Storylines

For years, thousands of kids with roots in Canada, the U.K., the U.S. and beyond lived under the Islamic State’s so-called caliphate. Some were taken there by their parents. Others were born there. But after the war against the Islamic State was won, many of these children still remain in limbo. They wait in detention camps, run by the group which helped defeat ISIS – the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. On this week's Storylines, four years after the fall of the Islamic State, Poonam Taneja visits one of the camps in northeast Syria where some of the hundreds of children the world doesn't know how to deal with, dream of going home. This is episode 6 of the podcast Bloodlines by CBC Podcasts and BBC Sounds. Bloodlines follows Poonam Taneja’s search for a two-year-old British-Canadian boy who disappeared in the final days of the war against the Islamic State. You can find the series wherever you’re listening to this podcast.

The federal government estimates that on average 27 people a day in this country are diagnosed with brain tumours. Among the most aggressive is Glioblastoma (GBM). According to Brain Cancer Canada, people with GBM have a life expectancy of 15-18 months. So when David Cormican was told that his father’s tumor was the “size of a baseball” the family started looking for something—anything—that would extend Michael’s life. That’s how they joined the thousands of Canadian families who go abroad, paying enormous sums out of pocket, for treatments they can’t get at home. On this week's Storylines, Mykella Van Cooten follows Michael Cormican’s fight to become the first Canadian to get a life-extending brain cancer treatment administered in Canada, even though it’s not yet approved here.

Is Newfoundland and Labrador English dying? No b’y, but it is changing! From dropping an 'h' to adding an 's', Newfoundland and Labrador accents are among the most recognizable regional accents in Canada. But while some features of those accents may be in decline, linguist Paul De Decker says younger generations are finding creative ways to keep them alive. On this week's Storylines, Caroline Hillier sets out on a talking tour of Newfoundland and Labrador to find out how the accent is changing linguistically, how it's kept alive in humour (with CBC’s Mark Critch!), and how it's making a comeback with newcomers.

The Marefat School in Kabul, Afghanistan earned an international reputation for being a place where democracy, freedom, and education could flourish. But when the Taliban took over the country in August 2021, many of the female teachers and students had to flee for their lives. On this week's Storylines, Leisha Grebinski follows the harrowing story of Maryam Masoomi a music teacher who—with the assistance of a small human rights group called 30 Birds—fought to get her students to safety.

Green burials are a growing trend in after death planning. On this week's Storylines, Caroline Hiller visits graveyards across the country, exploring how some people are reducing their carbon footprint from beyond the grave.

In 2016, Adrian Ma received a truly thoughtful gift from his uncle. A gift he proceeded to put in his closet where it remained for the next seven years. It was a bottle of The Glenlivet Special Jubilee Reserve—a rare scotch whisky that sells for upwards of $3000. Adrian is a whisky guy… but this is, by an almost absurd degree, the most expensive bottle of booze in his collection. That’s exactly why he’s so frozen on what to do with it. Should he sell it? Or keep it in his closet indefinitely? How exactly does one bring themselves to drink three thousand dollars? With the help of his friends and a cast of whisky-devoted Scots, Adrian Sets out on a whirlwind tour of Scotland to learn everything he can about this special bottle, and finally decide its fate. He discovers that scotch is way less intimidating than it needs to be (complete with handy tips for the burgeoning whisky connoisseur in us all!) and that every bottle tells a story.

For Kent Hoffman it was a surreal delight to produce an interview with the famed American mentalist 'The Amazing Kreskin'. But what really surprised Kent was when a few months later he received a Christmas card from Kreskin. And another Christmas card the next year... and the year after that…. and every Christmas since. It turns out that Kreskin sends out thousands of holiday cards, every year, to people he hasn’t spoken to in decades. On this week’s Storylines, Kent seeks out other Kreskin card recipients—and tracks down the mind-reader himself—to discover why the sending and receiving of a simple Christmas card is such a miracle of goodwill.

A two-part episode following Canadians desperate to get their families out of Gaza. PART 1. A decade ago in Gaza, Mohammed Fayad worked for the UN in the education and IT departments. He fled Gaza as a refugee bound for Indonesia, but had to leave his family behind. Years ticked by and he watched his kids grow up through videos. His ex-wife, the kids’ mother, eventually had to flee too. So the kids came under the care of Mohammed’s brother. Then finally, just over a year and a half ago, Canada accepted Mohammed as a refugee. That changed everything as he could finally apply for his kids to join him in Burnaby BC. It's an effort that became increasingly urgent when fighting started. Now, after a decade apart from his kids, he's put everything else on hold to get them out. PART 2. The Canadian government says it's working to get Canadians and their immediate family out of Gaza, but some family members don't meet the criteria. According to Global Affairs Canada, the only people eligible for emergency evacuation are spouses, common-law partners or children under 22 of Canadian citizens or permanent residents. For Israa Alsaafin, a Canadian who lives in Ottawa, this leaves her helpless to bring her parents, siblings, in-laws and 10-month-old nephew to safety. Her sister is sending her increasingly panicked voice memos as they struggle to survive.

It’s fairly well known that some Canadians fought with the American armed forces in Vietnam, but fewer know about Canada’s official peacekeeping role there. But between 1954 and 1973, close to 2000 Canadians went to Vietnam to observe and safeguard peace accords. Erin Moore’s grandfather, Doug, was one of them. He wrote dozens of letters home documenting the realities of the war. Erin still has his letters. They reveal a demanding and at times impossible mission, being carried out by young men whose efforts have largely been forgotten.

Dr. Melissa Lem, Tzeporah Berman, and Judy Wilson share their experiences of climate advocacy work and the backlash they faced, highlighting the connection between misogyny and climate denial. They discuss the health dangers of fossil fuels, online abuse in climate change discussions, the controversial hiring of Berman, and the precautions taken by Wilson to protect her family during activism.