Storylines

It was a surreal delight for Kent Hoffman to produce an interview with the American mentalist 'The Amazing Kreskin' on CBC Radio in 2009. But what really surprised Kent was when, a few months later, he received a Christmas card from Kreskin... and every single Christmas since. It turns out that Kreskin sends out thousands of holiday cards, every year, and it means as much to him as it does to his legions of grateful Kreskin card recipients. PLUS, Ever get a present that made you wonder, “Does this person know me at all!?” Comedian Bob Kerr has wondered this repeatedly, every time his mother insisted on giving him jewelry. Even a jewelry box to keep it all in. The only problem? Bob doesn't… wear... jewelry. (Originally broadcast December, 2020)

Calgary’s Sudanese community is struggling. After fleeing civil war in Sudan, refugees are struggling with poverty, gangs, drugs and violence in their new home. Some in the community feel like they are cursed. Akeir Mel Kuol and Stephen Deng both arrived in Canada as refugees, but are now working to change their community’s narrative. They are refugees helping refugees.

When Craig Desson bought his condo in Montreal, he was finally achieving a big life goal of home ownership. But there was a question echoing in his mind. Montreal is on unceded territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka (often referred to as Mohawk). And if Montreal is on unceded territory, can he really own it? Craig and Doc Project host Acey Rowe trace the claim to the land his condo is on back through history, through property booms and busts, from a group of monks who gambled it all away to some dubious cross-planting by one Jacques Cartier -- all the way back to the original inhabitants, for a conversation with Mohawk Council of Kanesatake Grand Chief Serge Simon to hear what he thinks, and what he hopes for the future. (Originally broadcast May, 2021)

CBC News producer Steve McNally recently took a trip back to the Ottawa neighbourhood where he grew up to meet up with some old school friends. But this isn't just any school reunion - or even a particularly happy one. An alarming number of Steve's old schoolmates had become very ill with the same debilitating condition. The question they've been trying to answer for decades now is, could this really just be coincidence? NEXT: Sitting at her desk at the Saskatoon Tribal Council, Dawn Deguire hit an emotional wall. Dawn desperately wanted to be brought back to the last time she felt well: when she was practicing yoga nearly a decade before. Just a few days later, Dawn got an unexpected phone call from a visionary who wanted her help creating a scholarship program for Indigenous yoga teachers. This is a story about the surprising intercultural connection between the Eastern practice of yoga and Indigenous culture, and one woman’s journey to discover wellness within herself.

TJ Watt is a bit of a modern Lorax. He uses his camera to protect old-growth trees in British Columbia, capturing the ancient giants before -- and after -- they’ve been cut down. It’s all in the hopes of raising enough public pressure that the B.C. Government will end old growth logging. But why are these ancient trees being logged in the first place? And what’s going to happen next? Follow producer Brad Badelt as he speaks to people from all sides of this complicated issue, from logging supporters to ecological activists; forestry experts to policy makers, and joins TJ and his camera on their bushwhacking hunt for the next Big Tree.

As reports of flooding, evacuations and mudslides in British Columbia emerged this week, two people in Saskatchewan were watching with keen interest... and empathy. That's because they survived a mudslide when they were driving along a B.C. highway in 2018. Sheri Nimegeers and Gabe Rosescu share the harrowing story and explain how the experience of surviving a mudslide changed them.

Denial, anger, depression and shame - Type 2 diabetes can lay the ultimate guilt trip. That’s what CBC journalist and musician Emily Brass discovered when she was diagnosed. She also discovered that even though a whopping 1 in 3 Canadians has diabetes or pre-diabetes, nobody seems to talk about it! Forced to make big changes, Emily opens up about her personal struggles in a series of intimate diaries, seeking out other diabetics who help her get answers and smash the hurtful stereotypes about Type 2. Whether you’re living with diabetes, or have ever tried to make changes to get healthier, Emily’s journey will make you think differently about Type 2 and the people who live with it. This episode of The Doc Project is made in collaboration with CBC Manitoba’s original podcast series Type Taboo: Diary of a New Diabetic by Emily Brass and Bridget Forbes. Listen to the full series on CBC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

As a kid, Jonathan Ore was a Warhammer 40k fanatic. He spent hours painting the thumb-sized miniatures used in the tabletop game, and met up with his friends to play in his uncle's comic book shop. As an adult, Jonathan abandoned the hobby. But when the pandemic hit, he started painting again, and re-engaging with the Warhammer community, this time online… only to discover that divisive debates had found their way to the fandom. Suddenly, Jonathan was faced with questions: How did this happen, and did he really want back in after all? Jonathan unpacks the surprising history of this incredibly popular but underreported game, and speaks to people about engaging in a fandom that’s increasingly torn apart, all while trying to find his own place within it.

Grade 10 was going to be Richard Kelly Kemick’s year. He’d transferred to a new high school and this, Richard thought, was the perfect opportunity to catapult himself into popularity by hosting a Halloween party in his parents’ suburban Calgary basement. Twenty years later and still lightly traumatized, Richard checks in with three former classmates to get their read on how the party went so completely off the rails. PLUS, For nearly 40 years, staff at the old CKUA radio station in downtown Edmonton have been describing ghostly encounters. The legend goes that the spirit of a former caretaker named “Sam” haunts the halls, and some employees swear it felt like he watched them as they worked. But can the Alberta Paranormal Investigators Society find a trace of ghostly Sam, and can a deep dive into the City of Edmonton Archives prove that a living Sam ever even existed?

As a kid, Nabeel Pervaiz had no patience for his father’s favourite family activity: “mushairas,” or poetry symposiums. Nabeel’s father, Munir, would fill the family’s living room with people, food, music and poets performing Urdu poetry, while little Nabeel rolled his eyes. Nabeel, meanwhile, loved music: the louder and more obscure, the better. Then last year, a mystery began to unfold in the form of a long-forgotten ‘80s synth-pop album, Disco Se Aagay. This new wave-infused, disco-pop record was sung in Urdu! This is the story of a nearly forgotten album getting its overdue recognition, and a father and son finding common ground in its grooves. PLUS: Tej Swatch has always admired his father. His intelligence, his kindness, his work ethic... and his beard. When you're a Sikh man, your beard is seen as a sign of your faith. But while Tej's dad would leave for work every day with a beautifully coiffed beard, Tej just could not get his own beard to evolve beyond its "steel wool puffball" state. A story of coming to terms with the struggle of your beard, and the expectations that grow with it.