As It Happens

"Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration." Well, tonight's show contains a lot of genius -- but we've cleaned up all the sweat and just left you with the inspiration. If you're looking for fashion inspiration, why not look to the trend-setting chimpanzees -- who are accessorizing with blades of grass placed delicately in their ears, and, even more delicately, in their butts. Anna Brynald of Denmark won the whole shebang this year at the world's most important seagull-impersonating contest -- by keeping her feet on the ground and screeching for the stars. The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra produces music from produce -- although, when you first hear it, you might feel like you've been sold a bill of gourds. At 14 years old, Pearl is now the world's oldest living chicken -- and her owner credits her longevity to her joie de vivre, and her close friendship with a mop. When Mitchell O'Brien found himself being slowly swallowed by a patch of quicksand, he and a longtime friend admitted they both admired one another romantically -- emphasis on "mire".

Buckle your seatbelt and prepare for take-off. Here is "Fireside" Al Maitland's classic reading of "The Shepherd", by the late Frederick Forsyth.Mr. Forsyth lived many lives before becoming a best-selling author, including the life of a RAF pilot. He told us what it's like to be thousands of metres in the sky when fog sets in, and how that experience inspired his haunting Christmas story.When Tony Kent was growing up reading gripping thrillers, including "The Day of the Jackal," he never imagined that one day he would help write Mr. Forsyth's final novel -- and that he'd be on the same book cover as the man he idolized. The annual broadcast of "The Shepherd" has become a tradition for the program. And, that is in large part because of the calls and emails we've received from listeners ever since it first aired in 1979.

As Brown University tries to reassure its community about safety on campus...we reach a student who’s been here before. While Australia has vowed to crack down on hate speech, a politician there says antisemitism has become 'part of life' in his country. The World Health Organization's chief scientist tells us why the W-H-O is taking a closer look at traditional remedies...and says it's time to marry many of those with modern medicine. As It Happens holiday readings are kicking into high gear. There's only one more sleep until our annual broadcast of 'The Shepherd.' Tonight we present Chris Howden's annual reading of a Cape Breton classic that highlights the bittersweet notes of a Christmas get-together. Heads Will Scroll. A BC highschool student heads to the finals of an international scholarship competition ... with a video that lays out the science that keeps us addicted to our phones. As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that appreciates his off-screen achievement.

Russian investigators suggest Ukraine could be behind a car bomb that killed a top military official in Moscow. Our guest tells us whoever's behind it, the message is clear. Cyclone reconstruction is just the latest shock to Sri Lanka's bottom line. And an economist in Colombo says the way forward is mixed at best. We reach a National Cancer Institute scientist in Maryland who's raising eyebrows with his latest research: A vaccine he's making in his kitchen, and drinking in beer form. As Hanukkah draws to a close, we bring you our second reading of the holiday...involving the arrival of a surprise, winged visitor who portends the unexpected in more ways than one. Two Dalhousie University computer scientists pull off a Christmas miracle ... by getting an enormous, terrifying, yet locally-beloved mall attraction back into working order. Scientists discover that Hawaiian Monk Seals...who they'd frankly considered pretty inarticulate...actually have about 25 different vocalizations including a pronounced "Whine". As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that wishes those whiny seals would just knock it arf.

A fellow scientist remembers his friend Nuno Loureiro -- the beloved MIT professor authorities believe was killed this week by the same man suspected of killing two students at Brown University.Air Canada reaches a settlement with passengers after a crash-landing in a Halifax snowstorm more than 10 years ago -- an event that left our guest with an understandably visceral fear of flying.As part of a ceasefire deal with Israel, the Lebanese army must disarm the militant group Hezbollah by the end of this year. A former MP in Lebanon weighs on whether that's possible -- and what it could mean if it isn't. The Canadian couple who were struggling to secure a travel visa for their adopted Ugandan daughter have finally made it home for the holidays.In tonight's holiday reading, a child's Christmas wish for new ice skates is badly misinterpreted -- to the extreme dismay of that child, and then his mother. This year's World Pie-Eating Championship has a sur-pies winner -- but the contest's pie master laments the much faster competitors of days gone pie.As It Happens, the Friday Edition. Radio that's off the tarts.