Our celebrations revolve around it. It's taken over reality shows, social media posts and travel guides... and of course, you need it to live. But food can have surprising effects on our sense of self and well being. This weekend, Piya explores how food can lead to fulfillment... and detract from it.

We all want to build a strong legacy for ourselves - something we can be proud of. But when a wrench gets thrown into your life story, you've got to find a way to make it right. This week, Piya asks: How do you manage a complicated legacy?

We all want to feel proud of who we are, the work we do and the values we hold strong. But left unchecked, pride can turn into an outsized feeling of self-regard that can even hurt other people. This week, Piya rides that fine line by asking: What's the point of pride?

Kaleb, an asylum seeker from Ethiopia, says he fled his homeland to come to Canada as a result of political persecution. Our producer, Sam Colbert, accompanies Kaleb as he searches for work and housing in Toronto, while also preparing for his refugee hearing. Sam takes a deeper dive inside the hearing process to shed light on how decisions are made.

In this time when people are so polarized, dug into their camps, and listening to their own echo chambers, changing our minds and actions can be harder than ever. This week, Piya asks: What compels us to switch sides?

A phenomenon known as "call-out culture" has emerged, where people publicly denounce words and actions they consider to be untoward, and often prejudiced. And its rise has led to a lot of conflict about just how healthy that culture is today. This week, Piya asks: What does calling people out really achieve?

We can all play a role in spreading falsehoods, whether it's office gossip, sharing stuff on social media that turns out to be fake, or just being passive, uncritical consumers of information coming at us. But for people directly affected by them, the effects can be profound. This week, Piya asks: When a falsehood catches fire, how do you get ahead of it?

From so-called 'fake news' to reports of gaslighting by survivors of abuse, we're wrestling with the nature of truth on political and cultural levels everyday. This week, Piya speaks with people whose personal truths have been question, dismissed, distorted, and even denied, to find out how they fought back and held on to their reality.

As Canadians have been debating what a fair and just punishment should look like for the driver in the Humboldt Broncos crash, one perspective has been absent: the guilty. This week, Piya speaks with those inside and outside prison to hear how they think their punishment has served them, for better and for worse.

When someone asks "What do you do for a living?", you might have an easy answer. But for people who've been laid off, have unfulfilling jobs, and take part in the gig economy... the answer can be a lot more complicated. This week, Piya explores how the nature of the work you do can disrupt your sense of who you are.

Do you ever feel helpless? Like you have no power to effect change? This week, Piya speaks with people who've been there to discover how they cope with feelings of helplessness in the face of big, global challenges... and deeply personal ones.

Relationships are central to our health, happiness and even lifespan. And yet, loneliness is cutting across generations, hurting our health, and its rise has been called an "epidemic". So where does that leave us? This week, Piya speaks with world-renowned psychotherapist Esther Perel about why connection is so important, why we're so bad at it, and how we can do better... both within couples and across social and political divides.

Nearly one in 10 Canadians have reported experiencing "hidden homelessness", when you temporarily have nowhere to stay, so you resort to things like couch surfing and sleeping in your car. This week, Piya sheds light on some of the many different ways homelessness can be hidden, with people who've experienced it themselves.

Adoption can be bittersweet for everyone involved. At best, it results in a happy, healthy family. But it can also carry a load of conflict, confusion, and unanswered questions. This week, Piya wades into some of those things we don't tend to discuss when we talk about adoption.

We hear more and more everyday how people are rejecting the genders male and female, and embracing different ways to identify. This week, Piya explores whether traditional gender as we know it is becoming obsolete, whether it should, and what happens when people step outside those boxes.

Death... is not something most people really want to think about. And that's actually a luxury. Because when you come face to face with the end, you have no choice but to stare mortality square in the eyes. From terminal illness to a near-fatal drug overdose, this week Piya speaks with people who've had close calls with death that changed everything for them in life.

We tend to be more confident in our memories than we should be. And yet, memory is still held to be such an important decider in the criminal justice system, social conversations and everyday life. This week, Piya explores just how much you can really trust your memory.

The holidays can be uncomfortable, difficult and downright awkward. So Out in the Open's got your back with this hour all about how to survive the season... from dealing with family differences to reconciling who you are with holiday demands.

The media may move on... but for the people behind the headlines, the story continues. This week, Piya speaks with people affected by some of the year's top news stories of 2018 to find out what their lives are like after trending.

More Canadians are living in cities than ever before. But research shows that as these centres grow, social supports aren't keeping up, and all that crowding leads people to feel isolated. This week, with that ongoing rise in urbanization and isolation, Piya explores how people are creating community.

This week, Piya asks Canadians who have HIV what's changed about life with the virus in the 30 years since the first World AIDS Day in 1988.

Over the last year, we've heard countless stories of women who say they've been wronged and seen powerful men called out for their bad behaviour. So much time has been spent bringing the problems to the fore. But with new stories surfacing every day, it's become harder to see what real solutions might look like. This week, in the realm of sexual misconduct and beyond, Piya asks: When you've done wrong... how do you make it right?

Have you ever been torn between two ideals, causes or people... and can't quite figure where your allegiance should lie? This week, Piya speaks with people who found themselves with split loyalty and either felt like they had to choose a side or embrace living on a border.

Other People's Problems takes listeners behind the doors of real life therapy sessions. In season two, therapist Hillary McBride and her clients tackle heartbreak, new love, and, as you're about to hear, co-parenting with an abusive ex. If you like what you hear, you can subscribe to Other People's Problems at cbc.ca/opp or wherever you get the Out in the Open podcast.

Between natural disasters, targeted attacks, and everyday run-of-the mill accidents, we hear about crises happening to other people on the news all the time. This week, Piya speaks with people who were there when crisis struck, to find out how they responded... and what their reaction says about them.