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The AIH Transcript for March 20, 2023

Prologue

NIL KOKSAL: Hello, I'm Nil Köksal.

CHRIS HOWDEN: Good evening, I'm Chris Howden. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

CH: Tonight,

NK: Limited time offer. The world's leading scientists say we don't have much longer to stave off a full blown disaster. But one of the authors of today's UN climate report says that if we have the will to save the planet, there is a way.

CH: Taking evasive action on invasive action. 20 years later, former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien tells us about his decision to keep Canada out of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

NK: Breaking the mould. A mycologist discovers a thrilling new parasitic fungus that attacks and mummified its hosts. He tells us it's much more interesting than any zombified fungus you may see on a popular television show about a zombie apocalypse.

CH: Friends with benefits. On his visit to Russia, Xi Jinping is positioning himself as a peacemaker regarding the Ukraine invasion. But a former Canadian ambassador to China says given the economic stakes, his stance is anything but neutral.

NK: The more the hairier. A conservationist explains why Iron Age pigs, exmoor ponies and longhorn cattle have been introduced to a bison rewilding project in the U.K.

CH: And plastic surgery. A debate rocks the world of marine biology. Did a "citizen scientist" take a photo of the elusive goblin shark far from its usual habitat? Or is that actually a photo of a toy? As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that tries to resist plaything blame.

[Music: Theme]

Part 1: UN Climate Change Report, Chretien on Iraq Invasion, Parasitic Fungus, Goblin Shark

UN Climate Change Report

Guest: Sarah Burch

CH: It's not too late to save our planet from irrevocable climate damage, but there's no time to waste. That warning comes from the world's leading scientists. Today, they issued the final part of an eight year assessment of the state of the Earth's climate. The outlook from the UN panel is stark, but it also offers a path to stave off disaster. Here's UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

SOUNDCLIP

ANTONIO GUTERRES: Humanity is on thin ice and that ice is melting fast. This report is a [inaudible] call to massively fast track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe. In short, our world needs climate action on all fronts, everything everywhere all at once.

CH: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Sarah Burch is one of the lead authors of the report. She's the head of the Waterloo Climate Institute, and we reached her in Waterloo, Ontario.

NK: Sarah, how confident are you that world leaders are actually going to listen to that and heed that call?

SARAH BURCH: Well, I think the message is very clear. Certainly, it's been growing louder and sharper over the years. It's very clear that the pace and scale of climate action that we're seeing today just isn't enough yet to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. But the flip side of that is we see that we have the solutions and we know what works.

NK: How close are we to reaching a point where the damage is irreversible?

SB: Well, there are tipping points in natural and social systems all around the globe. So, there's a really complex answer to that question. But what we are seeing is that every increment of warming, every little bit of warming that we add shrinks our choices. It makes us have fewer options for going forward. And we head more into emergency mode. But we are seeing the solutions both in terms of how to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. We have the technologies in virtually every sector and every region that we need. And we are also seeing real progress, although it's piecemeal and incremental, in protecting communities. That adaptation question, so, how the communities protect themselves from the impacts of climate change that we know are unfolding as we speak.

NK: If this report is meant to be a sort of survival guide for the world, what are the things that need to happen right now?

SB: Well, thankfully, we have almost a couple of dozen countries that have succeeded in reducing their emissions at a pace and scale needed to reach that goal of constraining warming, of limiting warming to less than two degrees above the average temperature before industrialization. So, we have pathways to follow. You know, those pathways include everything from moving our buildings towards zero or net zero. And we have examples of those buildings now in almost every climate. Electrifying our transports and moving away from combusting fossil fuels, of course, is just crucial to the challenge. As long as that source of electricity for EVs is in itself clean. Making cities more compact and more complete so that cycling, and walking and mass transit are more of an option. There's so many choices and we see real evidence of them around the world already.

NK: And I'm noticing a shift in terms of the framing. You know, the key metrics and information absolutely still there. But I wonder as we talk about it as a survival guide and the positive changes that you're talking about, is there concern that people have become numb to how dire the reality is?

SB: There's no doubt that we're not moving fast enough, but it also isn't helpful to view this as an unsolvable, overwhelming problem. We don't need to wait for the technologies to evolve or to magically be invented or created. They already exist now. And so that, in my view, is a deeply empowering thing. You know that we have evidence of what works. But without those rapid, deep, immediate reductions in greenhouse gases in every sector and in every region, we just won't reach our goals.

NK: A few months ago, on the program, I spoke with Lee White, who is the environment minister for Gabon. And this was during the last COP meeting in Egypt. He said to us that he doesn't believe that wealthier developed nations, the ones that are the most responsible for climate change, are going to act until more people in those countries start dying because of it. Do you share that concern?

SB: I share the concern that for too long we, here in Canada, for instance, have viewed climate change as something that is happening to someone else or a distant threat that comes in 2100 or some, you know, time frame that isn't meaningful to me. So, yes, certainly, I think we tend to put ourselves at a distance from it. But we know that here in Canada, we are warming here in Canada at twice the global average rate because of our high latitude. So, climate change impacts are happening here already we see them in the form of floods and fires and heat waves. So, those are urgent risks that we have to respond to. But the challenge now becomes we have to protect communities and livelihoods from those impacts, from floods, fires, extreme events, etc..., and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. We just can't afford to choose one or the other. But thankfully there's lots of ways to do that. There are a lot of synergies between those two.

NK: Sustainable development is your specialty. Where do you see hope?

SB: I see, interestingly, climate change as a way, as a sort of window to deliver on a whole bunch of other things that matter to us. So, you know, going carbon neutral and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is a bit of an abstract thing. We care, I think, collectively about poverty. We care about clean air and clean water and nature, biodiversity. And we know from this IPCC report that we cannot reach those sustainable development goals without tackling climate change. So, there are just so many synergies or co-benefits there, we call them. You know, our public health can improve if we make contact complete communities where we can cycle and walk more. If we re nature cities and bring forests and wildlife back into our city, we shade our communities from heat, and we clean our water with those ecosystems, and we enhance biodiversity. So, there's so many good things that can come out of this. It's just up to us to move faster.

NK: Is there one example or case that you were involved in or saw recently that felt like a win to you?

SB: Sure. Well, interestingly, I saw some cities around the world during the kind of trauma of the pandemic and everybody being sent home and businesses going quiet. And we saw some cities like Paris and other places throughout Sweden take that opportunity to make huge leaps forward on their active transport infrastructure, like making it safe to cycle and walk, making the downtown core or the sort of commercial centres more beautiful and more inviting so, that people can live and work more closely together. So, we took a terrible thing in some communities and turned it into a real engine of progress towards both our sustainability goals and our climate change goal.

NK: Sara, thanks so much for your time. I appreciate it.

SB: Thanks for the chat.

CH: Sarah Burch is the executive director of the Waterloo Climate Institute at the University of Waterloo and one of the lead authors of today's report from the International Panel on Climate Change.

[Music: electronic]

Chrétien on Iraq Invasion

Guest: Jean Chrétien

CH: 20 years ago, today, the ground invasion of Iraq began. The U.S. and the U.K. led the multinational force, which included dozens of countries, but Canada was not among them. Then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced the decision during question period on the eve of the invasion.

SOUNDCLIP

JEAN CHRETIEN: Over the last few weeks, the Security Council has been unable to agree on a new resolution authorizing military action. Canada worked very hard to find a compromise to bridge the gap in the Security Council. Unfortunately, we were not successful. If military action proceed without a new resolution of the Security Council, Canada will not participate. [crowd applauding]

CH: U.S. combat forces remained in Iraq until December 2011. Over four thousand American military personnel were killed there. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians are believed to have been killed. We reached the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien in Montreal.

NK: Mr. Chrétien, if we go back to 2003, was it a difficult decision to break with the U.S. and the United Kingdom and keep Canadian troops out of Iraq? Was this a decision that kept you up at night?

JEAN CHRETIEN: You know, it was a difficult decision, but when you're prime minister, you're confronted with a lot of difficult decisions. And it was one that was very important. But in many ways, the problem was quite clear for me, because already in August, in a discussion I had with George W. Bush in Detroit, I had indicated clearly to him that if he didn't have the support of the UN, Canada would not be there and there was no such a thing. So, I said, if you don't have better proof, you know, the UN will not say yes, and I would not say yes.

NK: How did he react?

JC: Oh, he thought that I was wrong in thinking that we did have a weapon of mass destruction proven. But fortunately for me, I was right, apparently, and he was wrong.

NK: Did you try to change his mind?

JC: Nope. No. And neither him you know, it was not that difficult for him, he understood what I said. And after it was over, in a discussion with his chief of staff who had come to Ottawa that I had met, he had said to me that they were very disappointed, but not mad because I had not double crossed them as others. I had been clear from the beginning, but they explained to me and he said that to me too, that, we know, we thought that you were positioning yourselves in a way to not to be having a political problem in Canada, but at the end of the day would be with us. And to their surprise, I was not with them.

NK: Did you try to tell them that it was maybe about more than the political winds in Canada?

JC: No, it, you know, when they talk about the political wind about it in Canada, it was in December and I had to adapt to them in August in Detroit. So, come on. It was not the wind. It was the facts that were my preoccupation and that on which I based my decision.

NK: And what about Tony Blair in all of this? In your conversations, did he put any pressure on you?

JC: Oh, of course, even more than George W., because Tony, probably because he was Great Britain must have said to George W., I will take care of Canada, you know, some Brits did a think a bit like we were a colony at one time. And he was putting a lot of pressure on me, more than Bush, but he was not using the same argument. Bush would use that he had weapon of mass destruction. And Tony was said to me, Jean, we have to get rid of Saddam Hussein he's is a terrible dictator. And I told him at a meeting I had in the fall with him when we had a discussion in South Africa, I told him that, you know, Tony, you know, we said that we had to replace Saddam Hussein. I said, if we're in the business of replacing our leaders, which one would be the next one? And by the way, Tony, we are in South Africa, and next door there is Mugabe that people think he's not, they should be replaced. Why don't we look after the problems in the family of the Commonwealth rather than looking at Iraq? And he said to me, Oh, Jean, Mugabe and Saddam is not the same thing. And I said, Well, of course, it's not the same thing. Mugabe has no oil and he became white. And I don't think he talked to me for a few months after that. And I think I hit the target.

NK: What kind of impact did your decision and Canada's decision have in terms of long term relations, do you think?

JC: Not at all. People in Canada were terribly worried. It was one of my problems when the business community was putting pressure on me not to say no because they said they would retaliate against us. And I remember I asked the business, the business people who are talking to me, I said they gave me the list of all the goods and all the services that the Americans are buying from us and they don't need. I have not received a list yet.

NK: I wanted to ask you as well, sir, about Afghanistan. Would you have sent Canadian troops to Afghanistan if you were making that decision that you made back in 2001, again today?

JC: You know, when we went to Afghanistan, it is after September the 11th, and it was under the resolution of Article number five of the NATO treaty. When they used it, and we were in favour of that even it was a suggestion of us. You know, we the Americans, wanted to fight back. They had been attacked and under the NATO rules. If one of the members of NATO is attacked, everybody is obliged to come with them for the one attack and defend them. So, it is under Article five that we went with the others to Afghanistan because they knew that the terrorists, that they had originated from Afghanistan. So, it's why we sent soldiers there.

NK: So, no regrets now?

JC: No, because, you know, we have obligation under treaty number five.

NK: What about the withdrawal and how that was handled?

JC: Oh, but, you know, don't ask me the way they had went with the withdraw two years ago or a year ago. It's not my problem.

NK: You must have had some thoughts on it?

JC: I'm a... I don't spend time to argue about what's going on today. It's not my job. I say that privately.

NK: Before we say goodbye, sir. I do want to bring it back to Iraq. And I wonder, looking back on it now, what you think the biggest lesson is for the international community to take away. What you hope people might, world leaders in particular, may have learned from how that invasion unfolded.

JC: You know, I think that we have to look at two sides of any problem. Sometimes if you have the judgement to look at the other side, you know, you reach the right decision it's what happened there. And it was a great decision. You know, today I'm very proud of it because it was the first time that there was a war somewhere where the Americans and the Brits worked together, and the Canadians were not there. So, for those who thought previously that Canada might have been the first state of America, I proved them that day that we were an independent country.

NK: Do you think we could have or should have done more to try to stop the invasion?

JC: You know, they had made their decision a long time before. We could not have changed it.

NK: Mr. Chrétien, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

JC: Merci beaucoup. Bye, bye.

CH: Jean Chrétien served as the prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. We reached him in Montreal.

[Music: fast chimes]

Parasitic Fungus

Guest: João Araújo

CH: Discovering something new can be pretty exhilarating. A Malaysian restaurant on a side street near your house or a shortcut that shaves five minutes off your commute: the best. And you feel well-deserved pride for finding those things. But those new discoveries aren't actually new, they're just new to you. Imagine if you discovered something that no one had ever seen before, like João Araújo did this past November. While he was on an expedition in the Brazilian rainforest, he discovered a new species of parasitic fungus that infects spiders and consumes their bodies, which is now being subjected to further study. João Araújo is the assistant curator in mycology at the New York Botanical Garden. We reached him in New York.

NK: João, can you take me back to that moment where you first found this new fungus? You're in the Brazilian rainforest. Where did you see it? What did you see?

JOAO ARAUJO: Yeah, we were on a survey of cordyceps fungi in the Atlantic Forest near Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. And we were walking during the day, crawl on our knees to see the low level fungi, because these produce small fruiting bodies on the ground. And we were walking these trails and I suddenly found like a mushroom like structure coming out from the hole, it was purple. And I was really, really sure that this could be a new species because there are almost no work done in this in South America with this fungi. It was amazing. It was amazing. Yeah.

NK: Just describe exactly what it looks like. I've seen the photos, but our listeners may not.

JA: Right. Yeah. This is a fungus that infects trapdoor spider. So, trapdoor spiders, it's a group of spiders that lives inside of burrows, so, they rarely come out. But intriguingly, these fungi manage to throw its spores into this burrow. And infect these spiders. But we are willing to study these species more in depth so, we can understand better how they can infect these spiders and they complete the lifecycle. So, this is a really interesting fungus.

NK: Yeah, it's just the way it looks, it's sort of just a long sort of like a, like a pipe cleaner, almost.

JA: Exactly, Yeah. We call it cylindrical fruiting bodies like a mushroom without the cap. So, it's basically the stalk. And at the tip of this talk, we have a powdery texture because those are the spores they produce. They produce millions, perhaps billions of spores in each of these fruiting bodies.

NK: And the purple colour. How unique is that?

JA: Well, this is incredible. And a very few species of the broad sense of cordyceps fungi produce. So, there is something we're seeing this family that makes them produce this lilac to purple pigments, which is completely uncommon in other relatives.

NK: Yeah, you were quoted in The Guardian describing it as a really beautiful thing. Is it the colour that makes it beautiful to you, or is there more to that?

JA: Well, it's way more because I'm, I think I'm biased because I have been studying these fungi for 13 years and absolutely in love for this fungi. So, I live this fungi every day. And so, I think they're amazing. The biology is much more interesting than the zombies in the "Last of Us", for example. So, there, the true biology and evolution and diversity and the strategies that they use to infect the different hosts from ants or flying wasps to burrow spiders. So, there's completely different strategies to reach the host. So, I think the whole story is beautiful and it's finished with absolutely beautiful and photogenic fungi, I think. And also, for this particular species, the mummified spider inside the burrow is also adds a little bit of spice to this story, I guess.

NK: Yeah, it's, they mummified the spiders in there?

JA: Yeah. Yeah. If you look at the photo, you see that, it's really hard to tell it is a spider because it's completely covered by a white fungal mycelium. So, it's literally mummified the spider. So, it also avoids other pathogens to get in.

NK: It does sound cool. It also does sound like a little bit like a horror movie.

JA: Yes, it does. It does, yeah. It's not hard to find a connection between horror movies and these fungi.

NK: But it is beautiful. The purple makes it, the purple makes it for me. You mentioned the "Last of Us", the big hit for HBO. But beyond that, you know, I feel the fungus is having a bit of a moment pop culturally and scientifically. So, what do you make of all that attention?

JA: I think this is absolutely amazing because mycology has been such a neglected field in biology for so long. So, I think the solution for many of the humanity problems. Exotic [inaudible] that are introduced and decimate whole forests of crops or cancer even. Or many other aspects we can think about we can use fungi to tackle this these problems. But we need basic research and we are on a good track, I think, I'm getting better with all this attention.

NK: What drew you to the field? Have you always loved mushrooms?

JA: Well, yes. Yes, actually, yes. But I started college to be an entomologist. My dad, he passed away six, seven years ago, but he was a biologist. And I grew up seeing all these pinned insects at home. And I used to play with my G.I. Joe character is mounting these pinned insects, like the beetles be the tanks or the grasshoppers would be the aircraft. So, I grew a bit in this environment, but in the first semester in college, I did a workshop in mushroom taxonomy, which is the identification of mushroom. And I fell in love for fungi. And then I kept working on that. And in my masters, I watched the BBC movie, which was the first time lapse of the cordyceps that now has 12 million views. And when I watched that video, it combined my original passion for insects and my acquired passion for fungi. And here I am studying fungi that infect insects for 13 years.

NK: That's amazing. I know you haven't named this beautiful purple discovery yet, but do you have any ideas on what you might name it?

JA: I have, I have a few. So, one would be name after David Attenborough would be [inaudible] Attenborough-gi, something like that. So, I'm inclined to that to honour the person that I don't need to say anything about, about him. Everybody knows. But he was, the first video that really sparked this interest in cordyceps fungi was through a video that he was part of that. So, I think it's smart and well-deserved that he's honoured on that. But we are still considering other options.

NK: João, a real pleasure to speak with you. Thank you.

JA: All right. My pleasure too. Thank you.

CH: João Araújo is the assistant curator in mycology at the New York Botanical Garden. He's in New York.

[Music: electro drums]

Goblin Shark

CH: Over the years, we've talked to all kinds of scientists about the new species of duck they discovered, or the prehistoric donkey they unearthed, or the rare venomous lizard that put them in a coma. And not once have we asked one obvious question. Are you sure it wasn't a toy? Last year, a group of scientists published a paper claiming a rare goblin shark had washed up on a Greek beach, which was remarkable because no one had ever seen a goblin shark in the Mediterranean. But there it was. In a photo supplied by a "citizen scientist". Within a few months, though, a different bunch of scientists issued a critique of that paper in particular that one unusual fish. They argued that it was not an uncommon shark, such as you might find in the Atlantic, but a common toy shark, such as you might find on Amazon. Last week, that critique and a rebuttal by the original scientists were published online. And now experts everywhere are largely agreed that shark is not real. For one thing, unlike a real goblin shark, its mouth protrudes from under its snout. For another, there is a visible seam in the plastic, which the real shark tends not to have. Seems like that first group forgot to ask that fundamental question. Is it a toy? And that oversight is sending sharkwaves through the community.

[Music: piano]

Part 2: Xi in Moscow, Ted Lasso White House, U.K. Bison Rewilding Ecosystem, AUS. Neo-Nazi Salute Ban

Xi in Moscow

Guest: Guy Saint-Jacques

CH: These days, the West sees Russia as a pariah state. But China and its president, Xi Jinping, see things very differently. Today, the Chinese president arrived in Moscow for a three day visit with Vladimir Putin, whom he called a "dear friend". It comes just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president. And after Mr. Putin's own visit to the occupied city of Mariupol, Ukraine, this weekend, Guy Saint-Jacques is a former Canadian ambassador to China. We reached him in Montreal.

NK: Guy, what message do you think China is trying to send, President Xi Jinping in particular with this visit?

GUY SAINT JACQUES: Well, I think on one end he will want to talk about this peace plan. On the other, I think he will want to reassure President Putin that China is firmly supporting them. But also, I think he will want to send a message, especially to developing countries, that China is trying to play an active role to try to resolve the conflict. And this might be useful down the road. And so, we also have to keep this in mind.

NK: There are so many factors at play here. But in terms of this idea of Xi Jinping as a potential peacemaker, how does that gel with reports from White House officials saying that in their view, there are signs or indications that China is actually considering supplying Russia with weapons?

GSJ: In fact, if you look at this peace plan, it's a collection of generalities and general principles that, in fact, don't jive with the reality. Just the first one, for instance, that calls for respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty. Well, how do you reconcile this with the fact that Russia has invaded Ukraine? But I think Xi Jinping realizes that it's in the interests of China for this conflict to stop as early as possible. It has had an impact on the Chinese economy. It has affected the global supply chains. And so, for all these reasons, I think he would like to find a way for Russia to save some face and to end the conflict. But the, what the U.S. is proposing is, in fact, a cease fire followed by negotiations. And who knows there might be a surprise coming out of, Putin may say, okay, I have heard you, and we are declaring a unilateral cease fire, which would put a lot of pressure on President Zelensky. It would put pressure also on Western countries, including the U.S., that has supported Ukraine.

NK: How likely is it, do you think, that scenario, that out of this meeting we might get some movement and some positive news on Ukraine?

GSJ: Well, you know, Xi may be calculating that, in fact, if the offer is made and Zelensky refused, then it gives him more leeway in terms of deciding to supply armaments to Russia. And I think that he will want to play it in a very safely manner. And what China would avoid is sending arms directly to Russia. But in all of this, the calculation of Xi Jinping is that he wants to avoid Russia and this friend, Putin, to suffer a defeat in Ukraine.

NK: Just on the issue of what China's intentions are here, we know Vladimir Putin said he welcomes that 12 point peace plan that Xi Jinping released last month. If there was some movement on Russia, Ukraine, out of these meetings. And potentially a cease fire, as you said. How much of a success, a win would that be in terms of China's reputation around the world?

GSJ: Well, I think that would be a huge win. And of course, China does not have a history of getting involved in trying to resolve conflicts. Of course, they claim that they played a major role when it was announced on March 10th that Saudi Arabia and Iran would resume diplomatic links after an interruption of eight years. But the fact is that these two countries have been speaking to each other, and it's just a matter of making the final arrangement. In this case, China and Russia have been promoting this notion of a multipolar world. And in fact, if they were able to bring a cease fire, obviously China would want to use this as much as possible to buttress its image in the world. Its image has been tarnished in recent years because of what we have learned, which is going on in in Xinjiang, in Tibet, and also the disappearance of democracy in Hong Kong.

NK: What does this meeting and these conversations signal to you in terms of China's intentions for Taiwan?

GSJ: Obviously, they have learned a number of lessons from the, what I would say, the botched invasion of Ukraine by Russia. They were surprised by the sanctions that were imposed. They are probably also surprised that the consensus is still pretty strong among Western countries one year after the start of the invasion. But what also they have learned is that their troops need to be fully prepared. And that was a probably a deception, a surprise on their part. The fact that the Russian army could not make quick progress when it launched the campaign in February of last year. And that means that to have any chance of winning, they will need to strike very heavily. So, you could expect a barrage of missiles to destroy the defense infrastructure in Taiwan, but also, they would organize a blockade around Taiwan, which would make it very difficult for the Americans or anyone else to try to resupply the Taiwanese.

NK: Just before we let you go, should the rest of the world be worried about this relationship?

GSJ: I think it should. And in fact, we should be worried also about the fact that China is having a closer relationship with Iran, with Saudi Arabia and with other authoritarian regimes. And clearly, when they talk about this multipolar world, in fact, what they want is a system, an international order, where they can do as they want. And it's not the United States that dictate the rules. So, we have to be very worried and look at ways on how we can protect our interests and our values.

NK: Guy, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

GSJ: Thank you very much.

CH: Guy Saint-Jacques is the former Canadian ambassador to China. He's in Montreal.

[Music: techno]

Ted Lasso White House

CH: A failed American football coach turned beloved soccer club coach has made it to the White House. Today, Ted Lasso or rather Jason Sudeikis, who plays Ted Lasso on the show "Ted Lasso" met with President Biden alongside the cast to discuss mental health, which may seem like an odd pairing. For those who haven't seen it the show is about a college football coach from Wichita, Kansas, who's hired by the fictional AFC Richmond Football or soccer club. Now, obviously, soccer is a key part of the series, but more often than not, the subject of emotional health is at the centre of the story. And today in that White House press conference, Mr. Sudeikis said that is a universal theme.

SOUNDCLIP

JASON SUDEIKIS: So, like no matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter who you voted for, we all probably I assume we all know someone who has or have been that someone ourselves actually, that's struggled, that's felt isolated, that's felt anxious, that has felt alone. Right. And it's actually one of the many things that, believe it or not, that we all have in common as human beings. Right. And so, that means that it's something that we can all, you know, and should talk about with one another when we're feeling that way or when we recognize that in someone feeling that way. So, please, you know, we encourage everyone and it's a big theme of the show is like to check in with your, you know, your neighbour, your co-worker, your friends, your family and ask how they're doing and listen sincerely, you know, I mean, you all ask questions for a living, but you also listen for a living. So, you know, who am I preaching to? The choir that is. Okay. And while look, while it's easier said than done, we also have to know that we shouldn't be afraid to ask for help ourselves. And that does take a lot, especially when it's something that has such a negative stigma to it, such as mental health, and it doesn't need to be that way. And if you can ask for that help from a professional, fantastic. If it needs to be a loved one equally as good in a lot of ways because it's sometimes, just need to let that pressure, that pressure valve release. The president is working on, and his and his own team, although his team is real, our team is make believe. And don't think I don't know that, despite what the people at FIFA and EA will tell you we are actually a make believe team but you know they're working very hard to make sure that, you know, that option is available to as many Americans as possible. Now, I know in this town a lot of folks don't always agree. Right. And don't always feel heard, seen, listened to. Yes. But I truly believe that we should all do our best to help take care of each other. That's my own personal belief. I think that's something that everyone up here on stage believes. And that's things we talked about in the writers’ room, we talked about in the editing room and everything in between. And just like, you know, we just want to emulate, you know, these make believe folks that we all play at AFC Richmond and the way they take care of one another. That is the wish fulfilment of the show. Aside from me playing coach and these guys being professional footballers, you know, that's like, you know, that's, that's a big part of the show. Now I can't help but take this opportunity to take at least one question, so please. Yeah, ah, wait hold on, decorum, right? That's the word we're using. Decorum? Yes, sir. Familiar face, hi.

JAMES LANCE: Trent Crimm, fake journalist. [crowed laughing]

JS: Yes, Trent. Nice to see you.

JL: How do you feel about Kansas City being one of the named hosting cities for the 2026 World Cup?

JS: Oh, here I was hoping for a softball. Okay, you know what? I'm very excited. Truth be told. Yeah. Kansas City going to be one of these teams. I mean, I love this town. What I am genuinely worried about is once we get all these folks from all over the world to come to Kansas City and see our city, eat our food, meet our people, you're going to have, you know, a lot of folks that will want to move away. That's what I'm worried about. That's it for us. All right. Thank you very much. All right. See you guys. Thank you sincerely so much for having us and putting up with us. Now on to greener pastures. [crowed laughing]

CH: That was Jason Sudeikis taking a very real question from fake reporter Trent Crimm, played by James Lance on the show "Ted Lasso". The cast was at the White House today to talk with President Biden about mental health.

[Music: electric guitar]

U.K. Bison Rewilding Ecosystem

Guest: Paul Hadaway

CH: Not long ago on this program, we talked to a very enthusiastic Ranger in the U.K.

SOUNDCLIP

DONOVAN WRIGHT: We can't wait! We're busy with the infrastructure at the moment. We're putting up a bison corral, we're building ponds. We, you know, speaking to local landowners, interest groups. It's a beautiful semi-natural, ancient woodland. Very important. We also, you know, apart from looking off to the woods, we'll also be helping save, you know, an animal that was almost brought to the brink of extinction.

CH: That was Wildlife Ranger Donovan Wright. Talking to our former host Carol Off in 2021 about the U.K.'s first ever Bison rewilding project. Back then, Mr. Wright was eagerly anticipating the arrival of four European bison at a wildlife reservation in England, where they would become the first of their species to roam the U.K. in nearly a century. Today, those four majestic beasts are not only thriving, their numbers are growing, and they have a whole host of new animal friends to help restore Britain's ravaged woodlands. Paul Hadaway is helping to recreate that prehistoric ecosystem. He's the director of conservation and engagement with the Kent Wildlife Trust. We reached him in Kent, England.

NK: Paul, now you're adding new animals to the mix. Which ones?

PAUL HADAWAY: We are. Well, you could hear the excitement in Don's voice there when we were just talking about bison. But the plan has always been to add other animals into the mix. And in the last couple of weeks we've added longhorn cattle, one of our native species here in England. Exmoor ponies, another native pony species, very hardy, tough up and pony. Finally, and probably most exciting, I think for me anyway, is the pigs we've added in. So, we've added in what we're calling Iron Age pigs, and these are basically a cross between our native wild boar and Tamworth Pigs, which are a domestic breed, and they're just doing the most incredible stuff already. It's amazing.

NK: Why these three species in particular, what are they able to do?

PH: So, what this whole project has been about from the beginning is to think about how the woodlands that we have in lowland England, how they would have evolved through the, you know, the actions of the, what we call mega herbivores, these big ecosystem engineer species that have the ability to really adapt and change the habitat they live in. Now, in the U.K., clearly, we're separate from the rest of Europe. We had an ice age melt, which eventually saw the land connection to mainland Europe disappear about 15 thousand years ago. So, many of these big herbivores never made it back into our landscape. And so, what has then happened is over time, we've man managed a lot of these habitats. We've done very manual kind of high carbon generating, high people hour work in order to manage these habitats. And that's been great. But you don't ever get that magic you get from a kind of natural process with the animals that are designed to do the job coming in and doing it. And that was always the ethos with this project. So, the bison, they're like bulldozers, you know, they push through this sort of scrub and these kind of understory canopies of these woodlands and create these open areas. The ponies will browse regrowth and keep it short and keep it low. The cow will come in and graze those woodland glades as they open up, the pigs will, what we call re-till, which is like literally turning the soil over, bringing seeds up, bringing up food for, invertebrates for the birds. And one of these pigs alone can compile up to four acres of land a year just for its breeding activity. So, it's an extraordinarily dynamic ecosystem that we're now beginning to create in the woods.

NK: On top of all of those new visitors. There was another surprise over the summer, is that right?

PH: Yeah, we, indeed yeah, we got the buy one get one free deal of the century. The actual conservation of European bison in and of itself is a really important facet of the project. So, we pulled together a herd from several different parts of the world. We've got a bull from Germany, we've got a matriarch, the oldest female in the herd has come down from a project in Scotland, and we got two females, young females from Ireland. And the idea being they'd have a real genetic mix that's actually going to help with long term conservation of the species. What we didn't know at the time was that one of those two Irish young females was pregnant. So, low and behold, suddenly in September there's the pitter patter of tiny hooves and this little bison has appeared.

NK: If things go as you hope that they will, if all of these animals do what they're supposed to do. What do you envision this area looking like? You know, in 10 years, 20, even 50 years?

PH: You know, that's the excitement of the project because we don't entirely know. And it's really interesting because conservation thinking certainly in the U.K., but I think to a degree internationally as well is very much target driven. So, we think that we're at habitat A we want to get to habitat B or species B and we're going to do it by taking these kind of prescriptive actions and monitoring this change. What we're saying here is we're turning that on its head, we're saying let nature do the work and we will see what we get. What we know from other European bison projects and from I think about examples like Yellowstone and places like this where this ecosystem engineer piece has come into play, is that you get much more diversity, much more bio abundance, which we just cannot replicate as people. So, the short answer is, I don't know, but I anticipate a really mixed mosaic of habitats. Much more biodiverse, much more water in that landscape and those grazing animals acting as sort of seed vectors and moving plants to seed the plants around the site so, they're cropping up in different places, creating a really climate resilient landscape as well as a biodiverse one.

NK: And do you hope it also becomes sort of a blueprint?

PH: The idea here is to challenge convention to monitor absolutely everything as we do it, to really understand that change, to understand the barriers and the hurdles and the legislation we've got to overcome as well. And create exactly that a blueprint, a kind of gamebook for how this will work in other places.

NK: Clearly, you're passionate about this work. You've been doing it for three decades now. Why is this project in particular so important to you?

PH: We've had to understand new ways of doing things, breaking the conventions and thinking differently, and that has a massive appeal. And I think the reality is when you commit yourself something like conservation, you understand you're fighting a very tough battle internationally as well as nationally. Species are still in decline. Nature is in decline. What we're understanding now is the important role that nature plays in tackling the climate issues we're facing and in creating that kind of resilience within our landscape. But, bison in the U.K., I never thought I would see, let alone be one of the people leading it. You know, it's a very, very exciting project for us.

NK: Paul I'm glad we could speak. Thank you.

PH: Thank you.

CH: Paul Hadaway is the director of conservation for the Kent Wildlife Trust. He's in Kent, England.

[Music: techno]

AUS. Neo-Nazi Salute Ban

CH: Since the start of the pandemic, it has not been shocking to see angry protesters gathered outside Parliament House in Melbourne, Australia. But one particular protest on the weekend has shocked the country to its core. On Saturday, at an anti-trans rally organized by controversial British activist Kellie-Jay Keen Minshull, about 30 neo-Nazis, showed up and repeatedly gave the Nazi salute. Labour MP Josh Burns spoke to Patricia Karvelas of "RN Breakfast" about how the Government of Victoria is reacting and about a move to ban the Nazi salute.

SOUNDCLIP

JOSH BURNS: That sort of glorification of the Nazi regime has no place in Australia. You shouldn't be able to glorify it, whether it be by via symbol or via a salute on the streets of Spring Street. Therefore, we clearly need to look at what other laws need to be made. I've had some discussions not only with my federal colleagues, but also with my state colleagues, and I think everyone was completely shocked at the scenes that we saw in Melbourne. And I think people are looking at what options can be made. And I'm encouraged by some of the conversations I've had so far.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: It was disturbing to see men, you know, saluting the Nazi. I mean, I have no words. It's so shocking to see that ideology on the streets, given just a basic history lesson, shows you the horror of that ideology. What's going on at a deeper level?

JB: Patricia, it was, I honestly I couldn't I couldn't believe the videos that were being sent around of what was happening in my city, the city I love, the city I've grown up my entire life in, the city that was home to the largest group of Holocaust survivors per capita of almost anywhere in the world. There is a history of demonizing both my community and the community that I'm proud to represent in the LGBTIQ community, many of whom live in my electorate. And I think that the scenes we saw in Melbourne were a pretty frightening reminder that we need to be vigilant against all forms of discrimination and bigotry.

CH: That was Labour MP Josh Burns talking to Patricia Karvelas on ABC's "RN Breakfast".

[Music: country guitar]

Part 3: Proud Boys Trial, Canada Soccer Committee, Pilot Remains Recovered, Ottawa Health Board Letter, L.A/B.C. Uber Eats Mystery, FOA: Colorado Lotto Winner

Proud Boys Trial

Guest: Zach Montague

CH: It's one of the most significant court cases involving the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021. And according to a recent Washington Post article, lawyers for some of the defendants have, quote, "turned what the Justice Department sees as a deadly serious proceeding into a farce", unquote. Five members of the far right Proud Boys group are currently on trial for seditious conspiracy, including former leader Enrique Tarrio. They've all pleaded not guilty. The trial has been going on for months and today marked the start of a new phase. Federal prosecutors have rested their case and now the defence's case begins. Zach Montague has been in the courtroom covering the trial for The New York Times. We reached him in D.C.

NK: Zach, I'm wondering, you know, just as you've been watching this unfold over the past couple of months, what's your sense of how well or not prosecutors have been making their case against the Proud Boys?

ZACH MONTAGUE: Sure. Well, it's an interesting case for them to make, since it's really the first time they've attempted to argue anything like this before. By that, what I mean is the way they're explaining the conspiracy to the jury is that the Proud Boys essentially are alleged to have brought in others with them, that even if they themselves didn't do much of the violence in the fighting, they had agents there acting on their behalf. It's what they've called the tools of their conspiracy. And that's a way of sort of arguing a conspiracy case that has not been tried out in past seditious conspiracy trials. So, it's a tall order. It's difficult. But I think we have seen some pretty compelling testimony from a former Proud Boy and just reams of text messages, over half a million text messages that people have sent between them, in different segments of the group. So, it's quite a lot to take in.

NK: In all of those text messages and all of the evidence you've seen. What are some of the most significant details that have emerged?

ZM: For one thing, there's quite a bit of extremely sort of over the top rhetoric, very violent stuff, in some cases, you know, very offensive stuff. But what they're really looking for, what the prosecutors are looking to bring out is this idea that there's a plan in place that's being orchestrated. And that's the part that this whole case really hinges on. And there's elements of that you see discussion about bringing people with them, in some cases people that weren't members of the group and counting on them to really bear the brunt of fighting with police officers or, you know, burning the city to ash was one of them, that one member said. Things like that where, you know, you can sort of tease out evidence that there is a sort of a coordinated effort in place. But when it comes to a sort of a smoking gun, you know, there is, there's no discussion of, you know, we need to storm the Capitol. We need to stop lawmakers from certifying the election. And that's something the defence attorneys have harped on quite a bit.

NK: The other notable aspect of this trial, the delays. What can you tell us about that?

ZM: Yeah, like I said, this has been a very expansive case, lots of evidence. But at the beginning, at the onset, this was supposed to be an eight week trial and we have just entered the 10th week here. So, a lot of that is, just has to do with how much ground has to be covered. Looking through that evidence, sifting through that evidence. They're really just doing it on a case by case basis, which means that every single day we have, you know, fights before and after court about what can get in. And then also just, you know, trying to, trying to take on a case by case basis. You know, what really is allowed in a case that's this unprecedented and hasn't really been tried like this before.

NK: The word farce has come up in The Washington Post in one piece. You've got a front row seat to whatever is unfolding there. What does that look like? Is that an appropriate term?

ZM: I think you could certainly say that the sort of goodwill has broken down somewhat between the sides, which is normal in a case like this. But I think even within the defence, we've seen a little bit of hostility growing just because of, I think, really the complexity of this. We have five defendants on trial, there's eight lawyers in the courtroom every single day. But as time has gone on, you know, every day almost, there's been calls for a mistrial, calls to just throw the whole thing out. We've had lawyers tweeting in trial, you know, describing the trial as like watching an ice melt. You know, I don't think anyone expected it to go on this long. It's certainly kind of circus. Yeah.

NK: Where would you put this case in terms of significance when we look at the other cases connected to January 6th?

ZM: I think it's a hugely consequential case. And then the contrast between this and, you know, some of the other just January 6th defendants, individual, January 6th defendants, and then other groups like the Oath Keepers, a lot of that just has to do with the sort of the character of the Proud Boys as an organization. I mean, you know, they've described themselves, in their own words as a drinking club or as a rugby club or as a sort of fraternal organization that, you know, is just all about Western chauvinism. But when you really look at some of the footage that the government shown, there's a propensity to get into street fights to, you know, go after left wing people on the street, at protests and at rallies just I think in a lot of respects there's quite a bit more sort of documented violence surrounding this than you've seen with someone that just came to D.C. on January six and walked around the Capitol or, you know, another group that was sort of more politically minded and a little bit less interested in, you know, brawling and drinking and things of that nature.

NK: As Donald Trump, you know, as we've heard over the last few days, comments on what might happen in another case with him and what might happen to him and asking people to come out to support him. Has that come up at all in the courtroom where you are?

ZM: I haven't heard that specifically, but it's obviously difficult to try this case at the same time as so many other things happening, like the January 6th documents being handed over to Fox News a few weeks ago and just, you know, just sort of constant churn of new discussion and, you know, new developments in the larger January 6th investigation, the larger probes into Donald Trump, for sure. The judge has to remind the jury every day, you know, to stay away from this. But being in D.C., that's difficult. And I think that's very much on the defence attorney's minds. It's a daily thing. I mean, there's a constant sort of flow of that sort of stuff around here.

NK: It's a big assignment that you've got, but a long call already for you. How are you doing?

ZM: We're good. There's a lot happening here. I mean, outside of this trial, there are you know, we're still sifting through dozens, hundreds of January 6th cases right here in the same courthouse. So, we're doing our best to monitor them. But, yeah, I mean, most weeks there's several sentencings, several other cases being heard concurrently. So, that's also an interesting element of it. Just down the hallway, there can be a you know, someone is facing trial that comes up in arguments in the Proud Boys case as well, so.

NK: Well, Zach, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

ZM: Thank you.

CH: That was New York Times reporter Zach Montague in Washington, D.C.

[Music: string instrument]

Canada Soccer Committee

CH: The head of Canada Soccer was on the chopping block in Ottawa today, but it wasn't the head the Heritage Committee wanted. Members of Parliament had gathered to grill Nick Bontis, the former president of Canada Soccer, about budget cuts to the national team programs and pay equity issues raised by players on the women's national team earlier this month. Mr. Bontis stepped down from the volunteer position in February after provincial and territorial soccer leaders sent a letter asking him to resign. He initially agreed to attend today's committee hearing, but then his lawyer said he would not be attending because of a personal matter. So instead, Canada Soccer General Secretary Earl Cochrane appeared virtually. Here's Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner asking him a question.

SOUNDCLIP

LISA HEPFNER: Mr. Cochrane, I noticed during your opening statement that you professed a lot of respect and admiration for the members of the women's team. But I think that when they were here testifying before us a couple of weeks ago, we heard that they don't feel respected by Soccer Canada, that they don't have confidence in Soccer Canada or faith that Soccer Canada is there to support them. And I'll read you a particular quote that stood out for me. Christine Sinclair said, and I quote "on a personal note, I have never been more insulted than I was last year by Canada Soccer's own president, Nick Bontis as we met with him to discuss our concerns. I was tasked with outlining our compensation ask on behalf of the women's national team, the President of Canada Soccer listened to what I had to say. And then later in the meeting, referred back to it as, what was it Christine was bitching about?" Would you respond to that comment? I don't know if you were there and how you react to hearing how she was treated during that meeting.

EARL COCHRANE: Christine Sinclair is a legend in our sport. She's, she represents the best of what we are and the best of women's sport on a global stage. What was said and what was commented on, and I can assure the committee on behalf of Canada Soccer and assure all Canadians at the same time does not represent how we view Christine Sinclair and the esteem with which we hold her in.

LH: You mentioned also that both teams will be paid the same regardless of their gender identity. But what we heard from the women's player, the women's team players as well, is it wasn't just about their own pay, but it was about equity on the way that their teams are able to develop and the way that young people in the sport are able to develop. So, they were talking about things like having enough staff, having enough training, having enough medical personnel, having a professional league that they can aspire to play in. Can you respond to those complaints?

EC: I can respond by saying that we have and will continue to provide our national teams with all of the resources available to us to be successful. As I mentioned in our opening comments, we haven't been perfect, and we understand and recognize that we have made mistakes. When we do make them, we try as quickly as possible to rectify those. What I will say too is in regards to the professional league comment, about a year ago today we had engaged and hired a women's professional lead, a head of women's professional soccer to help drive this conversation forward. As this committee knows, Project 8, which is led by one of our former alumni, Diana Matheson, is looking to launch a league in 2025. And we have met weekly with that group to be able to make sure that they are prepared to meet the criteria for membership, but also the criteria to be able to run a league and sustain a league in our country. And we'll continue to work with them to make sure that that's a reality.

CH: That was Canada Soccer General Secretary Earl Cochrane answering questions from Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner.

[Music: upbeat guitar]

Pilot Remains Recovered

Guest: William B. Montgomery

CH: For nearly 80 years, the family of Lieutenant William B. Montgomery had no idea that he was a hero. The American pilot died in the Second World War when his plane was shot down in June of 1944. Before the plane crashed, he saved the lives of seven men in his aircraft. But then his remains in his story were lost for decades. Until an investigation that began in 2017 and officially ended this year. William B. Montgomery is the nephew of Lieutenant William Montgomery. We reached him in Roswell, Georgia.

NK: Bill, I understand that once your uncle's remains were recovered and identified, you were given an item that belonged to him. Can you tell me about that?

WILLIAM B MONTGOMERY: Yes. When we had a Zoom call with the U.S. Army and on a Zoom call, they talked about recovering his remains and how that was done, the DNA testing. And they had to send a Captain from Fort Benning, Georgia, to witness the Zoom call with the U.S. Army because they needed my signature. And in the middle of the Zoom call, the U.S. Army told me that they had recovered my uncle's fraternity ring from W&J College. And the Captain handed me the ring.

NK: My hair stood on end here in the studio, as you said that. What was that moment like for you?

WBM: A complete shock because I didn't know that they had recovered anything. I was surprised. I mean, it was very emotional. This is part of, part of our family that nobody had ever seen before.

NK: What was it like growing up and hearing about your uncle and not knowing what exactly had happened or where he was?

WBM: In terms of his death and everything, were classified for years. So, basically, growing up, my father and my aunt knew nothing about how my uncle died. It wasn't something that was talked about a lot because nobody knew anything.

NK: You now know more. And I believe your uncle helped save seven people on the day that he died. Can you take me through what happened that day as you've been able to put the pieces of the puzzle and your family history together?

WBM: What happened is, if you can imagine being 24 years old, having graduated college two years earlier, staying at the college to become the head baseball coach, and then World War Two comes calling. So, at 22 years old, my uncle went to flight school, learned how to fly B-24 Liberators, which was the common aircraft in World War Two, but very, very hard to fly. Very difficult plane to fly. So, that day they went out on a mission from an air base in England and did a bombing run, I believe it was called Versailles, which is right outside Paris. During the bombing they were hit by flak. And, of course, my uncle, who was the lead pilot, lost everything except the rudder and an elevator. And he broke formation to fly the shortest route back over the English Channel to get back to England. And as he was doing that, I mean, he ordered, there were 10 people on the plane. He ordered seven of them to the back of the plane to distribute the weight, to keep, to try to keep the nose of the plane in the air. So, when they got just about over the Cliffs of Dover into England, he ordered the seven in the back of the plane to bail out. So, they bailed out. I think four of them landed in the English Channel and were completely retrieved and rescued. Three others landed in a field. And I believe, I don't know, I've only read the account of one, they watched the plane crash and break into fire. So basically, at 24 years old, two years out of college, this man responsible for ten people on that plane saved seven of them.

NK: The military had stopped looking for him back in 1950. Did you have any idea that there was a renewed effort to find him or why they decided to now?

WBM: Yes. In 1950, they declared his remains unrecoverable. Due to some amateur historians and I guess a young boy who witnessed the crash in England. They went to the field where they decided to start excavating the site where this gentleman told them about. In 2019, the Army called me and said they were digging, and they needed DNA samples. I'm thinking, you know, they haven't found him by now, this is going to be a long shot. Well, in January of this year, the long shot came through. U.S. Army called me and said we found him. And if you think, I mean, God bless the U.S. Army, 79 years, they never quite looking for him. Yeah, they had part of his left arm and his left wrist, and they were able to get DNA from that and positively identify him. So actually, that is where my uncle is right now at Office Air Force Base in Nebraska.

NK: In that moment that they called you and said that they had found him. I wonder if you, did you think of your dad, who was also a veteran and didn't know what had happened to his brother?

WBM: Absolutely. I thought of my dad and their sister, who has also passed, that they would never get to see him buried.

NK: The next step is you'll get a date for your uncle to get a burial, a proper burial at Arlington National Cemetery. What will that day be like?

WBM: You know, it's hard to tell because it's going to be such a range of emotions because I'm going to have, you know, family there. This is actually something that I've never experienced, a burial in Arlington and the U.S. Army is going all out. So, I mean, in a way, you know, you're going to enjoy it, but it's going to be very, very emotional.

NK: Bill, I appreciate your time. Thanks very much.

WBM: Okay. Thank you.

CH: William B. Montgomery is the nephew of Lieutenant William Montgomery, who died when his plane was shot down in 1944. We reached him in Roswell, Georgia.

[Music: electric guitar]

Ottawa Health Board Letter

CH: After serving on Ottawa's Board of Health for four years, Elyse Banham is used to hearing from residents who don't agree with her. But on Saturday she received a letter that took issue not with her opinions but with her appearance. It was just four lines long and written by a stranger who told Ms. Banham she couldn't do her job as a member of the Board of Health because of her, quote, "unhealthy status", unquote. It went on to say it's unacceptable for her to be overweight by 20 pounds. This morning, Elise Banham shared her initial reaction to that letter and why she chose to post it on Twitter.

SOUNDCLIP

ELYSE BANHAM: Well, admittedly, I have to say I cried, which I wish I could say that I didn't. But yes, I was sad at first and then I was a bit angry and I posted it to Twitter. But very quickly, I know and am confident in myself enough to know that this does say more about the person who chose to send it than it does about me. And, you know, I think that it's important to be a role model for all sorts of people and say that what my body looks like, what my body can do, has no bearing on whether I can contribute to boards, committees or society.

HALLIE COTNAM: Why do you think someone would write a letter like this to you?

EB: Well, admittedly, this came in response to an interview I gave to the Ottawa Citizen about the need to diversify boards and committees for the city. And I have a feeling maybe this person didn't agree with that and felt the need to make me feel bad about myself.

HC: In your post, you wrote "standards that are projected onto women make this type of work hard". What do you mean by that?

EB: Yes, well, I think there's plenty of examples of, whether it be female politicians, whether it be Dr. Vera Etches, a lot during the pandemic, she received a lot of criticism based on whether it be her appearance or even her ability to do her job as a woman. The more and more we talk about the fact that being a woman is okay and it allows us to contribute in ways to committees and boards. The more we talk about that, hopefully, the more normalized it will be. And beyond that, and what's important is to recognize women are obviously one piece of the pie, but there's also people who are racialized. We need more diversity of opinion and that's how we get better policy, that's how we get better decisions.

HC: And finally, Elyse, what's your message to the person who sent you the letter?

EB: They spent a dollar, but they will not rent space in my head.

CH: That's Ottawa Board of Health member Elyse Banham speaking with Hallie Cotnam, guest host of Ottawa Morning.

[Music: percussion]

L.A/B.C. Uber Eats Mystery

CH: A neighbourhood in Highland Park, Los Angeles is still baffled by the mystery of who was behind dozens of unsolicited Uber Eats deliveries. For two weeks, people living on Range View Avenue would get up to three bags of McDonald's or Starbucks food a day. And then as suddenly, as they began, the deliveries stopped. Here's Will Neal talking to Nil on Friday's show about the mystery food.

SOUNDCLIP

WILL NEAL: We knew something was wrong when it no longer made sense for it to just be a random act of kindness. And we started getting bags every single day for two weeks. [oh my gosh] And some people got some really weird stuff, like I got, mine was pretty consistent. But I know my next door neighbours, they got like containers of, like milk from McDonald's on like multiple times.

CH: Well, the plot thickens. The same thing is happening to people in another neighbourhood, this time in British Columbia. They say dozens, if not hundreds, of deliveries have piled up recently. And again, nobody has any idea who is behind the whole thing. Here's Geoff McLennan in Victoria Hill, New Westminster.

SOUNDCLIP

GEOFF MCLENNAN: It went on for a couple of weeks and sort of in our group Complex chat, everybody was like, is this happening to you? Is this happening to you? And we started finding out through Facebook groups and stuff that it was happening in other spots in Victoria Hill as well. It reached its, I would say highest amount of people, like highest amount of deliveries on Thursday. I had actually posted in a local food group about what was happening and while I was posting it, six deliveries actually arrived at my front door. So, it was Thursday, I was just sitting on my porch over there. I was just on my phone posting it and we had a lineup of cars here and I mean all the Uber drivers were getting out and trying to drop off bags and they were all really confused because they all had, they were getting the address but without unit numbers. And they were also, some of them said they didn't even have the address, that it just, like a pin had had dropped. So, they were dropping off the bags. And I mean, we started saying, like, don't even drop them off. But the poor guys were like, well, can I put it on the ground and take a picture, because they don't get paid if they don't do that. So, I mean, some of them left with the food, like we were like, well, if you want it like, that looks like a tasty Donair, you should have it. And they were all laughing and joking. One of them said it was, that he got left the biggest tip he's ever gotten. Really, really strange, I don't need a bowl of gravy randomly delivered. [laughter].

CH: Geoff McLennan of Victoria Hill in New Westminster, B.C. Uber Eats has called the unsolicited deliveries in both L.A. and New Westminster concerning and says it has banned accounts related to the recent orders.

[Music: electro dance]

FOA: Colorado Lotto Winner

CH: It's hard to be anonymous in a town of 27 people, but Joanie is going to give it her best shot. Recently, Joanie won the lottery in Colorado. She's now half a million dollars richer and she does not want the whole world to know it. So, she has asked state lottery officials if she could hide her face in the photo op for her big payday. And she's asked them and media outlets not to use her last name, both of which are tactics that might work if Joanie didn't live in the town of Cowdrey, population 27. And even if there are two Joanie's, everyone's going to know it's the one wearing the sunglasses and the baseball cap everywhere all of a sudden. Maybe Joanie should have bought her ticket in Ireland. You might recall that in 2017, Carol spoke with Mary Murphy, the Irish postmaster who refused to reveal the identity of the lottery winner who hit the jackpot on Bere Island, population 200. Despite our dogged former host's best efforts.

SOUNDCLIP

CAROL OFF: Mary, what's it been like at the post office today?

MARY MURPHY: It's been crazy. People, well, it started yesterday after word came through that I had sold the winning tickets and people are texting me and ring me from all over the world.

CO: And what are they asking you?

MM: They all want to know who won it. Who did I sell it to? But I don't know. And even I know I can't say I'm not allowed by the lottery. The person has to claim the money up in Dublin, they actually won five hundred thousand Euro.

CO: No one has claimed it.

MM: Nobody has claimed it yet, but they won't do it with me. They'll have to do it in Dublin at the lotto, the lotto headquarters.

CO: Now, what, you were the one who sold it.

MM: Yes.

CO: But do you know if it's really somebody in your community who bought it?

MM: I can't say. I can't say anything. I'm not allowed.

CO: Okay. But that's what...

MM: I know everybody wants to know and they all think I know but I'm not allowed to say. It's part of being with the National Lottery. I'm not allowed to say anything.

CO: Okay, Now I know you can't betray anything. But is it possible that somebody from off Island who bought the ticket?

MM: It could be. I had visitors here on Monday. I had people here on Monday. So, it was people in, it could be.

CO: Do you know what day the ticket was sold?

MM: It was Monday, last Monday.

CO: So, you know everybody who bought a ticket roughly on Monday?

MM: Look, I really... You know, it's just, it's confidential. That's all.

CO: But, Mary, you know, people listening to this. Anyone who has seen a very famous movie called "Waking Ned Devine".

MM: [inaudible] they've been telling me all day.

CO: And do you remember in that movie, there's a very small Irish village called Tullamore and they, and the postmistress.

MM: Yeah.

CO: Reveals who bought tickets.

MM: Yeah, I can't do that! You keep asking me, all of you are trying and you're at me, but I can't!

CO: Ok. She did. But you're not going to.

MM: Oh, no, no, no, can't.

CO: And so. But people are trying to get you to do that. Is that, right?

MM: Oh, they are, yeah. They are yeah and are speculating about who was here and who wasn't. And they told me they could check my CTV, I said nobody is doing anything, I said. It would be lovely if somebody from Bere Island won it. And whoever has won it, I wish them the best of luck.

CH: That was former As It Happens host Carol Off trying and failing to get Mary Murphy of Bere Island, Ireland to spill the beans about which of the Island's 200 residents had bought the winning lottery ticket in her post office.

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March 20, 2023 Episode Transcript