Atlantic Voice

By CBC

What's Atlantic Voice about?

Atlantic Voice is the home of east coast documentary storytelling. Settle in for thoughtful radio docs and interviews that dive deep into the people of Atlantic Canada and what they're up to.

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Atlantic Voice episodes:

04.27.2024
Coming full circle
From a sentencing circle to a visiting room in jail, Heidi Atter's documentary tells the story of how Johannes Semigak — who caused the death of his brother — has embarked on a journey to learn about and heal from...
04.20.2024
There's something about Lee's
When Lan and Phai Nguyen started one of Halifax's first family run nail salons, the nail industry wasn't what it is today, so the business was off to a slow start. But now, nearly 30 years later, after running a...
04.13.2024
Mushroom people
Whether you're a mushroom person or not, mushrooms and fungi are amazing organisms that baffle and wonder even the experts who study them. Lindsay Bird goes on foraging adventures and mushroom tastings in this documentary that celebrates all things mushrooms.
04.06.2024
Why is Anne of Green Gables so famous?
If you think you know all you need to know about Anne, think again. Nicola Macleod, host of Good Question P.E.I., quizzes islanders and finds an Anne expert to answer the question: why is Anne so famous?
03.23.2024
On the doorstep
For months, the CBC's Taryn Grant visited a tent encampment at Halifax's Grand Parade, meeting Ric Young and other residents there. She follows their stories as they are evicted from the encampment and have to find other places to live.
03.16.2024
Baby's Birthday Dance
Baby Christina De La Cruz came to Happy Valley-Goose Bay ten years ago, and has helped build the Filipino community there. Now, as she plans her big 40th birthday party, she's reflecting on her past in the Philippines and on her future...
03.02.2024
Speaking of Home
For first generation Atlantic Canadians, learning heritage languages can be a struggle. For their parents, losing the language can be upsetting. Mariam Mesbah's documentary Speaking of Home.
02.24.2024
Bury me naked: Green burials in Atlantic Canada
Many of us live with the climate in mind, but people are dying with the climate in mind, too. Caroline Hillier’s documentary ‘Bury Me Naked’ looks at where green burial cemeteries are — and are not — available in Atlantic...
02.17.2024
Martha's Garden
When you think of farming, you might not think of Catholic nuns — but in Antigonish, N.S., the Sisters of St. Martha are behind a farming mentorship program that allows participants to experience running a farm before owning one. Rose...
02.10.2024
To Grow In Love
For the first time in the seven years she's lived in St. John's, Esther Aina was finally able to see her vibrant culture on full display at her friend's big, traditional Nigerian wedding. Here is Esther Aina's documentary To Grow...
02.03.2024
The Excavation of W.H.
The remains of a black sailor — now known as W.H. — were found on the coast of Labrador in 1987. Now, there’s a renewed interest in finding out who W.H. was and what his presence could signify for Newfoundland...
01.27.2024
Jack In The Box
Jack Whalen spent nearly two years in solitary confinement as a child. Now, he's fighting for change. Ryan Cooke's documentary follows Jack as pushes Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick to remove the statute of limitations for child abuse.
01.20.2024
Through the Fog
Fog has shaped culture, history and tragedies in Atlantic Canada. Natalie Dobbin's fascination with fog takes her to Sable Island and then back to her home in Herring Cove in this documentary exploring the science, history and romanticization of fog.
01.13.2024
Is Newfoundland and Labrador English dying? No b'y, but it is changing.
From dropping an 'h' to adding an 's', Newfoundland and Labrador accents are certainly distinct, and while some features of those accents may be in decline, linguist Paul De Decker says younger generations are finding creative ways to keep them...
01.07.2024
Music To Die To
What music would you want to listen to as you're taking your last breath? From ethereal original compositions to Bon Jovi covers, Cat LeBlanc creates music for people to listen to in their final moments. A documentary by Tori Weldon.
12.17.2023
Freshwater, United
When a small church lost its minister, its churchgoers thought: why don't we just do the job ourselves? Meet the 5 lay ministers in Freshwater, Newfoundland, who are keeping their church alive, even if it's not exactly the way head...
12.09.2023
700 Kilometres
Take a walk - a really long walk - all the way around PEI, and find out what kinds of people tackle the 700-km Island Walk, and why. Producer Laura Meader meets up with walkers working toward fitness, boosting tourism,...
12.02.2023
A New Gathering
In the age of Spotify, it's hard to believe any music is inaccessible. But the Sons of Membertou's debut album is proof. The iconic collection of Mi'kmaw music has been out of print for decades - until a branch of...
11.25.2023
Inclusion, Cup by Cup
One chilly February night in 2017, three parents met up to brainstorm how their teenagers with disabilities could find work after graduation. What followed is a story of perseverance, community... and a good cup of coffee. A documentary by Maeve...
11.18.2023
Big in Germany?
With all the hype and/or hope around green hydrogen, we're asking: what's the deal with everyone seeming to want to sell it to Germany? Could we be using it here? A transatlantic talk about the renewable energy industry in its...
11.11.2023
Farming the Underwater Forest
From nurturing baby seaweed in a garage, to serving up it for supper: there's a world of possibilities growing around kelp in Nova Scotia. Freelance producer Moira Donovan dives into the fledgling industry that could support a new wave of...
11.04.2023
The Squid in the Spongebath
This is the story of a giant squid, 150 years ago, that got its photo taken. It's a strange photo, with an even stranger history to match. The CBC's Mike Rossiter follows the giant squid's mystery from St. John's, to...
10.28.2023
What history looks like through a Mi'kmaw lens
In Mi'kmaw culture, history doesn't just belong in the past. "We talk about history like it's got a direct impact on the present, because it does," says Mercedes Peters. Mercedes is a Mi'kmaw historian based in Halifax, and she joins...
10.21.2023
The Living Wake
Throughout his life, Craig Mackie used his voice to help others. And he decided to do the same as he faced death, and his choice of medical assistance in dying. A encore presentation of a documentary by Jessica Doria-Brown, first...
10.14.2023
King Tuna
Atlantic bluefin tuna was once so commercially worthless their bodies were dumped or buried. How did tuna become so prized - and how did one man's tagging efforts lead to a greater understanding of the fish? Karen Pinchin, author of...
10.07.2023
The Grand Old Willow Tree
A single tree in St. John's leads to a bunch of Lorax-like questions: who speaks for the trees, and what happens when we listen to them? An exploration of urban forests and the trees in our lives, from producer Bojan...
09.30.2023
We weren't heroes: Health-care workers on COVID
It turns out the start of the pandemic didn't feel particularly heroic to the people regularly being called heroes. 2 Halifax-based doctors and co-editors of The Covid Journals: Health Care Workers Write The Pandemic break apart that narrative and talk...
09.23.2023
Forward From Fiona
Does it feel like a year since Fiona walloped the east coast? Not to some people on PEI's north shore who are still picking up the pieces, in the shadow of another storm coming their way. A story of rebuilding...
09.16.2023
The Minister and the Movies.
Rev. Sydney Bradbrook had one addiction: movies. But he didn't have electricity. This is the story of his plan to feed his movie need, in 1950s outport Newfoundland. A story first aired on Atlantic Voice in March 2022.
09.09.2023
How To Live When You Are Leaving
"I can't go to the future. It terrifies me. I can't go to the past. I get too sad. And so we have today," says Sheree Fitch. She and husband Gilles Plante have been trying to live in the moment...
09.02.2023
Best of AV: Behind the Fairy Door
Fairies aren't just for little kids. Explore Nova Scotia's fairy beliefs - from Gaelic, Acadian, and Mi'kmaw traditions - and meet the believers, as producer Maryanne McLarty asks: why do so many adults seem to lose the ability to indulge...
08.26.2023
Best of AV: Storytime
Stephen Miller's criminal record runs 8 pages. But his journals are way longer: a writing passion kickstarted in prison, and a passion he's now pursuing as he emerges from addiction in the outside world. An award-winning documentary from 2018, produced...
08.19.2023
Best of AV: The Bonavista Project
Newfoundland's Bonavista Peninsula has bet big on arts and culture as a way forward for its rural communities. But what happens when its premiere art festival begins asking tough questions about everything from climate change to colonialism? An encore broadcast...
08.12.2023
Best of AV: Outside the Monastery
Meet some of the Buddhist nuns who make their home in the eastern corner of PEI. They're often the subject of curiosity, but when they looked to expand their residences - they found confrontation instead. A encore presentation of Janna...
08.02.2023
The F Word (no, not that one.)
Failing: we've all done it. So why don't we talk about it more? 2 scholars at the University of New Brunswick say there's a lot to be gained from opening up about what goes wrong in our lives.
07.29.2023
Best of AV: Speaking of Home
Arabic-only playdates, Saturday morning Chinese songs: New Canadians face a big parenting challenge of instilling their heritage languages in their children. CBC producer Mariam Mesbah meets some families around Moncton making that happen - and why this is about so...
07.22.2023
Best of AV: Literary Lobster Fishing
The hard work of lobster fishing, and the humbling nature of the open ocean. That's a little bit of the inspiration behind Some Hellish, the debut novel from Nicholas Herring of Murray Harbour P.E.I. He joins Atlantic Voice to talk...
07.15.2023
Best of AV: My Syrian Son
After a rocket attack in Kandahar, army veteran Donna Collins struggled with PTSD. But when Syrian refugees began arriving in Nova Scotia, she found renewed strength and purpose helping them get settled - and one refugee in particular. A story...
07.08.2023
Best of AV: I Still Live Here
Mary Ann Nui loves visiting her childhood home off the Labrador coast. That home? Davis Inlet, so notorious for the intense poverty that led to the Mushuau Innu being resettled in 2002. Go beyond those headlines and see Davis Inlet...
07.01.2023
Best of AV: Online dating, trans identity, and creative writing
A feature interview with Fredericton's Lee Thomas, discussing their creative nonfiction story about being trans on the online dating scene, and how that experience sparked larger conversations about identity, growth, and creating room for a multitude of trans stories.
06.24.2023
Best of AV: The Charmer
Once upon a time, there was a man who helped people feel better: Uncle Wes Abbott. Known in his small Newfoundland town as "a charmer," producer Andrea McGuire unravels the myth and mystery around Uncle Wes, his charming talents, and...
06.17.2023
How do you say 'badminton' in Mi'kmaw?
The Mi'kmaw lexicon recently expanded, thanks to a team of a translators working with the North American Indigenous Games. Beverly Jeddore of Eskasoni is one of the language experts tasked with translating sports names and other terms into Mi'kmaw for...
06.11.2023
Inclusion, Cup by Cup
One chilly February night in 2017, three parents met up to brainstorm how their teenagers with disabilities could find work after graduation. What followed is a story of perseverance, community... and a good cup of coffee. A documentary by Maeve...
06.03.2023
Changing pharmacy, with Kyle Wilby
Kyle Wilby works stories from his own life into teaching the next generation of pharmacists at Dalhousie University to better care for the LGBTQ community. But opening up didn't always come so easily to him. Kyle joins us on the...
06.02.2023
Best of AV: Chicken Balls and Baymen
William Ping never really knew his grandfather. But an old photo album takes William on a ride to uncover his family history, and ask why so many Chinese immigrants opened up restaurants when they came to Canada. An encore...
05.27.2023
In The Country
The Innu-aimun word Nutshimit roughly means 'being in the country'. But it's also so much more than that, as 20 kids from the Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation learned during a 10 day camping trip into the late winter of Labrador....
05.20.2023
The Martin Street Mystery
Ever since Chantal Phee heard a family member name drop the Martin Street Co-operative, she's wondered: what is it? Even her dad didn't know he'd grown up in the Black-owned housing co-op in Antigonish, or what that co-op even meant....
05.13.2023
From Powwow to Ballet with Possesom Paul
Some of Nipahtuwet Naka Wespahtuwet Possesom Paul's earliest memories were at powwows. That's where he found a calling to dance - and how ballet came into his life. The co-creator of Pisuwin, the first-ever Wolastoqey ballet, sits down for a...
04.29.2023
What's in (an east coast) name?
Break out a map of Atlantic Canada and you'll notice there's a lot of colonial, patriarchal place names. A. Lot. And as names across our region get a reckoning, Lauren Beck is keeping track. She's the author of Canada's Place...
04.22.2023
The Great Great Greats
This archival shipwreck story of sonic wizardry spans continents and centuries, courtesy of the great radio producer Chris Brookes. Chris passed away earlier this month in St. John's, but leaves behind a trove of audio stories like this one, that...

What's Atlantic Voice about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Atlantic Voice episodes:

Coming full circle

There's something about Lee's

Mushroom people

Why is Anne of Green Gables so famous?

On the doorstep

Baby's Birthday Dance

Speaking of Home

Bury me naked: Green burials in Atlantic Canada

Martha's Garden

To Grow In Love

The Excavation of W.H.

Jack In The Box

Through the Fog

Is Newfoundland and Labrador English dying? No b'y, but it is changing.

Music To Die To

Freshwater, United

700 Kilometres

A New Gathering

Inclusion, Cup by Cup

Big in Germany?

Farming the Underwater Forest

The Squid in the Spongebath

What history looks like through a Mi'kmaw lens

The Living Wake

King Tuna

The Grand Old Willow Tree

We weren't heroes: Health-care workers on COVID

Forward From Fiona

The Minister and the Movies.

How To Live When You Are Leaving

Best of AV: Behind the Fairy Door

Best of AV: Storytime

Best of AV: The Bonavista Project

Best of AV: Outside the Monastery

The F Word (no, not that one.)

Best of AV: Speaking of Home

Best of AV: Literary Lobster Fishing

Best of AV: My Syrian Son

Best of AV: I Still Live Here

Best of AV: Online dating, trans identity, and creative writing

Best of AV: The Charmer

How do you say 'badminton' in Mi'kmaw?

Inclusion, Cup by Cup

Changing pharmacy, with Kyle Wilby

Best of AV: Chicken Balls and Baymen

In The Country

The Martin Street Mystery

From Powwow to Ballet with Possesom Paul

What's in (an east coast) name?

The Great Great Greats