Now or Never CBC STORIES

From secret hideaways to rooms-with-a-view, sacred spaces to hidden gems, we're taking you on a cross-Canada tour of the secret spots you go to feel more like yourself.

When Ryan Grobety, Robin Frend, Dave McGowan and Trevor Dineen parted ways in 1989, they closed the door on their “Killer Bees” kid clubhouse as well. But now, 35 years later, they are reuniting to see if the cubbyhole under the stairs still exists…but first they have to convince a complete stranger to let them inside. 

Now or Never listeners share their favourite secret — and not-so-secret — spots they go when they need to escape.

Melissa Hafting goes birding nearly every single day, but as a biracial woman she hasn’t always felt welcome in those spaces. She shares how birding has helped her through difficult moments, and how she’s fighting to make it safe and accessible for all. 

For the past seven years, an underground street artist known only as "Winnipeg Waldo" has been putting up images of the iconic character all over his city. The challenge: hanging them in secret spots that everyone can see, but no one can steal — without getting caught.

Melissa Fundira gets a taste of her past self – by going to a secret party to relive the days when she was free and spontaneous – before adulting came along.

And if you're looking for Jaydin Nungaq, you'll likely find him in the corner of his tiny Iqaluit bedroom making music. Hear how he's using music to express himself and tell the world about the challenges he and his peers are facing. 

Basketball is having a moment in Canada right now. So we're lacing up our hightops and hitting the courts with people chasing their hoop dreams, one basket at a time. 

Debbie Ward hasn't worn a bathing suit in public since she was nine years old. When she stepped in the water at her local pool as a child, people ridiculed her and moved away, until she left crying. Two years earlier, a terrible accident left Debbie with scars on 70 percent of her body. Now, at the age of 69, she's finally ready to try again.

For full episode: How to love the skin you're in click here: https://link.chtbl.com/hAnQjuRN

It's easy to worry about the future. Aging. Finances. Climate change. Out-of-control AI. 

But on this episode, we'll introduce you to people bravely facing the years ahead - and helping shape the future they want. 

From a woman confronting her eco-anxiety, to a musician determined to revitalize a language on the brink.

Step into the Now or Never 'Mom Confession Booth,' as moms sound off about the parts of motherhood no one warns you about.

Ocean Maye is ecstatic about recently becoming a mom - but less excited her partner is about to head to Papua New Guinea in a few days to work on an oil rig. She tells us what it's like to be part of a community of moms unique to Newfoundland, where 40% of moms parent alone, as their partners work away for extended periods of time.

When Dylan Earis announced to his mom that he was ready to move out on his own, a lot of thoughts went through his mom Edie's head: What if he falls over in his wheelchair? Will he be lonely? And who will make his dinner every night? Edie and her son Dylan get real about the realities of living independently with cerebral palsy, what keeps her up at night, and how she’s learning to let go. 

Trevor Dineen heads to a grade 3 class to ask kids what they think their moms do all day.

Single mom and entrepreneur Miriam Delos Santos loves being nine-year-old Mara’s mom, but struggles every Mother’s Day. Find out what brings the tears, and the surprise we have in store for her that could change all that.

When Debora Barkun and her family walk into their local hockey arena, they're usually the only Black people there. Debora shares the fears and anxieties that led her to learning everything she can about the game, and the message she wants to be sending her kids.
 
Shohana Sharmin lost her mother Hasina Sultana to cancer in 2017, and it changed everything - including her comedy. Today Shohana is on a mission to bring the complexity of grieving onto the stage.

We're always with people as they take a leap or try something new, but life continues after we turn our microphones off. So this week, we're revisiting some of our listener's favourite stories to find out what happened next?

When we first met Clary Ager, she was living in Victoria dreaming of becoming a farmer, but had no land and little experience. Two years and a cross Canada move later, we meet her and her wife Percy on their Cape Breton flower farm.

Michael Kulakowsky's grade 4 class was so moved when they heard the Now or Never story of 9-year-old Michelle Luis' superhero courage in the face of bullying, they rallied together to help make a difference. Find out what they did and what Michelle, now 11, thinks of it all.

Winnipeg's Josephine Harper faced a lot of challenges in her life - addiction, homelessness, and years in and out of prison. Through it all, her friend Fedja Redzepovic stood by her side. He tells us how he’ll remember his fierce and funny friend, and how her spirit shows up in the work he does today: “She fought better, harder, and braver than most people I’ve met in my life.” 

Former New Brunswick elementary school teacher Hugh Brittain’s decades-long quest to return handwritten diaries to his students, captured the attention of our audience, who helped track down the author of the very last diary. The final chapter in the case of the long lost diary, and the power of radio.

When we last spoke to Richard Raycraft, he was just starting to dip his toe into the world of mascoting - never in his wildest dreams did he consider that it'd become his full-time career. But this former journalist has four jobs as a team mascot and has traveled the world exploring his new passion of entertaining the masses with his mascotry. 

Seven years ago, BC's Shawn Thorn was recovering from multiple failed adoptions attempts and unsuccessful embryo transfers, and finding the strength and support to try one more time to become a father. Today he introduces us to his family and shares how his dreams of fatherhood have matched up to reality.