Stay ConnectedThe 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.
Copyright: Copyright © CBC 2024
You may have heard of Expo 67 — Canada's biggest flex during its centennial year — but do you know the fascinating history of the Indian Pavilion? It was separate and distinct from the Canada Pavilion, and it was primed to make that distinction matter. In the first part of a two part episode, Falen takes Leah on a minirail tour around the Expo grounds. (Content warning: clowns.) For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/inappropriate-questions-transcripts-listen-1.6740372
For over a century, Mohawk ironworkers have been shaping our skylines. Leah and Falen look into the contributions these workers have made in Canada and beyond, including their crucial role in the aftermath of 9/11. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/inappropriate-questions-transcripts-listen-1.6740372
This is the story of how Geoffrey Pyke, a Jewish inventor from the U.K. came up with one of the most mind-boggling plans to win the war. Namely: to build a ship made out of ice. Code name: Habakkuk. Then, what happened when Canada tried to build a test vessel in secrecy, using the labour of conscientious objectors. With special guest, Erin Brandenburg For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/inappropriate-questions-transcripts-listen-1.6740372
Al Rashid Mosque — the first mosque in Canada — opened in Edmonton in the late 1930s, but getting it built was no small feat. It happened thanks to the determination of a group of Lebanese Muslim women, led by Hilwie Hamdon, who brought Albertans of all faiths together to help make history. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/inappropriate-questions-transcripts-listen-1.6740372
In the late 60s the National Film Board decided it was time that First Nations got to be behind the camera and in charge of how they were seen. Although short lived, the Indian Film Crew would create films that changed how the NFB operated, as well as the face of Indigenous filmmaking in this country. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/inappropriate-questions-transcripts-listen-1.6740372
When did the Apple tree arrive in Canada and why do some trees in B.C live over a thousand years? A quick peek into some of the history kept by our land’s oldest living knowledge keepers — trees. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/inappropriate-questions-transcripts-listen-1.6740372
In 1919 almost half the working population of Winnipeg walked off the job in the largest strike in Canadian history. The events that followed led to the creation of a new police force called the RCMP. In part two, we continue to learn about early policing in Canada and why the RCMP are not our country’s only police force. We connect the dots from past to the present to find out why many Black and Indigenous communities still have a distrust of the police. We’ll talk about the concept of the “Carceral State,” continue our journey into old Mountie films and make way too many references to the TV show Law & Order and the Mission Impossible franchise. Then, with the help of guests, Sonya Ballantyne, a filmmaker and writer from Manitoba, and Toronto artist and activist Syrus Marcus Ware, we’ll learn about the grim history of “starlight tours” as well as the modern day abolitionist movement. *This episode contains strong language and content. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/inappropriate-questions-transcripts-listen-1.6740372
Over 100,000 “home children” were sent from the U.K. to Canada to work as labourers, from 1869 through to the 1940s. We find out who they were and what happened once they arrived here. Plus, Alan Dilworth tells us the story of his grandfather, Tom Selby, who arrived in Canada at the age of 8. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/inappropriate-questions-transcripts-listen-1.6740372
The Mountie is one Canada’s most enduring symbols. Found on souvenirs from keychains to dish towels, our national police force are icons to the rest of the world. Weird, right? In this episode, we try to figure out how this happened and talk about: the image of the Mountie in early Hollywood, what Irish and Indian resistance to British rule has to do with it, and why young Canada felt a greater need for policing in the West. With the help of Dr. Winona Wheeler, we dive into the early years of the North-West Mounted Police (precursor to the RCMP) and look at their complex relationship with Indigenous people that, for better or worse, continues to this day. *Warning, strong language and content. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/inappropriate-questions-transcripts-listen-1.6740372
Today we look into the life of Lucy Maud (L.M.) Montgomery, creator of iconic characters like Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon. The lesser-known story is that of the writer herself, who had many struggles within her own life, especially with her mental health. Today we are going to talk about that. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/inappropriate-questions-transcripts-listen-1.6740372
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
