Midweek
Wednesday October 12th, 2022 with Shriya Balachandran & Spencer Nafekh-Blanchette
Fall 2022 - Episode 3

Lots to chew on in this week’s show — and like a lot of good meals, it ends with … ice cream! First, though, there was a serving of politics as we see the councillor race in Ottawa’s Gloucester-Southgate ward through the eyes of one resident. As Sophie Kuijper Dickson reports, different communities feel safe in different ways. Then Jodie Applewaithe brought us details about how to ensure you get to vote in the way that works best for you. Knowing who to vote for can be a tougher question. The details of what governments are doing and the issues that need to be tackled are often lost in the gobbledegook of quarterly reports, research studies and other technical tomes. Midweek reporter Larhari Nanda joined us to explain what experts told her about how those sharing numbers with the public have a duty to do it better. Sam Konnert reported on a rally at the British High Commission in Ottawa on Saturday in solidarity with those who formed a human chain outside Britain’s parliament to protest attempts to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face criminal charges. The Caribbean island of Curaçao has a serious problem with stray dogs, and the Dushi Dogs organization is trying to rescue ones that would otherwise be killed by finding them homes abroad, including in Canada. Midweek’s Ora Massabuau spoke with its co-founder, Sheila Botton. Next came two stories on COVID vaccines: Sophie Price interviewed a Carleton University student with good reasons for getting the new Bivalent shot, and Ora went out with fellow reporter Mariana Tawil to ask other students on Carleton’s campus where they stand on the to-boost-or-not-to-boost question. Lahari then returned with the experience of a young woman who turned to local crisis lines for survivors of sexual assault, only to find she couldn’t get through. Her worry is not just for herself but also for others desperate for advice and support amid a terrible time. Lilian Fridfinnson next reported on a fire at St. Luke’s Anglican Church on Somerset Street West — and then on a protest in Ottawa over the deadly Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities. Mariana followed that by getting reaction to sexual assault charges against the musician known as Rex Orange County. Back to statistics and the human reality behind them: Shriya Balachandran (one of this week’s hosts), spoke with Dr. Jocelynn Cook, chief scientific officer at the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, about whether this country is undercounting maternal mortality — deaths related to giving birth. Joy SpearChief-Morris got a wildlife rescue worker’s perspective on how the City is responding to coyotes killing pets in Riverside Park neighbourhood in recent months. Then reporter Tavneet Dhillon took us inside the emotions that Thanksgiving now raises in a young woman who lost a close friend in a car accident on that day six years ago. Jodi Applewaithe was back with an in-depth look at how inflation is affecting local food banks at Thanksgiving time, and then Joy returned to take us on a Thanksgiving walk in Gatineau Park. And continuing the theme, reporter Will Smith spoke with his sister Moira about how she shared her family’s Thanksgiving dinner traditions with friends in Scotland where she’s now studying. The bad news: The Brits aren’t much on pumpkin pie. Mayson Maharaj followed that with a report on how “Buy Nothing” groups on Facebook inspired one family in Old Ottawa South to turn their neighbourhood’s experiences with swapping and sharing during the pandemic into a play. And if you’re actually going to buy something, what better than ice cream? Spencer Nafekh (our other host this week) took us around to local ice cream vendors to see how they adjust when the climate gets as icy as their merchandise. You could say he got a scoop …