As the weather heats up, are you showing more skin? Although some might show flesh without a second thought, many of us find it challenging to show our bodies. Luckily, our guests on this episode are here to share how they're letting go of self doubt, embracing their insecurities, and learning to love the skin they're in.

Trevor Dineen thinks you're never too old to play with toys - and he's got plenty of reasons why Lego, Barbies, and that plastic Triceratops are worth taking out of the toy box again.

It's like the Olympics but for plumbing, welding and cooking! Hundreds of young aspiring trades people from across the country are vying for top spot in their trades at the Skills Canada National Competition, and Now or Never is there as they face off and find out who will come out on top.

Aunts and uncles — whether they're related to you, godparents, or a family friend — can shape our lives in all kinds of ways. On this episode, an ode to the aunts and uncles who offer us silliness, guidance and love. Trent Agecoutay and Curt Young are a pair of deadly uncles with a mission: to create a space for Indigenous men and boys to have honest conversations about life. Hear how their Deadly Uncle Podcast is filling a gap in their lives, and their communities. From the moment Avan Neo first lay eyes on their baby niece Chynae, Avan knew they were going to be best friends for life. Now that Chynae is 15-years-old and living with a disability, their bond is stronger than ever... Because for the first time, Avan feels like someone understands what it's like to experience the world a little differently. We asked Now or Never listeners to share stories of their favourite aunt or uncle — and you delivered. From the globe-trotting, mysterious uncle who always showed up on a motorcycle, to the MacGyver-like aunt who knew how to fix everything, these aunts and uncles made a big impression. When we last spoke to Lucy Van Oldenbarneveld, she was grieving the death of her sister Tracy and learning how to suddenly be a parent to her 13-year-old niece. We check in with Lucy to find out where she's at today — and what's next for Anaiya. And Ify crashes a session of "The Wise Women Club," a group of aunties from Calgary's Nigerian-Canadian community, who Ify grew up admiring. Moji Taiwo and Adenike Olagundoye don't hold back on wrinkles ("this Black does not crack"), family expectations, and demanding their senior's discount at Shoppers Drug Mart.

What do a 13-year-old aspiring veterinarian, a 75-year-old body builder, and a citizen volunteer in Ukraine have in common? They've all decided to go big. Small, careful steps are all well and good. But where is the challenge in that? On this Now or Never, people are stepping outside their comfort zones and pushing the boundaries of what they think is possible. It's time to go big — and hope, in the end, it all works out.

Across the country, the homeless population is the subject of debate, but rarely do we hear their perspectives. Today we're sitting down with people whose personal stories shed light on what it's really like to be unhoused

There's always a reason to avoid the things we need to do. You don't have the time, you're too nervous, you're just not ready yet. And, like it or not, society often defines us by what we do and how productive we are. This week on Now or Never, you'll hear from people who are tackling their to-do lists and doing the things that need to be done — no matter how difficult they may be.

While your feed may be full of bad news, people are using their now or never moments to change their lives and their communities for good

Going to school. Falling in love. Figuring out what to do with your life. We devote an entire episode to 19-year-olds, and the 'now or never' moments they're facing that could shape the rest of their lives.

We're crashing all kinds of parties on Now or Never today - Metis kitchen parties, over-the-top kid birthday celebrations, and one spicy divorce party. Plus, we show up at the wedding of Vanessa and Derek, who don't have a venue, seating plans, or even a guest list. Find out why they invited a bunch of strangers to their pop-up wedding in a Winnipeg park - and how the bride ended up wearing a sweatshirt and quoting Salt-n-Pepa in her wedding vows.

If you've ever been curious about what really goes on in other people's backyards, this is the episode for you. Trevor and Ify crash an amateur wrestling night, meet the in-laws living in one family's backyard, and talk to some of the majestic mermen making a splash across Northern Manitoba.

Passing the torch can be complicated, whether you're handing down a family business, deciding whether or not to have kids, or figuring out what to do with that weird family heirloom you inherited. Meet people dealing with the messiness head-on.

As a new school year starts, students are moving out on their own. As fire season rages on, evacuees are anxious to get back home. And both Trevor and Ify are moving - and they’re having big feelings about it! Meet people who are finding meaningful ways to stay connected to home, even when they're far away. Over 50 years ago, Barbara Bad Elk and her younger brother Jack were both taken from their home on Sioux Valley Dakota Nation. Now, these Sixties Scoop survivors have reunited and found a sense of home in each other. The same day her new furniture was being delivered, Helen Malone-Babineau was forced to flee Yellowknife due to approaching wildfires. She’s waiting to return to the apartment that was supposed to be her fresh start. Charleen Sibanda sends money back home to Zimbabwe every week. While she’d rather be there in person, the money she’s providing helps her feel connected to her Mom and where she’s from. When Gelaine Santiago started her jewelry company, her goal was to connect people to their home in the Philippines; a connection the Toronto-raised entrepreneur is still working on for herself. Amy Coupal is honoured to care for her 86-year-old dad, Charles, but there’s a lot on her plate. How does she share the load with her sister, who lives three provinces away?

You've moved out. Maybe you've even graduated, got married, and had kids. So why don't you feel grown up? And what does it even MEAN to be an adult? Our guests are trying to figure that out. Lana Ciarniello is dealing with an empty nest after both of her kids moved away from home. She checks in with 18-year-old Jasmine in her first week at university, to find that her daughter is also struggling with this leap into adulthood. For 55-year old Deborah a big part of living adulthood independently is doing something she was told wasn’t possible for someone who lives with her disabilities - working a job she loves. Today Deborah runs the DANI Cafe in Thornhill, Ontario, and dreams of one day living on her own. Everyone’s got opinions on what it means to be grown. We hear from people from 5 to 105 about the moments they feel truly adult - from doing chores and taxes to realizing that nobody lives forever. Ummni Khan has had a license for six years, but she doesn’t drive. That’s caused some friction with her husband-slash-chauffeur. Can she overcome her adult imposter syndrome and build her confidence behind the wheel? At 22, opera singer Kyle Briscoe has the voice of somebody beyond his years. In many ways, that makes sense - Kyle’s difficult childhood has meant that he had to grow up much faster than anyone should.

I'm too busy. It'll be awkward. What if they don't like me or even remember me? There are countless excuses to not reach out to somebody. But until you do, you'll never know what you're missing. On this episode, meet people bravely reaching out - to strangers, long-lost friends and potential lovers. When Cheryl Taylor was in high school, her vice principal changed her life. Now decades later she wants to find him and thank him, but is it too late? Can we find Mr. Yakichuk? Corine Mathelier has packed up her life in Toronto and moved to Montreal in hopes of finding the friendships and community she is longing for. We check in to see how it's going, just days after the move. When international students Sele Akere and Dipo Oksesola saw an ad for a room to rent in Kelowna, they thought it was a scam by a tough biker. But they reached out anyway and discovered Bill Pittman is really a big softie... and that they probably saved Bill’s life. So, you want to date Alicia Bunyan-Sampson? There’s a form for that. After too many bad experiences in the polyamorous dating world, she created a fun and insightful Google form as a way of reaching out to her. She tells Ify all about it. We hear from excited and nervous fans of Canadian influencer Spencer Barbosa, as they wait in line to meet their internet hero in person. But backstage, 20-year-old Barbosa is feeling jitters of her own, wondering what her fans will think of her in real life. At the age of 60 Brian Bannister has overcome addiction, abuse, lost two wives and was living on the street. He had all but given up on life, until Danielle MacDuff decided to strike up a conversation and offer him a job on her farm. Now, not only does he wake up every day with a sense of purpose but the two have struck up a wonderful friendship that neither saw coming.

Rent. Groceries. Transportation. For so many, the costs of everyday life are adding up - and they're being forced to make tough decisions about how they're going to make ends meet. Hear how people from all walks of life are navigating their way through this financial crisis.With grocery prices sky high, Robert Gagnon is bagging his own meat. He’s filling his basement freezer with hundreds of pounds of elk meat, as well as salmon, moose nose, and elk tongue, to feed his family and to share with local elders.Due to rising costs of rent and food, Katherine Goodes can no longer afford to live on her own, which means the 67-year-old is doing something she never thought she would have to at her age... find roommates.In the centre of Toronto’s financial district you’ll find Brian, an unhoused man who proudly sweeps the streets to earn money from passersby. But with rising costs and a medical condition that restricts his diet, covering his basic needs is a daily struggle.   This school year, undergraduate international students are expected to pay on average at least four times more than their Canadian classmates. Hear how Nepali student Tshering Futi Sherpa is balancing school, work and homesickness to live out her dream of studying abroad. Alistair Wright was barely making ends meet at his dinner theatre job when the union went on strike. Then the theatre closed. But there’s something that won’t let Alistair give up on his dream.In Nunavut, grocery store prices are sky high and Kyra Kilabuk is sharing the details on TikTok so everyone can know about it. Kyra shares what it takes for her family of five to make ends meet in Iqaluit.

It's time to go for a walk with us, so grab your headphones, hit play and let's go! Hop on the Shaughnessy Park School walking school bus in Winnipeg, where a commute to school is an opportunity for friendship, safety, and conversations about unicorns. When a terrifying car accident broke Brianna Seewalds's neck and spine in multiple places, she told her boyfriend Ryan Borkowsky he didn't have to stay with her. Three years later, Brianna prepares for their Manitoba wedding with has one goal in mind - to walk down the aisle. Spend a morning with The Loons, Toronto’s first and only walking soccer club, to find out why the sport is gaining popularity — without sacrificing on skill. When Scott Wabano, a 2Spirit Cree fashion designer from the Mushkegowuk & Eeyou Istchee territories, assembled a powerhouse group of Indigenous “decolonial baddies” to walk for their New York Fashion Week debut, they had no idea how powerful an experience it would be. What happens when you take a lazy 12-year-old wiener dog and put it on a quest to explore every single road in Quispamsis, NB? Meet Sally and Conrad Brock, and their dachshund Spencer. Counsellor Sue MacDonald takes clients out for walking therapy sessions, and carries bear spray, just in case.

On this episode, dads get real about the uncertainties, struggles and joys of fatherhood. A Wall Street workaholic turned stay-at-home dad goes to unusual lengths to find connection with other dads. How a rocky start with his step-son led one dad to slowly build up their relationship, (literally) brick-by-brick. And a special guest star: Ify's dad! He shares his one parenting regret, and Ify confesses a childhood secret.

It's easy to feel trapped - in dead-end jobs, ho-hum relationships, the tedium of everyday life. But what does it take to break free, and live the life you truly want? On this episode, hear from people turning their lives upside down in order to find freedom. Gilad Cohen was up to his eyeballs in spreadsheets. So he stepped down from the top spot at a charity he founded, to pursue his dream of being a full-time artist. But with his newfound freedom comes a lot of uncertainty, loss of stability… and loneliness. Was it worth it? For more than 100 nights this year, Donna Kane has slept outside under the stars in an old cast iron bed. She tells us why sleeping outdoors in the vastness of nature - with mice scurrying across the duvet and coyotes howling in the distance - helps "to take yourself a little less seriously." After breaking free from an abusive relationship, Sheenique is rediscovering joy and living life on her own terms. But for this single mother of two young boys, the road ahead is anything but smooth. The wide open countryside, where there’s no other person in sight. Being alone like that is what Kimberly Woelfle realized she needed, but it wasn’t an option in a busy city like Brampton. But she found a way to make it work … by going tiny. At the age of 28, Keith Hodder hadn’t had a sip of alcohol, a drag of a cigarette, or even a cup of coffee. As a young, closeted gay man, Keith was fearful that his truth was an irreparable flaw. So he created a set of rules to maintain tight control in his life and avoid judgement. Today he's out to challenge his vices, one by one.

Sending out an invitation - or being delivered one - can bring up a lot of emotions. Excitement. Dread. The fear of rejection. What do I wear? Will anyone come? DOES ANYONE LIKE ME? On this episode, we're RSVPing to the fraught feelings and unexpected places invitations take us. Lynn Sainté wants to relive her church choir days, so she's booked a venue, hired musicians, and made some chicken wings. Now she just needs people to show up and sing. Ify Chiwetelu joins Lynn as she stresses over what could go wrong, and stands at the door waiting to see who (if anyone) will actually show up. Every year, thousands of people in Canada wait for an official invitation to apply for Permanent Residency. But when his invite didn’t show up, Mikita Arlou found himself in a desperate situation. The 26-year-old was facing imprisonment, or worse, in his home country of Belarus. With his future on the line… he sprang into action. Maya Turner had a dream to play football at the university level. But first, she needed to get invited for a tryout - which is hard to do when you're a late-blooming field kicker in a male-dominated sport. Find out how Maya became the first female athlete to play - and score - in a Canadian university football game, and what she has planned next. Ben Shannon and his 9-year old daughter love to whistle together. So on a lark one day, they decided to enter a whistling competition - and ended up getting invited to an international whistling event in Los Angeles. What happened when this father-daughter duo were faced with tough-talking whistling coaches and a case of stage fright? 'They said it couldn't be done.' That was the first line in Tess Healy and Wendy Young's wedding invitation, 20 years after they helped win a landmark court case that legalized same-sex marriage in BC. As they prepare for a wedding vow renewal ceremony to mark their 20th anniversary, Tess and Wendy reveal why they're still worried about uninvited guests. And how do you make sure you’re not putting a financial burden on people you invite to a potentially expensive destination celebration? That’s what Robert Keller was trying to figure out when making a guest list for his surprise stag party he knows nothing about. Plus, Ify heads to her friend Lynn's pop-up choir event, to see how many people responded to Lynn's open invitation.

When fear grabs hold of you and sinks it's teeth in, it's hard to shake loose. And for good reason — if you are in a dangerous situation, that flight-or-fight response can be life saving. But what if your fear is getting in the way of living the life you want? You might have to look the fear directly in the eye and welcome whatever happens, just like the guests on this Now or Never.

You know the feeling. It's that pit-of-your-stomach sense of panic, when you realize you've lost something meaningful. It can only be matched by the relief that comes with finding that thing. Today we're taking you on a journey through all the emotional twists and turns of searching and finding and bringing you stories of how things that are important make their way home. Umbrellas, wallets, and airpods as far as the eye can see - it’s just a regular day at the Toronto Transit Lost Articles Office. Supervisor Justin Valmores takes us behind the scenes, and into the stories, of things left behind on public transit. How do you catch a runaway bird? That's what Jane and Kevin Porte had to figure out when their beloved yellow Indian ringneck parrot, Chuck, flew away into the wilds of Winnipeg. Can we help return a long lost diary? Retired New Brunswick teacher Hugh Brittain held onto a stack of old diaries from former students for decades. He's returned them all except one. Help us find the owner. First Nations musician Kym Gouchie uses recordings of her granny’s voice and a ukulele, to record a children’s album in her ancestral language, and keep Lheidli, a local dialect of Dakelh, alive. Colby Matthews waited two years on a list before finding A.J. Keller through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Now they're hunting for treasure - or at least geocashes - all over Edmonton. When Scarlett Fonseca opened her Winnipeg mailbox one morning she had no idea she'd be part of solving a fifty-year old mystery that brought Karen Mueller a message from her deceased father.

When everyone else has given up and gone home...what does it take to be the last one standing? Trevor pays a visit to the last typewriter repair shop in Winnipeg, and finds out why 76-year-old Izu Gephter has no plans of packing it in. Jimmy Chau finished dead-last in the most recent Manitoba Marathon, and tells us what kept him going on his nearly seven-hour race. William Liu’s dim sum shop in Vancouver's Chinatown has been in his family for three decades. But as boxing gyms and yoga studios move in, can small family-run businesses like his survive? Trevor writes an ode to 'that guy' - the last one to leave a party. When you feel like the odd one out in your circle, find a new circle. At the Toronto meetup group SWaNK - Single Woman and No Kids - Melissa Ramage, Sarah Dukes, and Binesh Lodhi are finding friendship, good vibes, and reminders they are not alone. Mike Parsons and his partner Georgina are the last remaining people on Little Bay Islands, a resettled community accessible only by boat. So what do you do when you live alone on an island in the North Atlantic? Mike Parsons says you stock up, wind down — and surprisingly, don’t bicker. And 96-year-old Marion Marten is likely the last of the women electricians who worked on warplanes at a Toronto plant during WWII. She shares her memories of that time.

Stories of people saying enough is enough, and taking matters into their own hands.Seven days a week, Jenny McDougall drives from homeless shelters to motels and tents by the river, delivering prescription medication to drug users, hoping to stop overdose deaths. Sophie Davie always knew she wanted kids, but at the age of 35, she hadn’t found the right partner. So instead of waiting, she decided to have a baby on her own. At five months pregnant, Sophie shares how she's preparing for single parenthood - and why she chose a sperm donor who's really good at basketball.Shawn Bath wouldn't exactly call himself an eco-warrior. Yet this former fisherman spends all his free time and money cleaning up trash dumped into the ocean off the coast of Newfoundland.Tired of seeing the impacts of violence they witnessed in their community, Mohamed Hassan and Ahmed Shiddo decided to take action by hosting gatherings for Somali youth in the GTA. And Amanda Caskenette and Dave Barrett are fed up with capitalism -- so for the past five years, they’ve been trying to remove themselves from the system by growing most of their own food, and experimenting with off-the-grid living on the shores of Lake Superior.

Come along for the big moments Canadians are experiencing around the world right now. He used to be a DJ at The Moose radio station in small-town Smithers, BC. Today, Dancin’ Wayne hypes up tens of thousands of soccer fans as a World Cup stadium host, energizing crowds with his breakdancing, chanting, and hot-pink suits. When Stephen and Sara Cole decided to sell their home in Fergus, Ontario, they knew they wanted something different -- but they never dreamed they’d end up with an 11-bedroom, 6300 square foot chateau in Southwestern France. Or the upkeep that comes along with it. #chateauproblems News headlines, social media posts, and messages in the family group chat carry Lima Al-Azzeh, a Palestinian-Canadian living in Vancouver, straight into Gaza. What do you pack to take to space? How do you handle the fear? And how do you prepare your family to watch you blast off? Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen gets personal ahead of his moon mission next November. And ten years after a life-changing car accident left Jen Schuringa with a traumatic brain injury that impacts her ability to move voluntarily and speak, she and a group of family and friends take on Spain's Camino de Santiago.

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 into Michelle Osbourne’s DMs and went from the friend zone to engaged thanks to acts of service and words of affirmation in Quebec City. Taunting,teasing, and making each other laugh. That’s how Sheena Melwani and her husband, 'The Real Indian Dad' keep it hot and share with their over 10 million followers on Tik Tok. For Peter Verge and Shelley Hunt, living apart - but under the same roof - has actually brought them closer together. Find out why the laundry room is their favourite room in the house. With parenting getting in the way of romance, Toronto's Domenique Raso and Josh Roarke are finally heading out on a date. The last one was an epic fail…will they make it out the door this time?

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 him rebuild. So why is it so hard for Guy Martial to accept their gift of kindness? Ophira Eisenberg attempts some high-level negotiations with her 8-year-old son over his epic Hanukkah wish list. Newly dating couple Marcello Di Cintio and Shari Beverage have thrown down a Christmas challenge for each other: all their gifts have to be made by hand. Except Marcello isn't particularly crafty. And the wooden nesting dolls he's painting look like a horror show. We check in on how they're each dealing with the pressure of high (and crafty) expectations. Singer-songwriter Ila Barker gifted herself a tiny chihuahua puppy for her birthday two weeks ago, to celebrate a whirlwind year of travel and hustling to promote her music. Will Sunny the puppy behave as she and her musicians perform? Luna Bella Zuniga has transformed hundreds of kids’ bedrooms over the years, using nothing but paint and her imagination to create lush forests, starry ceilings and playful shrines to Elmo. How the gift of a magical space to call their own helps kids going through tough times.

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 create a dazzling display that honors lost family and friends. In Ausuittuq (Grise Fiord), Nunavut, the northernmost community in Canada, Laisa Watsko shares a glimpse of life in the middle of dark season. Virginia O’Dine, a stand-up comedian on the small town circuit, tries to make sense of the joy and pain in her life, after her daughter’s Olympic victories and the loss of her son to cancer. As the sun dips behind the rocky mountains in southern Alberta, Tracey Klettle and Tim Mearns are strapping on snowshoes for another stargazing tour. It’s their way of passing along messages from Tim’s mom, about the importance of making friends with the dark. Kerry Kijewski shares her changing relationship with darkness as she becomes almost totally blind, and more Now or Never listeners share their solstice traditions and memories.

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 the biggest rodeo circuits in the country in 2019. In this encore presentation we hear her try to take a title. A ring for a ring. That’s the ultimatum British Columbia's Justin Griffore’s girlfriend gave him when he asked if they could put a wrestling ring in their backyard. Hear what happened next in this encore presentation. Host Ify Chiwetelu and her younger sister Chisom hop in a tandem kayak and head out on Lake Ontario for the first time, even though neither of them can swim. After a life-changing accident injured his spinal cord, Manitoba engineer Corey Mazinke used his skills to invent devices that help him navigate his new normal. Including a wheelchair that will take him to the beach. Minnie Schentag spent more than 40 years building her backyard Winnipeg garden, but had to move due to failing health. When she heard the new owners planned to tear up the plants, neighbour Gail Howell sprang into action to preserve Minnie’s garden. (encore presentation)

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 find out how much personal information they are willing to reveal...on air. After serving as an intelligence officer during the Persian Gulf War, Sean Bruyea risked everything to expose a government secret - and he’s still experiencing the consequences of that today. Lindsay Wong is a bit of a conundrum: She's uncomfortable with attention, but she also wrote a best-selling memoir about her family's struggle with undiagnosed mental illness. Five years after spilling her family's secrets, Lindsay is reconsidering how much is too much to share in such a public way. Hairstylist Meghan Kinitaon reveals the most jaw-dropping things people have told her in the salon chair - and how she deals with trauma-dumping. And writer Danny Ramadan says challenges to his children's books as being "too much information" for their LGBTQ+ content feel personal. Why he's not letting these challenges slow him down.

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 fire truck from the set of Rambo: First Blood. And just like that, a small town B.C. fire department was born. How a rag-tag collection of volunteers transformed into critical first-responders. Michele Botel grew up afraid of felines. So why did she volunteer to feed a colony of feral cats? Ify takes to the streets of Toronto to find out why people are volunteering (or not). Lyall Davis has one mission: to keep the community radio station in Killaloe, Ontario from going off the air. But without volunteers, the station will have to sign off for good - something he's worked too hard to let happen. Since the remains of 215 children were uncovered at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, Vanessa Genier (Missanabie Cree First Nation) has been volunteering her time making quilts for residential school survivors. And Angela McBride volunteers to sit with people at the end of their lives - listening to music, playing games, and talking about whatever people want to talk about. What these end-of-life conversations have taught Angela about living.

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 Coyotes! This University of Alberta professor has dedicated her research to Edmonton's urban coyote population, and her freetime to getting coyotes and humans to co-exist peacefully. It just involves some weighted tennis balls, umbrellas, and a very loud voice.  And in the face of  town bylaws and disapproving neighbours, Beth and Craig Sinclair are determined to let the lawn of their Smiths Falls, Ontario home go wild.

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 the heat on climate change conversations for 16-year-old-old climate activist Teegan Walshe. On Tiktok and Instagram, content creator Nimay Ndolo is bold, funny, and incredibly open in ways that has her cousin Ify wondering just how well she knows her. Tired of being the only girl on the high school cricket team, Mahee Patel helped create Manitoba's first, and only, all-girl cricket team. Mahee and her teammates share about finding their competitive spirit and unexpected friendships on the cricket field. Desiree Kendrick may not always understand the acronyms in the frequent texts she gets from her daughter, Devonne, but when it comes to bridging the generation gap, this mom and daughter are BFFs. (OMG IMO this story is GR8) And be it resolved: Debating teams can argue passionately on both sides of a polarizing disagreement. Yay or Nay? Ify and Trevor seek advice on how to disagree more constructively with newly crowned national champions, the University of Northern BC debate team.