The Debaters - Is having a plan superior to winging it? Are small airports a delight?

Episode Date: November 6, 2025

We’re deciding if it’s better to plan ahead or play it by ear, and if we should all get on board with small airports.Featuring: Nour Hadidi, Graham Chittenden, Shawn Hogan, and James Mullinger.

This program is brought to you in part by Spex Savers. Every day, your eyes go through a lot. Squinting at screens, driving into the bright sun, reading in dim light, even late-night drives. That's why regular eye exams are so important. At Spec Savers, every standard eye exam includes an advanced OCT 3D eye scan, technology that helps independent optometrists detect eye and health conditions at their earliest stages. Take care of your eyes. Book your eye exam at Specsavers today from just $99, including an OCT scan.

Book at specksavers.cavers.cairists. Prices may vary by location. Visit specksavers.cavers.cai to learn more. This is a CBC podcast. Hey debaters, listeners. This is Nicole Callender, one of the producers on the show. Before we get into this week's episode, I've got a favor to ask. If you haven't done so already, we'd love it if you could hit the follow button on our podcast. That way, you won't miss an episode. Okay, on to today's show.

Hey Canada, we're ready to cross that bridge when we come to it from Charlottetown Prince Edward Island, the home of the Confederation Bridge. It's the debaters! The debaters where comedians fight with facts and funny in this audience picks the winner. Now here's a man ready to bridge the gap between pro and gone, Steve Patterson. Hey! Thanks, Graham. Hello, Canada. Welcome back to the debaters. We're so happy to be back here in beautiful Charlottetown Prince Edward Island. P.E.I, as you may know it. The big news in town, of course, is that the toll for the Confederation Bridge was reduced from $50 down to just

$20. Listen to that response. This is great news for travelers, especially those. who came over from New Brunswick when the bridge opened in 1997, spent all but their last 20 bucks and have been trapped here ever since. You can afford to go home now, New Brunswick, friends. But is it worth it? That's a whole other debate.

Time now to meet two debaters ready to bridge mix it up. We thought that one would fly here. This comic quit the trampoline factory, after her first paycheck bounced. It's Toronto's Nor Hadidi. Nor Hadidi. There she is, making her way across the stage,

to my rights, getting a warm welcome from the Charlottetown audience. Thank you, Steve. And this comic loves to prontificate about his love of shrimp. It's Brantford, Ontario's Graham Chittenden. Graham! Graham!

All right, debaters, your topic took quite a bit to coordinate. Planning. Is it better to plan than to just wing it? No one cares, but we're going to debate it anyway. This topic reminds me of that Shakespearean soliloquy to plan or not to plan. That is the question. Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the lists and errands of outrageous organizing,

or to use charms against the same. sea of troubles, and by faking it, pretence making it? Thank you. Take that high school drama teacher. So, whereas it's too risky to leave things to chance, be resolved no matter the situation, having a plan is superior to just winging it, nor you are arguing for this, please. You have two minutes, starting now, Nor Hadidi. Thank you.

Thank you, PEI. I assume I'm going first because unlike my opponent, I have planned my debate. You're showing up to work unprepared? Who are you, Graham? The Ontario government? Do you think women wing it? No. No.

We have a plan. We share our locations with each other, right ladies? In case the man I'm on a date with decides to wing it and kill me. Um, yeah, it was fun. Planning is not about controlling everything. It's about knowing what you can control, so you're ready when things go sideways. Yes, you hear that? That's a tired woman.

Um, she said, yeah. It's the difference between a camping trip and a hit Netflix documentary about your disappearance. Isn't it? Which side note, at this point in my career, it would be nice to get. get on Netflix. So I'm not for disappearing, but I'm also not against it. Do you know what I mean? OK.

Look at history. NASA didn't wing the moon landing. They pre-recorded it. And if you're really pro-winging it, Graham, why don't you toss out your talking points and talk from the heart? I challenge you, Graham, on your honor as a man!

Even God had a seven-day plan, okay? The least you can do is make a to-do list. Thank you. Nora Hedini. All about planning. Some great shots in there. I didn't know that women planned for other women's dates, so I'm learning things. Oh yeah, you got to share your location.

You share information, his name, everything, photos of him. You can't just raw dog a first date, see. Okay, all right. Now, here with an opposing point of view that he's possibly not thought much about until this very moment, let's hear from Graham Chittenden.

Oh, he's ripped up his paper, everybody. He's going to wing it. He's going to wing it. No, no. Do you think I planned to rip up that scrap piece of paper? No, I did not. Just felt like doing it, you know? Also, quick rebuttal, don't go on a date with a man who's over-planned it.

If he tells you, you definitely have to sit exactly right there, cancel that date. Yes, I am all about winging it. And let's be specific to the resolution that it is always superior to have a plan. It is not always superior. Occasionally, yes, if you're building a bridge, By all means, take some measurements. Sketch a picture of it first. But can we knock it off with things like meal prep for your office job?

Do you do that here? Is that a boring Ontario thing to ensure that on Sunday you will know that you hate lunch from Monday to Friday? Let lunch be a one-hour adventure. Leave the building. Go with the flow. Maybe you run into an old friend on the street. You run into an old friend.

You grab a coffee. You catch up. I guarantee that will be the best part of your whole week. But you make plans with that same friend next Tuesday, and when Tuesday comes, you both pray the other person cancels first. Have you ever crashed a wedding? Oh, outrageous fun.

Have you ever been invited? invited to a wedding? We're not friends anymore. And if you go to that wedding and the bridal party comes out and does a dance that they planned? Yuck.

You know, they say man plans and God laughs. And God can mean anything. God can mean Air Canada. Oh, you plan to go to Vancouver today? We'll see. The idea that you should plan every minute of your life every day angers me to the point that I don't know what I'm going to do. And that's how I like it.

Thank you very much. I'm kidding in, everybody. Yeah. Right off the top of his head that was. We got ourselves to debate to plan or not to plan, and it's time now for the bare knuckle round. We're debating whether having a plan is superior to winging it. So really try to excel. or the audience's headspace may go Microsoft.

Go ahead and spread sheet about your opponent. But read my ad libs. Try to be the best on the plan, it. Or at least avoid being vision board. It's time to let the quips fall where they may, starting now. I would like to. point out that all of that was planned. Right off the top of my head.

Yeah, and Steve is so amazing that if he... Never mind. No, Steve, you're amazing. I hope you know that. All right. Bless you. Thank you. Steve knows that.

She wrote it down in advance, though. I just... I'm saying it from the heart. Just how I feel right now. I think you're great. I think you're all great. Graham, comedians are maybe one of the only groups who can truly wing it, you know? We have the skills, we have the experience, but the average person, he can't be trusted to wing it, you know?

That's what happens when someone wings it at a funeral, and then in the eulogy, they end up quoting Shrek. You know, that's not... Yeah, I invite you to wing it at my funeral. I think put you on the spot. Quick, what do you think of Graham? Do it. And if you quote Shrek, go for it. I truly would love to know that somebody in my funeral looked into my casket or open or not.

Who knows? I've got no plans. And they just said, stop it, don't care. Okay, that was a very bad Scottish accent because you didn't plan on it. You didn't take classes and lessons. I grew up in Scotland for four years. You remember this, Steve? And that was disrespectful. That was such a bad accent.

My culture is not your joke. How dare you? Scottish? Yeah, Scottish. That's right. Nor Hadidi are Scottish debate. Yeah. I've never heard of the Norse of Scotland.

That's not the word. That's, it's the... Yeah. It is the Norse of Scotland. Also, PEI. Both Graham and I are from Ontario. And I would never plan on buying a house here. But he might wing it and drive the prices up even more.

Or I might not. Who knows? You never know. That's the beauty of it. All right. That's a good place to stop it. That was a good one. That was the bare knuckle round, everybody.

It is time now for the firing line. In my hand, I have a list of questions on planning versus winging it, brought to you by sculptors. Sculptors. It's always easier when you plan ahead. Brain zooming.com says you can prepare to wing it with these four steps. Visualize possible scenarios. Decide what you could reasonably prepare for.

Put yourself in a calm state of mind. And finally, what? Nor. Lose a debate in P-E-I. All right. Good enough for a point. Graham Jindon. I was going to say,

get a little bit drunk but why can't it be both why can't it be both somebody reads the crowd pretty quickly uh brain zooming.com says you can prepare to wing it which is already stupid uh decide that you could prepare for put yourself in a calm state of mind and then go forth boldly and creatively that's just the dumbest question we've ever had Finish this planning quote. Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I'll spend the first four doing what? Graham.

Bleeding in the emergency room. You can reattach them, right? That's a three-point answer from a lot of people clapping who surprisingly still have both their hands. Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I'll spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln said that. And now he's dead.

What was the premise of the Canadian TV show winging it? Nora Hiddy. It's about how boomers winged it and left us with climate change. Well, funny and true and sad. True. Three points. The premise of the Canadian TV show Winging It was an angel in training helps a teenager navigate life. We also would have accepted Air Canada executives hoping the government steps in on labor disruptions. Finish this book title by author Danny David, A Spontaneous Life, How I Mastered, What? Nor. Selling a book about nothing.

I like that. One official point. Graeme Chittenden. It's a trick question. He never finished that book. Grandmaster. The title was, A Spontaneous Life, How I Mastered the Subtle Art of Flow. I don't want to criticize a book.

I like reading. Some books you can judge by the cover. And that's the firing line, everybody. We are cruising along to our final arguments here at the beautiful Confederation Center in PEI, and it's almost time for the audience to vote. But first, flying by the seat of his pants, here's winging its own wingman, Graham Chittenden. To say everything must be planned is a huge slap in the face to a great majority of the unplanned children born on this planet. Yes.

Luckily, it is only Nor who is here to slap children in the face tonight. I think unplanned children are a gift. For everyone else, just focus on existing. Excessive planning is for monsters. Like in Canada, second-degree murder. The spontaneous kind. Minimum sentence of 10 years. First degree is 25. Which means you get 10 years for killing someone and 15 for scheduling it.

Yeah. Execute serial killers, not plans. Thank you very much. Good night. Graham Chittenden. On why winging is good. That one had a little bit of everything. Thanks, my friend.

Now, here to tell us why she loves it when a plan comes together. Let's hear again from Nor Hadidi. Thank you, Steve. PEI, some of us just can't be trusted to wing it, you know? You got that one friend who goes to Costco spends $400 on cheese and a kayak. You know, it's like, you wouldn't build your house without a blueprint, so why treat your life? Your only life with less care. And so, Steve, I say to you, be it resolved.

We don't need more chaos. We need the people who show up prepared. Thank you. Well done. Nor Aditi. Bring it all around nicely. Well done, Norm. All right, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to vote.

By applause, who agreed with Nor that the best laid plans are the best plans? Nor hadidi. Nice love, some nice organized applause there. And how many of you agree with Graham's motto, if you're not winging, you're losing. Graham Chittenden. The P.E.I crowd is spoken. The winner is Graham Chittenden.

Go ahead and wing it, everybody. Big hand for Graham Chittenden and Nora Hadidi. You're listening to CBS. the debaters. Want access to bonus content and information on upcoming tour dates, then be sure to follow us on Instagram. You can find us at at CBC debaters. This program is brought to you in part by Specsavers. Every day, your eyes go through a lot, squinting at screens, driving into the bright sun, reading in dim light, even late night drives. That's why regular eye exams are so important. At Specsavers, every standard eye exam includes an advanced OCT 3D eye

scan, technology that helps independent optometrists detect eye and health conditions at their earliest stages. Take care of your eyes. Book your eye exam at Specsavers today from just $99, including an OCT scan. Book at Spexavers.cavers.cairists. Prices may vary by location. Visit specksavers.cavers.cai to learn more. Hi, Steve Patterson here, and I love a good argument. So here we go. Is Manitoba a prairie province or a maritime one? It might sound like a joke, but University of Manitoba researchers are seriously exploring how a changing Hudson Bay could reshape Canada's economy. Dr. Fay Wang and his team are studying how increased Arctic shipping could be done responsibly and sustainably.

Learn about Manitoba's surprising place in global trade by checking out the University of Manitoba's podcast. What's the Big Idea? Hey, Charlottetown, I have a question for you. Are you ready to meet your next pair of debaters? Let's do it. This comic avoids people who eat oatmeal because he won't be lumped in with that crowd. Making his debater's debut, it's P.E.I.'s Sean Hogan. There he is. Sean Hogan, striding confidently across the stage to my right. And this comic named his children Patrick and SpongeBob because they're the pineapples of his eye. It's New Brunswick's James Mullinger.

James Mullager Back with us Your topic is one that we hope will take flight. Airports airports are the small ones just delightful? You know

if any Charlottetown airport security staff are here tonight, you're very welcome. You're welcome. but I am going to ask you to remove your shoes and belts and drink all your water while I creepily watch you. If you get it, you get it. And tomorrow at the airport, I'm going to get it. Time now for a debate that will keep everyone laughing

in an upright position. So, whereas they're easier to navigate, have more personable staff, and provide a less stressful atmosphere, be it resolved that small airports are a delight. are a delight. Sean, you are arguing for this, please, my friend. You have two minutes, starting now, Sean Hogan. Taxpayer money should be used more effectively than contributing to big airports. Toronto Airport is so senselessly big, it has its own bus system. You know what, didn't have a bus system until 2021? The province of PEI.

Small airports are a delight. Just look, all you have to do, look at the online reviews for P.E.I's Charlottetown Airport. A facility so small, it feels like a wealthy person lets us use their airport. You're looking for less stressful atmosphere, are you? Well, Jeremy wrote, He wrote, an elderly man drove me from the airport

all the way to my hotel but wouldn't accept any money. It was then that I realized that he wasn't even a cab driver. Then he added to finish it, Very nice of him, but they are a weird people. Oh, oh, you're looking for easier to navigate. Well, how about this review from Marlene? Marlene wrote this. This airport had a luggage carousel

that had a big number one on it, but it was the only one there. It was merely 15 feet long, yet they still lost my luggage. And finally, you're looking for more personable staff. That's what you want in your airport? Well, Linda wrote this. By far, the strangest flight experience of my life. We landed.

It was pouring rain, but there was no rain cover when you got off the plane. I stepped out, and an airport staff member looked at me and said, you better run. I asked, run. I asked, run where? Run where? And she said, run fast.

Small airports may not always be cheaper, efficient, or provide basic needs. But they charmingly embody the character of a place that you're visiting. And charm always outshines chaos. And now to selflessly kiss up to CPC listeners, in the words of Stuart McLean, we're not big, but we're small. Thank you. Nice job. John Hogan.

on behalf of small airports. All right. Now, here to unload some emotional baggage around small airports. He's rolling up the sleeves. Let's hear it for James Mullinger. Okay, I know a lot about this as a Londoner-turned-maritimer.

Heathrow Airport has 115 gates, five-star restaurants, and a crack squad of secure. experts that will ensure you arrive safely. Conversely, my local airport in St. John New Brunswick has one gate. The security guard is also the barista, the pilot, and your taxi driver after the flight. At big airports, they confiscate your shampoo.

At small airports, they borrow it. Look, here's the thing. Short has been very selective with the reviews that he chose there. I have also read the reviews online. Billy Bonnell says, worst experience of my life. Anyone that works here needs to take a good, hard look at their life. Aaron Porritt says the entire airport has a single bathroom stall. I can't even understand how that's legal.

The flight board at Bathurst, New Brunswick Airport, isn't even digital. It's a guy named Kevin who updates it with fridge magnets. Worst of all, and this is true, there is no bathroom on the plane from St. John to Halifax. And they don't tell you this. I had four pints of Gahan Lager at the airport. Jumped on the plane thinking I'll go to the loo on the plane.

The pilot is there doing the safety instructions. Reveals there's no toilet, this bladder-busting journey was so catastrophically painful that the next time I took that flight, My wife insisted, and I did do this, that I wear a diaper. This is what small airports are doing to us. Thank you. James Mullinger.

On behalf of larger airports. Thank you, James. Time now for the bare knuckle round. We're debating whether small airports are a delight. So don't just stand by. instead bombardier your opponent with jokes and really pile it on it's almost time to run way ahead of your opponent so don't check yourself just carry on starting now listen Sean and I met for lunch today at a restaurant that came highly recommended to us.

It's named Budleys. This is true. This is true. We went for lunch at Budley's restaurant in Charlottetown Airport, and it became very clear to me that there are people dining at Budleys who are not flying anywhere. And Sean was giving me directions to get there. And he walked me through his extensive list of instructions

that he gives to visitors flying into Charlotte Town Airport for the first time. Well, yeah, it's pretty extensive. It's, I'll tell all of you, I tell people, when you land, walk to the airport. This next part is really important. The sliding doors open. That's where I will be.

All right. With any airport pickup, you need to have a plan B location. Yeah, well, we used to. Yes, and then you got rid of that cow statue thing. Where the hell is Huawei? Look, they just suck. I mean, I was in Fredericton Airport last week, for instance.

The toilet didn't work. The Wi-Fi was from 1998, and the bar had one beer on tap. Thankfully, it was Moose-Ed, but it was warm, flat, and the bartender was the bloody mare. That's too far. How dare you complain about Moose-ed, sir? Especially being warm and flat,

as if there's any other way to serve it. All right, that's the fair time around, everybody. We don't want to get in trouble with Moose Head for a potential sponsor. We are debating small airports in the merits and the opposite of merits of them. And it's time now for the firing line. In my hand, I have a list of questions

on small airports brought to you by, and you're not going to believe this. Charlottetown Airport's restaurant. Budley! Budley! Why the potato capital of Canada didn't call it Spudley's is beyond me. It's right there.

St. John's Newfoundland's International Airport was crowned the best small airport in North America for 2024 by the Airports Council International, which determined the winner based on what? James. Number of people who went there thinking they were going to St. John New Brunswick. Good hometown answer, buddy. I'm proud of you. Sean Hogan. Service with a smile because you can't understand anything they're saying. Incorrect, and I can't protect you when we go there.

I mean, you can't understand my relatives either. Airports Council International determined the winner based on customer departure and arrival surveys. That's just how you do things. One of the smallest airports in Canada is in Toronto. What is it called? Sean? Martin Short Runway? That's pretty good.

There should be a runway named after Martin Short. One of the smallest airports in Canada is in Toronto. It is Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. This is a common misconception. That's actually just a guy's condo. Charlottetown Airport's terminal expansion, which is expected to be completed by 2027, will include more counters, more space for.

lineups and what else? James. The return of Woewee the Cow. Incorrect but good callback, two points. Sean Hogan. A more realistic completion date. That's good. Three point answer, Sean Hogan. It will include more counters, more space for lineups,

and a larger lobby area. larger lobby area. Hmm. You guys are just waiting around for a big place to wait around in. That's nice. All right, that's the firing line, everybody. It is almost time for our fabulous Confederation Center audience to place their votes, but first here again with some more points

against small airports that he hopes will land. Let's hear again from James Mullinger. Listen, you know it's a Charlotte Town flight because half the passengers know each other and the other half are related. That's not delightful. We want to get away, not go on vacation, with everyone in our village and gene pool.

Less people, less planes, less to do. And yet everything is still even bloody sleep. Even the doors are slow to open when you depart Charlottetown Airport. It's as if your doors have been set to say, slow down, buddy boy, you're not in Upper Canada now, you CFA. You know where most small airports are? America. Crucially, red state America.

So a vote for small airports is a vote for Donald Trump. Think about your action, Charlottetown. I love you, and we'll see you all at Budley's tomorrow for breakfast. Thank you. Yeah. James Mullinger. Oh. Dirty pool, buddy.

Dirty pool. The crowd's just very confused now. Now, here with his final boarding call to action for small airports, let's hear again for Sean Hogan. Okay, big airports are stressful. You're at Toronto Pearson International, your flight is canceled. Call your family, you're never seeing them again. You're at the PI airport. Your flight is canceled.

Oh, no. Order a second lobster roll. James should be arguing for small, simple airports, considering he now lives in New Brunswick, a province so basic I once heard an old lady describe it as, this place will be some nice once they finish it. Small airports are characters as part of a place's story. They're weird, they're flawed, but they feel human.

They're the quirky details that make a story worth telling, telling, and that story is a delight. Thank you. Sean Hogan, everybody. Well played. Well played. That's it. Time to vote, audience. By applause. How many of you agreed with Sean's summary, the smaller the airport, the better, Sean Hogan? Listen to that crowd. Listen to that crowd, Canada. Woo! All right. And who agreed with James Airport address? that bigger is beautifuler, James Mollinger.

Nice support from both sides, but the winner for this one is the hometown kid for the hometown airport, Sean Hogan. Small airports are great. Big in for Sean Hogan and James Mollinger, everybody. Well, that's all for this week. I'm Steve Patterson saying, if you are air traveling in the near future,

I do hope it's in an airplane. I'll argue with you again soon, Canada. Good night. The Debaters is created by Richard Side. This week's episode was produced by Nicole Callender, Chloe Edbrook, Dean Jenkinson, and Graham Clark, with continuity by Graham Clark, Diana Francis, and Gary Jones. Technical production by James Pirella and Jean-Vieve Boudreau. Story editing by Gary Jones.

With special thanks to Katie Ellen Humphreys, David Pride, George Sadie, and Emily Ferrier. Executive producer of CBC Radio Comedy is Lee Pitts. And thanks to everyone at the Confess. Federation Center of the Arts Theater in Charlottetown. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.ca slash podcasts.