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...

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...

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...

Trevor asks people in downtown Winnipeg whose voice they miss, and would like to hear again. And that prompts one woman to make a long overdue phone call. A year and a half ago, Trevor’s dad, Dave Dineen, underwent a laryngectomy to battle throat cancer. The surgery took away his vocal chords and forced him to find a new way to speak. He’s never spoken about how hard the recovery has been…..until now.  Parents Majid Hashemi and Erica Grenci have a lot of they want to express to their...

When was the last time you were truly silly? The world can sometimes seem like a never-ending scroll of bad news. But moments of unadulterated fun have a special way of transforming your whole day. When Marcy Markusa, host of CBC’s Information Radio, was reflecting on turning 50 she had a realization…she’s forgotten to be silly. Ify and Trevor come together to help her let loose with something she hasn’t done since she was a kid. When Lilet and Soogah go live on Facebook, be prepared to...

When you're faced with a hard truth about yourself, it can be tough figuring out what to do next. Or to make any changes at all. On this episode, meet five people hit with a reality check they couldn't ignore. Andrew Barr thought he was showing up to help a friend but instead, he was surprised with an intervention. The Toronto comedian shares the moment that saved his life, and finding the funny sober.  After 75 years in the family, Rob Benson has realized it’s time to close up shop at one...

The average person will spend more than 90,000 hours at work. That's about one-third of your life. Depending on how you feel about your job, that time can feel like a dream...or a never-ending nightmare. So on this episode, Ify and Trevor are on a mission to help make your workplace work for you, starting with a makeover of their own grim office washroom. Even before the pandemic changed the world and made working from home a norm for many, Shane Solomon spent a lot of time trying to figure...

Around the world, in the streets, people are raising their voices and demanding change. But not all protests involve placards and marching. Today on Now or Never, people who are rebelling against the way things are - and finding creative new ways to demand change. Maddy Nowosad loved skateboarding and the community of people she met at The Edge, a state of the art skate park in Winnipeg run by the Evangelical Youth For Christ. But when she came out, she no longer felt accepted in that...

Love can make us do crazy things. Hear from people going to extremes as they fall in love, chase love down, and find ways to keep it going strong.  London, Ontario’s Frank and Patrick knew from day one that they wanted to start a family. Their wild ride to parenthood through foster care, adoption and surrogacy has tested their love for each other, their faith, and the very definition of what a family looks like. Hopeless romantic Golden Johnson tells us why she's auditioning to be on Love...

What’s it like to take a punch? Host Trevor has never been in a fight in his life, until now.  This week Trevor follows his curiosity to Pan Am Boxing Club, the oldest boxing club in Winnipeg. That’s where he discovers that at this fight club, they’re changing lives.  Every two weeks the rainbow and trans flags fly in the non-profit gym when Jesse Jordan leads the Umbrella boxing program for 2SLGBTQ+ community, challenging the binary nature of the sport and changing the face of...

The dream job can be hard to find, and even harder to hang on to. Hear from people at all stages of living their best work life, whether they're hustling to get it, or knowing when to walk away. For Brenda Hernandez-Acosta, making empanadas and churro cheesecake has always been her love language. Two weeks ago, she opened her first bakery in downtown Winnipeg, pulling her entire family in for the ride. She shares what it's like to combine business with family, and her hopes to make the...

Our families pass on all kinds of things to us - values, quirks, and that particular expression your mom makes when she finds something hilarious. On this episode, hear stories of people embracing, breaking (or reinventing) the imprint of their families. A reality check from ChatGPT sends Hamilton’s Shawney Cohen on a drastic health journey, as he grapples with a family history of disordered eating.  When Doug Darling found out his dad had Alzheimer’s, he realized there were things about...

They send you emails, they call your phone, they try to lure you on social media. But their promises are empty and they’re really just after your money. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, scams cost Canadians at least 554 million dollars last year. But when you talk to the victims of these schemes, it becomes clear that more than money was lost. This week on Now or Never we’re with people as they put their lives back together and are trying to fight back after they’ve been...

Could you imagine solving a Rubik's Cube in under one second? Or summing up your entire life in 6 minutes? On this episode, every story is a race against time. SIX MINUTES. Richard Kemick is looking to dip his toe into the dating world again. There’s just one problem. His living situation is a little…..complicated. And tough to sum up in the six minutes he has to make a good first impression at an upcoming speed-dating event. He shares the terror and exhilaration of trying to distill your...

When you don’t see eye-to-eye on something, how do you bridge the gap? Stories of people trying to understand each other better across cultural, generational, and family divides. After his father’s sudden death while on vacation in the Philippines, Jim Agapito rushed to his funeral. But when he arrived, he was thrown into an unfamiliar world where his somber understanding of mourning was replaced by superstition and festivities. Skipping school, debating strangers, and making muffins lowers...

When humans and nature collide, you never know what will happen. This week on Now or Never, stories of close encounters with the natural world. Andrew Phung brings us into the battle zone: the laneway of his Toronto home, where he faces off every day against a team of raccoons.  After witnessing the effects of the climate crisis in BC this past year, Hafsa Salihue and Ryan Laing are on opposite sides about whether they should have a child.  Meet Colleen Cassady St. Clair, the Queen of...

There are lots of reasons to volunteer - and many excuses not to. So as Canada faces a critical volunteer shortage, what is motivating those who do? Seven days a week, Ashley Van Aggelen is out there coaching. She gives up all her evenings, barely sees her friends, and bounces between multiple basketball, hockey, and soccer games in a single week. So what keeps this super-volunteer going? After getting fed up with the lack of emergency services in his community, Ian Hicks decided to buy a...

In an age where over-sharing and trauma-dumping has become the norm, is there such a thing as TMI anymore? On this episode, hear how people are navigating the freedom and discomfort of letting it all out. Would you reveal how old you are? The last time you cried? How much money is in your bank account? Trevor and Ify get nosy with their fellow CBC Radio hosts Paul Haavardsrud (Cost of Living), Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe (The Block, CBC Music), and Piya Chattopadhyay (The Sunday Magazine), to...

It’s January in Canada, and if the cold and dark is getting you down, Now or Never is offering you an escape. Turn on your SAD lamps, turn up the heat and tune in to be transported to summertime. Eight-year old Simon Khaoniam of Winnipeg wants to go to a sleep away camp for the first time. But because of his life threatening allergies, mom Morgan Klachefsky is struggling to let him go. Cochrane’s Bailey Shellenberg made history as the first girl to qualify in junior steer riding on one of...

On this winter solstice -- the longest night of the year -- we're jumping in with people finding ways to bring light into the dark. As the sun sets earlier and earlier, thousands of Winnipeggers head to the zoo to bask in the glow of 1.5 million Christmas lights. Trevor Dineen joins in the fun and asks kids just how important it is to brighten up the night. Lena Griffin zip ties thousands of lights along a swaying suspension bridge over a wild northern river in her Nisga'a village, to...

If you're scrambling to find the perfect gift this holiday season, get inspired with stories and advice from people working through their gift-giving dilemmas. (And best of all...most of these gifts are completely free!). After 23 years of marriage, M.J. Kang is determined to break the gift-giving rut she and her husband Oren have fallen into…as soon as she finds the perfect gift. After a northern miner’s home burns to the ground, more than 100 strangers in a distant city pitch in to help...

Relationship need a rescue? All our friends are talking about how to keep it hot, so we scoured the country to bring you six couples who are #relationshipgoals and asked them for their secrets. Thank us later. T.A. and June MacKay have been together more than 60 years and rarely fought. Why these 90-year-olds swear by a double bed. Amelia Merrick and Res Krebs climb into a bath together and share why she chose him as her first lover when she was a 39-year-old virgin. Martine Dugazon slid...