last night. How are you looking at the nights ahead, given what's unfolding today?

GJ: The nights ahead and before last night, I had lots of sleepless nights. And I'm not kidding. Every time I would wake up, I would think about the railway strike, or the lockout, or the stoppage. And it was, it really had me worried. And it has me worried today. It is shocking that all the, that the unions now are reneging on the labour minister's directive and are calling for strike action for CN. It is really, it's devastating. Honestly, we're speechless.

SB: When you say it's devastating, can you flesh that out for us? If this stoppage continues -- and if the strike expands on Monday with CN -- how will this affect you and other farmers? How quickly will you feel the pinch?

GJ: It's, we're already feeling the pinch. We just started harvest here across the Prairies. On, on our farm here, we started three days ago, and, we took some wheat off. And we have contracts with four different grain buyers, and we're trying to haul what we've harvested out already because we have contracts with the grain buyers. And we already had two companies tell us, no, we cannot haul because they either don't have room or are just waiting to see how the strike unfolds before they accept the grain. We were able to haul to two other grain buyers, but we only had a small contract with them, and we filled those contracts.

SB: What will you do with your grain if you can't move it?

GJ: We do have enough storage on the farm for most of our grain, but not for all the grain. And most farmers across Western Canada work that way. There's very few farmers that have enough storage for the whole crop. We rely on movement right off the combine for a certain percentage of our crop. And we also want that movement off the combine because we have bills to pay. And if we cannot store the grain, it will have to go on the ground. And we have done that in the past. And it's, it's not a good outcome because it's totally exposed to the elements. There is spoilage. Wildlife can get into the piles. It's just not a good practice at all.

SB: So Ottawa did take action yesterday and called on the Labour Relations Board to order the workers back to work. Now, the union says the federal government doesn't have the authority to send them into arbitration. That they want, that they have the constitutional right to negotiate a deal. Who do you blame for this situation?

GJ: Well -- right now -- I blame the unions for reneging on, on the order from the minister of labour. Before yesterday, I was blaming the minister for inaction and not coming out with binding arbitration sooner. The parties involved had nine months to hammer out a deal. And I'm, I'm not here to point fingers, but it seems like they were not wanting to hammer out an agreement. They, they're being onerous. They're being completely unreasonable with each other and with Canada's economy. And we had talks with the minister. I called him personally and said the harm that would come to farmers if he does not act. They had nine months to hammer out an agreement. They failed to do that. And it was the minister's responsibility to make sure our grain and all the products that, that Canada use move across the country by rail. Otherwise, it'll be economic devastation.

SB: I understand the position that you and farmers are in. Do you have any sympathy for the unions who say the companies stalled and wanted this arbitration, and they are not dealing with issues -- for example -- like safety on these lines that also affects so many Canadians. And that by forcing binding arbitration, the companies are getting what they want at the union's expense.

GJ: You know, I wasn't in the room, in the negotiation room, just like you weren't in there. It's just the parties involved. However, I did read some statements from CPKC, and they said they had made five different offers, and the union has not ever, they have immediately rejected them. So that is not bargaining.

SB: This has prompted a renewed debate about whether railway workers in this country should be deemed essential? What do you think?

GJ: Absolutely. If we shut down both railways at once, the whole country comes to a standstill. We thought COVID was bad. You know, when, when supply chain issues arose. Well, this right now is a complete stoppage. As farmers, we, we lose international customers. It is a catastrophe. I don't know if the average Canadian understands the dire straits that we're going to be in if the union does not back down and get the conductors and the engineers working again.

SB: Gunter, thank you for your time this afternoon. Appreciate it.

GJ: I appreciate it, too. Thanks for the call.

LBR: Gunter Jochum is a grain farmer and the president of the Wheat Growers Association. He was in St. Francois Xavier, Manitoba.

[Uke!!!]

North Korean Tourism

Guest: Rowan Beard

LBR: Five years ago, North Korea slammed the door shut on international tourism. Now, it may be opening that door again -- at least a crack. According to posts from Asia-based tour companies, international travellers will be allowed to visit again starting this December. But they'll be limited to just one city -- the isolated mountain town of Samjiyong. Other than a smattering of Russian visitors to Pyongyang, this would be the first tourism in North Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Rowan Beard is the founder of Young Pioneer Tours -- which regularly operated tours in the country until the 2020 shut-down. We reached him in Abu Dhabi.

SB: Rowan, what are your contacts inside North Korea telling you? Should tourists start packing their bags?

ROWAN BEARD: Not at this very moment. It's a, it's a bit of a premature announcement of a country opening up in December. But -- I mean, like -- it's still some positive movement. So we're all excited. We've all been waiting. It's been five years already, hasn't it?

SB: What do you make of the idea that it's the city of Samjiyong that would be the first place to welcome international tourism in December?

RB: That took, that took a me and my colleagues by surprise. Samjiyong is, it's a small town. It's located very rural in the northeast of the country -- quite far from the capital, where most of the foreigners and tourists want to go to. So we're still kind of catching our breath over that announcement.

SB: How much of a demand is there out there for tourism to North Korea?

RB: There is a demand. Over the five years, we've had thousands of people reach out to us. We've been telling them -- like, listen -- you're just gonna have to wait for now. But as soon as it reopens, as soon as we have confirmations on dates, on how to get there, and itineraries will be good to go, but we're still waiting for -- like -- a perfect green light.

SB: Why has North Korea stayed closed for so many years? Beyond the pandemic restrictions that affected tourism around the world?

RB: Yeah, they, they, they first closed in January 2020. They were the first country to close to COVID. And funnily enough, they are the very last country to reopen as well. So -- at first -- it was the COVID reasoning, but it turned, it turned to -- like -- a political movement then. Like Russians are in the country at the moment. They're able to have access to Pyongyang, the East Coast. And so, that's the focus where it is right now. But everyone else -- all the Western, all the tourists and all the Chinese tourists -- they would just have to wait for now.

SB: Where does the biggest demand for tourism into the country come from?

RB: We've heard of -- like -- a mix from a lot of good nationalities. Like, mostly U.K., Canada. We have a huge demand from Canada, Australia, Western Europeans, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. They seem to be like the usual nationalities reaching out to us.

SB: There are some news reports which have suggested that North Korea may be opening up now because it's hungry for tourism dollars -- especially due to the effects of economic sanctions. Does that make sense to you?

RB: Well, that's a common myth. Like, people think --like -- oh, if you if you're a tourist and you go into North Korea -- you know -- all your dollars is funding the regime and propping up -- like, you know -- the nuclear interests. But they've been closed for five years and that's a, that's an obvious statement that they're not hungry for the tourist dollars. They don't seem to be in a rush to reopen. We'll see. Like, we're just still waiting for further news. It's very exciting. It's good to get some positive movement, but we're still going to have to wait for now.

SB: What do potential tourists tell you about why they're so keen to go to North Korea? Given its reputation and some of the problems that other tourists have had in the country, why do people want to go there?

RB: It's, it's a bit of a mystical country. And one where not people know what to expect when they first go. So it kind of creates a curiosity. It's in the headlines often as well. So people, they each have their own reasons. But most of the people we handle, it's those who are wanting to visit every country in the world, see what, what is actually happening behind the curtains of North Korea.

SB: And how restricted is your movement when you get in there behind the curtains?

RB: So independent travel isn't completely allowed in the country. When you do visit, you have to be with, with local North Korean guides, my guide team as well. We do get access to quite a lot in the country, but to do something by yourself, it's still, it's still off limits.

SB: And I guess you ran tours for thousands of international travellers, for years before Covid. I'm curious how you become the guy who does that for a living?

RB: Well, the company -- Young Pioneer Tours -- we first started in 2008. And so, yeah, over the years, we've, we've grown. We've taken a couple of thousands each year. Twenty-ninteen was our busiest year. We took a little over 1,200 people. It was very hectic back then. It was actually quite troublesome to get flight tickets and train tickets because it was such a popular year to go. But yeah, kind of -- you know -- looking forward to having those challenges again. But we'll first have to see. We'll have to see what the infrastructure in North Korea is like. It's been, it's been some time. We're hoping that -- you know -- they'll be able to keep up with the demand when they first open.

SB: You -- I guess -- have been there -- what -- over 100 times. Give me a sales pitch. Why should anyone listening to this conversation think about visiting North Korea?

RB: It depends on your own reasoning. It is, it is a very secretive country. But the people are nice. It has a 5,000-year-old culture. It's very scenic. There's a lot of good landscapes to see -- Pyongyang being one of them. I mean -- you know -- you got the whole Soviet architecture setup, which is very, very unique. You don't really see that much outside of Northeast Asia. But we have the mountain scapes, we get to go down to Panmunjom, which is where North Korea and South Korea meet. So it's a, it's a very unique kind of setting. So -- you know -- for -- like -- landscape-wise, culture-wise, political-wise, they're usually the reasonings why people would want to go to check it out.

SB: And you're keen to go back?

RB: Oh yeah -- I mean -- I, I've got friends there. You know -- as you said -- I've been there over 100 times. It's, it'll be good to see them again. Communication in the countries isn't so open. So, but once you're in the country, once you're there, once you're settled, it's -- you know -- it's, so, I'll have time to catch up with people I've been working with for close to a decade. And -- yeah -- just show the, show the country of to new faces. To give people new experiences. I'm looking forward to it.

SB: Well, it was good to talk to you today. Thanks very much.

RB: Thanks for reaching out, Susan.

LBR: Rowan Beard is the founder of Young Pioneer Tours. He was in Abu Dhabi.

[ambient instrumental]

Viral Cucumber Salad

Guest: Gudny Ljosbra Hreinsdottir

LBR: If you spend much time on TikTok, particularly watching recipe videos, you may have come across this:

SOUNDCLIP

LOGAN MOFFITT: Sometimes you need to eat an entire cucumber. I'm going to show you the best way to do it. Start by slicing the entire cucumber. A mandoline makes this a lot easier. Here we go, the whole cucumber. Like a tablespoon and a half of soy sauce. Just -- like -- a little fish sauce. Some sugar, MSG -- obviously -- a lot of sesame oil. And then I want this to be really garlicky, so I'm going to grate a garlic clove in. Mmm! It's just so easy and delicious.

LBR: That's Ottawa-based TikTok'er Logan Moffitt -- also known as the "Cucumber Guy" -- explaining how to make one of his viral cucumber salads. Typically, he slices his cucumbers up using a mandoline, throws them in a large tub, and shakes them up with whatever dressing and fixings he's adding. It may not sound all that exceptional. But the response has been anything but ordinary. And not just in North America. In Iceland, the trend has become so popular, it seems to have caused the fruit -- yes, it's a fruit -- to disappear from shelves almost entirely. Gudny Ljosbra Hreinsdottir runs food tours in Reykjavik, Iceland. That's where we reached her.

SB: Gudny, if I were to walk into a grocery store in Reykjavik looking for cucumbers right now, what would I find?

GUDNY LJOSBRA HREINSDOTTIR: Not much of anything, if I had to guess.

SB: Really?! No cucumbers to be found?

GLH: Well -- if you're lucky -- you can find some here and there if you hit up two, three or four grocery stores. But yeah, we're running low.

SB: [chuckle] How unusual is this in Iceland that you, that you run low on, on a, on a certain fruit or vegetable?

GLH: I would say it's highly unusual because we have our greenhouses. So we have plenty of fresh veggies here all year round. So, I've never heard of it before. I've never experienced a shortage of any vegetable here ever.

SB: All right. And how certain are you that this cucumber craze is tied to this TikTok trend?

GLH: I'm pretty certain. I mean, everyone's doing it. It's all the rage. And the cucumbers now are missing. So -- I mean -- [SB chuckles] it can only mean one thing, I guess.

SB: What is it about the appeal about this particular series of videos from the Canadian and his cucumbers?

GLH: Well, it's it's hard to pinpoint. But if I had to guess, I think it's a mixture of it's very easy, it's, it's

accessible. That is, everyone has a cucumber at home or -- well -- at least we used to. So it's an easy thing to do. It's a trendy thing. We Icelanders are trend-obsessed. We're very quick to confirm and hop on a trend. If one is doing it, everyone is doing it. And then also, I think the Icelandic TikTok community is growing a lot right now. It's gaining so much momentum by the month. So, Iceland TikTok wasn't really a thing a few years ago. But now, we have so many creators on the app doing content in Icelandic, and I think it's an easy way to start a career in TikTok or to start a channel, really, to do a trendy thing like the cucumber salad with your spin on it. So yeah, I would say it's a factor of, factor of things.

SB: Have you tried making any of these salads yourself?

GLH: Of course! I, I love cucumber salad. I've been doing it for a long while now. I love Asian cuisine. So I'll only be doing the classic -- you know -- sesame, sesame seed, sesame oil, soy stuff. But now, with the newer recipes, I've been doing, doing a Greek one with tzatziki, but also being, enjoying and everything bagel one with the seasonings and cream cheese. So yeah, really digging it. [chuckle]

SB: So are people frustrated at all by the fact that they that, that there's this shortage of cucumbers?

GLH: Well, people in general -- I mean -- I think it's just annoying that when you go shopping you want to buy cucumbers. We, we do consume a lot of vegetables here. And we do like cucumbers in general, even though it's in more demand now. I think what's mostly frustrating is probably for the restaurants because it's hard for them to get the supply. And also, the prices have been going up.

SB: I bet the prices have been going up. That's what happens when the demand is high, huh?

GLH: Exactly. So I'm just waiting on the black cucumber market here to open up.

SB: [laughing] Well, can, can the greenhouses that that are so famous in your, in your, in your country, are they scrambling to try to grow more cucumbers now?

GLH: Well, it takes a while to grow cucumbers. So -- I mean -- I guess they're trying, but what, what we're mostly seeing is that we're getting what they call emergency shipments from all over Europe. So we're getting in, the grocery stores are buying more cucumbers from Holland and Spain as I understand it and express shipping it to Iceland to try to keep up with demand.

SB: So that's why prices are going up as well.

GLH: Exactly. Yeah, yeah.

SB: I understand that you run food tours. Has this affected your work at all?

GLH: So yeah, we operate the Reykjavik Food Walk here in Reykjavik. And on the food walk, we walk around the city and we enjoy Icelandic cuisine, and we mostly focus on lamb and fish. But with our greenhouses, we have plenty of fresh vegetables, as I stated previously. So one of the dishes we have is actually a beautiful cucumber salad with whipped skiers and feta and some sesame seeds. And that's a staple for our vegetarian options. But -- as of now -- the restaurant has been firmly keeping up with their cucumber supply. So we have not had any problems yet. But yeah, I'm just taking it day by day, going in, going into the office and checking the status. So far, so good. But we, we are ready to switch over to another dish if needed.

SB: It's so interesting. And, and I understand that there's a kind of a wordplay between the word cucumber and summer in, in Iceland. Can you explain that?

GLH: Yeah, exactly. So in this season, in the media, we usually, myths, like in the high summertime, in the media, we usually experience this phenomenon called 'Gúrkutíð', or cucumber season, which is when nothing is really happening. Everyone is out on holiday. There's not much stuff to cover. We will see news articles about a famous person's brother having a baby, [SB laughs] like nothing interesting at all.

SB: Oh, I'm familiar with the slow news season.

GLH: Yeah, exactly. Then we'll call it good 'Gúrkutíð', or cucumber season. So I would say now we are experiencing cucumber season in a completely different way where cucumbers are the news.

SB: Yeah, thanks to a Canadian, your cucumber season has a whole new meaning.

GLH: Exactly, exactly. [chuckling]

SB: Well, I hope you get some cucumbers. Back in stock soon. Thanks for talking to us today.

GLH: Oh, me too. Thank you so much for having me. Nice talking to you.

LBR: Gudny Ljosbra Hreinsdottir runs food tours in Reykjavik, Iceland. That's where we reached her.

[drums]

NC Eatery Sign War

LBR: It all started with Dank Burrito. Which -- as I'm sure you're aware -- is a purveyor of dank burritos in Morehead City, North Carolina. They were responding to a neighbouring restaurant named Ioanni's which had left the message "Happy Birthday Jeff" on their marquee for nearly a month. Dank responded on their own sign with: "Ioanni's, quit being lazy, change your sign." And then it all spiralled out of control. Ioanni's shot back: "Dank, we are not lazy... just busier than you." To which Dank replied: "Y'all just look busy because it takes 2 hours for a dollar taco." A nearby fishing store chimed in with: "Guys, do we need to taco bout this?" A Taco Bell suggested it was time to talk "about their fillings". And so on. And so on. And so on. With no sign yet of fizzling out. It's that last part that noted "sign war" critics point out is where the business owners of Morehead City have gone wrong. And I say this while noting there's no such thing as a noted sign-war critic and yet you all know I'm... sorry they ... are right. A grade-A sign war is sharp and zingy and then it's over. It doesn't drag on and on. Take the Timmins, Ontario Pizza-Hut-sign incident of January 2024. It, too, began with an accidentally provocative sign at the front of the restaurant, which announced that the dining room would be closed that evening due to, quote, "unforeseen circumcisions.” And, sure, there were responses. But then the restaurant offered a deal, joshed about there being “No tip required!” And it was done. To date -- in Morehead City -- over 70 businesses have had their say -- pushing the joke past its natural limit. and serving as a reminder that some people just don't know when to quip.

[hip-hop beat]

Part 2: B.C. FN Life Expectancy, Black Crossword

B.C. FN Life Expectancy

Guest: Nel Wieman

LBR: Between the pandemic and a worsening opioid epidemic, life expectancy in Canada has taken a bit of a hit in recent years. But a new report out of British Columbia says the impact of those parallel crises has been uniquely devastating for First Nations communities. Its authors write that between 2017 and 2021, life expectancy dropped by six years for Indigenous people in the province -- from 73 years of age to 67. Dr. Nel Wieman is an Anishinaabe physician, and the chief medical officer for the First Nations Health Authority and one of the authors of the report. We reached her in Vancouver.

SB: Dr. Wieman, this is an important finding. Is it one you were expecting?

NEL WIEMAN: You know, I think when it comes down to it, we were expecting that there would be some impact upon life expectancy, given the dual public health emergencies of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing, toxic drug crisis, public health emergency, which is in its ninth year. So -- to be fair -- I think we were expecting some decrease, but probably not as significant a decrease as what we saw.

SB: Can you help us to understand -- put it in context for us -- what does a six-year drop in life expectancy actually look like on the ground in First Nations in B.C.?

NW: The decrease is driven mainly by the deaths of younger people. And so, what we're seeing in communities -- for example -- is that a whole generations -- so to speak -- of people are missing. And it's not uncommon for us to hear from people that -- you know -- they know of, not just one person who has died due to toxic drugs, but four, five, six people in their circle -- whether their immediate family or friends -- have died of toxic drugs.

SB: I was looking at the statistics that First Nations account for four per cent of the population in B.C., but between 14 and 19 per cent of the deaths related to toxic drugs. How do you account for that?

NW: You know, people really have to think about the foundation, about people who use substances. There are many people who -- for example, you know -- experiment for the first time or use it in a social situation. Or treat their own medical condition that's not being properly treated if they have -- say -- chronic pain. But for those who have substance use disorder -- you know -- we most often understand that this is related to trauma, a history of trauma, contemporary trauma, that their level of distress is such that they feel they need to do something to change how they feel, and that might include using substances.

SB: You are a psychiatrist by training, and you have argued that mainstream medicine needs to focus more on mental health. To what extent is this a mental health crisis in your view?

NW: You know, we look at things here at First Nations Health Authority. We look at people in a holistic sense. So all of those different parts of what make us up and our well-being are interrelated. So our physical health is related to our mental health is related to emotional health and spiritual health. And, and that's really important for us in working with B.C. First Nations peoples and communities. Because they have clearly told us that culture save lives, that culture is a part of what they want to see in programming to help us get past the toxic drug crisis.

SB: When you look at these two crises -- the opioid crisis and the, the pandemic -- Canadians overall have seen a slight decline in life expectancy. Why has it hit B.C. First Nations communities so hard?

NW: There's probably two issues that were going on concurrently that are important. One is -- you know -- the relative lack and scarcity of medical services in general. So, getting people to the medical services that they needed -- especially early on in the pandemic when they became ill -- was a challenge. But then the other big piece of work that we work on at FNHA is trying to increase the cultural safety of those services. So racism is a barrier to access for, to medical services. So, people feel reluctant to even seek care in the first place because they're worried about how they're going to be treated. They're worried they're going to be treated in a racist or discriminatory manner. And so, what we saw during Covid was First Nations people in B.C. in, in many -- you know -- in a large number of cases, may have waited until they were further along in this illness. And then -- of course -- they needed more critical care. And in some cases, they lost their lives.

SB: Even when this was a globally shared crisis, they felt that they could not reach out and get the same kind of care that others could.

NW: Yeah, I think that's a fair statement to make. You know, we hear quite often stories from communities of really the terrible treatment that people receive in health care due to racism and discrimination. And -- you know -- that's, it's something that we have known for a very long time. So that's, that's a challenge that our health system had.

SB: This report had some good news as well as, as this, this bad news about life expectancy. It indicates that high school graduation rates have gone up among First Nations students. And infant mortality has gone down. How comforting are those findings?

NW: Numbers like increasing the number of young people who are completing high school is actually encouraging. And I think what we would like to do is continue to work on -- you know -- increasing that number further and providing -- for example -- support for students, as they go through, as they finish high school, as they think about what they'd like to do as their next step, perhaps attend college or university. And there is another indicator in the report that shows -- you know -- for health care providers in B.C., First Nations physicians make up 0.4 of one per cent of all the physicians in BC. So clearly -- you know -- we have a lot more work to do in partnership with other systems -- the educational system here in B.C. -- to, to get young people thinking that careers, for example, in medicine or in nursing or in midwifery are possible. And we really need to focus on also on those positive stories that we hear, stories of resilience that we hear coming from communities.

SB: Dr. Wieman, thank you for your time today.

NW: Thanks so much for having me.

LBR: Dr. Nel Wieman is the chief medical officer for the First Nations Health Authority and a member of the Mishi-Baawitigong First Nation. She was in Vancouver.

[brisk piano]

FTR: Central Park Five

LBR: Over the past week, many have taken to the DNC stage to share their thoughts on why Donald Trump should not be president. For most, it's politics. But for some, it's distinctly personal. Last night, four members of the group dubbed the Central Park Five offered their endorsement of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. But moreso, they shared their distaste for Mr. Trump. The five Black and Latino teenagers served years in prison for the 1989 assault of a female jogger. They were eventually fully cleared. But Mr. Trump has never apologized for his public attacks against them. Two members of the group, who now go by "the Exonerated Five," spoke last night. Here's part of what they had to say, for the record.

SOUNDCLIP

KOREY WISE: My name is Korey Wise. Thirty-five years ago, my friends and I were in prison for a crime we did not commit. Our youth was stolen from us. Every day, as we walked into a courtroom, people screamed at us, threatened us because of Donald Trump. He spent $85,000 on a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for our execution. We were innocent kids, but we, but we all, but we served a total of 41 years in prison.

YUSEF SALAAM: I am Yusef Salaam, a New York City councilman representing, representing my hometown of Harlem, USA. And listen, as my friend Korey Wise just said, 45 wanted us unalive. He wanted us dead. Today, we are exonerated because the actual perpetrator confessed, and DNA proved it. That guy says he still stands by the original guilty verdict. He dismisses the scientific evidence rather than admit he was wrong. He has never changed, and he never will. That man thinks that hate is the animating force in America. It is not. We have the constitutional right to vote. In fact, it is a human right. So let us use it. I want you to walk with us. I want you to march with us. I want you to vote with us. [cheers and clapping] America will finally say goodbye to that hateful man.

LBR: For The Record, that's Democratic New York city councillor Yusef Salaam. Before that, you heard Korey Wise. They're two of the members of the Central Park Five -- also known as the Exonerated Five -- who spoke last night at the Democratic National Convention.

[indie rock]

Black Crossword

Guest: Juliana Pache

LBR: We love words on this show. And turns of phrase. And puns. So, I'm going to assume that many of you listening out there love words and wordplay, too. And therefore, may be avid crossword-puzzle solvers. So, I've got a clue for you: New crossword-puzzle trailblazer. Twelve letters. The answer is: Juliana Pache. She's the creator of Black Crossword, an online daily mini-crossword puzzle that highlights Black history and popular culture. Her goal was to make a puzzle that drew from and reflected her own cultural reference points. This week, she released her first book, called Black Crossword: 100 Mini Puzzles Celebrating the African Diaspora. We reached her in New York City.

SB: Juliana, eight across in today's Black crossword is "Ri'chard of Cousin Skeeter and One On One". The answer -- spoiler alert -- is Robert Ri'chard. Can you tell me a bit about him?

JULIANA PACHE: Yes! So, he's an actor that was on Cousin Skeeter, which was a big show when I was growing up. I, I grew up in the '90s and early 2000s. So, that was definitely targeting my demographic. I was deep into Nickelodeon at the time, so Cousin Skeeter was a big show for me. And he also was in One On One, which used to be on UPN. A big show with Kyla Pratt. But yeah, as I was constructing the puzzle for today, I saw that name and I thought, oh, I should, I should feature him in the puzzle.

SB: So, I guess it's an example of, of, of one of the clues that that refers to Black culture and history. And, and I guess your, your aim is to have at least three of your clues in each puzzle have a black reference. How do you come up with them?

JP: Yes. So, I try to have at least three references to Black culture in, in the clues in Black Crossword. And I keep it at three minimum because it's really difficult to have every single clue feature something Black culture-specific. But that's one way to just make sure that I'm highlighting Black culture.

SB: Some of the big puzzles -- the New York Times crossword, for example and some of the others -- they do have some clues about Black culture. Why did you feel it was necessary to go all the way to a Black crossword?

JP: Yes. So -- in mainstream crossword puzzles -- you will see some inclusion and some diversity. But I think -- overall -- it definitely skews towards white men specifically, as, as has been proven by a lot of research. So -- I mean -- going into creating Black Crossword, I didn't know the specifics of that data and that research. It was more of just an instinct and a feeling. Because I've been, I've been solving crosswords for some time now. And there was just this particular day -- which was in October 2022 -- where I was solving a crossword puzzle. And it occurred to me. Does this exist for black culture specifically? So, does a daily mini crossword puzzle exist for Black culture specifically? And I assumed that it must already exist. There was no doubt in my mind that this must be a thing that's out there. I just have to search it and I'll find it. And I couldn't find anything. At least not anything updated or recurring. So, I decided to just create it for myself. And I created it really because I thought it was something that I would enjoy. So other people must, must be able to enjoy it as well.

SB: You talk about how data has indicated that, that mainstream puzzles are not necessarily inclusive. In fact, they really aren't very inclusive in many cases. Is your puzzle an attempt to be inclusive, or are you making it a Black crossword to be just for the Black community?

JP: Yeah, that's a great question. So I, I am making it for Black people. Anyone can play the puzzle. Anyone is invited to join in on the fun and the learning experience. But it is specifically for Black culture. And, and this is something that a lot of crossword puzzle constructors have been doing lately. There are crossword puzzles that are specific to certain demographics. So, you'll see some queer crosswords as well. There are some crossword puzzles that are specific to women. So, it's not, it's not exactly like a new thing, but I think it is very refreshing for Black audiences.

SB: You know, I do a lot of crosswords myself and, and, and you think as you're looking at them, sometimes you get so frustrated. And you think, I thought crosswords were supposed to apply and quiz you on general knowledge. What has working on this project taught you about that whole concept of general knowledge?

JP: Of course, yeah. I would say what it's taught me is that amongst Black folks who are, tapped into Black culture, we have a different standard of what is considered common knowledge. There is this saying -- it's kind of controversial, some people have different opinions of it. But there is a saying about famous Black figures, we might call them, depending on whether or not they've reached the mainstream -- the quote/unquote mainstream. Sometimes, we call these figures "Black Famous". So, I think that's kind of a metaphor for what's happening here as well, not necessarily specifically towards Black figures, but when it comes to knowledge that is common for us to know within the Black community.

SB: And people are submitting words to you for your crossword. What does it mean to you to, to have created this community?

JP: I think that what's important to me -- and that's part of my effort in doing that -- is making it kind of a collaborative process. Is that the Black diaspora is very connected. All of our histories, our cultures, our music, it's all very connected. And it's always communicating with each other. So -- in that way -- I feel like the crossword is a very beautiful metaphor because in, in the layout of a crossword puzzle, the words have to connect. And in this way, I'm trying to connect different regions of the Black diaspora to kind of communicate with each other, to kind of find these throughlines to learn about each other. So, you, you might see a clue in there that you have no idea what the answer could be, and then you solve all the words around it and then you learn something in the end.

SB: Well, it sounds like there was a need and you have met it. And congratulations.

JP: Thank you so much.

LBR: Juliana Pache is the founder of Black Crossword. She was in New York City.

[disco?]

FOA: Wow Signal Research

SOUNDCLIP

OWEN WILSON: Wow!!! [a bunch]

LBR: This is actor Owen Wilson saying what might just be his favourite word, over and over again. But it could just as easily have been an astronomer in Ohio named Jerry Ehman. In 1977, he discovered an abnormally strong radio signal picked up by Ohio State University's Big Ear radio telescope. So he circled it, and wrote "Wow!" Since then, scientists have been trying to solve the "Wow!" mystery... musing about whether it could have been a sign of alien life. Now, scientists in Puerto Rico say the 47-year-old radio signal may have been caused by something a little less "wow". The new research points to it being a result of a rare event that caused a massive cloud of hydrogen to shine super brightly. Their paper still needs to be peer reviewed. Back in 2016, another astrophysicist was also trying to solve the mystery, and so he was crowdfunding for a special telescope. Here is Antonio Paris speaking with our former host, Carol Off.

SOUNDCLIP

ANTONIO PARIS: Basically, because it was a strong signal, and it was never detected afterwards. So it became the studies most intriguing possible source of extraterrestrial life out there.

CAROL OFF: And how strong was the signal?

AP: It was pretty strong for a narrowboat signal. But the important thing is that it fell within what we call the hydrogen line, which is a specific frequency that's protected here on Earth, and no one can use it. Since it was detected from outside of the planet, it was assumed at the time that, perhaps it was emanating from a distant source of alien life.

CO: Do you believe that there is life beyond Earth? This is life out there. That there are alien beings who -- whether they want to communicate with us or not -- exist.

AP: I would say my personal opinion is that there should be life out there, and that could be all forms of life in any stage. That could be microbial life to advanced life. I think our number one enemy is distance. We, we tend to think that the I Love Lucy episodes are light years away. And eventually, some civilization will detect them. That's actually false because radio signals are just like your Wi-Fi signal. The further you get away from the source, they get very weak and very weak. And eventually, you have no Wi-Fi signal.

CO: Okay. So that, so that theory that aliens are trying to figure out what, who Lucille Ball is, is not true.

AP: No. They would have to be very close to Earth. And they could be listening, but they wouldn't understand it either way. Even if we detected their version of I Love Lucy. How do we detect it? How do we know what frequencies they're listening to. You know, the analogy I like to use is like giving my dog a pair of headphones, and I tell the dog, okay, go find ants in China. It's like the dog is going to look at me like what? [CO chuckles] And I don't know what I'm doing.

LBR: From Our Archives, that was Professor Antonio Paris speaking with our former host Carol Off about the "Wow!" signal in 2016.

The AIH Transcript For August 23, 2024

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