Podcast Playlist

Sometimes the news feels like…a lot.

Just ask our guest curator, Jayme Poisson. She hosts the CBC News podcast, Front Burner. For 20 minutes each day, she breaks down what's going on both in Canada, and the world — from the war in Ukraine, to the housing affordability crisis, to why Etsy sellers went on strike.

This week, Jayme shares her origin story, discusses moving past emulation to find her voice as host, and where she finds hope when staying on top of the latest world events day-in and day-out feels bleak.

Plus, the former investigative journalist shares some picks from her playlist that balance the light and the dark. From a Front Burner conversation with a modern day David and Goliath protagonist, Chris Smalls, who took on Amazon and formed a union, to award-winning journalist Anna Maria Tremonti's Welcome to Paradise where she opens up about her experience in an abusive marriage, to a hilarious bonus podcast we couldn't fit in our radio broadcast by three Toronto comedians who dig into some of the world's most notorious bad guys including … Dr. Phil.

Podcasts featured: Front Burner, Sorry About The Kid, Welcome To Paradise, Evil Men.

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

This is a very special edition of our show: Episode 300! To mark the occasion, we’ve brought back all five former hosts. We'll get updates on what they've been up to lately, reminisce just a little, and hear some samples of what they're listening to these days.

Today, podcasts curated by Sean Rameswaram, Matt Galloway, Lindsay Michael, Nana aba Duncan and Elamin Abdelmahmoud.

Our former hosts are all doing great things. Sean Rameswaram is the co-host of the hit daily news podcast from Vox, Today Explained. Lindsay Michael is heading up Amazon Music's podcast division in Canada. Matt Galloway is host of CBC Radio's flagship current affairs show, The Current. Nana aba Duncan is a professor of journalism at Carleton University, where she teaches about journalism, diversity and inclusion. And Elamin Abdelmahmoud hosts the CBC podcast Pop Chat, and is about to release his book, Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir In Pieces.

Listen in for updates on all that, to laugh about old times, and listen to some great podcasts.

Podcasts featured: Story Time With Seth Rogen, Boys Like Me, The Last Archive, Strong and Free, and Switched On Pop.

For links and more information on these shows, head to our website: cbc.ca/podcastplaylist.

What's your favourite moment from Podcast Playlist history? Send us an email at [email protected], or tweet us @podcastplaylist.

This week, it's our monthly New and Notable episode for April.

If you spent the winter revisiting Star Trek, Doctor Who and Black Mirror, you may have wondered: who comes up with these fantastical worlds that don't even exist? And what does it take to get audiences so invested? We'll hear from writer and podcaster Ryan Beil. He's behind the new podcast Let's Make A Sci-Fi, which follows him and his friends as they work together to create the next big sci-fi TV series.

Plus, Conversations With People Who Hate Me is back with a new season, where opposing internet commenters step out from behind the keyboard and get to know each other a little better.

Featuring: Let's Make A Sci-Fi, Conversations With People Who Hate Me, Calling Bullsh*t, Alpaca My Bags

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

The podcast For Colored Nerds is a pop culture conversation that dives a little deeper.

It’s hosted by best friends and culture critics Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings. Each week they dive into what’s going on in the zeitgeist, and peel back the layers of Black culture that are rarely discussed in mixed company.

Eric and Brittany join us this week to tell us about the reboot of For Colored Nerds, leaving Spotify and their show The Nod, and to share some of their favourite podcasts.

Featuring: For Colored Nerds, Revisionist History, Celebrity Memoir Book Club, Trapital, Food Heaven

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

Hernán Cortés and his small army of soldiers conquered the Aztec empire 500 years ago. Even though they were heavily outnumbered, the Spanish won thanks to their superior weapons and technology.

At least, that’s what Cortés wanted you to believe. The truth is a lot more complicated. We’ll hear the real story on Throughline.

Plus, Stradivarius is one of the most famous names in music. But are they really that good? The podcast Planet Money got professional musicians do a blind test between a Stradivarius and a modern violin, to see if they can really hear the difference.

That and more, this week on Podcast Playlist.

Featuring: Planet Money, Throughline, Snap Judgment, Invisibilia, Spooked

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

The True Crime genre is such a staple of the podcasting world, it's one of the few themes that we have come back to on a regular basis.

And it's not easy! A good true crime show, takes a huge amount of skill and work to pull off. It's not something you can whip together on the fly. A good story can take years of reporting.

This week, we have the stories of: two mysterious boys who emerged from the wilderness, how OJ Simpson finally ended up in jail, an investigation into the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, and more.

Featuring: The MLK Tapes, Chameleon: Wild Boys, Badlands: Sportsland from Disgraceland, The Next Call, Believe Her

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

We’ve got a hit podcast from the makers of Serial, world news through the eyes of the people living it, a sci-fi pop-punk mystery, and more.

In 2014, a mysterious letter began circulating in Birmingham, England. The letter appeared to be written by an Islamic extremist, sending instructions to a co-conspirator on how to secretly infiltrate local schools. When it became public, it set off a moral panic across the U.K. People lost their jobs, and some were banned from ever working in education again. But no one ever answered one basic question: Who wrote the letter?

The creators of Serial are back with a new podcast that sets out to answer that very question. We’re kicking off this week’s show with a taste of The Trojan Horse Affair. (There’s a good chance you’ll get hooked and binge the whole thing.)

Then, what voices do we leave out when we tell world news stories? CBC’s Nothing Is Foreign wants us to hear the news from the locals who are living it. Host Tamara Khandaker joins Leah to tell us why she’s wanted to make this show for a long time, and what context we’re often missing when we only hear from foreign correspondents. And we’ll hear some of their coverage of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.

All that and more on this week's show!

Featuring: The Trojan Horse Affair, Nothing Is Foreign, Who Killed Avril Lavigne, Rough Translation, Punch Up The Jam

Why are truffles (not the chocolate kind) such a delicacy? Maybe it’s because they remind us of ourselves. We’ll let one of our longtime favourite podcasts, Planet Money, explain. They followed the king of the New York truffle-selling scene on his routine quest to sell $20,000 worth of truffles in a day. The stakes are high: run out of time, and the truffles start to lose their value.

This episode we turn to Planet Money and more of our old reliable faves for some enlightening stories. No doubt you’ve seen some of your favourite books become movies. But what about the best-sellers that started out on the screen? Meet the authors who built careers writing movie novelizations. Then, it can be hard to balance cultural and family expectations with your own needs. Code Switch helps a listener learn to set boundaries with their immigrant parents.

Those and more great stories this week on the show.

Featuring: Planet Money, On The Media, Code Switch, Aria Code, True Dating Stories

For more information on the podcasts on today's show, visit http://cbc.ca/podcastplaylist.

It’s a crossover episode! Falen joins her podcast co-host (and our host) Leah-Simone Bowen to celebrate launching the fourth season of The Secret Life of Canada. And we get to hear what Falen’s been listening to.

In their new fourth season, our favourite playwrights-turned-historians are diving back into the archives to bring you more under-told stories from our country’s past. If you’re a longtime fan you’ll love their conversation about how the show has evolved since its first season. Plus, you’ve heard what Leah listens to — now it’s Falen’s turn to share her top podcast picks. Of course, she’s brought some Canadian history — Edmonton’s history, to be exact. But that’s not all…

Podcasts featured this week: The Secret Life of Canada, Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out, Let's Find Out, Unrooted.

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

Want to get in touch? Email us at [email protected], or just search "CBC Podcast Playlist" in your social media platform of choice.

Shan Boodram describes herself as the "Walmart greeter" of sex and relationships. If you have a question or concern, she can point you in the right direction. Her advice, teachings, and personality have made her a viral internet sensation. She wears so many hats: YouTuber, bestselling author, scholar, consultant, wife, mother. Now she's added "podcaster" to that list with her new Stitcher show Lovers and Friends. Who better to stop by our show just in time for Valentines' Day?

Shan tells us about life as an internet personality, new motherhood, and how she makes sex ed fun and approachable for her audience. And we thought we'd take advantage of her sexpertise, if you will, to get some expert sex and dating advice. We asked you, our listeners, to submit your questions – and Shan has some really thoughtful answers.

Of course, you'll also hear some of Shan's favourite podcasts. The episodes she chose offer even more good advice: on setting up boundaries, dealing with rejection, and working through resentment in a relationship.

Featuring: Lovers and Friends with Shan Boodram, Enjoy The Podcast, Where Should We Begin with Esther Perel, Almost 30