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Step into an infinite world of stories

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The country you know and the stories you don't. Join hosts Leah-Simone Bowen and Falen Johnson as they reveal the beautiful, terrible and weird histories of this land. New episodes every second Thursday.

Visit us at www.cbc.ca/secretlife for show links, transcripts and more!

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The Secret Life of Canada

The stories behind the legal battles that changed Canada — and the unlikely people who made it happen. Some were sh*t disturbers, some were convicts, and some were just regular folks dragged into a fight. Each week, host Falen Johnson teams up with a journalist to dig into a case that challenged the status quo, and asks: what kind of person takes on the law? What are the costs? And what would our lives look like if these cases never happened? Because let's be real, just because a case is closed doesn't mean the story’s over. More episodes of See You in Court are available here: https://link.mgln.ai/syic-sloc

Falen’s new show! Introducing: See You in Court

Falen and Leah say goodbye, in the last episode of The Secret Life of Canada.

For more links and more about this episode visit us at cbc.ca/secretlife. 

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Goodbye for now!

People don’t think Graham Isador is losing his sight. They think he’s an asshole.

Short Sighted is an attempt to explain what vision loss feels like by exploring how it sounds.

Written and hosted by master storyteller Graham Isador, the show’s mini episodes are an intimate and irreverent look at accessibility and its personal impacts.

Get lost in someone else’s life. From a mysterious childhood spent on the run, to a courageous escape from domestic violence, each season of Personally invites you to explore the human experience in all its complexity, one story — or season — at a time. This is what it sounds like to be human.

More episodes of Personally are available at: lnk.to/SASSIAq9

The Secret Life of Canada Introduces | Personally: Short Sighted

Ah, the smell of fry bread, bright regalia, and vendors selling everything from dreamcatchers to expensive jewellery — the modern day powwow is really a feast for the senses. But did you know we can trace the roots of these gatherings to dodgy medicines and even old wild west shows? And how do you pronounce scone dog? Falen and Leah take to the powwow trail to find out what the powwow was and what it is now, and how it is helping some connect to culture. 

Check out our episode on the history of blackface here.

And check out our episode on the potlatch ban here. 

For more links and more about this episode visit us at cbc.ca/secretlife. 

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S6: Powwow

Our country’s first sex scandal! At the height of the cold war several ministers in John Defeinbaker's government decided to have an affair. Turns out, they all ended up with the same woman. Was she really a spy for East Germany?

For more links and more about this episode visit us at cbc.ca/secretlife. 

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S6: The Sex Scandal & The Spy

It’s been called Canada’s Titanic. 106 years ago the Princess Sophia crashed into a coral reef on route to Vancouver and Victoria. Over 300 passengers died and it was the worst maritime disaster in the Pacific Northwest, so why haven’t we heard more about it? 

For more links and more about this episode visit us at cbc.ca/secretlife. 

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S6: The final voyage of the Princess Sophia

Don't Drink the Milk – The curious history of things from DW is a podcast that traces the unexpected backstories of everyday things that have traveled the world, by force, by chance, or by choice. In this episode, host Rachel Stewart unravels the history of witch hunts from deadly conspiracies in medieval Europe to use of the term today by powerful figures like Donald Trump. Why is it important to remember this history and how has the power shifted?

More episodes of Don't Drink the Milk – The curious history of things can be found at: https://pod.link/1704462801

Introducing: Don't Drink the Milk | Witch hunts – The medieval conspiracy that just won't die

In 1955, Canada’s immigration officials began a special experimental program to bring in Palestinian refugees through Pier 21. Falen and Leah take a look back at this historic port of entry that saw almost a million immigrants and refugees arrive in Canada and then find out what has changed since Pier 21’s heyday. And then they try to find out if we are currently better or worse at responding to refugees in crisis zones like Gaza and Sudan.

With special guests Jan Raska from the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 and Gauri Sreenivasan from the Canadian Council for Refugees.

Related episodes:

Crash Course on Ukrainian Canadians

The Halifax Donair

The province of Jamaica

For more links and more about this episode visit us at cbc.ca/secretlife. 

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S6: Canada's historic Palestinian immigration program you probably haven't heard of

In honor of spooky season, Falen and Leah are joined by producer Eunice Kim to learn why Winnipeg became known around the world for communicating with the dead. Together they’ll light some candles and find out why, in the mid-1900s, holding seances became sought after and then how that popularity inspired one of the most famous supernatural comedy films of all time — Ghostbusters. 

For more links and more about this episode visit us at cbc.ca/secretlife. 

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S6: I see dead people (in Winnipeg)

Leah and Falen take a (fully clothed) deep dive into the history of nudism in Canada. They learn the origins behind the naturist movement which includes a love of the outdoors, embracing nudity in a non-sexual way and most importantly, the use of a towel when sitting down. So, when did it all start here, who were the members of the clubs and what happened when someone got ...visibly aroused? We have all the answers in this brief history of nudism.

*Content warning: this episode contains sexual content and adult themes which may not be suitable for younger listeners.

Recommended companion episodes:

Eugenics in Canada

Where is Japantown?

For more links and more about this episode visit us at cbc.ca/secretlife. 

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S6: A Brief History of Nudism

Meet Chief Running Deer, Fred Sasakamoose of Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, the first Indigenous player in the NHL.

S1: Shout Out to Fred Sasakamoose

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