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The AIH transcript for June 24, 2025

For more episodes of this podcast, please click this link.

NIL KÖKSAL: Hello, I'm Nil Köksal.

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

[theme]

CH: Tonight:

NK: Hot and bothered. Heat exhaustion after a day at school sends a five-year-old Ottawa boy to hospital. His mother tells us the system needs to be better equipped to keep students safe.

CH: Prison breaking. Before the shaky ceasefire with Iran, Israel attacked a prison in Tehran that houses political prisoners -- and today, friends and family are waiting to hear any news about their loved ones.

NK: Dead heat. The Democratic primary for mayor falls on New York City's hottest day in years -- and a strategist says the close race between an establishment moderate and outsider progressive could point to where the party heads next.

CH: Something in the water. Two Nigerian communities are taking oil giant Shell to court over longstanding pollution caused by spills -- which they say has infiltrated their drinking water.

NK: Studying for her bar exam. We hear from a British artist about her plan to draw every pub in London -- even if it takes decades.

CH: And...the missing link. A British nightclub becomes the site of a sinister mystery -- when someone leaves behind a surprisingly large, and just surprising, sausage.

CH: [NK chuckles] As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that loves a club banger.

[theme]

Part 1: Heat Wave Mom, NYC Mayors Race, Pub Drawings

Heat Wave Mom

Guest: Alexandra Mullins

CH: Across much of Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia right now, it is hot outside. "Heat Warning" hot. And anywhere that doesn't have air conditioning is hot inside as well. In a lot of cases, that includes schools. Some have AC, but many don't. Or there's AC in just in a few rooms. So over the past few days, it's been pretty intolerable. Not to mention potentially dangerous. That became clear to Alexandra Mullins when her five-year-old son Emmett arrived home from school late last week. A few hours later, they were in the ER. We reached Ms. Mullins at home -- with Emmett and his younger sister, Fiona -- in Ottawa.

NK: Alexandra, how did Emmett look that day when he got off the bus?

ALEXANDRA MULLINS: When he got off the bus, he was very pale, which is usually one of the first signs for us that something's not quite right with him. Normally when he gets off the bus, he is very quick to want to do things with friends on the street, or do other stuff. And he said he was really tired and he just wanted to go home and sleep.

NK: And so, were you really worried right away?

AM: At that point, I thought maybe he was sick, but normally when he has a fever he complains about being too cold, and he kept telling me that he felt really hot. And that he was having a hard time cooling down.

NK: Was he able to tell you what his day was like in that hot classroom?

AM: Yes, so there is air conditioning in their office and gym, but obviously not in all of the classrooms. He told me he was running around a lot outside, and that he was playing in the sun. In the afternoon, his teachers had put on a movie and tried to get everyone to kind of cool down and sit in the dark classroom. And he said at that point, he was feeling dizzy and he fell asleep during the movie.

NK: So at what point, you know, you hear all of this, you're monitoring how he's doing, when did you think, okay, I think we should go to the hospital?

AM: Well, we'd actually been in his classroom the day before for his kindergarten graduation. And my husband and I had both talked about how hot it had been. So, that was kind of when I started to think about, you know, I think he might have heat exhaustion. So, I called Telehealth. They thought that was probably what was going on. And said that we were okay to monitor at home since he was able to still drink water and he was able to kind of get into the cool basement and he was starting to feel better. And then, as they were saying, you know, the point where you need to go to the hospital --

FIONA MULLINS: I need to see Emmit.

NK: Awe!!!

AM: You need to see Emmett?

FM: Yeah.

AM: At the point, where you need to go to the hospital is if he's unable to keep fluids down and if he starts to vomit. And as they were saying that, he was starting to vomit.

NK: Oh no!

AM: The nurse at that point said, yeah, no, now you actually need [chuckling] to go into an urgent care or an ER. And luckily, we aren't far from our community hospital, so we were able to be over there in kind of 15 minutes.

NK: And what did they do?

AM: So, they checked his vitals, and his temperature was high, and his heart rate was high. They gave him a Pedialyte Freezy, and they said, you know, let's see if you can keep something down. Let's continue to monitor. And after two hours, his vitals were back to kind of a normal baseline, and he was complaining about being hungry and about being tired. [NK chuckled] The nurse and I kind of decided that that was a good enough sign for us to go home and just keep monitoring him.

NK: How is Emmett doing today?

AM: He is good. He was actually almost completely fine by the next morning.

NK: You seem to handle things in such stride, Alexandra, and stay calm. Were you calm throughout this whole thing?

AM: I think I was outwardly calm. I don't think I'm very inwardly calm. But, I mean, I didn't want him to be more concerned than he was already going to be. So, it's trying to keep everything calm for him, but this is the only time we've ever had to go to the ER. It's the only I've been to the ER as an adult.

NK: Wow! Well, that's remarkable; knock wood. [bangs on table] Like I said, you have your hands full. Just a couple more questions, Alexandra. We have been hearing from schools and school boards the past few days about what they're trying to do to make sure the students can stay cool. They say they're opening windows, or trying to keep students in the coolest parts of the building. And then, also asking parents to make sure that their children are wearing light clothing and that they have lots to drink to stay hydrated. How does that sit with you?

AM: I mean, I think those are all great things and I think part of the problem with some of the younger students is, you know, I sent Emmett with a full water bottle. He came home with a water bottle that was almost completely full because he's five and he's not remembering to stop playing and drink water. So, some of these things are great, but I think we have to be realistic when the temperature is above 40 degrees, what kids can handle in un-air-conditioned schools.

NK: What has the school or Emmett's teachers said to you since all of this has happened, if anything?

AM: Emmett's teachers have been phenomenal. I mean, they have been doing what they can with what they have. I've also spoke with the administration. They have being good. I mean, they were sending out messages to parents saying, you know, here we have cooling stations in the gym and in the office.

NK: Well, why wern't they watching the movie there, I was wondering, when you talked about that? Can they just all go to the gym all day, or is that not feasible?

AM: I don't know. I mean, I think sometimes also in this country, we're really prepared for cold weather. We're not really thinking so much about the dangers of hot weather.

NK: Yeah. It's interesting that you say that because I've learned that there's no maximum temperature for shutting down a workplace in Ontario, and workplaces include schools. Schools can take action if the temperature drops in a classroom to 17 degrees Celsius, which is interesting in and of itself, but what do you make of the fact there's no rules about shutting down for high temperatures, or, you know, certainly not every family could handle the school being shut down either. So, what's the solution, do you think?

AM: Yeah, I mean, I think that's why we have to look into what the cooling systems are in schools. Because obviously, we're in a very privileged position. I could keep them at home when it was 40 degrees. But for other families, they aren't able to make those decisions, or make those decisions at the last minute. So, the schools need to be upgraded to have infrastructure where the kids can stay in their schools safely.

NK: What's the plan for the next few days? Are you gonna keep him home?

AM: Well, he's been home Monday and Tuesday. [NK laughs] He is bored out of his mind. He's been asking to go back. [laughing]

NK: Okay.

AM: I'm hoping that this breaks overnight and he can go back tomorrow and at least say goodbye to everybody before summer.

NK: Well, that's good to hear. Alexandra, I'm really glad we could speak, and glad Emmett is feeling better. And I know his sister wants to hang out with him now. So, we'll let you all go.

AM: I know. I don't know if you can hear her wailing in the background about being excluded.

NK: [chuckling] Well, tell her thank you.

AM: It's very tough to be one sometimes.

NK: I know, I know. Thanks, Alexandra.

AM: Thanks.

CH: That was Alexandra Mullins. She’s in Ottawa.

[lounge jazz]

NYC Mayors Race

Guest: Trip Yang

CH: Meanwhile, across the border in New York City, it was the hottest day in over a decade. But despite temperatures over 40 Celsius -- around 100 Fahrenheit -- it was also the day voters had to go to the polls, in a mayoral primary for the Democratic candidate in the upcoming race for Mayor -- a party affiliation that's a decided advantage in that deep blue city. Leading the pack in the polls is Andrew Cuomo, the establishment-backed moderate, dogged by allegations of sexual harassment that led him to resign as governor of New York in 2021. But right up there with him is Zohran Mamdani, a progressive 33-year-old State Representative who has the backing of the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders. Trip Yang is a Democratic strategist and campaign advisor with no ties to any of the mayoral candidates. We reached him in New York City.

NK: Trip, I know it's sweltering, to say the least, there in New York. Is it keeping people away from the polls?

TRIP YANG: We actually are expecting record turnout here in New York City. I anticipate over one million registered Democratic primary voters will vote by the end of tonight, by 9 p.m. New York city has eight times as many registered Democrats as New York City has registered Republicans. So, it's essentially a one party ruled city. Look, it's hot. But, you know, New Yorkers are really passionate about democracy and are getting out there to the polls.

TY: Um, it's possible, uh, both of them have the options to run as a third party in the general election. However, it is very unlikely to be successful in New York City. Again, the vast majority of voters are registered Democrat voters, uh, which means the Democratic nominee is almost always going to win in November.

NK: Who do you think is going to win?

TY: Fifty-five per cent Cuomo, 45 per cent Zohran Mamdani.

NK: That's how it's gonna shake down, you think?

TY: It's close to 50-50. And look, elections in a Democratic primary usually are not 50-50 elections. Usually, the vast majority of the Democratic party, they corral and rally around one candidate. Most races in a democratic primary in New York are decided by 10, 20 points or more. This is the rare nail-bitter toss up competitive race. It's very exciting as a New Yorker.

NK: Trip, thank you for this.

TY: Thank you so much.

CH: Trip Yang is a Democratic strategist and campaign advisor. We reached him, before the polls closed, in New York City.

[newsy theme]

Pub Drawings

Guest: Lydia Wood

CH: Lydia Wood is a pub person. In fact, she might be the most devoted pub person. [NK chuckles] Ms. Wood is on a quest to draw every single pub in London… like, London, England. She's almost five years in, and she's only about ten per cent of the way there. We reached Lydia Wood, for once not in a pub, in London.

NK: Lydia, what is the count now? How many pubs have you sketched out?

LYDIA WOOD: I have, I think I've done over 300 now, so I try not to count too often because, yeah, then I realize how long I've got to go. But yeah, definitely gone over the 300 mark, which was a big one.

NK: And just for the purposes of this interview, not to get you too caught up in the numbers, but so we know, how long do you expect this adventure, this project to take?

LW: I mean, it's going to be a minimum of, I think, 10 years at my current rate that I'm going. I try to draw between two and three pubs a week, but sometimes that's less. But yeah, I don't know, probably something between 10 and 20 years. But, yeah, I'm up for it.

NK: It sounds like you're giving yourself a little bit of wiggle room, too, in case you get bored of this particular project, or get sidetracked. Are you sort of building that in so you don't feel so much pressure? It should it should still continue to be fun, right?

LW: Yeah, exactly. I think I make the project sort of work around me, as well as me working on the project. So, the way I choose pubs is really sort of sporadic and on a hunch, or a recommendation from someone. And that keeps it really exciting because I kind of am led by people I meet at different pubs, and the community that I've built online. But also, yeah, allowing for weather changes, so that means I can't draw outside, or a week that, you know, I'm getting married at the end of July.

NK: Oh, congratulations!

LW: And probably won't be drawing any pubs that week, you know, [chuckling] so life things as well. But so far, I've not got bored of the project. It's more, yeah, kind of making it fit into my life as well.

NK: Is a pub part of your upcoming wedding festivities?

LW: It is actually.

NK: Of course!

LW: So, it's not a pub-themed wedding, I keep telling that to people. But there we've got a bar, and we're building a pub kind of around that with memorabilia that we've picked up that mean things to us, and like pub mirrors and ashtrays. And we've even got a little pool table as well. So, there's definitely a strong pub theme.

NK: Understood, understood. And that, you know, I think that that makes a lot of sense. You know, I was speaking just back in April to Keith Crawley in Edinburgh. I don't know if you've heard of him, but he was making miniatures of the pubs, all of the pubs, several hundred of them, in Edinburgh. You've working at this, you know, as our listeners heard a lot longer, five years now, and many more to go. But he was talking about, you know, the, the sense of community. He loves the architecture, and what miniatures can bring to the project. But for you, why did you want to take on all of the pubs in London? You could have picked a neighbourhood, or some that were just meaningful to you, as you are with your wedding. Why all of them?

LW: Yeah, I feel like. I had seen a lot of artworks of the same pubs, which was amazing. Obviously, they're important places. And I had also drawn them, you know, really famous pubs, pubs that were in history books, or interesting architecturally. But I was also really intrigued by the pubs that sort of, you know, don't have social media, have a very loyal crowd, backstreet boozers that maybe not many people know about, not your prettiest pubs, maybe a grumpy landlord, like all of these sort of small details [NK chuckles] that make up a pub that are not necessarily shouted about, and those personal connections of that particular community. And I kind of felt like bringing that kind of pub and, you know, your really central London, touristy, famous historic pubs on a level playing field, by drawing them all, kind of creating them equal, kind of sounded like an interesting project to me.

NK: You started with, the very first one was your local pub. What was it like? Did you tell them that you were going to set up outside and draw them, or did you just go there one day and start drawing?

LW: Well, that one is interesting, actually, because it's the only pub in the project that I've drawn more than once. And so, I actually drew that pub back in, like, I think 2017 might have been the first time. And it wasn't, that was before the pub project existed. So, I've actually drawn it so many times that they probably were not that popular. [laughing] You know, it's my local, so they know me and they know the project I'm doing. All of, you know, the bar stuff and stuff have prints, and they've got prints that they've given to locals and the old landlord and things like that. So, yeah, I feel like it was more just like, oh, you've drawn it again, have you?

NK: [chuckling] There's another one that was near the top of the list of first pubs you sat down to draw and it was in King's Cross. What was special about that experience?

LW: Yeah, the King Charles the first pub. Yeah, I feel like I really understood the kind of community aspect of pubs better from drawing that pub. It was really early on in the project. I was quite shy drawing out on the streets. I'm much more confident now as I'm used to it. So, I kind of just set up, didn't tell anyone I was there, kind of wanted to do my drawing, maybe pop in for a drink, and then go. But the locals immediately clocked me and the people behind bar and just kind of came across the road, and interested obviously to see that I was drawing their pub. And I got brought out glasses of red wine.

NK: Oh!!

LW: And, yeah, and then, like, some of the locals are, like, ordering prints before I'd even finished, so there was this really amazing, like, welcoming atmosphere. And they were just super proud of their pub, and it's a brilliant pub as well. And now, my print is up in there, which is like the cherry on top.

NK: Oh, lovely. Can you even imagine, I mean, it's best to take it day by day, I suppose, but 10, 20 years down the line when you sketch that last one.

LW: Yeah, I mean, it will be, obviously, an amazing feeling. I feel like my posture will be ruined. [both chuckle] But yeah, I think first thing after is we celebrate in a pub, obviously, and see what happens. An exhibition, maybe, something like that would be an amazing celebration of it.

NK: Well, Lydia, I'm glad we could speak. Congratulations again on your wedding, but also this project. Thanks for making time for us.

LW: Thank you. Yeah, thank you so much.

CH: Lydia Wood is on a mission to draw every pub in London, England. That's where we reached her.

[indie rock]

Giant Sausage

CH: When people opened their curtains in Coventry, England, yesterday, it seemed like a sunny morning. But when they saw the headline, darkness descended.

[this is not a real theme, but it is foreboding]

CH: [echoed] Confusion as giant sausage discovered at Coventry nightclub.

[music swells, explosion]

CH: "What?" they wondered. "What kind of ne'er-do-well would forsake a sausage in a discotheque?" Club staff also wondered. Because while cleaning up in the wee hours of Sunday morning, a manager at the Coventry club 147 found the sausage -- and couldn't believe it. He told CoventryLive, quote, "We found the sausage and couldn't believe it." The article describes the mystery sausage as "thought to be at least 12 inches long" -- as though someone couldn't have just measured it. It is also described as "very girthy," which is upsetting. [NK chuckles] But not as upsetting as not knowing why this giant sausage, which to be honest is closer to "fairly big," wound up in the nightclub in the first place. So Club 147 went to social media, looking for answers about what it called "SausageGate". And then, today, another blockbuster headline.

[the same music as before]

CH: [echoed] SausageGate clubber owns up to taking giant sausage into Coventry nightclub.

[music swells, explosion]

CH: The unnamed clubber explained that they'd gone to a store to buy some booze while standing in line for 147. The store did not sell alcohol, though -- but it did sell a sausage some might describe as "giant" even though it isn't. "He was such good fun," the clubber went on. "He" is the sausage. Quote, "everyone loved him and to see how many people he made smile just made all the difference. We miss him so much, but the love and support we've had from the public has made it a little easier." Unquote. The mystery is solved. The fog is lifted. And once again, Coventry feels safe. The sausage was just a fun prop, passed around right out in the open. No one was being sneaky or frankfurtive.

[dark synth]

Part 2: Evin Prisoner Families, Nigeria Shell Lawsuit

Evin Prisoner Families

Guest: Reza Younesi

CH: The ceasefire between Iran and Israel is shaky -- but as we go to air this evening, it appears to be holding. Earlier today, US President Donald Trump angrily chided both countries for violations of the agreement he announced on social media last night. Since then, Israel has declared a "historic victory," and said that its forces will be refocusing on Gaza -- where witnesses say dozens of people were killed again today while waiting for aid. Iran's president has also declared victory. But it doesn't feel that way for families anxiously awaiting news about their loved ones in Evin Prison. Yesterday, before the ceasefire was announced, Israel struck the prison -- where many political dissidents, human rights defenders, and journalists are held. The UN's Human Rights Office called it a grave breach of international law. Reza Younesi's brother and father have both been imprisoned in Evin Prison. We reached him in Gothenburg, Sweden, earlier today.

NK: Reza, what do you know at this point about how your brother and your father are doing?

REZA YOUNESI: We don't know much about my brother. It's seven days now since he was abducted from Ward 4 at Evin Prison. And he was transferred to an unknown location. So, it's seven days since he called my mom. So, we have no information about him. And, of course, we are very much worried about his situation, his health.

NK: And how about your father?

RY: My father is now, he's in a prison called Tehran Bozorg since last night. Basically, he together with other prisoners, most of the prisoners in Evin were transferred to this prison last night. It's much worse than Evin Prison. And imagine now suddenly, now they have moved a few hundred prisoners from Evin to this prison last night. So, of course, everything is very difficult there, very poor condition.

NK: Iranian officials have said that the Israeli airstrike on Evin destroyed the front entrance, some inner parts of the prison complex, and that multiple people there were killed. What did your father tell you about what it was like when the strike came down?

RY: He, he, he had a short call to my mama, and he was very much terrified by, by the attack. And basically what he said that all the windows were broken. So, of course, you can imagine that the first thing that he was thinking is that, how is my brother? And he said to my mom that a number of prisoners were injured at this, that's what he has seen there.

NK: Israel is saying that it hit, quote, regime targets and agencies of government repression, unquote. Others are framing it in a similar vein, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for example, saying, quote it was great to see Israel had blown the doors off of this prison. So, they're framing it as, you know, that they're doing something to help political prisoners, essentially, there. How do you see what happened?

RY: I still have difficulty to understand how this could be helpful, to be honest. Given the situation, given the ongoing war, which, of course, was stopped a few hours later, I still have difficulty to understand how this could be helpful to people and to prisoners. And we're talking about a prison where most political prisoners are jailed in Evin Prison. So, of course, if you make any risk with them, I don't understand how this could be helpful to Iranian society. They call it, of course, symbolic, but I think this is a strange term to use to call such an attack symbolic where prisoners were also injured and probably some family members who were around going to talk, to have some information about their relatives were maybe hit. So, of course, we don't know all the details yet. We don't know how many people were killed or injured, so it's difficult to say that. But I, as I said, I have difficulty to understand how this could be helpful to Iranian people.

NK: Your brother has been in prison since 2020. Iranian authorities say he committed crimes against national security, destroying public property, and was in possession of, quote, explosive devices. They say your father, who was arrested in 2022, has ties to the People's Mojahedin Organization. How do you see it? Why are they in prison, in your view?

RY: So, this is a common pattern for Iranian regime, basically. So, I'm, in a way, not surprised to see these type of acquisitions, especially to young generation, as probably you know most are very much against the regime. They would like to have a democracy in the country, have freedom in Iran. They believe it to many different values that we believe in the West like freedom and democracy. So, they would like to have a normal country if you call it. For my father's case, I will say that this was very clear that he was in a way a victim of my brother's situation because he never stopped protesting against the situation that my brother and his friend were facing. So, of course, ultimately, he paid the price.

NK: You mentioned your mother earlier. She's still in Iran, you know, trying to find out information. How is she holding up?

RY: Oh, it's an extremely difficult and stressful situation for her. Imagine the war starts. Of course, that itself, you can imagine how stressful it is. And then, two or three days after, suddenly, she gets a phone call from my brother's cellmate telling her that, yeah, the guards have attacked the cell and they have taken Adi to somewhere, and we don't know where he is. And she has been trying to get any information, unsuccessful, stressful. And suddenly, a few days later, there is an attack by Israel today in Evin Prison. So, you can imagine how stressful this could be.

NK: How about for you? You're even further away.

RY: I'm further away, you're right. Physically fine, but, of course, mentally, this is difficult and stressful. So, it has been a tough time for me also.

NK: As we speak, the ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to be holding. Does that give you hope?

RY: Personally, I would say it's good to see ceasefire. But ultimately, the risk or the concern right now is that Iranian authorities and Mullah's regime, they will increase suppression in the society because what has happened, they have been hit by Israel, and the U.S. they have become much weaker in a way. For them now it's very important to show power, so what they do, and this has been a common pattern now to show the power, they will go after regular people in the society, especially prisoners. And this is a very concerning situation.

NK: Reza, I appreciate your time. Please take care. And I hope you get word soon about your family.

RY: Sure. Thank you very much.

CH: Reza Younesi's brother and father have both been held in Evin Prison. We reached him in Gothenburg, Sweden, earlier today.

[ambient]

Nigeria Shell Lawsuit

Guest: Matthew Renshaw

CH: Ten years ago, two Nigerian communities filed a lawsuit against Shell and its former subsidiary in the country. And they're finally getting their day in court. Well, that day still won't come for another two years. But on Friday, a high court judge in England ruled that the oil giant must face the communities of Bille and Ogale in a trial. The judge cautioned that the case was still at its early stages -- and Shell continues to maintain that most of the spills in question were the result of criminal third-party activities. But claimants are welcoming this as a long-awaited step forward in their case. Matthew Renshaw is one of the lawyers representing people in Bille and Ogale. We reached him in London.

NK: Matthew, this is a victory. It means that the case will go ahead, but given how long it has taken to get here, and the fact that the trial itself is still a couple of years away, how are people feeling in Bille and Ogale?

MATTHEW RENSHAW: I think there's a lot of relief. This was a hearing in which Shell were trying to shrink the scope of the trial, trying to stop our claimants for claiming in relation to all of the spills and all of the pollution that has affected them. And after this hearing, we now know that that trial will go ahead. I'd say it's mixed emotions for our clients. They've waited, as you say, nearly a decade, and they still have to wait another 18 months to two years for this trial. But overall, the feeling is of relief. They now know this trial will happen. They'll be able to come to England, tell their story in the court here, and get a final resolution to their claims.

NK: As these folks told you what they've experienced and what they have seen, can you share that?

MR: Absolutely, of course. So, we're representing two different communities who both have slightly different stories, and have been affected in different ways. Firstly, we have the Bille community which is a riverine community. So, many of our clients there are living on islands, often with their houses right up against the shoreline, against the waterways. And what happened there was multiple spills, about a hundred spills over a three-year period. Devastated their environment, and particularly the mangrove habitat, the man grove ecosystem where they lived. After the devastation of their mangroves habitat, fishing was no longer possible there. And what our clients also say is that the oil remains on the water there. So, as the tide comes up, they get oil brought up to their houses and even into their houses. The Ogale community is slightly different. That's a land-based community. Many people there used to farm as a way of providing for their families. And the most problematic impact there is contamination of the drinking water. So, people generally will get their water from boreholes that they've dug, or from hand-dug wells, and our clients say that Shell's oil spills have caused that contamination. And for many people in Ogale, they have no other source of drinking water or clean water.

NK: You hear these stories, you take note of their cases, you take on the case, but then you also see things in person. What was it like to then see it up close with your own eyes?

MR: I mean, it's hugely impactful. So, for example, going to a Ogale, seeing water come out of someone's tap in their house, seeing that it's brown and smells of oil, and in that situation, for example, you may have, or I have had an example of a mother with their young baby telling me this is the only water they can get. So, seeing the real-life impacts on people has a huge impact on me as a lawyer. And really brings home the reality of the situation. And we're looking forward to our clients having the opportunity to come to court here and explain exactly the impact that is caused by this oil pollution in their communities.

NK: But in terms of the damage already done, even if everything goes the way you and they want it to in 18 months, in a couple of years, how long will it take to clean this up? I mean, is there too much damage already done?

MR: I mean that's a very fair question. And our immediate priority would be getting these communities clean drinking water. So, getting people clean drinking water, so at least that, as you say, serious health risk, serious public health risk, can be alleviated to some extent. The proper clean-up of the communities is likely to take years. So, ultimately, that is still some way off.

NK: Shell has tried to prevent, as you well know, these claims from even getting to trial. What kind of legal arguments were they using?

MR: So, for example, and this is an argument they use whenever they're asked about pollution in the Niger Delta, is they say that all of the pollution is caused by criminal gangs, so by oil theft and oil refining that happens after the oil theft. And they were trying to argue in this case that where a spill and pollution was caused by oil theft, they couldn't be responsible. But what the court said was, even if a spill is caused by all theft, where Shell has failed to take basic precautions, then they could still be liable. And it will obviously be tested now in court whether Shell did do enough.

NK: Ultimately, what kind of impact and message do you think there might come at the end of all of this for other major multinational corporations, not just Shell?

MR: What's quite significant here is that Shell is currently divesting, or has just divested its Nigerian onshore operation. And if this case finds that, actually, Shell, including Shell PLC, the company here in London is legally responsible for this pollution, then they may well be required to clean it up in these two communities. And it could as well encourage other communities who've been impacted in similar ways also to pursue claims against Shell. And I'd say it's a comparable situation for other multinationals operating in oil and gas and in other sectors as well around the world. The multinational head company there may no longer be able simply to say, well, we've divested, we're going to walk away and leave this problem behind us, because potentially they can be held responsible, and could be made to do a proper job of cleaning up and remediating before they leave that operation behind.

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

MR: Thank you very much, Nil. Cheers.

CH: Matthew Renshaw is a partner at the law firm Leigh Day. We reached him in London. In a statement, a spokesperson for Shell said the company welcomed the judgement -- and emphasized its position that the majority of spills in the Niger Delta have been caused by criminal activity. The statement went on to say that the spills referenced in the lawsuit have been cleaned up as required by Nigerian law -- and that, quote, "Shell is not liable for the criminal acts of third parties or illegal refining." Unquote.

[chillhop]

Cancer Boat Trip

CH: Zach Stroud knows he doesn't have a lot of time left. The 34-year-old from Newfoundland has terminal brain cancer. He also has a wife and a four-year-old daughter -- and a dream to take his family on an epic trip by sea. But to do that, he needed a bigger boat than the one he owns. So, he went onto Facebook Marketplace to try to sell or trade his. That's where he met Kyle Snow, who had a decommissioned Department of Fisheries boat for sale. But he wasn't interested in Mr Stroud's money. Both men spoke to Krissy Holmes, host of On The Go -- who began by asking Zach Stroud about the trip he's been planning.

SOUNDCLIP

ZACH STROUD: Mostly, I want to go around the whole island this summer with my family and just, you know, stop in places and take your time, spend a couple days here and a few days there. I mean, getting stuck somewhere for a few days sometimes is the best memories you could probably get, you know?

KRISSY HOLMES: Key to all of this, of course, is the boat. And, Kyle, how did you end up offering your boat to Zach to make good on this dream of his?

KYLE SNOW: I just wanted to help. So, I basically told him to do whatever with his boat, sell it, or keep it, or whatever, but if he wanted to do his trip, he was more than welcome to take my boat for as long as he wanted. And when he was done, I think, Zach, what was it, I said, keep it under 100 feet of water if it sinks, so like no scuba diving on it.

ZS: Yeah, that's exactly what you said, yeah.

KS: [chuckling] So, I mean, outside of that, it's his boat kind of deal.

KH: Zach, I mean, how did you react when Kyle offered his boat up to you, and just all these pieces started to come together?

ZS: I thought it was great. It's weird that it sort of happened this way because probably a year prior to this, I think I even said to someone, well maybe someone would feel bad for me, and I said loan me a decent boat or something here, or something. Yeah, Kyle came along and offered me, and I was shocked, I was shocked, but I wasn't shocked because, I don't know, I find in life a lot of times the stuff that you put out there comes true if you believe in that. But yeah, he said, I had to keep it less than 100 feet of water. And he also said, when you bring it back to Triton, he says, I want it to come on the trip. [chuckling] And that was perfect, because like, I told him, I said, well, I probably couldn't get anyone to go with me anyway. So, if that's what the deal is, then definitely going to take it.

KH: And your daughter, what do you hope your daughter gets from this trip?

ZS: Well, I just hope she learns that she can do whatever she puts her mind to, and she can dream big, you know? I'm not a fisherman or whatever, so me doing this trip represents that you can do whatever you put your mind to. It doesn't matter what it is.

CH: That was Zach Stroud and his new friend, Kyle Snow, speaking to Krissy Holmes, host of On The Go in Newfoundland and Labrador.

[acoustic guitar]

Oil Painting Ripped

CH: Summer's finally here, and for a lot of people, that means travel. Everyone loves a traveller. But nobody loves a tourist. Which can be confusing, because we all think we're the former, but the people in the places we're visiting think we're the latter. That's why protests are growing in parts of Europe telling tourists to "go home". And sometimes even squirting them with water, to show they mean business. Or to show they don't want them to overheat. That part's also confusing. But here's what I know: it's not the tourists' fault that tourist destinations are so enticing. Although it is sometimes their fault that they get what you could call "overly enticed." For example: on Saturday, a tourist in Florence tried to take a very amusing selfie with an 18th-century oil painting. The amusing part was he tried to pose exactly like the guy in the painting, Ferdinando de' Medici! And that would have been a comic tour-de-force, except for the part where he tripped on the little guardrail designed to keep people away from the art. And fell into the painting. And ripped a big hole in it. That's bad. So, whether you're a traveller or a tourist, try to make sure that priceless art doesn't move you to tears.

The AIH Transcript For June 24, 2025

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