Afternoon Pint

This week at the Oxford Taproom in Halifax, we sit down with Shannon and Mary from Hotter by the Minute to talk about what actually happens in perimenopause and menopause, why it can start earlier than you think, and why “hot flashes” is only a tiny piece of the story. 

We dig into the parts nobody wants to say out loud: libido changes, intimacy getting complicated, brain fog, rage, fatigue, and the mental health spiral that can look like anxiety or depression. Shannon and Mary share personal stories about trying antidepressants, pushing for hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and learning how to advocate when a doctor is not listening. We also talk about practical support from partners, friends, and co-workers, because sometimes the best help is patience, a better question, and not taking it personally. 

This conversation is also about rebuilding. We get into reinvention in midlife, why community matters, and how their women’s empowerment events create a space where women can be honest, learn from each other, and feel normal again. If you’re searching for menopause support, perimenopause symptoms, HRT options, women’s wellness clinics in Nova Scotia, or just language to talk about it without shame, this one will land. 

Subscribe so you don’t miss the next conversation, share this with someone who needs a roadmap, and leave a review to help more people find the show. What’s one menopause truth you wish you learned sooner?

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Vatsal Sood is a speaking coach who recently delivered a TEDx talk on psychological safety and communication. He doesn’t come from a theatre background either but in computer science. When it was pointed out he spoke way too fast, and leaned hard on filler words until he decided to treat speaking as a skill he could build.

We dig into what actually moves the needle when you’re nervous: breathing to slow down, using vocal variety so you don’t sound flat, and getting comfortable with feedback that’s honest but not brutal. If you’ve ever tried to memorize a speech and blanked, you’ll love his “roadmap” approach for TEDx style talks, bullet points, sub-points, and one story that carries the middle. We also talk about editing as a superpower: start long, then cut down to the one idea you want people to remember on Monday morning.

The heart of the conversation is confidence at work. We talk toxic moments that make people shut down, what it feels like to be ignored in meetings, and how psychological safety gets rebuilt one small rep at a time. He shares a simple bridge-versus-wall framework: test vulnerable ideas with someone you trust, then widen the circle until speaking up stops feeling dangerous.

If you want better public speaking, stronger workplace communication, and a mindset that helps you get heard without pretending to be perfect, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who hates presenting, and leave a review with the one speaking habit you want to change next.

Reach out to Vatsal on socials or his website https://vatsalsood.com/

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New Customers to Purple Cow in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & PEI can now get one month of FREE service. Plus their prices are HALF of what the others charge. If you want to save money, make the moove to Purple Cow - follow this link for the promotion. 

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Grocery prices are out of control, everyone feels the squeeze, and social media somehow still expects us to live in spotless, perfectly styled homes. So we brought in Jess Creelman, a Halifax creator and new Bell Media voice on Virgin Radio and Move 100, to talk about what real life actually looks like right now, and why being unpolished can be the most useful thing you put online. From budget grocery hauls to secondhand furniture, Jess breaks down how showing the truth built trust, plus what viewers really react to when the numbers hit the screen.

We also get personal. Jess talks about becoming a mom at 17, the stigma that follows young moms, and how parenting changes when you grow up alongside your kid. She shares what it was like coming out later in life, falling in love with her wife Katie, and building a home that doesn’t try to impress anyone, it just has to work. If you care about honest parenting conversations, LGBTQ+ family stories in Canada, and how to keep communication open with teenagers while still setting boundaries, this one will stick with you.

Then we head into the behind-the-scenes of her mom and daughter show Like Mother Like Daughter, why Abby helped create it, and how it became a place for both of them to tell the story. We also talk sobriety and social pressure, including how non-alcoholic beer and mocktails can help you stay connected without slipping back into old habits.

If you got something out of this, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review. What’s one “real life” thing you wish more people would admit online?

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New Customers to Purple Cow in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & PEI can now get one month of FREE service. Plus their prices are HALF of what the others charge. If you want to save money, make the moove to Purple Cow - follow this link for the promotion. 

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Sylvain Charlebois is a Canadian professor, researcher, and media commentator widely known as "The Food Professor." His successful podcast of the same name is now into its seventh season. The focus is to talk at issues in the food business including distribution, pricing and tariffs.

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New Customers to Purple Cow in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & PEI can now get one month of FREE service. Plus their prices are HALF of what the others charge. If you want to save money, make the moove to Purple Cow - follow this link for the promotion. 

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Although our show is supposed to be on hiatus until September 15th, we spontaneously brought out the podcast gear to record this episode with Laura Flemming. 

In this episode we catch up with Laura on her new venture since she was last on the show. Matt shares details about his recent trip to Portugal and Mike gives you his take on two very different styles of music events; Weezer & Stanfest 2026.

Mike also ruins Spider-Man for Matt,  and also tries to uncover the true origin of Matts deep love for politics. 

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did making it. Let us know if you'd love for us to have more informal shows like this one. We can wait to be back with you for our Season 5 premiere on September 15th

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New Customers to Purple Cow in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & PEI can now get one month of FREE service. Plus their prices are HALF of what the others charge. If you want to save money, make the moove to Purple Cow - follow this link for the promotion. 

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A person can disappear in plain sight, and Kenley Matheson’s case proves it. On September 21, 1992, the 20-year-old Acadia University student is seen walking along Main Street in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, wearing blue jeans, a purple T-shirt, his ball cap, and carrying a red-and-black backpack. A friend waves as they pass, and then Kenley is gone, leaving behind one of Nova Scotia’s most enduring missing person mysteries. (This conversation includes discussion of homicide, violence, and disturbing details.) 

We take you through what’s known, what’s disputed, and what feels quietly unsettling: Kenley’s first weeks on campus, the pressure of Frosh Week, a residence party where people recall a striking change in his behaviour, and the uneasy reality that he’d only been at Acadia for about two weeks. That short window makes it harder to define his routines, harder to confirm timelines, and easier for early assumptions to steer the investigation the wrong way. 

From there, we dig into the major theories with a clear eye: voluntary disappearance versus the hard facts of an untouched bank account and a passport left behind, the possibility of an accident in rugged terrain near Wolfville or the Bay of Fundy, and the painful question of mental health and suicide in a time when stigma kept many people silent. We also talk about hazing concerns, allegations of foul play, and the ripple effects of the Missing Kenley documentary, including renewed public attention and searches. 

We close with the 2023 Melanson Mountain cadaver dog indication, the RCMP follow-up, and why “no remains found” doesn’t always mean “nothing happened.” If you care about Canadian true crime, missing persons cases, and how time changes what can be proven, you’ll want to hear this one. Subscribe to Dark Harbor, share the episode with someone who loves unsolved cases, and leave a review. What theory do you think best explains Kenley Matheson’s disappearance?

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New Customers to Purple Cow in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & PEI can now get one month of FREE service. Plus their prices are HALF of what the others charge. If you want to save money, make the moove to Purple Cow - follow this link for the promotion. 

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Afternoon Pint Presents: Brand new true crime series, DARK HARBOUR. 

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A teenage girl answers a short phone call, says “I’ll be right back,” and steps out of her Spryfield apartment in Halifax. She leaves behind her cigarettes and a fresh glass of pop. Shelley Denise Connors never returns, and for 33 years her family and friends have lived with an empty space where answers should be.

We walk through what happened on May 29, 1993, what police found in the woods behind J.L. Ilsley High School and the Spryfield Lions Rink, and why torrential rain may have erased evidence that modern forensic science could have used today. We also dig into the details that still nag at the community: the alias name on the call, the threatening messages that came in while Shelley was missing, and the personal items that vanished with her boots, jacket, and keys.

From there, we examine the people connected to Shelley’s life, always noting that no one discussed here has been charged. We weigh the red flags, rumours, and timelines around several people of interest, and we use a clear investigative lens: motive, opportunity, means, and prior relationship. We also address why notorious serial offenders are sometimes pulled into local theory, and what later DNA efforts and new tips might mean for a Nova Scotia cold case that refuses to stay buried.

If Shelley’s story hits you, help us keep the pressure on. Share this episode, subscribe to Dark Harbor, and leave a review so more people in Atlantic Canada hear her name and speak up with what they know.

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New Customers to Purple Cow in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & PEI can now get one month of FREE service. Plus their prices are HALF of what the others charge. If you want to save money, make the moove to Purple Cow - follow this link for the promotion. 

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A sci fi looking “helmet” that helps veterans sleep, feel calmer, and reconnect with their families sounds too good to be true, so we went to Brainstim Clinic in Halifax, which just celebrated its One year Anniversary to get a better understanding of the technology and ask many questions. 

Richard Pucci, a Canadian veteran and former senior leader in the Canadian Armed Forces Health Services, unpacks what veterans are dealing with after release: stalled access to care, long waits, medication overload, and the grind of PTSD, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. 

Richard walks us through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in plain language, including what “interventional psychiatry” means, why the treatment is non-invasive, and what an accelerated five day protocol looks like in real life. We talk about the motor threshold test, why many patients find sessions more tolerable than expected, and why the time between sessions can matter just as much, when veterans sit together and compare notes in a space built for trust. 

We also zoom out to the Canadian health policy side: why TMS is often user pay for civilians, how Veterans Affairs Canada coverage works for eligible veterans, and what it would take to treat TMS like preventative mental health care instead of a last resort. Richard shares where the clinic is expanding, how new protocols are emerging, and why research and ethics are non-negotiable as Brainstim studies outcomes like PTSD and chronic pain reduction.

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New Customers to Purple Cow in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & PEI can now get one month of FREE service. Plus their prices are HALF of what the others charge. If you want to save money, make the moove to Purple Cow - follow this link for the promotion. 

https://purplecowinternet.com/#apint

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The Disability Tax Credit is one of those Canadian programs that sounds simple until you’re staring at the forms, your medical records, and a list of criteria written in a language nobody uses in real life. We talk with Christine Brunson, CEO of Benefits2.ca, about why so many people who qualify never apply, and why the system often feels like it demands the most effort from people who have the least energy to spare.

Christine breaks down what the CRA actually wants to understand: functional limitations, day to day impacts, and patterns over time, not just a diagnosis. We dig into the biggest Disability Tax Credit myths, including the idea that it’s only for wheelchair users or that working disqualifies you, and we get honest about why doctors often don’t document limitations in a way that fits the DTC. We also talk about audits, the growing push for supporting medical records, and the practical difference between describing your “best day” versus the hard days the form is really asking about.

The conversation gets personal as Christine shares how years of trying to help her own family exposed a market where people sometimes pay a steep percentage of their refund just to get guidance. From there, we explore alternatives, who can sign the DTC forms, and how tools like AI can help draft clearer answers and reduce executive function overload, without letting software make the decisions for you. If you’re navigating disability benefits in Canada, the RDSP, the Child Disability Benefit, or you’re just trying to understand what supports you might be missing, we hope this one will you know you are not alone in the confusion. 

If this helped, subscribe, share it with someone who’s stuck in the paperwork, and leave us a review so more Canadians can find the support they’re entitled to.

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New Customers to Purple Cow in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & PEI can now get one month of FREE service. Plus their prices are HALF of what the others charge. If you want to save money, make the moove to Purple Cow - follow this link for the promotion. 

https://purplecowinternet.com/#apint

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40 years of Halifax Jazz Festival and nearly three decades of Garrison Brewing as a partner isn’t just a fun local success story, it’s a blueprint for how a city builds culture people actually want to stick around for. We’re at the Oxford Taproom with Tenille Goodspeed (Executive Director, Halifax Jazz Festival) and Meg Brennan (VP Sales, Marketing and Retail Operations, Garrison Brewing) to talk about how a waterfront festival becomes a true community gathering, not just a ticketed event.

We get into the festival’s move to the boardwalk and how the site is intentionally designed so people can wander through during the day and stumble into world class live music. Accessibility is the heart of it: a huge portion of the programming is free, with the anniversary year pushing that even further, and the all-ages approach helps bring new audiences into the mix. We also talk lineup strategy and discovery, with names like Bahamas, Broken Social Scene, Men I Trust, Rose Cousins, and Tower of Power, plus the local-to-global undercard that makes Halifax summer festivals feel alive.

Then we go behind the scenes on what listeners rarely see: volunteers by the hundreds, the logistics of turning an empty lot into a functional site, and why the least glamorous details (toilets, garbage, and cold beer) can make or break the experience. On the drinks side, Meg breaks down what Garrison brings to the festival, including beer favourites, RTDs, and non-alcoholic options through their Tuesday Brewing partnership, plus the origin of the cult-classic PBJ pour.

If you care about Halifax events, Nova Scotia live music, craft beer culture, or what makes a city feel like home, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reason to get out of the house, and leave a review with the best show you’ve ever discovered by accident.

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New Customers to Purple Cow in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & PEI can now get one month of FREE service. Plus their prices are HALF of what the others charge. If you want to save money, make the moove to Purple Cow - follow this link for the promotion. 

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Buy merch, get out newsletter, or book some of Afternoon Pints Media Talent on our website: www.afternoonpint.ca