Hello listeners,
What a time of turmoil and change, that just seems to continue: a siege on the U.S.Capitol, a raging epidemic that continues to grow unabated, and conspiracy theories and anti-science becoming commonplace.
Despite this, I believe the potential of the human spirit will eventually prevail. Some recent examples: Growing political and cultural change rejecting extremism. Science and global collaborations resulting in something unprecedented—multiple effective vaccines created in record time. And despite many months of being physically distanced, there are bonds that have emerged stronger amongst friends, family and communities.
For this new year, we offer five podcasts that reflect what it is to be human.
 

Evil by Design is the result of that work, an 8-part series launching January 28. What they discovered was damning—multiple allegations of sex trafficking and rape having taken place around the world over decades. And a pattern of using wealth, power and connections to get away with it. (CBC’s Fifth Estate reporters even faced lawsuits threatening jail time forcing them to defend their journalism in court.) Nygard denies the allegations but there were many at the heart of this story who remain resilient - the Bahamian women who were pulled into the sex trafficking ring Nygard is alleged to have lead; his son Kai who risks ostracization for speaking out; and the dozens and dozens of women who have now come forward to go on the record. It’s a powerful series that I hope you get a chance to hear. Here’s the trailer - subscribing now means you’ll get the first two episodes early.

2. We are curious.

Tai Poole is now 14 years old. I remember him as a 11 year old sitting in our office talking about creating a podcast, as he explained how math can help us understand the universe, his arms waving in the air breaking down complex science into something understandable, whether you’re a kid or adult.

His podcast Tai Asks Why launched its much-awaited third season on January 13. He’s now a bit older but just as curious in his search for answers about life big and small: how are viruses so good at what they do? Why do humans dance? And how is the universe going to end? Gulp.

3. We value science and the truth.

Many of us, including myself, have conspiracy-minded people among our family and friends. The counterfactual current (or can we call this a virus?) has gotten that big. Anti-science politics is not new, including in Canada. Podcast-wise, a warm namaste to Dr. Brian Goldman, the host of The Dose, for keeping us grounded in reason and science in the midst of this health pandemic.
 

Every time I’m disheartened by the baseless theories I hear, listening to him reminds me emergency room doctors (he’s one of them) should be cherished. If you need a dose of a kind heart mixed with research-backed information, tune in to, ahem, The Dose.

4. We crave pleasure

Our podcast Pop Chat couldn’t have launched at a better time. How many hours of Netflix, CBC Gem, and podcasts have you consumed since the start of the pandemic? Consuming popular culture is one of our most popular activities. Our pop chatters Elamin, Kevin, Kathleen, Hussein and Sarah serve up a lovely cocktail of passion, ideas and big laughs about all the things in your entertainment queue.

Now, on top of their weekly podcast episodes, they’ve just launched on CBC Radio One, listen in on Wednesdays at 11:30 PM and Fridays at 1 PM.

Guilty pleasure: check out the dystopian sketch comedy of Tony Ho, our comedy podcast. There are 20 short episodes for you to indulge in.

5. We are social animals
 

Remember live events? Movies, street festivals, arts events. I miss my subscriptions to contemporary dance and theatre. PlayME has you covered this winter with five new plays tackling relevant themes: winners and losers; race, policing and poverty; fleeing big cities and their housing costs; and families struggling to stay together or coming undone.

Speaking of festivals and live events, consider joining us at this month’s Hot Docs Podcast festival. It’s their virtual international edition and you can join from anywhere. It runs from Wednesday January 27 to Friday January 29. CBC Podcasts is putting on over half a dozen events and it’s a chance for you to meet our hosts and creators up close (virtually anyway). And, a bonus for newsletter subscribers. We’re giving away 20 free tickets to any CBC event at the festival. Send us an email and we will enter your name in a draw. Each winner gets one free ticket to one of our CBC events.

As always, feel free to drop us a line and let us know what you think of our programming or just to say hi. If you find our newsletter valuable, please share it!

Happy listening!

Arif Noorani
Executive Producer of CBC Podcasts