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The AIH Transcript for December 15, 2017

Hosts: Carol Off and Jeff Douglas

STORIES FROM THIS EPISODE

Prologue

CAROL OFF: Hello, I'm Carol Off.

JEFF DOUGLAS: Good evening. I'm Jeff Douglas. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

JD: Tonight:

CO: “Tuckered” out. Stephen LeDrew is paid to speak his mind on the Toronto cable stations CP24. But after he went on Fox to speak his mind with Tucker Carlson, he’s not getting paid anymore — because he's fired.

JD: Disagreeing to disagree. The government of Myanmar says 400 people may have died since what it calls “civil unrest” began. An MSF doctor says the number of Rohingya people slaughtered is closer to 7,000 in a month.

CO: Russian radio journalist Tatiana Felgenhauer was stabbed in the neck at work last October. But this week, with the scars still visible, she rose to confront Vladimir Putin.

JD: An influx to where nothing's in flux. After last night's review of the relatively uneventful year on P.E.I., many of you wrote in with a yearning to move there because nowadays, slow news is good news.

CO: Sirens is golden. He won't pull you over because he's a pushover. If an RCMP constable in Newfoundland is impressed by your driving, he'll stop your vehicle, and your heart, before spreading unexpected holiday cheer.

JD: And… when a primate and a quadrupeds love each other very much…. OK, well when a certain monkey has certain feel…. OK, I'm out. Our guest will be less awkward talking about the monkeys who are suddenly super into getting busy with deer. As It Happens, the Friday edition, radio that wonders if that deer is turning into a camel? Because it's back is getting humped.

[Music: Theme]

Back To Top »

Part 1: Stephen LeDrew, Tatyana Felgenhauer, monkey-deer sex

Stephen LeDrew

Guest: Stephen LeDrew

JD: As a co-host on Toronto cable channel CP24, Stephen LeDrew was paid to chat about whatever local political issue was in the news. But when he was invited on Fox News in late November, it seems Mr. LeDrew crossed a line. He appeared as a guest on “Tucker Carlson Tonight”. Mr. Carlson grilled him on a supposed new 15-letter acronym that was being used to promote LGBTQ inclusivity training, at the Durham local of the Ontario elementary school teacher's union. Mr. LeDrew defended the school union. The next day, however, he was suspended. And now, he's been fired from his job at CP24, which is owned by Bell Media. We reached Stephen LeDrew in Toronto.

CO: Mr. LeDrew, let's go back to the day after the night before, what happened just after you appeared on the Tucker Carlson show?

STEPHEN LEDREW: I was on a Wednesday night, and on Thursday morning, when I went to work, I was called into a meeting. And they said you are on Fox Network last night. And I said yes. And they said well that's against the rules. And I said well what's the problem with it? And they said well Fox is a competitor of CP24. And, as was reported in the Sun, I just sort of chuckled a little bit. I said well that's ridiculous. And I said I wasn't paid, I was on as a guest, and I said I was defending Canada and defending values. And so then at around 7:00 o'clock that evening, I got a call at home saying that I was suspended for seven days.

CO: Why were you fired then?

SL: They said sign this what I called “the gag order”, saying that I would not appear on other stations or anything else. Everybody knew I was suspended; it went around like wildfire. They called me and they said why were you suspended? And I read from the letter and said it's because I appeared on Fox. And so then that was in the paper. After the end of my suspension, I was called in again, and then I was fired. I have the letter in front of me. They said while you were under suspension, you spoke to other news agencies. During which you sensationalized your suspensions in an attempt to tarnish the reputation of CP24.

CO: Bell Media believes or says that Fox News is a competitor, and you're not allowed to appear on the competitor’s networks…

SL: CP24 said that. I want to be clear. It’s not CTV or Bell Media. The head of CP24 said that Fox is a competitor, which was news to me. I just could never think of CP24 being in competition with the Fox Network.

CO: Just because for people who didn't see the segment on “Tucker Carlson”, Tucker Carlson made this declaration that in Canada, there is inclusiveness training run amok. And that children are going to be forced to understand not just what LGBTQ means, butI actually wrote LGGBDTTTIQQAAPP. And so Tucker Carlson says that's what's being taught in Canada. Can you just characterize the conversation that you had with him about that?

SL: I was defending it. Not in the particular of any particular initials or names. I mean I have a lot of contacts and friends and family in the in the gay community. I was defending it, and I said to Tucker, I said what's the matter with having inclusiveness? I said what does it cost you, Tucker? I said in the States you guys are ripping each other apart. In Canada, we have an inclusive society. And we are welcoming people in. And that's what the debate was about. Then it went on to free speech, which is the irony I guess that I was suspended because I was defending free speech on Fox Network. I was defending Canada.

CO: There was just one remark you made. I just want to play a bit of this tape.

SL: Right, I suspect I know which one it is, Carol

CO: You know what it is. But just so you can explain this because people have thought that maybe this is why you got flak.

SOUNDCLIP

TUCKER CARLSON: So for example, what's two-spirit?

SL: Well, two-spirit sounds like there's someone they don't know whether they’re you know fish or fowl. They don't know whether they're frick or frac. So they're clearly confused, and you know again, if you're confused, what better place to go than to be at school?

CO: OK, now do you know what two-spirited means?

SL: Well, I do now. I’ve acted for Indigenous peoples, and I have, as I said, many contacts and friends. And it was explained to me, and I said well that's fine. I mean all those initials that you just spelled out, Carol, I still don't know what all of them are, but that doesn't matter to me.

CO: But just this two-spirited thing so that people who don't know. This is Indigenous people; it means that someone carries both the male and female spirit.

SL: Yes

CO: But what do you make of what you were asked to do? I mean this claim that this is what's being taught in schools in Canada — this 15-letter acronym — is not a real thing, right? This is something that Tucker Carlson this is what he peddles. This is what he does.

SL: Oh, of course.

CO: So why did you agree to go on?

SL: Well, I wanted to clarify it. I saw the context of it, and it was from the teachers union I believe it was in Durham, Ontario, and he's going to go on there and pick on Canada. And I said well, I could defend this.

CO: Of course, the scroll going on beneath you is “Tucker Takes on Liberal Canadian TV Host”…

SL: Is that a bad thing being called a liberal TV host?

CO: I’ve never been called anything like that.

SL: I’ve been called worse, Carol.

CO: But you do get set-up on that show, do you not?

SL: I’m not unused to debates. I've been debating since I was 15 and at university. I'm not afraid to go on and take on Tucker Carlson. I went back on this week.

CO: Well, being a liberal on “Tucker Carlson” is a bad thing.

SL: Sure, it’s like a red flag in front of a bull.

CO: Again, so you went on this show this week, after Tucker Carlson learned that you've been fired. Why did you go back on?

SL: To explain. Why not?

CO: Did you get a chance to do that?

SL: I did. As I explained to people, I received over 200 emails and many phone calls, I was proud to be on CP24. I liked my TV show. I liked the guests and the issues that we approached. And it was always I thought a pretty good public affairs show.

CO: Again, do you regret that you made this appearance on the show?

SL: No, I don’t. I regret not being on the air now. But I just could not believe that I was going to be first, suspended, and then fired for going on an American network.

CO: How do you feel about that?

SL: Well, I just think it's very immature and unfair. I miss my TV show. I enjoyed my show very, very much. I've had lots of support, as I said, I’ve been stopped in the street many times every day since Monday, with people just shaking their heads and saying this is unbelievable.

CO: Tucker Carlson called you a “free speech refugee”, he said he's serious about that, and he said you should come to the U.S. and have lunch with him. Are you going to take him up on that invitation?

SL: I haven’t been to Washington for a long time. And maybe if he’d meet me in New York, that would be a better situation.

CO: Mr. Ledrew, I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

SL: Nope, thank you very much. My pleasure.

JD: We reached Stephen LeDrew in Toronto. For more on this story, go to our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Ambient]

Tatyana Felgenhauer

Guest: Tatyana Felgenhauer

JD: The annual event is heavily scripted, self-congratulatory, and really, really dull. But it's an opportunity for journalists to stand up and to ask Russian President Vladimir Putin a question. Yesterday, the event dragged on and on for four hours. But there was one moment that got absolutely everyone's attention. And that is the moment when independent journalist Tatyana Felgenhauer stood up. And it wasn't just her question that turned heads, but the scars across her throat, still visible. This past October, Ms. Felgenhauer was at work at the Russian independent radio station Ekho Moskvy, when a man broke into the studio and stabbed her in the neck. She was put into an induced coma and spent weeks recovering. Officially, she’ll be back at work tomorrow, for the first time since the attack. We reached Tatyana Felgenhauer in Moscow.

CO: Tatyana, you were nearly killed in October just trying to do your job. Why was it important for you to be at President Putin's press conference yesterday?

TATYANA FELGENHAUER: It was a great opportunity, you know? Because it's not so easy to ask your president something you know it's important for your listeners, for your job, and most people who come to this press conference they are journalists, of course, but they ask strange things. It's not really professional. And yesterday, it was a little bit terrible. It's not real journalism. I was very upset really.

CO: But you did get to ask a question.

TF: Yes, I did. And I asked about justice. I think it's the most important thing in any country.

CO: You asked President Putin why innocent Russians were going to jail when people who were friends of Vladimir Putin's were not being punished for any of the things that they were doing or not doing.

TF: Yeah you know it's like we have two different realities in justice. So there are special justice, who friends to the president, and they just can ignore the law. And I think that it's not right. So that's why I asked about it.

CO: How did he answer your question?

TF: Honestly, he didn't. I wasn't surprised. I think the question is more important than the answer because he just said that oh it's a trial, so it should be independent, and it's not my job — it's not my business.

CO: When you stood up to ask this question, people in the room know you. They knew that you have still scars on your neck from where this man stabbed you. Everyone in the room would know that you were attacked at work for doing your job, is that right?

TF: Yeah, everyone knew that I am who I am.

CO: We talked to a friend of yours — a colleague of yours — when that happened, that horrible day. And can you just tell us, now that we've can speak with you, what do you remember of those moments when that man burst in?

TF: I was sitting in our guest room, staring at my cell phone as always. Suddenly, somebody took me to my neck, and next moment, I felt the heat. I think I tried to fight. Two guys from our security came, and I just ran. And then we called to emergency. And I was waiting and tried to stop bleeding. So I was trying to you know don't panic, just don't panic, but it was scary really.

CO: How are you doing now?

TF: Much better. Tomorrow, I come back to my work. And I think I'm OK. It was not easy, but a lot of very good people helped me. And it was really it was a miracle.

CO: I'm so glad you're OK. And you have a colleague Echo Moskvy who had to leave Russia after they set her car on fire.

TF: Do you mean Yulia Latynina?

CO: Yes.

TF: Yeah, it's a terrible story because she was attacked twice, honestly. Police they just did nothing with this attack. It's just OK, so it's just your car and what else?

CO: Russia is considered to be one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. And though there have been so many attacks on reporters, very few people are arrested.

TF: Yeah, it's true. And I thought that it's not so dangerous in Moscow like in the regions because all these journalists who work in other cities far away from decision-makers, they don't protect at all. And there are so many crimes against journalists. And I think it's a huge problem for our country.

CO: And the fact that there are so few investigations, so few arrests. But in the case of the man who attacked you, someone has been arrested. The claim is that he was just a mentally-unbalanced person. Do you think, as others do, that there is more to it? That he may have been motivated because of all the things that are said by the government, by the authorities, about journalists and about your station?

TF: Honestly, I don't know. And I'm not ready to command this question because I know that there are several experts working with this man, and especially about his mental health. Right now, I don't know is he mentally ill or not? And I just want to wait for the end of investigation.

CO: Has this changed the way you do your work?

TF: No, I think no. I cannot return to my morning show right now because I need more time for rehabilitation because the show lasts three hours, and it's a long time to talk. But tomorrow, I return to my work as always. Nothing will change, I promise.

CO: I'm very glad to hear that, Tatyana.

TF: Thank you so much.

CO: And thank you for speaking with us. Bye bye.

TF: Thank you. Thank you. Bye.

JD: Tatyana Felgenhauer is the deputy editor and a presenter for Ekho Moskvy radio in Moscow. That's where we reached her. And we have more on this story, go to our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Ambient]

Monkey-deer sex

Guest: Jean-Baptiste Leca

JD: Sika deer and snow monkeys have long co-existed at Minoo Park, in Japan. But according to a new study in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour, that co-existence has begun to get a bit hot and heavy. It appears the relationship between some of these deer and monkeys has taken a turn… for the sexual. Jean-Baptiste Leca is one of the authors behind the study. He's an assistant professor in the department of psychology at the University of Lethbridge. And that's where we reached him.

CO: Professor Leca, what's going on between the deer and the snow monkeys in Minoo Park?

JEAN-BAPTISTE LECA: Well, hetero-specific sexual interactions. In other words, we're dealing with sex between members of two different species: wild Japanese monkeys, and wild deer. So we were trying to make sense of this weird behavior.

CO: I'm sure you are. But I mean how does it work between the monkeys and the deer? I don't know how many details you want to go into, but what do they do?

JBL: How does it work? Well, we documented a series of events of adolescent female monkeys engaging in sexual solicitations and sexual mounts that they direct to male stags — so male deers.

CO: They're mounting them.

JBL: They are mounting them, and they sexually solicit them between two mounts. So they produce these very high-pitched calls that they would typically direct to male monkey mates. They even throw tantrums sometimes when the deer start to move away from them. They emit these very high-pitched calls like they are sexually frustrated by seeing their male deer-mates moving away, exactly as they would do with male monkey mates. But the most impressive is the sexual mounts that they perform on the deer’s back. So they thrust their genital area onto the back of the male deer. In other words, they sexually self-stimulate. You could argue that they masturbate on the deer’s back.

CO: What do the deer do during this?

JBL: Yes, well surprisingly, the male deer are extremely tolerant towards the behavior. They have a monkey on their back, and they seem to like it. They are extremely tolerant. They don't move much. Sometimes, they even keep on foraging. So it's almost like they pretend that nothing is really happening. What we suspect is that they might get some hygienic benefits from these interactions because between two mounts, the monkey typically sits on the back of the deer, and would engage in grooming behavior on some body parts of the deer that are not easily accessed by the deer, like the back of the neck, the top of the head, and the monkeys are actively picking up some skin parasites. So it could be that what the deer gets from these behaviors is some hygienic benefits.

CO: OK. So while the monkey is riding the back of the deer and thrusting her genitals around on it, she might be cleaning him?

JBL: That is that is a good question. So we patiently gathered a large data set that allowed us to test a number of hypotheses to try and explain this intriguing behavior. One of the first possible explanations is that the female monkeys may seek stag-mates as an outlet of their sexual frustration. So we conducted some long-term research on the development of sexual behavior in Japanese monkeys. And we found that adolescent females are usually not the adult males’ preferred sexual partners. So the adolescent females, during the mating season, they are very sexually excited, they are all over the place, but they don't have a lot of success with adult males, so we suspect that they could redirect some of their sexual arousal onto members of another species that is readily available in their environment, plus because as we just said, these male deer are extremely tolerant. They actually have safe sex with the deer. They can stimulate the genital area, and the deer will never be aggressive towards them, whereas male monkeys are kind of aggressive during the mating season. So it's basically an outlet for sexual frustration, at the same time, it's sexually stimulating their genital area in a very safe way.

CO: Seriously?

JBL: Really. It seems so. And another explanation is that it could be practice. That females could be honing their mounting skills. So a sexual outlet, safe sex, and possibly practice for sex within their own species.

CO: The deer are not getting sex out of this, so I mean how can you actually call it having sex with a deer? I mean if your dog is humping your leg you're not having sex with him.

JBL: Well, it's a sexual behavior because it's engaging in pelvic thrusting. The females, clearly, they derive some sexual gratification from thrusting their genital area onto to the back of the deer. We found that female mounting behavior among monkeys is a form of sex. So we have no doubt that we are dealing with a sexual behavior that has apparently no social function. In other words, the females don't do that to display dominance or anything.

CO: What have your colleagues said to you about your discovery?

JBL: They are intrigued, but also they're interested because it's not often that interspecies sex is reported just because even some scientists are reluctant to acknowledge the occurrence of hetero-specific sex.

CO: Because it's so weird.

JBL: Yeah, exactly. Either they view it as insignificant. Oh well, it doesn't really matter. Why should we report it? Or it's not readily explained in terms of natural selection, so we don't really know what to make of that.

CO: Professor Leca, you've made my day.

JBL: All right. Glad to hear that.

CO: Thank you so much. We will get mail.

JBL: Good.

CO: Take care. Bye bye.

JBL: All right. Bye bye.

JD: Jean-Baptiste Leca is an assistant professor in the department of psychology at the University of Lethbridge, in Alberta. That's where we reached him. For more on the sexual goings-on between snow monkeys and sika deer, and if like Carol, you would like to have your day made, there’s a video on our website: www.cbc.ca/aih

Back To Top »

Part 2: MSF Rohingya, Newfoundland police gifts

MSF Rohingya

Guest: Sidney Wong

JD: Four hundred. That's how many people the government of Myanmar admits may have died since refugees began streaming out of the country last summer. Sidney Wong has a very different number. Dr Wong is a Medical Director with Medecins Sans Frontiers. His colleagues have been treating some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people who've fled to Bangladesh. A warning: some of what they have seen and heard is quite disturbing. We reached Dr. Wong in Amsterdam.

CO: Dr. Wong, the government of Myanmar says that 400 people may have died in total. What do your colleagues estimate that total to have been?

SIDNEY WONG: So I mean I can't comment on the results from the government, but we conducted six mortality surveys ourselves in the Rohingya refugee camps. And our findings were just staggering. We estimate that at least 9,000 people died in Myanmar in Rakhine state. And what's shocking is 71 per cent of the reported deaths were caused by violence. And therefore, we estimate at least 6,700 Rohingyas have been killed, and that's a very sort of conservative estimate.

CO: And the other staggering number as I understand is the number of children you have determined were killed by violence.

SW: Absolutely. Children certainly weren't spared. And we estimate that at least 730 children below the age of five were also killed. And the majority of those deaths were either reported gunshot wounds, beaten, or shockingly, we had reports of people being burned to death in their own homes.

CO: This is over what period of time?

SW: Our data is between the period of the 25th of August and the 24th of September.

CO: Just a month?

SW: Yes.

CO: And we'll warn our listeners that it is very disturbing the details of what you discovered as to how people were killed. But can you tell us the kinds of violence that these people have encountered?

SW: I mean just from our six surveys, 71 per cent of the reported deaths were due to violence. The majority of those deaths were due to gunshot wounds. Many were due to beatings, and like I said, horrifically, we had cases reported of people being burned to death in their own homes.

CO: In those cases, entire families locked inside, as the house was set aflame.

SW: Absolutely. That is what is reported to us through the interviews that we did.

CO: Where do you get the numbers? I mean you've had tremendous amount of anecdotal evidence. We have heard horrendous stories from people who have been in the camps who have reported on it. But where do you actually get the numbers you're reporting on?

SW: So let me explain. The mortality surveys are a standard tool that we use, and we have good levels of experience in using them. What we normally do is we randomly select a large number of households spread over the refugee settlements. And then from the selected households, we asked the head of the household if they had any members of the family that had died between a specified period of time. And then to verify that information, we asked from the head of the household to provide the date, the location, and what they believe to contributions to the deaths of family members. We can then estimate the mortality rates and then the total number of deaths for the population that we surveyed.

CO: And you determined that to be 9,000 and you determined that 6,700 of these Rohingya Muslims were killed by violence?

SW: Exactly.

CO: You said at the beginning you don't want to comment on the government of Myanmar has claimed that 400 people may have died in total. Why not? Why not comment on that? That seems to be a ludicrous figure given what you have discovered.

SW: Yeah, I mean I can’t comment on how they collect that information. I can't comment on the validity. What I can say is basically what we've seen, and what we're reporting on. And that number is very different, as you just said.

CO: And most of the research you did was in the camps in Bangladesh. Or were you able to get into Myanmar at all and to determine what's going on what's happened there?

SW: No, the surveys were from the camps themselves. I think all international humanitarian organizations are struggling to get any access into Rakhine state at the moment, particularly in the north.

CO: And that's because the government of Myanmar will not allow any independent validation of any information, won't allow anyone to go in and independently determine what is going on there. They say they’re dealing with terrorism, they're dealing with violent insurgents, and they're not going to allow anybody to be in that area. Though we do know that two reporters from Reuters news agency have been arrested.

SW: Yes, no they have limited access for sure.

CO: The number you have come up with. Do you think that they would change if you were actually able to get on the ground?

SW: I mean I think it's clear that the surveys that we've done — our estimates — are very likely to be underestimates. The surveys that we did didn't cover all of the refugee settlements in Bangladesh. And the surveys certainly don't account for families who've not made it yet out of Myanmar. So it is extremely likely that they are underestimates.

CO: We know that Aung San Suu Kyi and her government dismisses the evidence, saying that the organized the murder and sexual violence are just fictions. What would you say to her? To the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Aung San Suu Kyi if you could speak to her?

SW: I think our role as a humanitarian medical organisation is to provide the world with information data that we collect and that we observe that we think is reliable. Our expectation is that governments look at the information we provide, take the responsibility to act. Certainly, the shocking figures that we see from the surveys they simply cannot go unnoticed or unanswered.

CO: Doctors Without Borders has never shied away from saying what they see, and to put blame where they believe it is. In this case, where do you point blame as to why this is happening?

SW: I mean, as you know, this is a complex situation. I mean I think from the survey reports, consistently that the people we interviewed are telling us that the violence has been perpetrated by various actors: Myanmar military, the police, and the local militias. This is what is being reported to us.

CO: Very disturbing information, Dr. Wong. I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

SW: Thank you very much.

JD: Dr. Sidney Wong is a Medical Director for MSF. We reached him in Amsterdam.

[Music: Xylophone]

Federal judge hearing

JD: Matthew Spencer Peterson is set to sit on the bench in a U.S. District Court. He's the latest judicial nominee of President Donald Trump. It's a powerful position, so naturally, the Senate had some questions for him. Some of which Matthew Spencer Peterson seemed to have a difficult time answering… most of which, in fact. From his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, here's Mr. Peterson — a man who, once again, has been nominated to be a federal judge — being asked a few legal questions by Republican Senator John Kennedy.

SOUNDCLIP

JOHN KENNEDY: Have any of you not tried a case to verdict in a courtroom? Have you ever tried a jury trial

MATTHEW SPENCER PETERSON: I have not.

JK: Civil?

MSP: No.

JK: Criminal?

MSP: No.

JK: Bench?

MSP: No.

JK: State or federal court?

MSP: I have not.

JK: Have you ever taken a deposition?

MSP: I was involved in taking depositions when I was associate at why the Wiley Ryan when I first came out of law school.

JK: How many how many depositions?

MSP: I'd be struggling to remember.

JK: Less than ten?

MSP: Yes.

JK: Less than five?

MSP: Probably somewhere within range.

JK: Have you ever tried taking a deposition by yourself?

MSP: I believe no.

JK: OK. Have you ever argued a motion in state court?

MSP: I have not.

JK: Have you ever argued a motion in federal court?

MSP: No.

JK: Well as a trial judge, you're obviously going to have witnesses. Can tell me what the Daubert Standard is?

MSP: Senator Kennedy, I don't have that readily at my disposal. But I would be happy to take a closer look at that.

JK: OK.

MSP: That is not something that I've had to contend with.

JK: Do you know what a Motion in Limine is?

MSP: Again, my background is not in litigation as when I was replying to Chairman Grassley. I haven't had to, again, do a deep dive. And I understand, and I appreciate this line of questioning. I understand the challenge that would be ahead of me if I were fortunate enough to become a district court judge.

JK: Just for the record, do you know what a Motion in Liminie is?

MSP: I would probably not be able to give you a good definition right here at the table.

JK: Do you know what the Younger Abstention Doctrine is?

MSP: I've heard of it, but again.

JK: How about the Pullman Abstention Doctrine? You’ll see that a lot in federal court.

JD: That was Matthew Spencer Peterson, being questioned by Republican Senator John Kennedy before the US Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week. He is President Donald Trump's judicial nominee for the US District Court of District of Columbia.

[Music: Ambient]

Newfoundland police gifts

Guest: Bryan Vaughn

JD: If you're driving, and you see those blue-and-red police lights in your rear-view mirror, and then you hear the wail or yelp, you get a feeling; it’s a bad feeling. A feeling that gets worse and worse as the officer approaches your car, and you roll down the window and say, "Is there something wrong, officer?" But that feeling may dissipate immediately if you've been stopped by one Newfoundland RCMP officer. He's pulling people over for an unusual reason, and then giving them something other than an enormous ticket. Constable Bryan Vaughn is in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland.

CO: Constable Vaughn, if you're not pulling drivers over for traffic offences, why are you stopping them?

BRYAN VAUGHN: Well you know, we decided this year that instead of pulling people over for traffic offenses and stopping them for what we normally stop them for, which is given tickets which results in fines, we want to reward some drivers out there who are following the rule of the road. Because you know what, in the end, the majority of people are following the rules of the road, but they never get any recognition for it. So we decided that this year, we were going to step up and go out and stop those drivers and make sure that they know that we are aware that there's many people out following the rules of the road.

CO: OK, just give us a scenario then. Tell us an example of where were you and who did you pull over?

BV: OK, so we were on Route 70 it's called in Bay Roberts, the Conception Bay Highway, and I was driving along, and we would see somebody coming at us going 50 kilometers an hour — the speed limit there is 50 kilometers an hour. So we would turn around, pull that vehicle over, and we would talk to them and tell them that you know we're actually stopping you for a good thing, which really catches them off guard because when you first walk up to the window, they are like oh, what did I do? I wasn't speeding was I? I didn't think I was. And I said well no, you're right. You weren't speeding. You were driving the speed limit, and then you can really see the confused look come on their face. Well OK, if I wasn't breaking the law, why are you stopping me? So that's when I would kind of let them know that the Bay Roberts RCMP and the Bay Roberts Mary Brown’s, who is our sponsor, would like to thank you for following the rules of the road, and we'd like to reward you with a gift card to Mary Brown’s. So they were very shocked by that, but pleasantly shocked.

CO: Wow! And so you gave them this and then it went beyond that, right? You've not just handed out gift cards. Tell us the next stage that you took this to?

BV: Well, we used to give cards as kind of our cover because we did do it last year, but we only gave out gift cards last year. So this year, I said I wanted to and I liked the word I like to use I like to WestJet this thing. And that's just a play on the fact that WestJet is always out doing their big Christmas giveaways every year. So I kind of saw that and I said well, you know what? I think I could do something like that. So I spoke to Mike Moutray, who is a part of the marketing team for Mary Brown’s, which is a Canadian 100 per cent Canadian-owned company. They said well, you know? what we'll give you 1,500 dollars to buy prizes with. So with that money, we'd go around, we'd give them the gift card, and I'd ask them what's on your Santa's wish list this year? And you know a lot of people, and god love them for doing it, their answers were usually oh, good friends, good family, food, and health. That was that was the answer you got from a lot of people. But, unfortunately, I can't provide any of that stuff. So we would keep pushing and kind of asking well you know that's all great stuff, and we love that. That’s exactly what Christmas is about, but what's something that's on your Santa wish list? What’s a want? And that's when we start getting oh, well a TV would be nice, and a PlayStation 4. And, of course, one young girl said a car. So you know that wasn't happening, but it was it was nice for her to throw that suggestion at us.

BV: So using the ruse of the gift card, we ended up getting a few ideas. And the very next day, Myself and Mike Moutray, we went out and we bought all those items with the money that was provided by Mary Brown’s.

CO: And what? Did then present it to the people who had said this is on their Santa's wish list?

BV: Yeah, so what I would do is when I stopped them and pulled them over, I had them sign a little waiver so that I'd end up getting their name, their address, and their phone number. So that gave me where they were at. And then I take that information and know exactly where I had to go. But using their phone number, I would call them on Monday, and said oh hey, we need to come by between three and four, and we're going to show you the clip of you being pulled over getting your gift card because we need to make sure that we have that permission, and that you like what you have. So that made sure that they were home for the gift giving process.

CO: So you showed up at someone's door with a television set?

BV: I showed up at someone’s door with the television set. I showed up at someone's door with a PlayStation 4. Another person got another TV. So yeah, we actually showed up right at the door, and we remind them, so you remember we told you we want to know what you wanted from Santa? Well you said you wanted a TV, so Bay Roberts RCMP and the Bay Roberts Mary Brown’s has bought you a 40-inch, flat-screen TV. And we'd bring it in. The look on their face them was even more shocked when I stopped them for following the rules.

CO: Just describe that look?

BV: Oh, it's just like jaw dropped, eyes wide, and a few of them start to get teary eyed, especially the two end up with the TV because they just said, for both of them, it was something that they couldn't afford at the time.

CO: What are people in Bay Robert saying about your campaign?

BV: Oh well, the word is spreading fast I can tell you that. I've been getting a lot of text messages, a lot of Facebook messages. The video on the Mary Brown's page has been viewed close to 100,000 views, and it hasn't even been posted for 24 hours. So it's really spreading like wildfire, and the people in Bay Roberts are delighted with it. They're happy to see the RCMP out stopping people who are following the rules of the road because you know Bay Roberts is getting a bad reputation that you know there's a lot of car accidents, and a lot of serious injuries that are happening out in that area.

CO: How bad has it been on the highways — Conception Bay Highway or the other ones?

BV: You know it's been a rough year for sure, specifically in our area. You know we've had five or six people fatally injured on our highway in a short period of time during our summer months. And you know it has a strong effect on everybody in the community because it's not a huge community, and everybody knows everybody or has a connection to everybody. So everyone feels it when something like that happens.

CO: Well, congratulations on this idea, Constable Vaughn. And for keeping the highway safe, thank you.

BV: Perfect. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me.

CO: Bye bye.

BV: Bye now.

JD: We reached RCMP Constable Brian Vaughan in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland.

[Music: Folk rock]

Listener Response: PEI story

JD: PEI, ready or not. Your As It Happens population boom is about to hit. Last night, we ran a story about the province's top newsmakers of the year. The list is compiled by a PEI writer named Dave Atkinson and his buddies. As Dave told us, his list — or their list — isn't a conventional year-ender of big, earthshattering, events. Instead, it's a celebration of just how little it takes to make the news on the island. We heard about the drama of the string in the can of tomatoes, and the possibily, but also possibly-not, stolen shorts. And for some listeners, those stories sounded like the kind of news they could get used to. Chloe Dozer tweeted, quote, "See, now I want to move, lock, stock, and barrel to PEI. Those are the kind of Top Stories I want to be close enough to experience." Sue Ferguson agreed. So did Teresa McClain, who wrote, quote, "PEI is so charming. Would be a much less stressful place to live." Sara Parks could relate. She writes, quote, "New Brunswick headlines make me cry for joy every time I get back there," she wrote. "When the front page headline is 'More Mosquitoes Expected This Spring', life is so, so good." The only real bone of contention, to be frank, came from Eric Charron-Peters who complained, "The case of the missing shoes should be on here." To which, Stephanie Cairns wrote simply, "Shhhhh." Could there be a cover-up afoot? I don’t know. Not to worry. PEI has the journalists to track this one down, and we'll be watching for the missing shoes on next year's list.

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Part 3: Encore: Albatross, Saskatchewan SUV mice

McLachlin TSE promo

JD: One of our rights as Canadians — as laid out in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — is the right to a trial within a reasonable time. That was the basis of a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada last year, known in legal circles as the Jordan decision — based on a case in which criminal charges were dismissed against an accused man. The Court ruled that justice delayed is justice denied. That decision paved the way for more than 200 additional acquittals. This weekend, on "The Sunday Edition", host Michael Enright speaks with outgoing Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin. Here is part of that conversation.

SOUNDCLIP

BEVERY MCLACHLIN: Everyone who is charged with an offence has a Charter right. It's part of our Constitution to be tried within a reasonable time. And as a court, it's up to us to make sure that that right doesn't just get lost because people are casual about how long it's taking. The justice system has to act promptly and effectively. So this was the whole import of that particular decision. But yes, we care about the victims immensely.

MICHAEL ENRIGHT: I don't want to drag you into the tall grass of politics, but were you saying to the government look, you've got to appoint more crowns, you've got to appoint more judges because the whole system is getting clogged up?

BM: We were saying just those things I think without saying them expressly. But we were saying we need to have an effective justice system that is capable of rendering justice without breaching the Charter, which is our fundamental law. And we can do it. I believe we can do it. And since that decision, many steps are being taken at all levels: governments, prosecutors, judges. We are looking for ways to make, and we're working on ways to make, our criminal process more effective.

JD: That’s Beverley McLachlin, outgoing Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Today is her last day in that office. Her wide-ranging conversation with Michael Enright airs on "The Sunday Edition" on Sunday, right after the 9 a.m. news, a half-hour later, I guess, in Newfoundland. Or you can listen to it online at you leisure: www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition.

[Music: Pop rock]

Encore: Albatross

Guest: Chris Jordan

JD: As the year comes to a close, we like to look back here at As It Happens. Look back on some of the most memorable interviews that have aired on the program in the past year. This next interview was memorable...for a heartbreaking reason. It was about thousands of decaying bodies of albatrosses, filled with pieces of plastic waste that the birds had consumed. In May, Carol spoke with the photographer Chris Jordan, who travelled to the island of Midway in the north Pacific eight years earlier, and documented the disturbing sight. At the time of the interview, Mr. Jordan's new film called, "Albatross", was set to premiere. Here's an encore of that interview.

CO: Chris, first of all, what drew you to explore this island atoll called Midway?

CHRIS JORDAN: Well, for many years I have been making artworks that are about facing the enormity of our mass consumption. And when I learned about this tragedy that's happening in Midway, you know these birds whose stomachs are filled with handfuls of our waste. I just felt drawn there magnetically as soon as I learned about it.

CO: When you first arrived — the first time you were there — what was your immediate impression of the place?

CJ: Well, the first time I went all of the live albatrosses were off the island. It was a time of year when the island was basically empty. And so it was this lonely, desolate place covered with the bodies of tens of thousands of baby birds, whose stomachs were filled with plastic.

CO: This is very disturbing. The photos are so unsettling when you see them. It's hard to do justice to what you have been able to capture in your photographs and radio. But can you describe what you photographed?

CJ: Each of the images, the way I framed them, is the camera is looking straight down on the body of a dead bird. The carcasses of the birds were mostly decomposed. You can see bird skeletons and a few feathers left where their body used to be. And right where their stomach was is a handful of plastic bottle caps and cigarette lighters and toothbrushes and assorted shards of plastic.

CO: Where did the birds consume the plastic?

CJ: Well, the albatrosses make their base there on Midway Island. But they're some of the world's most efficient and sophisticated flying machines. So they fly out over the entire Pacific Ocean collecting food. They zoom across the surface of the water with very sharp eyes looking and whenever they find something small enough to gulp down then they just grab it. And this is what they've been doing for tens of millions of years and they've never had to be able to distinguish what they should eat from what they shouldn't eat. Because up until very recently, everything that floated on the surface of the water was organic.

CO: This Island, Midway Island, or atoll is just thousands of kilometers away from any continent. I guess in the middle of nowhere as you might say. And it is a sanctuary we thought for these kinds of animals. This is a place where they would not be touched by humans and their garbage. But this is very close to what’s called the Pacific garbage patch, isn't it?

CJ: Yes, Midway is right in the very middle of the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by 60 million square miles of open sea on all sides. For many years, there was a U.S. military base on that island. But the military recently turned the island over to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and they made it into a national wildlife refuge. By all of those measures it ought to be this incredibly pristine, beautiful sanctuary for the birds. And yet, like all creatures, they have to navigate a polluted world. And the albatross's is particularly susceptible to picking up plastic because of their feeding habits.

CO: The photos, as we just mentioned, are so disturbing, but there's a kind of terrible beauty to them because you see these colorful plastic, all these objects like the bottle caps and the cigarette lighters and everything. In an abstract way it has a kind of beauty to it. But how did you feel when you are photographing and seeing those birds?

CJ: Well, it was really a devastating experience. And I came back from that trip I think in a state of depression and my team I think all had that experience. We were just shocked and devastated by the horror of it and by the power of the symbolism you know what it says about the health of our world.

CO: But you went back?

CJ: Yeah, what happened to me is I wanted to publish that work as a book and I wanted it to be helpful you know to be inspirational. I don't want to have people feel depressed or shocked or filled with horror. And everybody I showed the images to all have all those bad feelings. And so I went to my friend, the writer and poet Terry Tempest Williams, and I asked her to write an introduction to my book that would be hopeful. And so we met and I showed her the photographs and we cried together and she said I can't write anything hopeful about this. This is the most hopeless thing I've ever seen. And she said the only thing she could think of was that maybe there was more to the story. And she said you have to go back to that island and look again, see what you haven't seen. And I'll never forget the experience the second time I went to Midway of stepping off the plane and meeting a million of these magnificent, enormous, spiritual beings that are the albatross. They’re as big as eagles. And there are so many of them on the ground. You know like to walk between them you have to very carefully step so that you don't step on them. And the astonishing thing is they have no fear of humans. As you walk among them, not only do they not run away and fly away. They actually come toward us and nibble on our shoelaces and look right at us out of curiosity.

CO: You went back when there were birds there — living birds — as opposed to all the dead ones that you encountered the first time.

CJ: Yes, that was the antidote for the horror: the tremendous beauty and grace and elegance of these creatures. And when we were there, the biologists told us oh, you have to come in February when 350,000 baby albatrosses are hatching from their eggs. And so we went back again and we were able to get up so close to them we could actually put our camera lenses in the nest as the baby is hatching from the egg and the mother is standing there tending to her baby and the lens to the edge of the lens is actually touching her and she was completely OK with it. They accepted our presence.

CO: Disturbing the nests that didn't have an effect on the mother's relationship with the birds?

CJ: Well, they don't experience it as a disturbance. You know we have to be a little careful like if you walk up and loom over them then they get agitated. They get scared. It took us a while — it took us a few trips — to develop a kind of relational ability to move in really slowly and be down near the ground and to not make eye contact with them to just sort of very slowly move towards them with our cameras and to monitor their agitation. And after a while, we developed this ability to get in really, really, close to them without them being at all agitated or scared of us. And then they would just keep right on feeding their baby and cooing and we were able to get this astonishingly intimate footage.

CO: But if you say this was the antidote — was seeing these beautiful birds alive and thriving like that. But you then when you're looking at them do you imagine that they are, in fact if not full of plastic now, that they will be?

CJ: Well, that's the really awful part. The biologists on the island who are studying them are finding that they all have plastic inside them. But it's varying levels and nobody knows exactly why? Some of them are completely full and as they feed it to their babies and the babies completely filled with plastic until they literally can't get anything more down their throat. And they starve to death even though their stomach is full. But others of them have less plastic and some of them have very little. And so while many of them are dying from the plastic, the population of albatrosses, at least for now, is actually increasing. The albatross's actually don't need us to save them. You know they're not going extinct. And so in that way what's happening on Midway can be something that we receive as a message for ourselves.

CO: But you said that you went back because you wanted to create something that didn't shock people or fill them with horror. Why not shock and fill them with horror if that means confronting the fact that this is garbage that we have produced?

CJ: I'm not against shock and horror, in fact, I really believe in facing the dark realities of our time as the first step in coming out of denial. So we have to look you know into the darkness. It's just that that's not the whole story. You know like there's all this bad news about the environment and about social injustices and wars around the world. Like every day there's this tidal wave of bad news and we tend to kind of focus on the bad news. And I think the source of a lot of hopelessness and depression is that it begins to look like that's the whole picture. But if you kind of can widen out the perspective and be able to contain all of the bad news. Contain the horror then the sadness and anger that we feel the world is still a miracle. And there's so much beauty and it we can feel our love for the world and we still get to be happy. The real challenge is to develop the capacity to hold it all. To simultaneously feel hopeless and hopeful and to feel horror and be connected with beauty and loss.

CO: Your film called, “Albatross”, is going to premiere this week. And then what will you do? Will you go back? Do have another project because I know this is not the first that you have done that about the garbage of the world and its effects on nature. What are you planning next?

CJ: Well, the “Albatross”, film is going to have a least a year of making tours of screenings around the world. I'm going to go to a bunch of festivals screening it. I want to give the film as a gift — as a public artwork — rather than to treat it as a commercial film because that's how it came to me. You know the whole story of Midway came to me as this tremendous gift of healing and I wanted to just pass right through me to whoever wants to experience it. And also there's something that feels wrong about making profit from the suffering of the birds that I love. And then as a next project I'm not sure yet. But one thing I know is that I'm just really passionately in love with the oceans. So I'm thinking I want to get out somewhere out into the ocean again sometime soon.

CO: All right, Chris. We're going to give people a link so they can see these images and the film. And I appreciate speaking with you, thank you.

CJ: Thanks so much for having me on your show. Cheers.

JD: That was an encore presentation of Carol’s conversation with Chris Jordan, the photographer behind those disturbing pictures of dead albatrosses, filled with pieces of plastic, on the island of Midway. And if you are curious to see those photographs again, they’re on our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Sad piano]

Goose Bay mayor obit

JD: The town of Happy Valley Goose Bay has lost its mayor, and Labrador has lost one of it’s fiercest advocates. Last weekend, John Hickey was outside of town when the shotgun he was carrying accidentally went off into his face. Amazingly, he was able to make it back to the road and flag down help. But today, John Hickey died in hospital, in St. John's. He was 62 years old. Hubert Hickey is John Hickey's brother. He spoke with Anthony Germain, host of the "St. John's Morning Show”.

SOUNDCLIP

HUBERT HICKEY: Well, it was an injury. It was a you know gun injury, and he lost a lot of blood. It's amazing to get out on Skidoo and wave someone down. I mean he had to wave someone down to get their attention to call for an ambulance. The staff at the hospital were second-to-none. There’s people who came back from Christmas parties to help. It was fantastic.

ANTHONY GERMAIN: A lot of people, of course, knew your brother very well as a politician, and they think of him that way. How would you like people to remember your brother?

HH: Well you know, my brother was you know a voice, he was passionate. He had passion for Labrador like you would believe, and the people of Labrador. And he believed in helping, and he wanted to help people. You know his reason for getting back in politics I mean politics is a blood thing, and once you get it in, it's hard to get it out. But he saw so many things he could do, and he thought that would make things better. And things he wants to get for Labrador and improve. Even municipally, he still saw an opportunity, and saw things that you know, in the long run, would help. And so you know he just felt there was something he wanted to give back. He just loved giving back to you know people.

AG: I know this is a difficult subject for you, but one last question. How do you and your family how do you process such a random freak accident like this by a guy who really knew the bush inside out? How do you make sense of this?

HH: You can't. You know you just can't make sense of it. I mean we honestly thought that he was going to pull through this. And then when we talked to the surgeon, who was fantastic in the Health Science Centre. And by the way, the people at the Health Science Centre are fantastic. You know like what do you do?

JD: Hubert Hickey is the brother of the late mayor of Happy Valley Goose Bay, Labrador, John Hickey, who died today, after suffering an accidental gunshot wound last weekend.

[Music: Rock]

Saskatchewan SUV mice

Guest: Randelle Agrey

JD: Randelle Agrey's vehicle has been at a garage in Saskatchewan for weeks. She's has been having a lot of little problems with it. And every time one of those little problems is removed, another one shows up. It started this summer — less than a year after she purchased her Dodge Journey. That's when Ms. Agrey noticed a smell — the kind a pine air freshener could not cover. It turned out that smell was a dead mouse. Then the situation got worse. And now, Ms. Agrey is dealing with a bill for hundreds of dollars. We reached her at home in Porcupine Plain, Saskatchewan.

CO: Randelle, can you describe this dead mouse smell in your car?

RANDELLE AGREY: Yeah, it just kind of started getting quite potent really fast, and we didn't really know what was going on. So we did some investigating, and it took a little while, but my husband ended up under all the foam and stuff, near the spare tire from the inside of the vehicle. He did tear that foam out and stuff, and he found a dead mouse.

CO: And so once you got rid of the mouse, did that get rid of the smell?

RA: Yeah, well we did use lots of sprays, right? And that happened in July, and then it was like two-and-a half-months later that I got this infestation.

CO: Do you want to tell us about that?

RA: There was no evidence that I could see was my naked-eye on the floor of the vehicle. The carpet is black, but when I did get into my vehicle, I drove it on a Sunday. And I had a toilet paper roll in there, and it was intact. And then I went to drive it on a Tuesday morning to go to work, and it was completely torn apart, covered in mouse poop. So then I did call, and we started this SGI process. And there was no was no evidence extremely overtop of the carpet what we could see. I did catch those two mice before I did take it in. But when they did get the process starting, and tearing apart the carpets and all of that, they did notice that there has been huge evidence of them living underneath the carpets.

CO: How many mice do you think were living in your car?

RA: I don't know that. I only caught those two, and then they have to leave traps in it for seven days without mice before they can even touch it. So they did that, and they never caught any more.

CO: Who's they? What stage where you when you had specialists looking into this?

RA: I had called SGI, which is our insurance company in Saskatchewan for vehicles, they advised me to take it to the nearest place that does the disinfection and the sterilization of the vehicle.

CO: What were they able to do?

RA: Basically, they had to locate the problem of where these mice were coming in, and get rid of all the damage that has occurred because of it. They waited their seven days, and then they could touch the vehicle. And they scoped the whole hvac system, which is usually where if people do get in their vehicle under normal circumstances, that's usually where they come in by. So they scoped all of that, and there was zero evidence of mice whatsoever. So then our insurance company gave them the go ahead well, now we need to rip out the carpets. So they did that, and that's where they found that hole.

CO: Now, how much did all this cost you?

RA: It hasn’t cost me anything yet. When I pick up my vehicle, when it is ready to take home — which most likely won't be before Christmas, and it's already been five weeks — then I do owe my deductible of seven hundred dollars, which I would have no problem paying. Absolutely no problem paying if you know it happened by any other means, which I understand happens. But you know since it's due to a missing piece while being manufactured, then absolutely I believe Chrysler should pay.

CO: What's the piece that was missing?

RA: It's just an underbody hole plug.

CO: And did Chrysler admit that this hole plug was missing?

RA: Yes, they admit that it was missing. There was a bulletin that did go out stating that all 2016 Dodge Journeys did have this hole plug missing. Basically, what the bulletin went to entail was that if you had water damage from going to too big of puddles or anything, that they would replace like your carpets and stuff. But they never took into account mice. And this was a bulletin; it was not recall. So they did not have to let anybody know about it. So yeah, we were never told, we were never offered to get it fixed, nothing.

CO: Did the dealership know about this bulletin and about this this hole before it sold you this Dodge Journey?

RA: No, it would have been right after.

CO: So it could have been fixed. And because it wasn't, these mice got in. Do you consider this a health issue?

RA: Well, at the time most definitely. When I did realize that one of those mice that I did catch was a deer mouse, of course, that was when I knew like I am not doing this any differently. I need this vehicle fixed from top to bottom. And yes, you know what? We could have taken it to a dealership to get a new plug, but we didn't even know what it was. The only way we knew that was because we had to take it through insurance, and they had to take out all the carpets to find that issue. So yes, I mean by the time that that was realized, like it was too late to take it to the dealership. And even if I was they would have, they would have replaced the plug. And none of the treatments and none of the replacements of the inside my vehicle would have been dealt with. And I have kids, so no, that wasn't happening for me.

CO: And you mentioned the health issue with the deer mice is that they carry viruses, Isn't that right?

RA: Yes.

CO: Your kids though were driving around in that car before you knew what it was?

RA: Yeah, definitely.

CO: One of our CBC reporters in Saskatoon, they contacted Chrysler's corporate office that says they won't pay, and the dealership says the same that this is on you.

RA: Yeah. Does that not seem outrageous?

CO: That's why we're talking to you because I think a lot of people will find this outrageous.

RA: Yes!

CO: Randelle, I really appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

RA: Thank you very much.

CO: I hope you get wheels for Christmas. Maybe a letter to Santa

RA: Tell me about it!

CO: Thank you.

RA: Yes.

CO: Bye.

RA: Bye.

JD: We reached Randelle Agrey in Porcupine Plane, Saskatchewan.

[Music: Rock]

Harry Potter chapter

JD: There are one million, eighty-four thousand, one-hundred-and-seventy words in the seven books of the Harry Potter series. I know what you're thinking and I agree: It’s not enough. I mean, yes, there's a lot of Harry-Potter-related literature. And a lot of extremely unofficial stuff, including some clunkily-written fan fiction, including my own. My point is, we need more. So sorting hats off to the fine people at Botnik Studios, who have addressed the deficit...through the magic of computers. Botnik Studios fed all seven of the books into a predictive text program, which then produced a new entry in the young wizard's saga. It's called "Harry Potter And The Portrait Of What Looked Like A Large Pile of Ash". Gather 'round, and be enchanted, as I read from Chapter Thirteen: "The Handsome One".

[Music: I’ve never heard this before]

JD: "The castle grounds snarled with a wave of magically magnified wind. The sky outside was a great black ceiling, which was full of blood. The only sounds drifting from Hagrid's hut were the disdainful shrieks of his own furniture. Magic: it was something that Harry Potter thought was very good."Leathery sheets of rain lashed at Harry's ghost as he walked across the grounds toward the castle. Ron was standing there and doing a kind of frenzied tap dance. He saw Harry, and immediately began to eat Hermione's family.” And then, after a confusing battle with Voldemort and some Death Eaters, the three wizards return to The Great Hall. The chapter concludes, quote: "Harry looked around and then fell down the spiral staircase for the rest of the summer. "'I'm Harry Potter,' Harry began yelling. "The dark arts better be worried, oh boy!'"

JD: We've tweeted a link to the whole gripping chapter on Twitter, that is: @cbcasithappens. Just a reminder though to all you ravenous Potter fans from Albus Dumbledore himself, it does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live. Remember that.

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December 15, 2017 episode transcript

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