The Secret Life of Canada

CBC Discover & Learn
The Secret Life of Canada

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! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Subscribe to Sounds Good: CBC's Podcast newsletter for the finest podcast recommendations and behind-the-scenes exclusives. 

  1. JAN 16

    Goodbye for now!

    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.  Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Tik Tok.

    10 min
  2. The Secret Life of Canada Introduces | Personally: Short Sighted

    12/06/2024

    The Secret Life of Canada Introduces | Personally: Short Sighted

    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

    17 min

  3. 12/05/2024

    S6: Powwow

    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.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok.

    30 min

  4. 11/21/2024

    S6: The Sex Scandal & The Spy

    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.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok.

    10 min

  5. 11/07/2024

    S6: The final voyage of the Princess Sophia

    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.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok.

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

    10/31/2024

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

    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

    43 min

  7. 10/24/2024

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

    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.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok.

    19 min

  8. 10/10/2024

    S6: I see dead people (in Winnipeg)

    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.  Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok.

    21 min
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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! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Subscribe to Sounds Good: CBC's Podcast newsletter for the finest podcast recommendations and behind-the-scenes exclusives. 

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