What Stephen Lewis meant to activism in Africa

This episode of As It Happens honors the legacy of Stephen Lewis, the late Canadian diplomat, politician, and global activist, who dedicated his life to fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa and championing social justice. Through an interview with Theo Soa, a member of the African Advisory Board for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, the episode highlights Lewis’s unwavering integrity, fiery passion, and transformative ability to connect with communities on the ground. His work with African women and grandmothers during the AIDS crisis is celebrated as a model of empowerment over pity. The episode also covers several other major stories: Canada’s Jeremy Hansen preparing to become the first Canadian and non-American to fly by the moon on NASA’s Artemis II mission, with heartfelt reflections from his parents; the emotional rescue of a kangaroo named Chesney who escaped a Wisconsin farm; a powerful new mod for the Madden NFL video game that simulates concussion effects, created in memory of football player Derek Sheely; and a chilling look at Israel’s new death penalty law for Palestinians, criticized by Knesset member Aida Tuma-Suleyman as discriminatory and apartheid-like. Other segments include the return of the Stanley Cup to Indigenous territory via dog sled, a humanitarian sailing convoy delivering aid to Cuba despite U.S. sanctions, and the Supreme Court’s controversial decision to strike down Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors.