In Idaho, one January night in 1961, a small nuclear reactor known simply as the SL-1 exploded. It was part of an experiment run by the U.S. Army at a research facility near Idaho Falls. The blast was deadly, killing all three of the operators on site, making it the world's first fatal nuclear reactor accident. To this day, it remains the deadliest nuclear accident in U.S. history. 

If you've never heard about this meltdown, you're not alone. Laura Krantz, the host of the podcast Wild Thing, grew up in Idaho Falls but didn't find out about the nuclear meltdown until she was an adult. So, when she learned her hometown may soon be getting its power from a new type of nuclear reactor she knew she'd found her focus for this season of Wild Thing. In this week's episode, she joins host Leah-Simone Bowen to share more about her experience with this latest production that hits close to home. 

Plus, we've got more great podcast picks just in time for road trips, beach days, or whatever else you're getting up to this summer. From a closer look at legendary Cree singer, songwriter and activist Buffy Sainte-Marie, to a sneak peek of the surf rock musical adaptation of early 20th century Czech author and satirist Karel Čapek's final book about newts … we've got some fantastic new listens lined up.

Featuring: Wild Thing, Not Lost, Buffy, Newts!, Class Action

For links and more info on all the podcasts on today's show, head to http://cbc.ca/podcastplaylist.

Going viral on social media is a dream for many. But the downside? All the haters in the comments. When the negativity started getting the best of internet sensation Dylan Marron, he decided "why stop at feeding the trolls?" On Conversations With People Who Hate Me, he invites them for in-depth chats. The results are a lot more encouraging than the internet would lead you to believe.

This week host Leah-Simone Bowen welcomes Dylan Marron as guest curator. In their conversation, they cover how his show began, why he does the work he does and how it inspired him to write a book about it, and how better communication can help bridge gaps in understanding.

Plus, we'll hear some of the podcasts he loves. From a classic podcast that's a music nerd's dream come true, to one actor's quest to figure out why Tom Hanks fired him from a bit part in an HBO mini-series, and of course … lots more.

Featuring: Conversations With People Who Hate Me | Dead Eyes | Love Thy Neighbour | Terrible, Thanks For Asking

This week, we're re-releasing one of our favourite episodes from January.

Do the web’s harms outweigh its benefits? We investigate.

The internet is a mess of contradictions. Scrolling through your feed helps you unwind, but it’s bad for your mental health. Maybe you’ve found community online, something many others have found through hateful ideologies and cults.

It all begs the question: Is the internet a net negative? All of this week’s podcasts help us attempt to answer this question.

Featuring: ICYMI, Endless Thread, Boys Like Me, Reply All, 99% Invisible, Maintenance Phase

For links and more info to all the podcasts on the show today, head to http://cbc.ca/podcastplaylist.

This week we're sharing one of our favourite recent episodes from November.

If you’re gathering with friends and family in person again, are you be busting out the Monopoly board? Did you get through lockdown with help from your Animal Crossing island or playing Dungeons & Dragons on Zoom? Even if you’re not an avid gamer, you probably have lots of memories attached to games. This episode we’re recommending podcasts about all kinds of ‘em.

Featuring: Sidedoor, Dungeons and Daddies, Trampoline Hall, Love Me, The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast

For more info and links to all these shows, head to http://cbc.ca/podcastplaylist.

This week on Podcast Playlist, we listen to the best new bingeable shows.

Francis Plourde hosts season 3 of CBC Podcasts’ The Village. This latest exploration takes us to Montreal, as a killer lurks in the shadows of the AIDS crisis. Leah sits down with Francis to discuss the making of the podcast, and what it was like to interview LGBTQ activists who lived during the height of that time.

Plus: For 25 seasons, The Oprah Winfrey Show was a staple of daytime television. But how did Oprah become the cultural icon that we know her as today? On a new podcast called Oprahdemics, two historians look at how the “Queen of Talk” has shaped pop culture as we know it today.

All that and more, this week on Podcast Playlist.

Featuring: The Village: The Montreal Murders, Oprahdemics, Verified, Ukraine Stories, Best Laid Plans.

For more info and links to all these podcasts, head to http://cbc.ca/podcastplaylist.

We’re almost halfway through 2022 and it's an exciting year for podcasts.

This year has had a lot of great releases already, which is why we want to reflect on some of the podcasts we've loved so far. This week, we’ll hear the best podcasts so far this year, as picked by our team.

Featuring: Sweet Bobby | Let's Make A Sci-Fi | Chameleon: Wild Boys | Ghost Church | The Experiment

For links and more info on all these podcasts, head to http://cbc.ca/podcastplaylist.

Times have been tough. Pandemic burnout, war, a mounting climate crisis and soaring prices on everything from gas to groceries. Few people have gotten through the last few years without grieving some kind of loss.

The good news? We’re definitely not alone. This week we’re unpacking mental health with podcasts that uplift, investigate and validate.

There’s the grief that comes from losing someone you love, but have you ever experienced climate grief? It’s the feeling of hopelessness as the climate crisis gets worse and worse. But for one Canadian musician, out of those feelings of fear, sadness and angst came artistic inspiration. We’ll hear the conversation with folk band The Weather Station in a clip from Reseed.

Plus, treatment for mental health has had a huge evolution in the last century. The evolution continues as the Toronto facility “Remedy” researches the use of MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Find out why the early results have researchers and patients so excited.

Podcasts Featured: Terrible, Thanks for Asking | Reseed | WTF with Marc Maron | Depresh Mode | The Mental Health Comedy Podcast | Sickboy

For links and more info to all these podcasts, head to http://cbc.ca/podcastplaylist.

If video killed the radio star, then podcasts sparked a resurrection of audio storytelling. From the stage to your ears, we're taking a trip to the theatre this week and putting live performance podcasts in the limelight.

Even in a pandemic, the show must go on. Social distancing temporarily put a pause on live events, but arts workers used the opportunity to get creative. We'll hear part of the play "Cast Iron," a co-production between Toronto's Factory Theatre and Obsidian Theatre Company. It follows the story of a Barbadian woman who is haunted by the ghosts of her past. This version was produced just for audio, with sound effects performed live by a Foley artist.

Plus: you may know Tony Shaloub from his work in film and TV, but we'll hear his comedic turn as a clam in therapy to work up the courage to come out of his shell. In the tragic vein, we've got a snippet of playwright David Yee's "Carried Away on the Crest of a Wave." It weaves together nine different stories of the deadliest known tsunami in human history.

Let's get this show on the road!

Podcasts featured: Playing On Air, Cast Iron, Listen To This Presents The Wrong Bashir, PlayME, and Audiomoves.

For more info and links to everything on this week's show, head to http://cbc.ca/podcastplaylist.

This week, we're revisiting one of our favourite recent episodes from October, 2021.

Even when they wow us in the ring, on the bar or on the field, the most awe-inspiring athletes are still human — and humans are messy. The world of sports is full of crime and scandal. More than enough to fill an entire episode! From dangerous errors to systemic racism, these podcasts pull back the curtain to reveal that sports stars — and the industries that support them — aren't always golden behind the scenes.

First up, one of our favourite recent indie podcasts shows how in Olympic gymnastics precision is everything, and a small mistake can have life-altering consequences.

Later, the podcast False Idol looks at the story of Oscar Pistorius, the once celebrated sprinter, and his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who he shot and killed. It explores hero worship, gender based violence, and Steenkamp's own life.

And the name "Tiger Woods" might be the first thing you think of when someone says "sports scandal." What did the media get right and wrong when covering him?

Podcasts featured: Blind Landing, Badlands: Sportsland, False Idol, All-American: Tiger Woods, Running Things with Donovan Bailey

For links and more info on all the podcasts on this week's episode, head to http://cbc.ca/podcastplaylist.

This week on Podcast Playlist, new and notable podcasts for the month of May.

Do you know the full story behind Helen Keller? Elsa Sjunneson noticed an upsetting trend on Tik Tok: conspiracy theories claiming Helen Keller was a fraud.

Elsa, like Helen, is a writer. And Elsa, like Helen, is deafblind. So when she heard the conspiracy theories, Elsa felt compelled to dig deeper into Keller’s life. With the team at Radiolab, Elsa unpacks Keller’s complicated legacy in an accessible podcast that includes braille transcripts and ASL interpretation.

And from Vice, Dexter Thomas Jr. follows a bizarre conspiracy that changed the life of a Korean hip hop artist, and nearly cost him his career. Authentic: The Story Of Tablo unpacks the human cost of online attacks.

All that and more, this week on Podcast Playlist.

Podcasts featured: Radiolab, Authentic: The Story of Tablo, Commons, Getting Even with Anita Hill, Don't Mind: Cruxmont.

For more info and links to everything on this week's show, head to http://cbc.ca/podcastplaylist.