Faith is something that motivates billions of people every single day, whether it's fasting during Ramadan, giving back to your community, or making you believe in something bigger than yourself. Today you'll hear from people whose faith has inspired them to take action in ways you might not expect.

We're half-way through Ramadan, and Ify decides to try a day of fasting in solidarity with her friend (and CBC Manitoba host) Nadia Kidwai. But first she gets some advice from Nadia, on how disconnecting from the physical world allows you to connect with something higher.

Former sports broadcaster Matthew Leibl tells us why getting ordained as a rabbi wasn't as big of a leap as you might think. 

We visit the rollicking All Nations Full Gospel Church in Ottawa, to find out how the power of music moves even the shyest of wall flowers to get up on stage and sing.

Michelle Gazze grew up going to a Hindu temple in Winnipeg with her family, until she had a revelatory moment in university that compelled her to convert to Islam. She tells us how her Muslim faith is motivating her to give back to the community, and why she's roping in all her cousins (who she jokingly refers to as "Super Hindus") along for the ride.

Teacher Tasha Spillett invites us to a sweat lodge, along with her grade 9 students.

And former atheist Rick Loftson reveals how he ended up as a deacon in the Catholic Church. 

NOTE: This episode originally aired in June 2018.

People from all walks of life, taking big risks for their art.

We start with Bee Bertrand, who says our show - and one innocent question from Ify - inspired him to quit his job six months ago to commit fully to stand-up comedy. He tells us what's happened since that fateful day.

Illustrator Narges Noori shares how her fight to create art in Afghanistan under the Taliban, led her to seek safety in Edmonton.

15-year-old Hyun Byun is so determined to become the next K-pop idol, he spent a year away from family and friends to train at a K-pop school in South Korea. Now he's back home in Toronto, trying to balance life as a high school student and keeping his ambitious singing and dancing dreams alive.

And 20 years into his career, Winnipeg musician Grant Davidson (of Slow Leaves) shares what it’s like to give everything to his music, and still feel like he’s fallen short. 

Cairo. Nairobi. Rio de Janeiro. Those are just a few of the places we're going today, to see how Canadians are making their mark around the world right now.

Simran Bajwa is determined to become the youngest Canadian to hike the seven summits, the highest mountain peaks on each continent. Something that’s keeping her motivated through gruelling weather and treacherous terrains is her mom, who is living vicariously through Simran because she spent many years unable to scratch her own travel bug. 

Despite being born and raised in Ottawa, travel journalist Joel Balsam never felt completely himself in Canada. So he started “shopping” for a new place to live in his adult years, travelling to more than 60 countries. The place he feels most alive is Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so he decided to stay. But Joel says there’s a difference between “staying” and “settling.”

When Incia Khalid travelled to Cairo, Egypt at a low point in her life, she didn’t expect to find the healing she needed. Today, hear how she handles life, business, and motherhood between two continents.

For the last 35 years, Larry Gelmon has lived and worked in Kenya. But his time here - as a doctor and researcher at an HIV/AIDS clinic in Nairobi - Is very much up in the air, after the U.S. put a hold on international aid.

This winter, Katya Castillo left her hometown of Edmonton to spend a week in Puerto Vallarta and Mexico City. But for Katya, she isn’t just another tourist – she grew up in Mexico and this is her home too. She explains what it’s like for her to go there as a visitor now, and be a Mexican-Canadian among the “gringos” abroad. 

Every story you hear today could be ripped from the plotline of a Hollywood movie - from 'meet-cutes' to waking up with no memory of who you are. What it's like to live out a movie cliche, in real life.

Forbidden Love. Justin was told he could only be with a Korean woman, and Sarah was told her future husband had to be Muslim. When they fell in love, they knew it would be a battle for acceptance. 

The Meet Cute. Couples in romantic comedies often meet in unconventional ways — by literally colliding into each other on the street, or locking eyes as they reach for the same book. But you don’t often see movies where the main characters fall in love in the hallway at the retirement home. Meet some speed-dating seniors at the Alderwood Retirement Centre in Witless Bay, N.L. who say it’s never too late to date. 

50 First Dates. Nesh Pillay has been dubbed the real-life 50 First Dates, but she says forgetting who and where you are is terrifying, and not at all like a rom-com.

How the popularity of K-drama led to some strange typecasting in one man's dating life. With the rise of Korean dramas showcasing Asian men as chiselled, stoic dreamboats, Clement Goh noticed he started getting more matches on online dating apps. But that led to some weird expectations when he met up with women in person, leading him to question who he really is.

Childhood friends....30 years later. Movies like Stand By Me and The Goonies show the intense bond of childhood friendship, but you never find out what happens after - did they stay friends? Did they go their separate ways? Trevor sits down with eight friends who grew up together in Terrace, B.C., to find out the secret to a 30-year friendship.

Unleash your inner snoop, with stories of people trying to get to the bottom of a mystery that's been hanging over them for years.

When Darren Bernhardt and his sister Sandy started to clear out their childhood home after their dad passed away, at first it felt like they were snooping. Their dad was private, tight-lipped, and kind of a grump. But then they started finding things he'd tucked away in sock drawers and cupboards, that made them see their dad in a whole new light.

Solving genealogy mysteries has become a bit of an obsession for Lauren Robilliard, who's helped hundreds of people track down biological family members. For this self-taught "super sleuth," it all started when she was a young girl who knew she was adopted, and wanting to find answers about who she is. 

When Now or Never producer James Chaarani bought a remote cabin in the woods with his partner, they got more than they were bargaining for — they inherited most of the belongings of the previous owner who lived (and tragically died) there. Since then, they’ve been trying to figure out who he was, and how to peacefully co-exist with the ghost of a dead man.

Growing up near Larder Lake in northern Ontario, Jason Ploeger had always heard local rumours about a taxi cab that mysteriously ended up at the bottom of the lake. He takes us on an adventure of murky dives and unopened whiskey bottles, and tells us the surprising truth behind the legend.

Across Canada, historic Chinatowns are under threat, facing development and gentrification, soaring housing costs, and concerns about public safety. Why do these places matter, and what gets lost if they disappear completely? Today on Now or Never, we're travelling from Vancouver, BC to St. John's, Newfoundland, to meet people who are fighting for the future of their Chinatown.

Ify takes a walk through Toronto's Chinatown with Sum Wong, the creative force behind Queens of Dim Sum - Toronto Chinatown’s first and only public queer event. He tells us why it was so important to create this space in Chinatown, and how it's opening up new conversations within the city's East Asian community - including ones with his own mom. 

In Lethbridge, Alberta, Allan Chiem and his kung fu school are the last ones standing in the city's historic Chinatown. How he's breathing new life into the last remaining building, and what he dreams of for the future.

Meet Carol Lee, who through sheer force of will is revitalizing Vancouver's struggling Chinatown. She takes us on a tour of the affordable housing complex she spent years trying to get built, and tells us what keeps her going - even when her own father told her she should give up.

Francis Tam is on a mission: to find every person of Chinese descent currently living in Newfoundland and Labrador. It's his way of connecting a community that has never had a physical Chinatown to gather in. He takes us along for a ride as he meets up with the oldest Chinese-Canadian person in Newfoundland, 104-year-old Mrs. Kwan Hum.

William Chen and his sister Winnie grew up in Edmonton's Chinatown, and have fond memories of a vibrant street culture and around-the-block lineups for dim sum. But ever since the pandemic, the area has struggled, with many long-time businesses shuttering their doors for good. Determined to save the place they call home, William and Winnie are going all in to bring people back, using the one thing they know best...food. 

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 stressed out, uninspired, and 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 in an old cast iron bed, outside her farmhouse in northern B.C. She tells us why sleeping under the stars - 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.

Stories of people facing their worst-case scenario head on.

Meet David Arama, a guy who likes to be prepared for everything - storms, floods, fire.....and World War III? He takes us on a tour of his nuclear bomb shelter, tells us why he's not one of those "extreme preppers," and shares who makes the cut to get into his bunker in case the poop hits the fan.

1 in 5 new businesses in Canada don’t make it to their first year, and Nicole Drakes was determined to beat that statistic. But three months after opening her bakery in Morell, PEI, things started to unravel. Nicole shares her journey of picking herself back up after losing it all.

When Trevor Dineen was growing up, his mom kept a running tally of all the things that could maim or injure him. Kidnappings. Drowning. Car accidents. He sits down with his mom Carol to ask where that fear came from, and the lingering effects on him today - including how he parents his own kids.

Keely McCoy is 27-years-old, and has tested positive for the gene mutation that causes Huntington’s disease -

an incurable neurodegenerative disorder that both her mom and grandmother had. She tells us how she's determined to live her life differently from her own mom, who lived in denial about the disease for years.

Congratulations, you've done the thing you set out to do. Your first half-marathon. A dream job. Mastering the ukulele. But what happens AFTER you accomplish something big? On this episode, stories of people trying to figure that out.

In her twenties, Eman Bare personified 'girl boss' hustle culture. She earned degrees in law and journalism, designed clothes that showed at New York Fashion Week, became a certified yoga instructor, and wrote 11 books - all before the age of 30. Today, her main goal is to be in bed by eight. This recovering overachiever tells us how burnout taught her to finally say the word 'no.'

Jimmy Chau was excited to run his first full-marathon, he just wasn't expecting it would take him nearly seven hours to do it. He tells us about finishing dead-last in the Manitoba Marathon, and who was there for him at the end.

When Ben Scrivens retired from his career as an NHL goalie in 2016, he had to figure out how to get a “real job” for the first time in his life. Ben tells Trevor why he chose to get a master's degree in social work, helping other retired players deal with the jealousies, ego adjustments and hard truths that he struggled with after hanging up the skates for good.

And Syrian-Canadian Amrou Nayal is about to visit Syria for the first time in 16 years. He reflects on lost hope, sacrifices, and staying loyal to the revolution when others gave up, and tells Ify how this moment has allowed him to dream again about the future for Syria.

In praise of putting yourself out there.

Lynn Sainté has never planned an event before. But she wants to relive her church choir days, so she's booked a venue, hired musicians, and sent out invites to everyone she knows for a pop-up choir event. Now the question is….will anyone show up?

One year ago, Shelby Sappier, known as the musician Beaatz, made a bold prediction on Instagram: That 2024 would be his biggest year in music ever. Now that the year is almost over, Ify checks in to find out he’s one of only six people in the first ever Indigenous Music Residency at CBC. Now he just has to figure out how to keep this momentum going. 

Ben Shannon and his 9-year-old daughter entered an international whistling competition on a lark. But then they got accepted, and things got serious. Find out how this father-daughter faced tough-talking whistling coaches, a case of stage fright, and Ben’s own shield of teenage irony.

19-year-old Callum Long needs to find a job, but being on the autism spectrum is making his search a little more complicated. Trevor tags along with Callum and his dad in the family mini-van, as Callum puts on his best dress shirt and hands out resumes -- in the hopes someone says to him, "You're hired!"

For Brenda Hernandez-Acosta, making empanadas and churro cheesecake has always been her love language. But now she’s ready to turn her hobby into a full-time business. She tells Trevor why she's finally ready to bet big on herself.