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The AIH Transcript for May 2, 2019

Hosts: Carol Off and Jeff Douglas

Prologue

CAROL OFF: Hello I'm Carol Off.

JEFF DOUGLAS: Good evening. I'm Jeff Douglas. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

JD: Tonight...

CO: Credit when credit's due. Canada's International Trade Minister will increase the loans available to canola farmers until China lifts the restrictions it imposed after the arrest of a Chinese executive in Vancouver.

JD: Dropping the gloves. More than 200 professional women's hockey players from Canada and the U.S. say they will not play in North America until a single, economically-viable league is established.

CO: Categorically wrong. He testified in support of runner Caster Semenya -- and now, Dr. Alun Williams says the ruling that she has to reduce her testosterone in order to compete as a woman is a big mistake.

JD: Perfectly baffling -- and perfectly Frank. In the 1980s Frank Sidebottom -- a popular British character with a giant papier-mâché head -- hid secret codes in his artwork, and they have finally been deciphered.

CO: Flying in the face of danger. In Labrador a search-and-rescue team braves a blizzard and has to crawl the final distance to reach two men whose plane had crashed into the side of a remote mountain.

JD: And maybe the water softens the blow. But in a new study small fresh water shrimp in a rural part of England all tested positive for cocaine -- which might make them feel jumbo anyway. As It Happens. The Thursday Edition. Radio that offers a complimentary shrimp coke tale.

[Music: Theme]

Part 1: Canola: International Trade Minister Carr

Canola: International Trade Minister Carr

Guest: Jim Carr

JD: Jim Carr is going to have his work cut out for him. Yesterday, the International Trade Minister announced a new trade mission to Asia. At that point the idea was to find new customers for the Canadian canola that China is refusing to buy following the detention of Huawei's Meng Wanzhou. And then last night news broke that Beijing also seems to have a problem with Canadian pork -- as it added two major Canadian pork exporters to its unwanted list. That is just on the trade file. Two Canadians remain detained in China. Two others have been sentenced to death. We reached Minister Jim Carr in Ottawa.

CO: Minister Carr if China continues to cut off Canadian products how much business is your trade mission going to have to drum up someplace else?

JIM CARR: Well I don't know but we know that to diversify our markets is an important strategic value for Canada. It's to diversify away from reliance on the United States where we send about 75 percent of our exports. And also as we know now from difficulties with China it's a value for us to diversify within the Asian market and elsewhere. We already have very good relationships with a number of countries with whom we trade canola. And I've been spending a lot of time talking with my counterparts and I'll be leading trade missions in June. It's just very good business and makes a lot of sense for the country to have all kinds of partners and that's the goal.

CO: But you have to come up with an awful lot of other partners and other deals in order to compensate for the huge market we have with China. And like to lose this -- this is major isn't it?

JC: Well we hope we don't lose it and we don't think we will lose it. This is not the first time we've had problems with the Chinese about canola. There was a controversy in 2016 that we were able to solve and negotiate. There were problems during the Harper-era in 2009. And we think that if we can engage the Chinese on the basis of their allegation that this crop somehow is impure, we'll be able to sort through it. And if they can't come up with any evidence then we should move on. Meanwhile our strategy is to make sure that our canola producers have support which we announced this week, and to continue to diversify the market share which we are doing.

CO: But it's not just canola, is it? It's other crops and now it's pork we're looking at. I want to just play you a clip. We spoke with Canada's former ambassador to China, Guy Saint-Jacques, a few days ago -- and here's what he told us on Tuesday.

SOUNDCLIP

GUY SAINT-JACQUES: The central government in China has asked all Chinese provinces to report on ongoing transactions with Canada -- presumably this is to identify other targets that they can use. And every time there was an important milestone with the case of Mrs. Meng, they announce additional measures. The next judicial hearing is scheduled for May 8th and I suspected that they will announce further measures.

CO: Okay. He's speaking of Meng Wanzhou who is the Huawei executive who is facing this extradition hearing which is the source of much of our grief. So he has said that his sources in China are saying that they expect another list of products. I'm sure you have good sources inside China too. What are you going to do as this escalates?

JC: Well we can only respond to what we know officially. And we can only prepare for what we believe to be in the longer term interests of our producers. And we're doing all of that. So there has been engagement -- Minister Bibeau and her officials have been in the midst of teleconference discussions with Chinese scientists. We have asked the Chinese regulators to invite a team of Canadian scientists to review their evidence. That invitation has not come yet.

CO: So what you're saying though is the engagement is to present the evidence, to dispute their claims, to get the science, to do all those things. But isn't it rather clear -- and this is what the former ambassador is saying -- this is not scientific, this is political, this is because of the Meng Wanzhou case -- and what you're up against including why we have Canadians in jail, Canadians on death row, is politics. And not because of something that has actually gone wrong here with pests in our canola.

JC: Well we have spent an awful lot of time talking to our allies about what we consider to be the wrongful detention of Canadians. And we spend time with our allies talking about Canadian values and to persuade our allies within their comfort zone whether that's publicly or more privately to tell the Chinese authorities that that kind of what we believe to be wrongful arrest of Canadian citizens is contrary to our sense of the rule of law and Canadian values and we have an awful lot of support for that position internationally. We continue to do that. And in my conversations with those who believe in a rules based international trading system, we have a lot of allies there as well. So it's not as if Canada is without influence. We have lots of influence and we're using it as best we can. But there is no interest for us to escalate this dispute with China on the basis of a rumor or hearsay. When we have evidence of any kind we will act on that evidence. Meanwhile we have aligned all kinds of interests across the country to pursue the issue the way we are.

CO: But you have said in terms of the two men Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor who are on vague espionage charges. Two other men on death row -- while one case appears to be political if not both. And you question these charges, you've questioned the arbitrary nature of it. So that appears to be political. Why not declare that these trade decisions are also political? Shouldn't that be a starting point for you to say 'hey call them on this?'

JC: Yeah but we can declare anything we want. Our goal is to resolve the situation and the way to resolve this situation is to deal with the evidence that's presented. Meanwhile to look after the well-being of our producers and to diversify our export markets. In the case of having evidence presented to us that there's more here than the Chinese have admitted so far then of course we would look at other options.

CO: All right we'll leave it there. Minister Carr thank you.

JC: Always a pleasure Carol.

JD: Jim Carr is the Minister of International Trade. We reached him in Ottawa.

[Music]

Caster Semenya: doctor

Guest: Alun Williams

JD: Caster Semenya may have lost her appeal but she will be back on the track tomorrow racing in Doha, Qatar. As we told you on the program yesterday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld rules that would force the two-time Olympic champion and other female runners with naturally elevated testosterone levels to take medication if they want to compete as women in certain races. Yesterday, we heard from former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies who supports that ruling. But a lot of people think that it's completely wrong -- including Dr. Alun Williams. He is a professor of sport and genetics at Manchester Metropolitan University. He gave evidence to the court on Ms. Semenya's behalf. We reached Dr. Williams in Manchester, England.

CO: Dr. Williams what do you make of this decision on the part of the Court of Arbitration for Sport?

ALUN WILLIAMS: I'm disappointed by it. Disappointed on behalf of the athletes that it affects which of course includes Caster Semenya but she's not the only athlete that this effects. I think it's wrong probably for several reasons. But I mean you could calculate it all I suppose into one statement which is that no one questions their status as women and yet we have a situation where some women are now excluded from the women's category in certain international athletic events -- despite the fact that they are legally recognized as women and have always been women and lived their lives as women completely.

CO: I'm sure you know that there are a lot of people who are happy about the decision. A lot of athletes and former athletes. We spoke with one, Sharron Davies, last night who is quite thrilled with this. She said it was necessary to level the playing field, preserve the integrity of female sport. Is it the case? Do women with higher testosterone actually perform better than women with low testosterone?

AW: So within the normal female range of testosterone there probably isn't much effect of those differences on performance. When you move out of the normal female range then it probably does have a significant effect on performance. But the idea that you have to make things fair and level the playing field as it has been put, sport is not fair and the playing field is already not level for all sorts of reasons -- many to do with genetics that make people taller or more muscular or have greater oxygen carrying capacity and some of the genetics underlying that is now beginning to emerge. And one way of looking at the kind of genetic mutations that the female DSD athletes have is that they are just another kind of genetic variation.

CO: When you say DSD it's differences of sex development -- is that right?

AW: Yes. Yes that's right.

CO: Does Caster Semenya have an advantage with her natural levels of testosterone?

AW: So probably yes -- over most other women she competes against, yes. But there are other athletes who have other genetic variations that give them advantages over their competitors and we don't seem to worry about that.

CO: To go back to our conversation last night with Sharron Davies -- she states that sex is binary and though Caster Semenya has been approved to compete as a woman, she or anyone who has an XY chromosome is biologically male. What do you make of that? How binary is sex?

AW: So I disagree with that. Scientists and society more broadly would have agreed with that statement several decades ago. Since then the world of science and biology that has understood sex in humans is not binary in that way. And it is society that still seems to simply divide things into male and females. For example in sport and in other walks of life as well. So it is society really that has to catch up. But from the World Health Organization -- and there is no other sort of more authoritative organization about human health than that -- it states that while most men are XY sex chromosomes and most women are of XX, there are a number of variations. There are individuals with maybe just one of the sex chromosomes or maybe three or four in five of them. So maybe an XXY or XYY and different variations. And also some women are XY which would usually be male and some males are XX which would usually be female. I'm talking about biological sex not just gender identity but biological sex.

CO: Is it somewhat ironic that sport has been so against doping and any artificial hormones or drugs and yet they're telling Caster Semenya if she wants to compete as a woman then she has to take drugs and hormones in order to reduce her levels. What effect will that have on her?

AW: So the irony is clear, isn't it. Yes it's a very strange situation. These individuals are not ill and yet to comply with the regulations they would have to be administered some quite powerful hormonal drugs which obviously quite widely used but in the kind of athlete we're talking about specifically given these drugs because of their testosterone levels are higher -- relatively speaking -- these drugs are very poorly tested in those kind of individuals. So it's a very unusual situation in my perspective.

CO: Just finally, in a number of places people are questioning that why athletes who have all kinds of strange reasons why they are just extraordinary -- like Michael Phelps the Olympic swimmer who has this huge wingspan and did remarkably well. Why is Michael Phelps celebrated but Caster Semenya penalized?

AW: So I think that's just because the female category -- the women's category -- in sport and in athletics we're talking about is the protected category. And if you like the male category is open one. But I and everyone I've spoken to about this -- and whatever their opinion on it -- agrees that there should be a protected category for women. So by having a protected women's category and then having to police it and making its own judgment on where the boundary lies between men and women is not a sexist approach. I just think they are really basing it on some weak science and I think the idea that someone can be you know born with a particular sex and treated that way completely that is a strong reason to let them continue to compete in that category.

CO: All right we'll leave it there. Dr. Williams thank you.

AW: Okay. Thanks very much.

JD: Dr. Alun Williams is a sports scientist with Manchester Metropolitan University. We reached him in Manchester, England.

[Music]

Plane crash rescue

Guest: Perry Dyson

JD: A small aircraft was on its way to Greenland when it crashed into the side of a mountain on Labrador's north coast. And then the blizzard early yesterday morning did nothing to give anyone much hope. Visibility was extremely poor which would pose serious difficulties for rescue helicopters at the site. And then there was the risk that the crashed plane would slide down the steep slope. Nevertheless a small ground search-and-rescue team gathered in nearby Makkovik -- and despite the odds, retrieved the two men. Sadly one died from his injuries before he arrived back at base. The other is recovering. Perry Dyson is one of the rescuers. We reached him in Makkovik, Newfoundland and Labrador.

CO: Perry when you got the call for this rescue, what did you learned about the state that the men were in?

PERRY DYSON: When I departed from Makkovik I expected a man and a woman -- a woman who was unconscious. The second occupant, the one who is maintaining conversation, I understood was to be in fairly good condition but a bit beat up.

CO: And so that's all you had. And so you headed off on snowmobile, right?

PD: That's right. We left here from Makkovik -- distance of about 45 miles maybe on sea ice to the bottom of [inaudible] where we had two events over the land at that point.

CO: What were the conditions like?

PD: The air was really thick and close to us. The whiteout conditions with regard to fog and and freezing drizzle and some rain and periods of snow -- it was very difficult to see after we left to sea ice and started to proceed over the land.

CO: Did you have a fairly good idea where you were going to find the plane?

PD: Well we had an exact location with regard to a GPS coordinates. Yeah we had a pretty good idea of where we were headed. The area that it was is often quite unpredictable because of the terrain -- and the high winds up there often cause drifts you know and in the weather condition, it's impossible to see them so they have to be very careful.

CO: And where exactly was the plane? How had it crashed?

PD: It was at a significant height on the side of a pretty steep bank -- a pretty steep hill. Basically just stuck there.

CO: How precarious was that?

PD: We could get to within I think 580 metres to 600 meters of the aircraft on snowmobile but then it just became too steep and then the snowmobiles we couldn't advance any further. So we had to walk the remaining 500 to 600 metres up of the embankment to the plane.

CO: And when you say had to walk -- I mean it wasn't you just walk along. You're dealing with snow, rain, and ice.

PD: Yeah we climbed. Basically the last half of the climb the going was very steep and you almost had to you know help yourself with your hands -- crawling to get up to the plane. And the conditions yeah we were in a whiteout. Until we were within 25 or 30 feet of plane, you couldn't make it out.

CO: So what did you find? What did it look like when you finally got to the plane? And we understand now two men were there. What was it like?

PD: It was surreal. You couldn't imagine this plane just nosing into the snow bank the way it had done. The plane was still sealed. We could communicate with the fellow inside. He could hear us through the window and we could hear him. But we didn't make the decision to open the aircraft until the decision was made that we would have to transport him back through the sea ice.

CO: Because you have to take him overland and neither the aircraft were going to be able to help you with that I guess eh?

PD: No. At that point they had pretty much decided that they weren't going to be able to help us.

CO: When you say it was surreal, what do you mean?

PD: It's not something that I've done before. And to see the aircraft in that area -- most of the members in our ground search-and-rescue team have been to that area before, some for hunting, some for patrols on the radar site. And our fathers and grandfathers have been there. So to see an aircraft nose into the side of the hill was a bit -- yeah it was surreal. It was hard to imagine that that would really happen.

CO: What do you think it was like for those men inside?

PD: The gentleman who was conscious and alert, he was in remarkably good condition both mentally -- probably better mentally than physically. He was a bit banged up around his upper body from his chest up. But he had been in contact pretty much constantly through JRCC which the Joint Rescue Control Centre and then eventually the Herc and the cormorant helicopter that were an area. And he had everything to do with his own rescue. He remained alert and calm and kept his head through the whole thing.

CO: How difficult was it to get the men out?

PD: At first we thought the sea ice where visibility might improve enough that the cormorant could get them and then eventually to Makkovik. We opened up one of the emergency hatches inside of the plane and the individual who was conscious he climbed out basically slowly. I think he wasn't even entirely sure of his physical condition at the time. The second individual, we took him from the plane -- he wasn't able to help himself.

CO: How did you get him out?

PD: One of the fellows climbed inside and another fellow leaned in through the door. We had to tear one of the seats back -- off of the plane -- to get him out because he was...it is hard to explain how tiny this plane was but in the front -- the cockpit -- was just two seats and that buried off the cockpit from the whole back end the plane. The fuselage of the plane had kind of caved in on that side where he was and it would have been difficult anyway. After we got him out and the other gentleman who was conscious and alert, he basically walked himself down the hill.

CO: Amazing after a crash like that and staying for hours in the cold that you could actually do that.

PD: Yeah. His strength and mind was really amazing -- it was remarkable.

CO: So you got both men onto the snowmobiles. How long was the trip back to the Makkovik?

PD: We had to transport the two men down the hill to the snowmobiles before we could get back to the sea ice and we got back to Makkovik just past 9 I think that night.

CO: And was your conscious man -- was he pretty happy to get into a warm place?

PD: He looked relieved I can say to get into the clinic and have a nurse look him over and tell him that he had some trouble but he was going to be fine. And I think he took comfort in that. Well I did and I'm sure everybody else did too. This man is going to go home to his family.

CO: And the other man, he didn't survive.

PD: No. No. He succumbed.

CO: So sorry.

PD: Yeah me too.

CO: And so now have you been over to see the man? Have you had any contact with him?

PD: I haven't had contact with him. He took our names and he exchanged email information with at least one of the guys. If I was him -- first thing I'd want to do is get home to my family. I'm sure I'll be glad to hear from him that he's doing well.

CO: Well Perry I'm really glad that you and the others were there. It's really great that you could rescue both. And that one of them has survived so thank you for that. And thanks for speaking with us.

PD: Well thanks for the call. I appreciate it.

JD: Perry Dyson was a member of the ground search-and-rescue team that retrieved two men from a crashed plane yesterday. We reached Mr. Dyson in Makkovik, northern Labrador.

[Music]

Cocaine shrimps

JD: In the movies people roll up bills or pull out little tiny spoons and then inhale cocaine through one nostril. A process I understand is called "snorting." But shrimp have no fingers to rolled up little bills and no hands to hold a tiny spoon. Also shrimp do not have nostrils nor do they have noses. So when I tell you that a new study reveals that scientists discovered cocaine in freshwater shrimp in the UK you probably do not imagine the little crustaceans gathered around a mirror in a pond. And yet in an article journalist Jared Gilmour did feel it necessary to make that perfectly clear. I quote, "The presence of cocaine isn't the shrimps' fault, according to this study." Well thank you Jared but we all know whose fault it is, don't we? Humans. That part was predictable. Two parts however were not. First, that every single shrimp they examined tested positive for cocaine. Second, those shrimp did not come from a river right outside a London dance club. They came from 15 sites in rural Suffolk County -- about 100 kilometres from London. More helpfully, 161 kilometres from Reading. My point is these poor shrimp somehow imbibed cocaine because humans put it in their environment and it's not clear what effect it is having on them. But it is probably not a good one. And they are stuck where they are taking a powder because they can't take a powder.

[Music]

Part 2: U.K. intelligence agency crack secret codes of 'compulsively creative' Frank Sidebottom

Women's hockey boycott

Guests: Amanda Kessel

JD: The roster for women's professional hockey in North America could end up looking pretty thin come the fall. More than 200 women's professional hockey players in Canada and the U.S. say that they will boycott the upcoming season. They are demanding that women's hockey get a single, economically-viable league once and for all. It was just over a month ago that the Canadian Women's Hockey League announced it was folding -- leaving the National Women's Hockey League in the United States standing alone. Amanda Kessel is refusing to play. Ms. Kessel is an Olympic gold medalist with Team USA, and a forward for the Metropolitan Riveters in the NWHL. We reached Amanda Kessel in Minneapolis.

CO: Amanda Kessel how challenging is it right now to be a professional women's hockey player in North America?

AMANDA KESSEL: It has been crazy. Obviously a huge announcement today, it's scary. It's uncertain. It's uncomfortable. But it's something that needs to be done.

CO: You're talking about what needs to be done -- is you are boycotting the ice until you get the resources that women's hockey quote, "demands and deserves." What are you looking for?

AK: Well we aren't boycotting. We're deciding to not play in any league in North America until we may find a league that's going to be viable long term instead of taking these short term games and playing for you know low compensation and low resources. We need something better and that's what we're looking for. We think that it's really important and that the time is now.

CO: And the time is now for what? What do you want?

AK: A league that's going to be viable long term. Right now the options they aren't okay. There's maybe a few players in every team that play full-time. There's hardly equipment managers. My team this year went weeks without an athletic trainer. And we had some girls on our team that were losing money playing professional hockey because of having to pay for travel to the games -- it actually costs them money. And it's called professional but unfortunately it's not.

CO: A month ago we were covering the story of the Canadian Women's Hockey League which made this abrupt and surprising decision -- for us at least it is surprising -- to cease operations due to financial issues. And the interviews we did at that time, the assumption was is that well that those players, those teams, would join forces with the United States -- with the National Women's Hockey League -- and that things would be good. So why even together -- why even collectively can't the players and the teams in the two countries find something that works?

AK: Unfortunately the foundation just isn't there. It's something that you know I've been thinking about this and we keep doing the same thing over and over and we expect something different, but nothing's changing.

CO: The foundation that you are seeking -- that support that you need -- do you have it from the public? Do you have it from viewers, from fans? Is that part of what's missing?

AK: I think it's there but it hasn't been pieced together. And that's what needs to happen. But obviously having a good partner that can help us with that and potentially the NHL people that have those resources there's a lot of people that don't even know that there were professional leagues that are hockey fans. But the talk getting out there, getting good marketing, just having people aware of it -- it's really hard to do.

CO: You just don't get to sustain the buzz, do you?

AK: No it hasn't.

CO: In 2016 you were named the highest paid women's hockey player in the United States. What was your salary?

AK: I couldn't even tell you because it was supposed to be 26,000. And that year our salaries were cut -- and I think we ended up making around 13,000.

CO: And you're now with the Metropolitan Riveters. Can you tell us what your salary is now?

AK: Yeah. This year my salary was 8,000. I think it is now one of the top salaries in the league.

CO: Oh come on. That's a fifth of it.

AK: And then yeah you have people asking is that per game or what is that?

CO: And you're at the high end of the salary, right? What's it like for the others?

AK: Yeah I think a minimum is 2,500 in our league this year and that's where people are losing money it's because they're working so they can't take off work and then they have to buy their own flight to a game. That's where we get into this issue of the level of competition can't be there -- they can't train full time.

CO: How does any female hockey player make it work?

AK: For us national team players, we have support from our governing bodies so that we can train full time but nobody else can. And you can't have a league just of national team players.

CO: People heard your name at the beginning, Amanda Kessel, they maybe associated you with Phil Kessel who was with the Toronto Maple Leafs and now he's with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Can you tell us what you think your brother's salary in the NHL is?

AK: I think my brother's about 8 million.

CO: U.S.

AK: Yeah. U.S.

CO: What's that like at dinner when you compare your salaries?

AK: I mean that's the thing is we're not asking for millions. It's just to make a salary that you can live off of. I mean nobody can live off of an eight thousand dollar salary. Maybe they can but it's hard. I think what we're realizing now is you know we accepted this two thousand or eight thousand as being okay and realizing that that's not okay.

CO: But you growing up -- you and Phil, your brother, growing up -- you both loved hockey, you both put lots of time and energy into it, right? So was there different dedication between you?

AK: No. Just as many hours, just as many work-sweat-and tears put in on both sides. And you know on one side there was a platform there and another side that's what we are you know trying to create a platform. And unfortunately it probably won't benefit me and a lot of my teammates right now. But you know the hope is 20 years from now or how many ever years it takes that there will be something that every single player is making a livable income.

CO: But meanwhile you're going to be sitting it out until this can be worked out. Do you risk losing the momentum you have -- the energy you have? Must be a difficult decision to do that. There's 200 professional female hockey players not on the ice. What message does that send?

AK: Honestly not really. I think that's where you realize what you're giving up and at this point it's not much.

CO: And what if you're not successful?

AK: I believe that we're going to be.

CO: Amanda I hope so and we'll be watching and I thank you for speaking with us.

AK: Okay. Thank you very much.

CO: Amanda Kessel is one of more than 200 women's professional hockey players in the U.S. and Canada refusing to compete in North America until a new professional women's league is created. For more on the story go to: cbc.ca/sports.

[Music]

Red Kelly

JD: He mixed sport with politics -- and he did it well. Hockey Hall of Famer and Liberal MP Red Kelly has died. He was 91 years old. Over his storied career, the Legend won eight Stanley Cups -- first with the Red Wings before finding his home with the Toronto Maple Leafs. If that was not enough, during two of those cups he was also serving as a Toronto Member of Parliament. In April of 1976 Mr. Kelly was the Leafs' coach -- and the team was facing off against the notoriously tough Philadelphia Flyers in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. So to give his team an extra boost he looked to a special power -- pyramid power. From our archives here he is explaining to former As It Happens host Barbara Frum why he hid a pyramid in the old Maple Leaf Gardens.

SOUNDCLIP

RED KELLY: Well I don't know that I'm superstitious or not. I'm a little I suppose. But not too detrimental a point. I'm superstitious -- always have been when I played hockey and there is a certain amount of things if things go right you'd like to do everything the same way.

BARBARA FRUM: What makes you think the pyramid can pull it off for you?

RED KELLY: Well I don't know that the pyramid can pull it off for us or not. But the pyramid has been a strange thing throughout the years. No one has ever really known what the pyramid really stands for or why it was built or how it was built. And there's been conjecture about this for -- well -- for generations. And there's something there. And so I'm not taking any chances. If my team can pull it off, we'll use it.

BARBARA FRUM: I guess given your record in this series you can't afford to take any chances.

RED KELLY: No -- that's right. It's worked pretty good so far. And there are all types of pyramids but they seem to have some kind of a magnetic force about them and that seems to do strange things.

BARBARA FRUM: Well will the pyramid use that magnetism to pull the puck around the ice -- pull it into the corners for you?

RED KELLY: Well I think you know that the body has magnetism about it. Maybe sometimes you can get run down a little bit and need recharging -- and then maybe the pyramid will do that recharging.

BARBARA FRUM: Do your players know about the pyramid?

RED KELLY: Oh they hadn't seen it before today but figured it wouldn't do any harm.

BARBARA FRUM: Has it done any good?

RED KELLY: Has it done any good? Well we've had two miracles and we're looking for a third one tonight and we'll see what happens.

BARBARA FRUM: How many pyramids are you throwing at tonight's game?

RED KELLY: How many? Well we are going to try an aluminum one tonight -- a fairly big one.

BARBARA FRUM: How big?

RED KELLY: Oh maybe about 25...

BARBARA FRUM: 25!

RED KELLY: Yeah. We figure we need a little bit more energy tonight than normal.

BARBARA FRUM: Where are you going to put it?

RED KELLY: Where are we going to put it? Well I think I'll have one in the dressing room.

BARBARA FRUM: Now do you put your hand on the pyramid as you're talking to the guys to get them going?

RED KELLY: No no -- [chuckles] the pyramid will just be there.

BARBARA FRUM: Did they rib you?

RED KELLY: Well they probably will have a lot of laugh around it yeah.

BARBARA FRUM: If you win tonight, what kind of a pyramid are you going to take on to Philadelphia?

RED KELLY: Well I would maybe consider who knows -- I'll have to think about that after this game. We'll see what happens on this one, and then we'll make the decision for the next game. First of all we've got to win this one.

JD: Well the Leafs did win that one. But they did end up losing to the Flyers in Game 7. That was hockey legend Red Kelly in conversation with Barbara Frum in 1976. Red Kelly has died. He was 91 years old.

[Music]

Frank Sidebottom codes

Guest: Steve Sullivan

JD: In Britain in the late 1980s, Frank Sidebottom was everywhere. You could recognise the cult comedic character by his nasal voice and his enormous papier-mâché head -- was also fairly distinctive. He did everything from standup to children's TV to comic books. He even fronted a band. Here he is singing his Sex Pistols parody, "Anarchy in Timperley.".

SOUNDCLIP

[Music: Anarchy in Timperley]

JD: But Frank Sidebottom also had his secrets. He hid codes and cryptic symbols in the artwork on his concert posters and cassette tape sleeves. And those codes have never been cracked -- until now. Steve Sullivan is a filmmaker who made a new documentary about Frank Sidebottom. We reached Mr. Sullivan in Penarth, Wales.

CO: Steve we just listened to that clip -- just first before we go into this code, tell us about Frank Sidebottom for those who don't know him or have never experienced him.

STEVE SULLIVAN: Okay. Well for about 30 years in the UK we had a guy who as far as it looked from the outside from like an ordinary everyday perspective -- there was a guy who wore a fake head and nobody knew who he was. You know he was on the telly. He used to be on kids shows -- like TV shows on Saturday mornings in the UK. He was in comics. Just like this really elaborate fictional universe of a guy in a really nice suit but with a completely fake head.

CO: For people who haven't seen it -- you have to describe the head.

SS: It was made out of papier-mâché for quite a number of years. And then it became a fibreglass head. But it's beautiful. It looked kind of like -- I don't know if you remember Max Fleischer cartoons like Betty Boop and characters like that -- big blue eyes and very smooth hair. He kind of always used to say that he looked a bit like Paul McCartney.

CO: And so you made this documentary about not just Frank Sidebottom as he was known but the man behind it. Can you tell us about him?

SS: It was only in 2010 when Frank Sidebottom died -- it turned out he was a kind of almost forgotten figure of the Manchester music scene called Chris Sievey. He'd been the frontman and the singer-songwriter of a band called The Freshies -- just after the punk era. He really tried to make it as himself -- and just never being able to kind of sustain a living doing it as Chris Sievey. And he invented this character Frank Sidebottom as almost as a joke. He was like Chris Sievey's biggest fan.

CO: But now that mystery was solved. But what you are exploring now is another one which is that you have determined that there is some kind of code that Frank Sidebottom left behind. What is that?

SS: It turned out when I started to investigate him after his death and talking to the people that knew Chris, he had told various people that he knew that in his artwork in Frank Sidebottom within the character's artwork if you will -- he had hidden secret messages in code for his funds to work out. But he didn't tell any of the funds -- that there were codes in his artwork for them to work out so nobody did. But it turned out he had told various people he knew that there is a secret code hidden in the borders of his artwork. And what these borders looked are two rows of triangles. They can be around Frank Sidebottom like a gig poster -- one on Frank's Sidebottom's audio cassettes. Frank Sidebottom used to have his own football team called the Timperley Big Shorts. And when I say football team I'm talking about like they would play in the park. This is like an amateur league -- Sunday morning blokes from the pub kind of football team. But this fictitious character was managing it and he would do the programs for the game. And even within the programs for the Timperley Big Shorts he'd hidden secret codes.

CO: How did you manage to crack the code? What did you do?

SS: I spent quite a while looking at it, going, is that a code? What on earth could that mean? How are you even going to crack it? It is two rows of triangles with little shapes inside them. There's no reference at all. I didn't even know where to start basically but I kind of started investigating code breakers and came across a guy who knew quite a few code breakers and he very kindly pointed me to various like mathematicians, professors of mathematics, at universities in Britain who didn't know where to start with it. And in the end he said, have you thought about sending it to GCHQ?

CO: What is GCHQ?

SS: So in Britain we have various different intelligence services like say in America they have the CIA and the FBI we have MI-5, MI-6, and GCHQ. I wouldn't even like have to guess as to what their like [inaudible] is, but they'd be in charge of Internet listening. Good evening. [chuckles] They would been in charge of you know yeah having a look through the Internet for Britain's security reasons.

CO: So you approach them with Frank Sidebottoms code -- what you thought was his code, how did they respond when you did that?

SS: With a possible code of a comedy character -- I actually was given the email address of the guy who runs the place and was told he had a great sense of humor and likes comedy, so why not give it a go. So I emailed him and I sent him some examples. And a couple of days later, I got an email back saying tell us more.

CO: But you must have started thinking that he's some kind of a spy or is into espionage or is some kind of underground figure. When they finally did read these codes what did they actually say?

SS: One of them said why does my nose hurt concerts? As you've heard in the audio clip you had Frank Sidebottom was very nasal voice. In order to do it he had to wear like a really tight kind of swimmer's nose clip -- like a peg on his nose -- [imitates Frank Sidebottom] to be able to do with the voice. So that's what he's communicating, why does my nose hurt after concerts? Frank Sidebottom's nose doesn't hurt after concerts, but the man inside does so he is telling his audience that that's what he's going through.

CO: And there's another one: the man from Fish EP is top secret.

SS: Yeah. Now that one I'm afraid is still top secret because umm I don't know what that means. He didn't seem to have explained that one to anybody. So he took that one with him.

CO: It sounds like you are going to have endless material even having done a documentary trying to unravel Chris Sievey it sounds like he's got many many more layers of mystery to him.

SS: He did lead this incredible, relentless, absurdist, performance life. And most of his kind of creative gestures were done in the margins of the mainstream. And he was like compulsively creative in the most joyous and absurd way.

CO: What a lovely story. Steven thank you.

SS: Pleasure. Thanks for having me on.

JD: Steve Sullivan is the filmmaker behind a new documentary about Frank Sidebottom -- the character created by comic Chris Sievey. We reached Steve Sullivan in Penarth, Wales.

[Music]

Ian Millar

JD: It has been a wild ride -- hundreds of them, actually. Yesterday, Ian Millar announced that he is retiring from international show jumping. The record-breaking 10-time Olympian known as "Captain Canada" says he plans to spend his time training up-and-coming horses and riders. In 1999, Mr. Millar's beloved horse Big Ben was put down. And here is Ian Millar in conversation with host Andy Barrie on Metro Morning about his long-time equine teammate -- starting with Big Ben's countrywide retirement tour.

SOUNDCLIP

IAN MILLAR: It was the final stop on his retirement tour and it was at the Royal Winter Fair in 1994. Every day the lineup was oh an hour long minimum. We exhausted -- by the end of the Royal there was no more polaroid film available anywhere in Canada. It was all shipped in. For the time he was in the booth he averaged one photograph every 30 seconds which meant a group of people moved in -- a person or group of people -- would move in beside him, the picture would be taken, and then they'd go move on, and the next ones would come in. And when you think of this gentle giant who would be happiest in his field -- to be in an environment like this with this kind of whirlwind activity going on and that was again part of his greatness, his ability to adapt and to tolerate things. And by the end of it I would tell you he really enjoyed the excitement of all the people coming to visit him. In the beginning it made him nervous. He didn't understand it. We started the tour in London, Ontario, in May and this was all new to him -- "what's happening?" And about halfway through it he couldn't wait to get up to his booth and stand there and meet and greet and the Royal was was no different. And that particular -- his retirement tour -- raised over sixty thousand dollars for therapeutic riding which is riding for the physically and mentally handicapped and another 10,000 plus for our Canadian show jumping team. And most importantly really it gave everybody an opportunity to come in and say goodbye to the great horse.

ANDY BARRIE: You said goodbye on Saturday morning. Where's he buried?

IAN MILLAR: He's buried at the farm here up on a hill. The hill overlooks the paddocks and the fields where the horses get turned out so hopefully he can supervise activity at Millar Brook from there. It's a beautiful grave. It's got a stand of trees right at the head of it and next spring I'm going to plant a cedar hedge in the shape of a horseshoe and the ground grates down -- it's very important that the open part of the horseshoe be on the high ground because you never want your luck to fall out.

JD: That was Canadian equestrian Ian Millar in conversation with Metro Morning in December of 1999 about the passing of his horse Big Ben. Yesterday Mr. Millar announced that he is retiring from show jumping competitions.

[Music]

Part 3: Brothers return from their 'rude trip' of U.K. towns with naughty names

Rude trip

Guest: Andy Tait

JD: Last Friday morning two Scottish brothers hopped in a car and set off on a 3000 kilometre sightseeing journey around the United Kingdom. But Andy and Magnus Tait did not visit Big Ben or Stonehenge on their road trip. Their itinerary was made up entirely of places with slightly rude names. And some extremely rude names. And in the UK there is an embarrassment of embarrassing riches. Andy Tait is now back home in Aberdeen and that is where we reached him.

CO: Andy what inspired this rude road trip that you took with your brother?

ANDY TAIT: Well it was 2013 when I first had the idea. Basically me and my brother used to work together and we were travelling for work in the northeast of Scotland and we passed by a sign pointing at a town called Gash. I don't know if that's a funny word in Canada but it certainly is in the UK. We took a selfie there and it was very funny. And it got me thinking you know are there any other places in the UK we could go and take selfies at? So I kept a Word document over the years every time I'd hear about a funny named place in the paper or you know online or whatever I just added to the list and I started researching on Google Street View the locations of all the signs and yeah it eventually got to the point where I'd spent so much time on it that not doing it would have been worse than doing it.

CO: Okay now at the risk of being beeped -- what are some of the other places you visited?

AT: Oh well like my favourite ones were probably -- well it's a favourite of our both, Wilsford Cum Lake, which I believe is an area between the areas of Wilsford and Lake so it's Wilsford Cum Lake which I just thought was hilarious. Also there's a Titty Ho. I don't know where that gets its name but I'd like to find out. Also Lickfold -- that was a nice place as well, very picturesque around there.

CO: Any scenery? Or was it basically just the names and the selfie or did you take in any of the sites?

AT: Around the New Forest which is in south England, that had two of our places: Sandyballs and Pound Bottom. And yeah it was really really picturesque -- it's a national park. They have like lovely countryside and even better wild ponies. We actually had to stop on the road several times because some wild ponies had just wandered onto the road it was quite bizarre.

CO: We are doing well so far with your names. What are some of the others places you visited?

AT: We sort of started in the northwest of England with places like Cockermouth and Slackbottom Road in Bradford, Penistone in Yorkshire, Butthole Lane -- things like that. Then we sort of went down to the southwest of England. After that we went to places like Shitterton, Cocking, South Harting -- which is abbreviated as S. Harting on the sign. And yeah worked our way up the east coast to places like Fingringhoe, Feltwell, Rimswell, Fanny Hands Lane -- places like that. Wetwang, which is another good one. The final place name we did was Coxhoe.

CO: And when you visited these places, were people conscious? Did you tell anybody what you're doing? That you are visiting only because they had what could be regarded as a rude name.

AT: Well we didn't really have time to stop and chat to anyone. It was very much a kind of mission. You know we didn't really stop to take any of the local scenery or speak to any of the local people and nobody asked either of the hotels we stayed at. So yeah I don't know. I'm now getting emails from people who live near these places and some of them it never even occurred to them that the name was funny. So I thought that that was quite hilarious. You know they were going oh I've lived there my whole life and I didn't realise that such and such a place was funny you know.

CO: How was it possible? If you lived on Butthole Lane you wouldn't know that someone might find that kind of amusing.

AT: Yeah exactly.

CO: I have to say though I mean most people -- and you guys, you and your brother are in your 30s right?

AT: Yeah that's right. I'm 34. He's 32.

CO: So how come you didn't get this out of your system when you were in primary school?

AT: Well I've always had a very childish sense of humor and especially I love sort of expanding great effort to do something totally pointless. That's always been a bit of a fascination for me.

CO: And so there's an 11 year old buried not so deep in you and your brother.

AT: Very much so yeah. Very much so.

CO: How long did this trip take you?

AT: Well it took us four entire days. Leaving quite early in the morning and finishing quite late at night. So it was a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. And you know we go in you know sometimes like 1:00-2:00 in the morning each night and then just left again you know 9:00 in the morning so yeah it was quite a gruelling journey. There was at least sort of 16 hours a day traveling. It was nearly 2000 miles as well. Something like eighteen hundred-nineteen hundred miles.

CO: And it stayed funny for the whole time? Did it?

AT: Oh yeah definitely. Every time we made it to each place there would be a massive sort of like endorphin rush. You know it would be just feel yes we made it to you know Rimswell or Wetwang or whatever and it was just great.

CO: Now I have to admit that at this show -- As It Happens -- there is an 11 year old at the heart of our program as well. And so they have put together since we decided to call you the list that we think you should visit here in Canada. Do you want to hear it?

AT: Oh I'd love to hear it. I'd love to hear it.

CO: Okay. Balls Falls in Ontario.

AT: Amazing.

CO: Crotch Lake, also in Ontario. You'd have to make your way to Climax, Saskatchewan.

AT: Climax [laughs] I love it. I love it.

CO: Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia.

AT: Amazing.

CO: And endless places in Newfoundland, but we'll give you a couple. Spread Eagle Bay and the perennial Canadian favourite -- Dildo, Newfoundland.

AT: [Laughs] Dildo!

CO: So that's your itinerary. I don't know how long it would take for you to do it but I'm sure there's a lot of other places along the way for you and your brother if you're up to it.

AT: Well one of the advantages of England -- well UK in general -- everything is packed quite close together so often we were only 30 or 40 minutes between each destination. I imagine it would be significantly longer in Canada -- given the size of your country.

CO: Well will put the challenge up to anyone who wants to take it to do the rude road trip that you and your brother have inspired.

AT: Oh that would be incredible. I'd love to know it inspired other people yeah.

CO: Andy it's good to talk to you. Thanks.

AT: No problem. Good to speak to you. Have a good one.

JD: Andy Tait and his brother, Magnus, have just returned from a trip to see 33 of the UK's most rudely named places. We reached Mr. Tait in Aberdeen, Scotland. To find out some of the other places they visited and to see photographs from their trip check out our website:cbc.ca/aih.

[Music]

Jessie Huggins

JD: Every spring, gray whales migrate past Canada's west coast. It is part of their annual journey from Mexico to Alaska. This year however dozens of them did not make it. Gray whales have been washing up dead on the shores of California, Oregon, and Washington State. And now the migrating whales will be passing the British Columbia coastline. Jessie Huggins studies stranded whales as a member of the Cascadia Research Collective. She spoke with CBC Victoria yesterday about why the whales may be dying.

SOUNDCLIP

JESSIE HUGGINS: So far what we've been seeing is a lot of emaciated animals. So this is kind of the end of their normal fasts. So usually when we do get stranded animals they tend to be a little bit skinny anyway. But these are more severely emaciated animals and we're also seeing quite a few adults which kind of coincides with what we've seen in the past when we've had high mortality years. In 1999 and 2000 there was a mortality across their entire range from Mexico all the way up to Alaska -- and there were hundreds of whales that died during those two years. The second year have been more adult animals that take a lot longer to use their fat stores. So it takes a lot longer for them to succumb to the emancipation and the stress of starvation. And so we're seeing those kind of older animals show up this year.

VOICE: And why might it be starving whales that are getting stranded -- is it because they might be coming closer into shore looking for food or just that they're weaker and not able to stay out in the depths -- what's the connection?

JESSIE HUGGINS: So when they do migrate north they are coming along the shoreline because they feed on the bottom so they don't hang out in much deeper waters such as like humpbacks and Fin whales and things like that. So we tend to see them within a couple of miles of shore when they're on the north migration any way because they're scooping up sediments and eating what's in the bottom.

VOICE: And so what's the food they typically eat and that's missing perhaps or at least is not as plentiful?

JESSIE HUGGINS: Well we're not sure if it's an issue with food or if it's an issue with the high numbers of gray whales because gray whales are one of the success stories of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other protection acts. So since those have been enforced and whaling is no longer our problem their population has exploded. And so it could be that they're reaching that number that nature can support anyway or it could be an issue with [inaudible] food availability in Alaska or it could be a combination of the two. It's difficult for us to tell. But we do know that for the last year or two there have been a number of very skinny whales in a number of locations. And so it is pointing towards that food related stress.

JD: Jessie Huggins studies stranded whales along the west coast. She is a member of the Cascadia Research Collective. She was speaking with CBC Victorias "On The Island" yesterday.

[Music]

Sankofa Songs

JD: In 1943, the folklorist Helen Creighton began recording the music of African Nova Scotians. Some of the songs originated from the southern U.S. -- lots of them were about the slave trade. The music has been catalogued in an archive for years but it has just been remastered and issued on CD. It is called "Sankofa Songs." Sankofa is a West African word meaning to get back what was taken. Here is part of the very first song Helen Creighton recorded. This is William Riley in Cherry Brook Nova Scotia singing "No More Auction Block for Me."

SOUNDCLIP

[Music: No More Auction Block for Me sung by William Riley]

JD: That was William Riley singing "No More Auction Block for Me" -- recorded in 1943. That song is part of a collection of African Nova Scotian music that has been remastered as a new CD called "Sankofa Songs." Henry Bishop is one of the album's producers. He spoke with the CBC's Sherri Borden Colley about that particular William Riley song.

SOUNDCLIP

HENRY BISHOP: The one that he sang on this -- very emotional -- "No More Auction Block for Me" which is one of those deep rooted Southern anti-slavery songs. And back in the day of course I mean his generation -- he was probably just one step away from the slave trade so I'm sure his grandparents even his parents were enslaved at some point and he sang it and you can hear the emotion in it -- in the vocals of his singing. I mean these songs were ways of just black people trying to be inspired and feeling the energy you know to go forth and get away from their plight. That's a wonderful thing when you have that kind of music connection where these songs are -- what we call -- trace memory so you can still hear the music of that era and the way they sang it. And so it's like okay you know the anthropologists and you know the historical individuals could see oh this is how that style of music began. But you're going to hear that language style. This music is meant for everyone. We want people to just to have an opportunity to listen and to learn. Let people know that through music you can change people's hearts, and feel good about you know what our ancestors had and what they were able to do against the odds and be proud of what you know work has been done through music for the betterment of all of us.

JD: That was Henry Bishop speaking to the CBC's Sherri Borden Colley about a remastered CD called "Sankofa Songs" -- featuring music from the African Nova Scotia community collected by the late folklorist Helen Creighton.

[Music]

Fort Mac sculpture

Guest: Ruth Perry

JD: Three years ago a wildfire tore through the city of Fort McMurray. Much of the community was evacuated, over 2,400 buildings were destroyed -- one of which was Ruth Perry's home. Ruth Perry is an artist, and she wanted to create something to help people cope with what they had lost. Her sculpture will be unveiled this Friday in Fort McMurray's community garden. We reached Ruth Perry in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

CO: Ruth what gave you the idea to create this tree?

RUTH PERRY: It really was about engaging our community with a piece of public art and providing a space for people to talk about their losses after the wildfire.

CO: Can you describe what the sculpture looks like?

RP: Right now it stands about 10 feet tall, about 4 feet wide. It has fire pit base -- that the tree emerges out of. The tree is made out of stainless steel and it has these beautiful branches with copper leaf. It's going to last for a very long time and be very shiny -- the copper over time will eventually turn like a different type of greens or aqua.

CO: So that's the leaves -- they will actually be some kind of a green colour.

RP: Yeah yeah.

CO: So there's a hole in the front of the tree as well. What's that for?

RP: So to make the piece interactive for the sculpture to be more of a community type piece -- we've asked the public to bring a key as a symbol of their loss. Now it started as you know a key from maybe somebody's old house that had burned down. They could insert the key as a symbol of that lost -- like recognizing that lost. We have many types of losses. Losses of neighbours. Losses of jobs. Loss of family functioning. People in our community. Me only just now realizing that maybe they should be talking about the types of losses that they've endured and they're reaching out for help and looking for ways to hopefully recover after the traumatic experience everybody in our community has gone through.

CO: But in addition to the keys what else would people put in that hole?

RP: The base of the tree is actually in what may look like a fire pit brick. So it also may be viewed as a bit of a wishing well. So maybe people would like to put a coin in there instead to say you know I'm wishing for health and happiness and for prosperity for our community.

CO: I know you work at the local YMCA and you're a support worker for people -- what kinds of stories do they tell you? What kind of losses from the fires have you heard?

RP: It may be that they don't live in the same neighbourhoods that they used to or even if their house was rebuilt and they were able to move back in you know were lucky enough to have insurance, their house doesn't feel like home anymore. Lots of neighbours and family and friends didn't come back after the wildfire. Many of the losses are really a testament to the strain of the grief and loss that our community has endured and a lot of that may mean a loss of relationship. People returned at different times so they're at different grief levels. I talked to my supervisor yesterday and she said you know I didn't know that you bought your house from your dad and I was like there's a reason why I was so upset that you know that I couldn't replace the things that I had renovated with my dad in my house after the fire.

CO: And how difficult -- I mean because you can obviously identify with the other people -- how difficult is it to rebuild what you've lost in the Fort McMurray fire?

RP: Well I think somebody once told me that one of the most difficult things that a couple could go through is building a house. And then losing everything before that would definitely make it more difficult. And then if you have troubles with insurance and or stresses with insurance it takes up just so much your time and so much of your effort. It's really hard to make sure that your relationships with your family are at a healthy state when you're spending so much time and energy trying to ensure that you're sending emails on deadlines to insurance, that you're contacting the right insurance agent like many people have gone through. I feel fortunate -- very fortunate -- to be in my home and to have a partner that supported me and was strong when I was weak for sure. I did not have very much of a process in deciding what type of home was rebuilt as I really was not ready even one year after the fire.

CO: How do you think this tree -- your sculpture -- will help people in the community then?

RP: So we're really trying to create a space -- now we have this rising from the ashes phoenix tree where people could go to the garden, sit in the garden, and say you know this tree represents growth and it really is about creating safe places for people to have those conversations. And the more they have the conversations, the difficult conversations, the easier it gets to talk about those difficult conversations and the easier it is to talk about your grief and your loss the further along I think you are in your recovery.

CO: Ruth just finally you'll be putting your own old key into the tree on Friday?

RP: Yes. Just looking at the key brings back so many memories. For me I think it'll be a relief to let it go and to see it in a safe place where it will be respected. And as being maybe the first person to put the key in the trunk to say you know I recognize this as a loss or I recognize this as many losses and I'm not afraid to go out and reach out for help.

CO: Ruth I appreciate your work and I appreciate you speaking with us. Thank you.

RP: Thank you so much Carol.

JD: Ruth Perry lost her home in Fort McMurray in the wildfire three years ago. Her tree sculpture which she designed to help the community heal will be unveiled this Friday.

Dateline: Martin County, Florida

JD: Dateline: Martin County, Florida.

[Music]

JD: Friends it can be tough to decide how much background to include in your news story. So we do not blame Florida journalist Will Greenlee for trying to be clear. It's just that Will Greenlee might have erred when he erred on the side of caution. Mr. Greenlee does a column called "Off The Beat" -- it covers dumb crime stories. And earlier this week he presented one with a typical headline quote, "Beer 'Brewhaha' doesn't skunk investigators." 'Brewhaha' is in quotation marks and the first four letters are "brew" -- get it? Well Mr. Greenlee is concerned that you won't. Or maybe he has to hit a certain word count or -- and this is probably the most likely scenario -- he just has a weird sense of humor. The story is about a couple of brothers named Smith who got in a drunken fight on April 17th. And Mr. Greenlee writes quote "The brother said Smith came in the front door and went to the refrigerator. 'Where's the beer?' Smith is quoted as saying." So far so clear, right. Then there's this paragraph quote "Smith's brother said Smith implied that the brother imbibed all the beer, an alcoholic beverage brewed from malt that's available in bottles, cans, and on top flavored with hops beer that's made in America is referred to as 'domestic' while beer available here that's made outside America is known as 'imported' or 'an import.'" Okay -- well thank you for that extremely comprehensive definition Mr. Greenlee. I have read a few unnecessary descriptions in my day but this one really takes the cake -- a sweet baked food made from a dough or thick batter usually containing flour sugar and eggs.

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May 2, 2019 Episode Transcript

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