Remember when Trump wasn’t president yet? What do Stranger Things, Pokemon GO, and Rihanna’s ANTI have in common? Why is ICE at the Olympics? What did Neil Young give to Greenland? Why does this new spider have a 9th leg? Also, what is a ‘largesse’?

Why did Mark Carney get a standing ovation at DAVOS? Should Canada be “grateful” to Donald Trump? Is Greenland, Iceland? Which Canadian is going to space? How is Muskoka and Ottawa capitalizing on Heated Rivalry? What is a hegemon?

Can Carney improve trade relations with China without angering Donald Trump? How is Canada saving the Olympics in Milano? Did Canada’s skeleton team commit foul play? Nova Scotia is fighting about sex, drugs, and…lobster rolls? Also, what is diplomatic amnesia?

Did Trump really kidnap Venezuela’s president and should Costco run the country now? Why is this toilet from CES calling people and costs $7000? Will a Labubu-inspired tactic bring you back to movie theatres? And what is phubbing? Jennifer Whalen of Small Achievable Goals, Andrew Phung of Run The Burbs and Grace Lynn Kung of Sort Of play the news quiz with host Gavin Crawford.

Albania has a creepy AI politician that says we hurt its feelings by saying its not human.

All Gavin wanted for Christmas was a Chinese electric vehicle, but no luck.

Someone got fined for Zombie Christmas decorations but our comedians have no problem with it. We re-play a round from Covid holidays when every country had crazy socializing rules. Belgium said you can have people over but they can’t use the bathroom. And the hottest toys of 2017 were Fingerlings and LOL Surprise. Anyone still playing with them?

The Debaters is the hit show where comedians go toe-to-toe in a battle of laughs and logic. It’s part stand-up, part quiz show and part comedy competition, with the live audience picking the winners.

In this episode, do candles deserve more appreciation? And is Tom Cruise the greatest movie star? Featuring: Jon Steinberg, Jan Caruana, Adam Cawley, and David Pryde.

More episodes of The Debaters can be found here: https://link.mgln.ai/TDxBN

The world is bleak so here’s a quiz about happy news. Gavin quizzes his comedians on what Martha Stewert says is acceptable for your holiday party, but the panel has no love for Martha. ChatGPT’s ‘adult-mode’ is coming in 2026 and it's definitely not a “more responsible” mode of AI, like some people think. Mark Carney is using British spelling in the Canadian government memos and some linguists have written a stern letter asking him to stop. Comedians Steph Tolev, Miguel Rivas and Andrew Phung join Gavin for the last quiz of 2025.

If you’re too afraid to share your opinions on social media, that’s okay! Fill out this listener questionnaire instead: www.cbc.ca/BecauseSurvey