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The AIH Transcript for August 1, 2022

PAUL HUNTER: Hello. I'm Paul Hunter.

TALIA SCHLANGER: Good evening. I'm Talia Schlanger. This is As It Happens.

[Theme]

Prologue

CH: Tonight:

PH: Uncharted waters. A ship carrying grain has left the port of Odesa for this first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A local MP who was there today calls it one more sign of Putin's failure.

TS: A mirage made in heaven. The Saudi crown prince has unveiled his latest plans for a futuristic haven in the desert. But a sustainable city expert says, to her, it looks more like hell.

PH: One man's treasure in a whole lot of other people's trash. We hear the latest from a man in Wales who wants to dig through his city's landfill for a hard drive he pitched -- that contained millions worth of Bitcoin.

TS: Tusk oriented. A scientist in Norway tells us about a visitor to the country's southern coastline who's causing glee and division -- a walrus dubbed Freya.

PH: Totally tubular. 60 Wall Street has been called New York City's most “coked out” subway entrance. But preservation activists say this remnant of 1980s architectural excess deserves protection.

TS: And… hot under the collar. Spain's prime minister urges office workers to help address climate change by changing how they dress. Like he did when he spoke to the press, sans necktie.

TS: As It Happens, the Monday edition. Radio that appreciates a politician who's willing to stick his neck out.

Part 1: Ukraine Grain Leaves, Bitcoin Dig Proposal, '80s New York subway

Ukraine Grain Leaves

Guest: Oleksiy Goncharenko

TS: Today, a large ship with a blue hull left the port of Odesa. It was a scene that wouldn't have been newsworthy six months ago. But the Lebanon-bound vessel carrying 26,000 tonnes of corn is the first to leave the port since the Russian invasion began. Ukraine is one of the world's largest exporters of grain. But the Russian blockade in the Black Sea has severely limited those exports, leading to fears about the global food supply. Oleksiy Goncharenko is a Ukrainian MP. We reached him in Odesa.

PH: Mr. Goncharenko, Ukraine's minister of infrastructure posted a video to Twitter today of the ship sounding its horn as it left the port. What was that like for you? I take it you were there watching?

OLEKSIY GONCHARENKO: Yeah, I was there witnessing it. And it was a big moment not only for Ukraine but also for the whole world because that is the day of at least partial liberation of the Black Sea from this barbaric blockade of Putin, which has awful consequences for the whole planet. The food crisis, which causes peaking of food prices throughout the whole world. Millions of people starving. New waves of migrants and refugees. Social unrest, hunger strikes. So, all of what Putin wants to see in the world, unfortunately, he could achieve it through this blockade. And finally, this blockade failed. And the first ship from February 24 left Odesa port.

PH: What was the mood around you? Was it celebratory? Because, of course, you know, the war continues.

OG: The war continues. And I can tell you that today's news is -- and this event is -- even more important for the world than for Ukraine. But many people definitely were happy to see it also as a sign of one more failure of Putin. He tried to annex and to take Kyiv. He failed it. Tried to take Odesa, the biggest city on the Black Sea, my native city, and which I… the region of which I represent in the parliament. And he failed. So, even from this point of view, that is important.

PH: How important is it for Ukraine to get these shipments moving again?

OG: It is important because definitely for us… for us in this war of attrition, which we already have, unfortunately, in Ukraine, in this war, every dollar matters. And we are speaking about probably billions of dollars to Ukrainian economy. Also, it means that Ukrainian farmers will have financial resources to… to make a seeding season in autumn. And that means that Ukraine will be secure next year from the point of view of food. And not only Ukraine, but also we will again export the grain to the world because Ukraine is a breadbasket of not only Europe like it was told before but of the whole world like we see today. So, from all these points of view, definitely, that was… this is important. But also, I would like to tell you that we should be very, very attentive because Putin will not stop the attempts to disrupt this deal, to destroy this corridor, to prevent Ukrainian grain from reaching over the world food market like he did when even before the ink on the agreement dried, he attacked Odesa with missiles, and Odesa port with missiles. So, a clear violation of the deal. So, he will definitely continue such attacks. And so we should be very, very attentive.

PH: And yet, the Kremlin has called the departure of the ship, quote, very positive. I wonder what's in this for Russia?

OG: Well, what would you want them to say? That they… that… that is their failure. And they are very unhappy that they will never say this, never acknowledge it, but definitely, they are very unhappy, and definitely, they don't like it. So you should be absolutely sure about this.

PH: Authorities in your country say there are, what, 16 more ships with supplies ready to go. But again, the war continues. Farmers are struggling. Harvest levels are lower than they have been in the past, of course. How much relief do you think this agreement can really bring to the… the food crisis, especially in Africa?

OG: It's given some relief. You know, it's very important from a psychological point of view that there is an answer, that it is not a full blockade. Speaking about numbers, probably we’re speaking… the deal for four months for the moment. Our calculations show that we can't make more than three million tonnes because there are some restrictions in this deal. For example, that the ships can move only during daytime in this area. So we can’t do like five million like it was before the invasion. So probably three. And Putin will do everything he can to make it, I don’t know, 2.5 or two million tonnes. So you can take it for two, 2.5 million tonnes, multiply four months, and you will receive near 10 million tonnes, which will go to the world food market. It's good. It will… it will give relief. But it is not a complete answer, definitely. But better something then nothing. But, like, the complete answer is Putin understands only one language: language of force. So, if NATO warships will be in the Black Sea, that will be the end of this blackmail of Putin. Because in reality, after Ukrainian army destroyed part of his Black Sea fleet after liberation of Snake Island in the Black Sea, he is in reality not capable to keep the blockade against the warships. Yeah, he can attack civilian ships not escorted, but not more. So that will be the best option. But unfortunately, for the moment, the West is not ready for such steps.

PH: The deal expires in four months. What happens then?

OG: Nobody knows.

PH: Huh. Short answer.

OG: Yes, short and clear. We are ready to continue the deal. We are ready to continue shipments. But who can say what will be in four months?

PH: Well, Mr. Goncharenko, good luck, and thank you for speaking with us.

OG: Thank you very much.

PH: Bye-bye.

TS: That was Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian MP in Odesa. That's where we reached him. You can find that on our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[instrumental]

Bitcoin Dig Proposal

Guest: James Howell

TS: Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency in use today. Even after the recent crypto crash, one Bitcoin is worth about 23,000 U.S. dollars. Just one could buy you a car. One thousand would make you a multimillionaire. Now imagine you had 8,000 Bitcoins stored on an old hard drive -- and then you accidentally threw that hard drive in the garbage. That's exactly what happened to James Howells. In 2013, he threw out a drive that contained what is now worth $181 million of bitcoin. It has since been sitting among tons of landfill, waiting to be recovered -- which is exactly what Mr. Howells intends to do. After years of getting no help from his city council, he's now put together an multi-million dollar excavation plan that he plans to present to them in the coming days. We reached James Howell in Newport, Wales.

PH: Mr. Howells, you've been at this for years now. How frustrating has it been to know that this hard drive is so close and yet so out of reach?

JAME HOWELL: Obviously, I mean, it's extremely frustrating because obviously, the value has kept increasing over time. But at the same time, it's… you know, it's not the same situation as a lost lottery ticket, which would disintegrate. I know that the hard drive is still there and the data is still on it, and it's not going anywhere. So there's always the opportunity that when Newport city council do come to the table and negotiate with us, that, you know, this is still possible.

PH: Do you remember the moment you realized you'd lost it?

JH: Yes.

PH: What was that like?

JH: It was pretty, pretty gut-wrenching, to be honest. No… obviously, nobody knew exactly what was going to happen with the Bitcoin price, but we strongly suspected. And what's happening right now, I've kind of dealt with a long time ago. And it's even to the point where it is probably going to get worse over time because the Bitcoin price now has taken off, and it's only going to increase further over time as adoption around the world grows. So the value of my coins is going to increase. And we'll be… instead of talking about millions, we'll be talking about billions. You know, I have to deal with that now.

PH: So, what does your newest plan to retrieve the hard drive entail? How would it work?

JH: So I put together a team of professional businesses from the U.K. and Europe, who are each experts in all the areas of expertise that you would need in order to reclaim a landfill site to commercial standards. So the dig team I've got involved they do landfill reclamation in the U.K. on a regular basis. They deal with environment agencies. They deal with local agencies and governments. They do this on a day-to-day basis. If Newport city council wanted to reclaim that land, these are the people they would go to. So I've gone to those people, and I brought them onto my team. I've put together the best data recovery experts in the world who have previously worked on high-profile projects. They've come to the table, and they're saying, look, you know, this is technically possible depending on the condition of the hard drive when we find it, which is something that nobody can estimate. And basically, we've got asbestos waste management teams and recycling facilities involved. And basically, what we want to do is solve two problems with one solution. That particular piece of land, when the material was buried there, there were no recycling rules in place. So you can imagine the type of material that's going to be in the land that we want to dig. So we're actually cleaning that land up while searching for a hard drive at the same time.

PH: Am I right? You would also be using robotic dogs to help search through all the landfill?

JH: It would work in conjunction with, for example, a digger. So a digger would, you know, scoop up a bucketful of waste, which would expose fresh material. The dogs and the A.I. robotics would come along, scan that freshly revealed material. Is there any hard drives? Nope. Next bucket comes along. We do another scan. Just kind of scan, scoop, scan, scoop. And if we find a hard drive, at that point, we'll be able to manually retrieve it before it goes through the filtering facility. What you've got to remember is every time we take a bucket and scoop a bucket of waste material up, the hard drive then could fall out. It could fall to the ground and smash to pieces. It could be in good condition right now. We have to minimize the drop distances at every opportunity. So there's a lot to take into consideration. We're trying to find a needle in a haystack. But we have to do it very, very carefully as well.

PH: Keyword and all of that strikes me is if, if you find it. It's a huge plan.

JH: Yeah, no doubt. No doubt.

PH: It's a not small landfill, right? Yeah, I got to ask. I mean, what are the odds? I mean, what are the odds that you'll find it intact?

JH: Pretty confident the A.I. technology can be trained to identify objects that look like a hotdog. We're quite confident that we've narrowed down the area we want to search. And we're quite confident that the technology will… will find that hard drive.

PH: Key to all of it, really at this point then, is getting permission from city council, which has been resistant. What is their issue?

JH: Well, other than what they've said publicly to the media, that this is a big operation, they don't know who will finance it, is there a risk free environment and the permit issues we don't actually know because they haven't come to the table and agreed a meeting with us to tell us what their concerns are. We believe we can overcome all of their concerns, either with, you know, procedure or technology. There is no showstopper of a reason why this project can't go ahead and be completed successfully. And if there were, I would hold my hands up and say, okay, fair enough. It can't be done. But it can.

PH: You've spent, what, almost a decade on this? What do people in your family say? Do they ever say, why don't you just give up?

JH: Why would I do that? You know, the data is still there. It's not going anywhere. It's still retrievable. People dig at the bottom of the ocean for, you know, lost treasure ships hundreds of years later. Why would I give up when the object is still there, and it's my property? I should be entitled to go and retrieve my property. In my opinion, you know, it wasn't put there purposely. It was a complete accident. So, you know, I don't believe I should give up.

PH: It must be maddening…

JH: And, to be honest. People… some people say to me, you know, why didn't you just forget about it? How do you forget about something like this? It's not as if I can just erase my memory. Just deal with it. Get on with it. And the best thing I can do is put together a legitimate plan in order to try and retrieve it. And I'm hoping to be able to present that to the local decision-makers in the local council.

PH: Do you ever find yourself just looking at the landfill and knowing that it's out there somewhere waiting to be found?

JH: Yeah, sometimes. I've driven past there a few times, and I think, you know, I should be over there digging right now, but I can't get past step one at the moment, which is engaging with the local council. And I hope that when they see that the professionalism of our current team and the level of competence of those guys, I think they might come to the table and at least have a conversation with us. That's what I hope.

PH: How careful are you with what you toss in the trash these days?

JH: [chuckling] Yeah. I don't go to the landfill site that often. Let's just say that. [PH] I haven't done a clear-out for a long time.

PH: [chuckling] All right, James Howells, I appreciate your time. May your dig, if it happens, be a fruitful one.

JH: Thank you very much.

PH: Thank you.

JH: Have a good day.

PH: Bye-bye.

TS: That was James Howells, still on the hunt for a hard drive he lost more than eight years ago. We reached him in Newport, Wales.

[Chill-hop]

'80s New York subway

Guest: Liz Waytkus

TS: Picture a Manhattan version of Miami Vice, and you have the atrium of 60 Wall Street in New York City. It's a perfectly preserved time capsule of the over-the-top glitz of Manhattan's booming financial district of 40 years ago. And it's accessible to anyone hopping off the subway there. But now, the building's new owners want to make some changes to the atrium. They want to tone it down -- by tearing it down. Liz Waytkus is the executive director of Docomomo, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving modern architecture. She's also one of the leaders of the fight to save 60 Wall Street's atrium. We reached her in New York.

PH: Ms. Waytkus, give us a snapshot of this place. Imagine I'm coming up the escalator from the subway and I'm entering 60 Wall Street. What do I see?

LIZ WAYTKUS: Well, I think you just have to think about being in the New York City subway system. You know, you're in the dark corridor, and then you're coming up on this escalator, and you enter into, you know, a three-story atrium, white mirror, you know, these beautiful fluted columns, waterfall on one side. There's actually palm trees in there right now, which are pretty silly. [PH chuckles] And it's a visual feast. It's not a passive space. It's hard to not, you know, when you come up out of such a dark place, feel, you know, refreshed or enlightened and smile. I smile every time I take that escalator up from the subway.

PH: [chuckle] I think it's been called by… by some who like it less than you, an ice cream parlour blown up to monumental size. Is that… is that fair?

LW: [PH chuckles] Hey. I'm all about the giant ice cream parlour. [PH chuckles some more] It's hot and humid here in New York City. So bring it on.

PH: If this space changes, the new owners want a redo on the place. What's it going to look like if they get their way?

LW: Tasteful and boring, to be quite honest. And people do not come to New York City for boring. People come to New York City for excitement. They come for diversity. I mean, diversity of culture, of food, of architecture, of art. That is probably the most Instagrammable, if that's a word, spot on all of Wall Street.

PH: So what do you say to people who don't like it, though? Who think it's ugly, and dated, and gaudy? And didn't somebody else call it the most "coked out" subway entrance in New York? I mean, there are people that are not fans of it. What do you say to them?

LW: So, what we're talking about is historic preservation. We're not talking about taste. You can like it. You can dislike it. Listen, we had the same problem with Victorian architecture. We had the same issue with Art Deco. Can you imagine, you know, people thinking 50 years ago that the Empire State Building was outdated and ugly? They did. And there were people such as myself who said, no, this is a landmark. This is important. This is… this is a piece of our history and our culture. It's well… well-designed. It's… it's well-built. And it deserves to be preserved.

PH: As we speak. Indeed, the interior is, quote, under review by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and the City Planning Department. What does that mean? Does that mean it's safe from demolition for now?

LW: Well, I would say it's safe for a couple weeks. The last hearing with Landmarks, Landmarks told the developer that their current proposal was not good enough. And to go back and, you know, come back to them with a better design. We… we have a couple of weeks. I don't think we have a couple of months. It's actually both the interior and the exterior that are threatened with significant alteration. So, we are… we're at a critical moment. And hopefully, by talking about 60 Wall with not just the architecture and preservation community, but just with regular people of, you know, having a… you know, looking at it again in a more… you know, in a way that, you know, you take your own subjective… whether you like the eighties, you remember the eighties, the eighties were full of, you know, debauchery and cocaine. I was a kid in the eighties, so I don't remember any of that. [both laugh]

PH: You know… you know, I don't want to put a damper on your efforts. But if… if you lose, what would… what would the city lose if… if 60 Wall turns into something nice, and clean, and safe, and contemporary, and tasteful?

LW: I mean, we… we lose what makes New York the greatest city in the world. All these incredible buildings and… and places. People come to New York, you know, they look up, they… they tell you when you live in New York; and I live in Manhattan. You know, don't look up or you'll look like a tourist. That's what people do when they come to New York, and they're not from here. They're… they're looking up. Their eyes are, you know, up to the sky. Their mouths are open, and they're just taking in the awe of… of, you know, the hot mess that is New York City when you have, you know, a building from the 18th century, the 19th century, and 20th century, all mashed in, you know, side by side. And that's what makes New York City great. If we lost it, we will truly lose one of the best public spaces in all of New York City. And, you know, people will mourn it. Certainly on Wall Street, the people that go in and out of that subway station every single day. But, you know, historic preservation is not just for those who live there, work there every day. It's for people who come and visit. And we want people to come to the city. We want people to see all of this great architecture that we have to offer.

PH: Liz Waytkus. Thank you for trying to save something funky, and gaudy, and coked up, and New York, and 1980sie. Thank you for all of that. And… and good luck.

LW: Thank you. Thank you. I hope we can win.

PH: Bye-bye.

LW: Bye.

TS: Liz Waytkus is with Docomomo US, a non-profit dedicated to preserving modern architecture. She was in New York.

[chill-hop]

Spain No Neckties

TS: Change is coming at a break-neck pace in Spain. Like just about everyone in the country these days, the Spanish prime minister is feeling the heat. Because of the record-breaking tempatures, of course. But also because the pressure is on to do something about it. To take meaningful action now. Drastic action, even. Like, keepin' things cazh, sartorially-speaking. At a recent press conference, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez led by example with an unbuttoned collar and no necktie, as he called on office workers to ditch their constricting neckerations as an energy-saving measure. One assumes it has something to do with not having to crank the A/C for the health and wellbeing of the buttoned-up crowd... though the donning of a necktie does require a certain amount of elbow grease that has also been known to leave a person hot under the collar. So, either way, it works! The move follows a trend that's seen British politicians doing away with their suit jackets in the House of Commons and other extraordinary and utterly ... what's the word? ... OBVIOUS measures to beat the heat. Still, good on them. Or good off them, as the case may be. And those who'd still like to tie one on, that's fine. Just be prepared to pay for it with a little sweat equity.

[elevator jazz]

Part 2: Saudi Arabia The Line, Norway Walrus

Saudi Arabia The Line

Guest: Melissa Sterry

TS: Imagine living in a metropolis with no cars, no pollution, hanging gardens and everything you need within a five-minute walk. It sounds like heaven. And according to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, his plan for a futuristic city is exactly that. Here's part of his government's sales pitch.

[sc]

[awe-inspiring music]

ANNOUNCER: The Line is designed as a series of unique communities offering a wealth of amenities, providing equitable views and immediate access to the surrounding nature. With 40 per cent of the world accessible within six hours. At the heart of the globe's key trade routes. A place for commerce and communities to thrive like nothing on Earth seen before. The Line, the city that delivers new wonders for the world.

[/sc]

TS: That is a new promotional video released by the Saudi government for "The Line," two mirror-encased high-rise towers about 200 metres apart, stretching over 160 kilometres from the Red Sea in northwest Saudi Arabia. But not everyone is buying Prince Mohammed bin Salman's line about "The Line." Melissa Sterry is a London-based sustainable city expert.

PH: Melissa, the Saudi promotional video describes this future city as a new wonder of the world. What kind of words would you use to describe it?

MELISSA STERRY: I would say it delivers a lot of rhetoric. [scoffs] A lot of very grand statements. And that is… that is about it. This is a series of promises in the spoken word and the visual image.

PH: If I were to describe it to somebody, I might say that it's kind of where Donald Trump's wall meets "Blade Runner" meets a giant amusement park. How would you describe it? Before we get into, you know, [MS chuckles] aspects of it? What does it look like from… from your perspective? Can you describe it for us?

MS: I think your description is spot on. It is essentially an absolutely vast, mirrored skyscraper that has seemingly fallen on the ground. This is the Burj to Dubai. But horizontal, not vertical and across a vast distance of space. And, yeah, it is huge. It's very monumental. It actually… visually, for those that are familiar with things like this sort of architectural visioning of the 1960s. And obviously, you know, many sci-fi images, it really is straight… straight from that. As opposed to, if you like, feeling of this world. It feels very otherworldly.

PH: 200 metres wide, 160… 160 kilometres long.

MS: Yeah.

PH: And nine million people, theoretically, to live within that. And everything that they would need, goes the promotion, within a five-minute walk. How does that even work?

MS: It doesn't. [laughing] Very simply. I think the thing about this project is it makes a very many big statements. But actually, there is… there is no detail at all on how any of the statements are actually going to be achieved in reality. And why that is significant is because a lot about this city really is an absolute contradiction with what we know to work, you know, in the cities of past. In that, we know that cities form particular structures. They tend to form very organically. They don't… they don't form as linear constructs. They don't form as lines. And that has been, if you like, entirely put to one side and a proposal put forward without actually in any way explaining, you know, how this is, if you like, going to reconcile with fundamental human behaviours, let alone address all of the other issues.

PH: Am I right that you've likened it to a prison?

MS: Yes. And interesting, when I showed… I showed a friend of mine the article, and I said, you know, what do you think? And she looked at The Line and she said, yeah, prison. Absolutely. So I think, yeah, that that is something that is resonating with a lot of people.

PH: In its sort of latest promotional push. The Saudis are saying that this, you know, great big shiny mirrors on the outside, greenery and water on the inside will be almost completely sustainable. What issues do you see with that?

MS: Many. Well, the first thing is this huge, monumental, great structure. There is absolutely no explanation as to what the materials are, let alone where they're coming from. Now, the… looking at the renders, looking at the imagery that has been put forward by the Saudis. It is principally going to be concrete and glass. That, in turn, would require vast amounts of sand, but not the kind of sand that you find in deserts. The kind that we actually build with is basically dredged from the seabed or from estuaries. There is already a sand crisis. So instantly, you know, when one looks at that structure, this megastructure, you know, the thought is, well, you know, the materials are not sustainable in and of themselves and for not one, but a number of reasons. The other thing is that there are ways that you can build in the desert where you passively cool the structures. But, of course, glass is not one of those materials. As we all know, if you've ever sat in your greenhouse when it's hot or, you know, in a conservatory, you will know that that glass is, you know, it actually is highly… it lets the heat through without really any trouble at all. But, you know, looking to that internal space, my expectation is that if it was built, that internal space would be very, very humid, and it would probably actually be quite an uncomfortable climate. So this… this proposal feels very, very fragile in its conception.

PH: The Saudi government has been doing certainly what seems to be a lot of damage control in the past few years since the murder of journalist -- Washington Post columnist -- Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and other human rights abuses. You know, the foray into pro golf recently comes to mind as well as this. What do you think is the real motivation behind The Line? PR stunt? What do you think?

MS: I think it is almost certainly a PR and marketing stunt. Because quite honestly, if it were anything more, I would expect to see vast amounts more research. And I would expect to see a genuine community of experts brought to the table. In the first instance, there were relatively few around the table. And, of course, with the event that you just referenced, a number of high-profile parties pulled out. There have also been other issues with this city. For example, there have been reports of historic dwellings that are… that actually are situated within the course The Line is proposed to take, effectively being forced to move, you know, via various means. So quite how they're going to reconcile, you know, there's sort of the gap, as it were, between the promises and what one might realistically expect given the current circumstances is difficult to… to know. It's as with all the other things. There's no meat on the bones here. There's no real detail as to quite how they're going to make this big plan come together.

PH: Melissa Sterry, thank you so much.

MS: Thank you very much. Pleasure to join you.

TS: Melissa Sterry is a London-based sustainable city expert.

[electronic]

FOA: Nichelle Nichols

TS: Nichelle Nichols boldly went where no woman had gone before. Playing Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek in the sixties, she broke ground as one of the first Black women in a regular lead role. And, on that show, she was part of what's believed to be TV's first interracial kiss. Nichelle Nichols died on the weekend. She was 89. In addition to her Star Trek role, she inspired greater diversity in the real-life world of space exploration, working with NASA to recruit more women and minority scientists. But she didn't see the big deal about her role on Star Trek at first. In fact, she planned to leave the show after the first season -- until she had a chance encounter with a big fan, none other than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

[sc]

NICHELLE NICHOLS: I said something about I'm going to miss the people on the show, and… but I'm going on to blah, blah, blah because… and I never got past that. He said, you can't. And I remember saying, what you talking about, Dr. Martin Luther King? [both laughing]

PIYA CHATTOPADHYAY: You didn't say that!

NN: But I did. I just stood there with my mouth open. And he said you can't. You really can. You're first. This is something that has given the television that hasn't been on ever. You're a first. And what you bring to it is so important. I'm going if he doesn't shut up, I'm going to go through the speech. Because I was all prepared to go to Broadway and… and do other things besides the little television show. And he convinced me there was no such thing as a little television show. This was a big show. This was important. And that I was important. And if I left, something left with it that shouldn't go yet. And when he finished talking to me, I'm going. I can't leave. I knew I couldn't leave. And I never regretted it.

PC: I guess you don't argue with Martin Luther King either, right?

NN: You… you don't argue with Dr. King. But he also happened to be a big fan.

PC: Yeah. Yeah. [NN laughs] So you went back in on Monday and said, listen, I've thought about it.

NN: Yeah.

PC: I've had some conversations.

NN: Yes.

PC: I'm staying. [chuckling]

NN: Yeah. And they went phew! What brought that on? And I said, Dr. Martin Luther King. And they went, oowie. Yeah, our leader. So that was great.

[/sc]

TS: That was Nichelle Nichols, in conversation with Piya Chattopadhyay on "Q", in 2016.

[uke!!!]

Norway Walrus

Guest: Kathrine Ryeng

TS: She's got short tusks, whiskers, she’s well-nourished and for the last few months, Freya the walrus has both endeared, annoyed, and even frightened some people, along Norway’s southern coastline. She’s been regularly spotted clambering onto boats, many of which can’t support her estimated 600 kilogram weight. Kathrine Ryeng is a veterinary medicine scientist at Norway's Institute of Marine Research and she’s been advising Norway’s directorate of fisheries on what to do about Freya. We reached her in Tromsø.

PH: Ms. Ryeng, last you heard, where is Freya?

KATHRINE RYENG: Freya, last I heard was yesterday, and she was still in the very highly-populated area of the inner part of the Oslo fjord.

PH: And what… what’s she been up to?

KR: She was very busy eating by that time, I was told. And she was actually not lying on a boat. She was actually holding out… Later on, she was holding out on the floating dock. But it was further… a little bit further out from where all the small boats are kind of parked. So I'm not sure. I don't know if anyone has seen her today. But as of yesterday, she was in the inner part of the Oslo fjord close to the place where a lot of people have their small boats, you know?

PH: All things are relative, but Oslo is pretty far south in Norway. Is that typical to see a walrus like Freya so far south?

KR: No, it's actually walruses along the Norwegian coast, it's not a new thing. There might be one or two each year. But so far south, and particularly going into the harbour, kind of sleeping on boats and floating docks, that's quite seldom. It hasn't happened in Norway before, at least.

PH: So what's the attraction? Why… why do you think she's coming into the ports?

KR: In my head, it's food. Obviously, she's finding a lot of food in the Oslo fjord and out there also. And, you know, down the whole coastline. She has been around since March or April along the whole coast. Even almost in Sweden, you know, the eastern part of the coast and even down to the tip of the Norwegian coast, which is Mandal. And… but she before that, she… she actually came in 2019. She was observed in 2019 in northern Norway, not far away from Tromsø, just further south from Tromsø. And she's gone down and up again and down. And she's been… she's, as far as I have understood, she has been on the Shetland Islands and she's been in the U.K. for a time, and she's also been in the shallow waters of Denmark and the Netherlands and Germany.

PH: She's a traveler.

KR: She's a traveler, yes.

PH: Well, how are people reacting when they see… when they see her sleeping and sunbathing on their boats and such?

KR: Particularly people in big towns, you know, they have never seen a walrus. So because they are up in the Arctic, you know, so… so for people, people have been reacting like, wow, this is fantastic. They have been very interesting to see her. But we had to start advising not to go too close because, well, when sleeping on this… on the floating dock or in a boat, she's not that dangerous. But she might be… in her sheer weight, she might be dangerous in the water particularly. Walruses are known to take clams. And, you know, they are benthic feeders, but… but they also take birds and they can take other marine pinnipeds, particularly ring seal up in the north. And… and, you know, you never know if… if a swimmer were around. So… so that's why we… we have urged the Norwegian people and people in the Olso to please keep listening. And they are listening. So the director of fisheries told me yesterday…. this morning, they told me that Freya is still in the… in the harbor, at least yesterday, and people didn't care anymore. They were kind of well, we know she's there, but no one writes about her anymore. That's was a huge writing about her until, let's say, Friday. And then. [chuckling] she's been on the news for a couple of weeks. So it seems to me that the Norwegian media and the Norwegian people, particularly the people in Oslo, they are kind of getting used to her. And it seems that people keep a distance and those with boats they have started to follow the advice to turn the boats in the dock in order to put the bow of the boat outwards so that it becomes higher for her to climb on. So people have actually done everything. And, you know, the people… it's quiet now, but she is still there.

PH: And enough to, I guess, annoy some boat owners who aren't so happy with her, right?

KR: Yes!

PH: Like, because she causes damage. What's the downside to a sunbathing walrus?

KR: Well, you know, she's probably between 500 to 700 kilos. And when she climbs into a boat, a lot of damage might be done. But funny enough, I heard from the director of fisheries they have checked this insurance… people taking contact with their insurance companies in order to… to get back money for the damage she has caused. But that was only three boats. Of course, they are particularly smaller boats, which is she is easier able to to enter and they might not be insured. So there are a lot of people who have probably got their boats not necessarily damaged totally. But… but they have been… so… so… so there has been… I do not have the overview how many, but we understand that people are, particularly in the beginning, they were quite… some… some people have probably been angry and some have been laughing. But still, we… we do care about the boat owners. And it seems now that we have found some good solutions.

PH: I got to ask, have you seen Freya?

KR: No, I haven't seen Freya because I'm in Tromsø.

PH: You sound like you'd love to see her.

KR: I would love to see her. Of course, I would love to see her. But I… if it had been necessary to do something more, I would have gone down. But… but so far it looks like it's kind of calming down.

PH: Ms. Ryeng, thanks so much for talking with us today.

KR: Oh, thank you very much. My pleasure.

PH: Bye-bye.

KR: Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

TS: Kathrine Ryeng is a veterinary medicine scientist at Norway's Institute of Marine Research. She was in Tromsø, Norway.

[Uke!!!]

Emancipation Day

CH: Today marks Canada's second ever Emancipation Day. After passing unanimously the House of Commons last year, August 1st marks the anniversary of the 1834 abolishment of slavery across the British Empire. Advocates say it's an important first step towards recognizing the intergenerational harms of slavery and the ongoing effects of anti-Black racism in our country. Louise Delisle is a founding member of the South End Environmental Injustice Society. Her organization fights against the "environmental racism" that has resulted in unsafe drinking water for the Black community in her hometown of Shelburne, Nova Scotia. She spoke at the Emancipation Day event in Halifax earlier today.

[sc]

LOUISE DELISLE: Emancipation is about freedom. And freedom is a birthright of every human being. I was asked what emancipation means to me, coming from rural areas and living in Shelburne. Because I am a fifth-generation descendant of a Black loyalist, I see my life as being part of an important but different way of living. As if in a series of memories from my descendants, in which I am on the foundation of our very existence of an African Nova Scotian. This day holds an importance of freedom to my ancestors and me. The enslavement of our African ancestors was demoralizing, dehumanizing and brutal. From the moment they were stolen from their homes in Africa, they remain courageous, resolute and resilient in their fight, which is making it possible for us to be here today. We look back on history, and strive to grow from the pain of its experience. In our culture, we can love and appreciate ourselves, but we must never, never allow the subsequent colonial period post-emancipation to be repeated. We must keep up [clapping] the fight for our rights as human beings to be free and treated with respect and dignity as we all deserve. So for those who are uncomfortable speaking about slavery, claiming it is something of the past and that, therefore, we should not dredge it up. I disagree. [clapping] We must never allow ourselves to forget that emancipation is yet to be fully realized and indeed will not be completed until we emancipate ourselves from the mental slavery from, racism and discrimination that we are suffering. We must draw on the strength of the free Black slaves and remember that we must take their place as heirs of the hardworking, self-reliant, proud African Nova Scotians who built our communities with their blood, sweat and tears.

[/sc]

TS: That was Louise Delisle speaking at the Emancipation Day event in Nova Scotia earlier today.

[light rock]

SOD: “It’s Coming Home” cover

TS: It's finally coming home. For the first time in more than half a century, England has won a major international soccer tournament. On Sunday, the women beat Germany in the Euro 2022 championship -- in front of a tournament-record home crowd. It was the first-ever European victory for England’s Lionesses, and the first major international trophy for any England team — women or men -- since 1966. Before hitting the pubs, the Lionesses' manager, Sarina Wiegman, tried to give a press conference. But she was interrupted. It's our Sound of the Day.

[sc]

SARINA WIEGMAN: There were two teams that really wanted to win that game, and that's what made it so tight. And they played really physical, very organized and it's a very good team, too. And that togetherness is really strong, too. So we had a hard time to play our game. And we didn't get rhythm in the game, there were just a couple of moments, but I think at the end, well, you score a goal, that's why you win. But we were really eager again to score a goal and maybe there we can top really well. I think all that we've showed that all the time, the quality of this team is so high and adept, too. And that's what showed, again. I'm not sure if that's the reason. I don't know. But, yeah, we scored a goal.

REPORTER: It's more than that though, isn't it? Isn't it character and horror and motivation as well?

[Singing and cheering of “It’s coming home. It’s coming home. It’s coming. Football is coming home.”]

[/sc]

TS: That was the sound of the England’s Lionesses interrupting their manager Sarina Wiegman's press conference with a rendition of "It's Coming Home."

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August 1, 2022 Episode Transcript

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