As It Happens
|
|
As It Happens is a long-running interview show on CBC Radio One in Canada. It has long been one of the most popular and acclaimed shows on CBC radio; it is also distributed in the United States by American Public Media.
The show was introduced in 1968 as a reverse call-in show — rather than having the public call in, the reporters at As It Happens would call newsmakers and pundits for their opinions.
In its history, the show has had many notable interviews. These include:
- the wife of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn just after his arrest
- Sandra Good, the best friend of Squeaky Fromme, just after her friend had attempted to shoot Gerald Ford
- a Rwandan woman seemingly moments away from being killed by Tutsi militia during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide — she stayed on the phone with As It Happens up to the point when the attackers knocked on her door. She was ultimately spared.
The show has also interviewed a wide array of presidents, prime ministers, terrorists, inventors, and authors.
Despite the gravity of many of its stories, As It Happens is also known for being very lighthearted and carrying news of the obscure and bizarre. For instance, for two or three years during the early 1990s there were updates on the battle over a large fiberglass fish that annoyed a neighbour in England. The show is also well known for noting how far each city in the UK is from Reading.
Another well known and amusing interview was with a British farmer who was hard of hearing. It is frequently played on the programme as an amusing interlude.
The show is broadcast each day between 6:30 and 8:00 p.m. throughout Canada, and can be heard throughout much of the northern United States. As It Happens can be heard on Radio Canada International and on the Internet via streaming audio at this link (http://www.cbc.ca/audio.html).
American stations that carry As It Happens do not air the final half hour (7:30 to 8:00 p.m.) of the program. Currently, the CBC also ends the program at 7:30 on Wednesdays, and airs the documentary series Dispatches.
Its theme song is Curried Soul played by Moe Koffman.
Hosts
- Philip Forsyth - 1968–1969
- Harry Brown - 1968–1974
- William Ronald - 1968–1971
- Cy Strange - 1971–1973
- Barbara Frum - 1971–1981
- Alan Maitland - 1974–1993
- Elizabeth Gray - 1981–1985
- Dennis Trudeau - 1985–1987
- Michael Enright - 1987–1997
- Barbara Budd - 1993–present
- Mary Lou Finlay - 1997–present
The late Alan Maitland lives on somewhat under the guise of Fireside Al, his story-reading alter ego, repeats of which are still played on the show, particularly at Christmastime and his readings of Frederick Forsyth's The Shepherd and O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi.
External links
- Official website (http://radio.cbc.ca/programs/asithappens/)
- The show's CBC Program Guide entry (http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/program/index.jsp?program=As+It+Happens)