The Pulse

"Send us a text about this episode!"

Why You Should Listen to This Episode

If you have ever wondered what it takes to challenge deep-rooted norms and protect the most vulnerable, this episode is for you. Naomi Mwaura has spent her career doing exactly that - and her story is a masterclass in resilience.

In this episode:

Naomi Mwaura is the founder of Flone Initiative, working to build a safe, professional public transport industry in Kenya. Raised in a family of matatu owners and operators, she has spent her career tackling gender-based violence in transit, co-authoring a UN-Habitat guidebook on safer African streets, and speaking on the TED Global stage.

Naomi joins Cindy Thompson on A Resilience Project to talk about resilience through the lens of societal and cultural norms, and what it takes to challenge them from the inside. As founder of Flone Initiative, Naomi is working to build a safe and professional public transport industry in Kenya, tackling sexual harassment, and creating safe employment and education opportunities for women.

As one of the lead organizers of the #MyDressMyChoice campaign, Naomi helped mobilize thousands of women to protest gender-based violence in Kenya’s public transport. Her work has since expanded into transport safety projects across Egypt, Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania, and taken her to stages including TED Global, the BBC and Al Jazeera. 

The Resilience Project is a Vancouver Island podcast hosted by counsellor Cindy Thompson, featuring conversations with authors, health professionals, community leaders and everyday people whose stories of resilience, healing and personal growth offer hope, encouragement and practical life lessons. The Resilience Project is part of The PULSE Podcast Community.

The PULSE Community Podcasts can be found at: ThePulseCommunity.ca

Cindy Thompson’s website: cindythompsoncounselling.ca

Learn more about Naomi Mwaura: floneinitiative.org

You’ll find all episodes of the PULSE Community Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TikTok and YouTube.

Episode Sponsor: Tablet Pharmacy

Check out Skookum Kid’s Stories with downloadable colouring pages on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, and YouTube.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter of new podcast releases and contests!

Check out the Vancouver Island Podcast Directory: The Vancouver Island Podcast Directory is a free public resource curated by The PULSE Community, helping listeners discover podcasts produced on Vancouver Island and the surrounding coastal islands.

“Like, Share & Listen!”

#NaomiMwaura #ResilienceProject #VancouverIslandPodcasts #FloneInitiative #ThePulseCommunityPodcast #CindyThompson #genderbasedviolence 

Support the show

"Send us a text about this episode!"

Why You Should Listen to This Episode: From a 16-day, multi-venue celebration of Vancouver Island art to five decades of helping neighbours find work, this episode is a reminder of how much community gets built behind the scenes. Sheena McCorquodale gives us the inside scoop on the Route 19A Arts Festival, and Cheryl Dill marks 50 years of the Career Centre with a campaign built entirely on the stories of the people it's served.

This Episode Features:

(05:10) Sheena McCorquodale wears two hats along Vancouver Island's Route 19A corridor. She's the festival director behind the Route 19A Arts Festival, a 16-day celebration running from Dashwood to Union Bay that brings together a juried fine art exhibition, multi-venue live performances and a self-guided artist studio tour. She's also an artist herself, known for wire and brass sculpture out of her Cathouse Gallery in Qualicum Bay. Before sculpture, she spent years as a commercial artist in sign design, computer graphics, and TV and theatre set work. www.route19a.com

(18:15) Cheryl Dill has spent nearly three decades helping people across the Parksville-Qualicum region find work, change careers and believe in what comes next. As executive director of the Career Centre, she's guiding the organization through a milestone year, with 50 years of service, a brand-new fully accessible building, and a new campaign called Your Stories, Our Legacy. www.careercentre.org

Episode Quotes:

“These are the little communities along the coastal stretch of Route 19A, and we love the area.” - Sheena McCorquodale, Festival Director, Route 19A Arts Festival

 “People ask what you do, and we really do help transform lives.” - Cheryl Dill, Executive Director, Career Centre

 The PULSE Community Podcast is a weekly Vancouver Island podcast hosted by Peter McCully and Dave Graham, featuring conversations with musicians, authors, actors, athletes, business leaders and community builders from Vancouver Island, British Columbia and beyond. The PULSE Community Podcast is part of The PULSE Podcast Community.

 You'll find all episodes of The PULSE Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TikTok, YouTube and ThePulseCommunity.ca.

Click here to learn how to Support the show.

Episode Sponsors: Thrifty Foods Parksville, Tablet Pharmacy & Ian Lindsay & Associates

Check out Skookum Kid's Stories on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart and YouTube.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter and stay up to date on the latest podcasts, guests and contests.

Check out the Vancouver Island Podcast Directory: Vancouver Island Podcast Directory is a free public resource curated by The PULSE Community, helping listeners discover podcasts produced on Vancouver Island and the surrounding coastal islands.

#Route19AArtsFestival #CareerCentre #VancouverIsland #VancouverIslandPodcasts #ParksvilleQualicum #ThePulseCommunityPodcast

Support the show

"Send us a text about this episode!"

Too Old or Movie Gold host Olen Vanderleeden and Gen X co-host Matthew Stockton pull out a can't-miss dad-com: the 1987 Disney comedy Three Men and a Baby, starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson as three confirmed bachelors whose peak-'80s freedom gets upended when a baby shows up on their doorstep. Directed by Leonard Nimoy - yes, Spock himself - the episode brought in two new panelists for the ride: Gen Z guest Nicole and millennial guest Debbie, a mom of two who brought some very real parenting perspective to the conversation.

Despite a modest $11 million budget, Three Men and a Baby was the number one movie at the box office in 1987, out-earning Fatal Attraction, Beverly Hills Cop, Dirty Dancing, and even that year's Best Picture winner, Platoon, on its way to $167 million worldwide. Steve Guttenberg beat out Tom Hanks, Michael Keaton, John Travolta, and Bruce Willis for his role, and a casting call for 100 party-scene extras drew 5,000 women hoping to meet Tom Selleck. Siskel and Ebert gave it two thumbs up, and the panel's own guesses at the film's real Rotten Tomatoes scores weren't even close.

"I feel like it's impossible for a movie to not be a hit when it's Tom Selleck holding an adorable baby for 90 minutes".  - Nicole, Gen Z panelist

"I'm gonna say it's pure gold. Have a laugh, have some fun baby humor, and check out these three leading men from the '80s - they were great".  - Olen Vanderleeden

Too Old or Movie Gold is a Vancouver Island movie podcast hosted by Olen Vanderleeden, where classic films meet modern audiences through conversations about timeless movies, memorable performances and the stories behind some of cinema's greatest productions. Too Old or Movie Gold is part of The PULSE Podcast Community.

Text us about this episode

You can also voice message Too Old or Movie Gold and be a part of the podcast!

You'll find all episodes of The Too Old or Movie Gold Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, TikTok, YouTube, and ThePulseCommunity.ca

Click here to learn how to Support the show.

Sponsor for this episode is Fireside Books.

Check out The PULSE Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart and YouTube podcasts, as well as ThePULSECommunity.ca

thepulsecommunity.ca

Sign up for our weekly newsletter of the latest podcasts and contests!

Check out the Vancouver Island Podcast Directory: The Vancouver Island Podcast Directory is a free public resource curated by The PULSE Community, helping listeners discover podcasts produced on Vancouver Island and the surrounding coastal islands.

#TooOldOrMovieGold #ThreeMenAndABaby #TomSelleck #MoviePodcast #ThePulsePodcast #ThePulseCommunity #VancouverIslandPodcasts

Support the show

"Send us a text about this episode!"

In this episode of A Resilience Project, host Cindy Thompson sits down with Kerri Cryderman, an executive leader in Saskatchewan healthcare, to talk about grief, leadership and what she calls a season of winter. In November 2019, Kerri unexpectedly lost her sister - her best friend and roommate - in a sudden, unexplained death in their family home.

Less than three months after returning to work, the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, and Kerri was asked to work from home - the very place where her sister had passed away. As an executive leader, she felt the pressure to be a pillar of strength for her team while quietly working through her own grief. Over the past year and a half, Kerri has navigated the loss of five close family members, completed a certificate in Executive Coaching at Royal Roads, and continued supporting her organization's pandemic response, all while learning what it means to grieve and lead at the same time. She shares how writing music became an unexpected outlet for her healing, and how her faith community with The Salvation Army has helped carry her through, alongside the comfort of connecting with family and friends.

The Resilience Project is a Vancouver Island podcast hosted by counsellor Cindy Thompson, featuring conversations with authors, health professionals, community leaders and everyday people whose stories of resilience, healing and personal growth offer hope, encouragement and practical life lessons. The Resilience Project is part of The PULSE Podcast Community.

The PULSE Community Podcasts can be found at: ThePulseCommunity.ca

Cindy Thompson's website: cindythompsoncounselling.ca

You'll find all episodes of the PULSE Community Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TikTok and YouTube.

Episode Sponsor: Tablet Pharmacy

Check out Skookum Kid's Stories with downloadable colouring pages on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, and YouTube.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter of new podcast releases and contests!

Check out the Vancouver Island Podcast Directory: The Vancouver Island Podcast Directory is a free public resource curated by The PULSE Community, helping listeners discover podcasts produced on Vancouver Island and the surrounding coastal islands.

#KerriCryderman #ResilienceProject #VancouverIsland #ParksvilleQualicum #ThePulseCommunityPodcast #CindyThompson #VancouverIslandPodcast

Support the show

"Send us a text about this episode!"

Why You Should Listen to This Episode: The Bills' Chris Frye looks back on three decades of Vancouver Island folk music ahead of their Salish Coast Music Festival show, and pharmacist Aki Shaw explains what Canada's new generic semaglutide means for cost and access.

This Episode Features:

(21:23) Chris Frye is a founding member of The Bills, the Juno-nominated Canadian acoustic supergroup marking 30 years together this year. Known for genre-bending folk roots, layered vocal harmonies, and songwriting steeped in Vancouver Island life, The Bills play Parksville's Knox United Church as part of the Salish Coast Music Festival. Contains the song "Let 'Em Run." Details on the Salish Coast Music Festival: https://sclas.ca/

(06:12) Aki Shaw is a pharmacist who joins the podcast to break down the recent arrival of generic semaglutide in Canada - what it means for cost, coverage, and the future of diabetes and weight-management medication.

Episode Quotes:

"The Bills are a really positive force. We pride ourselves on making people smile. This world has plenty to be worried and concerned about, but it's just who we are as a group." - Chris Frye

"It's a straight switch. In the eyes of Health Canada, it's the same, be it Ozempic or the generic - same medication, same dosage, same delivery." - Aki Shaw

The PULSE Community Podcast is a weekly Vancouver Island podcast hosted by Peter McCully and Dave Graham, featuring conversations with musicians, authors, actors, athletes, business leaders and community builders from Vancouver Island, British Columbia and beyond. The PULSE Community Podcast is part of The PULSE Podcast Community.

We've had the pleasure of sitting down with musicians from across Vancouver Island and beyond - explore more stories and interviews on our Vancouver Island Musicians page.

Text us about this episode.

Voice message - leave us a message and you might hear it on a future episode.

You'll find all episodes of The PULSE Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TikTok, YouTube, and ThePulseCommunity.ca.

Click here to learn how to Support the show.

Episode Sponsors: Thrifty Foods Parksville, Ian Lindsay & Associates & Fireside Books.

Check out Skookum Kid's Stories on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and YouTube.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter and stay up to date on new episodes, guests, and contests.

Check out the Vancouver Island Podcast Directory: Vancouver Island Podcast Directory is a free public resource curated by The PULSE Community, helping listeners discover podcasts produced on Vancouver Island and the surrounding coastal islands.

#ThePulseCommunity #VancouverIslandPodcasts #TheBills #Parksville #SalishCoastMusicFestival #Semaglutide #Podcast

Support the show

"Send us a text about this episode!"

On this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks, Parksville City Councillors Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with John Jack, known in his own language as Sayaač̓atḥ, who holds two elected roles at once: Chief Councillor of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, a modern treaty nation on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and elected Chair of the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District.

Jack walks the hosts through what it took to design Huu-ay-aht's constitution from the ground up after ratifying a modern treaty in 2011: a legislative and executive branch fused into a single seven-member council, a hereditary leadership body he compares to “somewhere between the Canadian Senate and the House of Lords,” and a tribunal that functions as both an administrative appeals body and a Supreme Court. They dig into why BC's treaty landscape differs from the rest of Canada, from the Royal Proclamation to Section 35, and why Jack would rather build a relationship at the table than end up in court.

“The goal is boring,” Jack says of what good governance should aspire to - part of what he calls Huu-ay-aht's motto, “ancient spirit, modern mind.” It's a philosophy that shows up everywhere from hereditary leadership structures to his pitch for a standing, diplomatic-corps-style approach to First Nations relations at the provincial level.

Listen for:

• How Huu-ay-aht built a three-branch constitution, including a hereditary body that acts like a Senate

• Why the Huu-ay-aht Tribunal doubles as both an appeals body and a Supreme Court

• What makes BC's treaty landscape different from the rest of Canada

• Why Jack sees courtroom battles as an outcome nobody really wins

• Where consensus-based decision-making breaks down, using BC's forestry sector as an example

Non-Partisan Hacks is a Vancouver Island political podcast hosted by Joel Grenz and Sean Wood, featuring lively, independent conversations about local government, public policy and the issues affecting communities. Non-Partisan Hacks is part of The PULSE Podcast Community.

Text us about this episode: Send us a text

Visit the NonPartisan Hacks website: nonpartisanhacks.com

Voice message: https://thepulsecommunity.ca/contact/

You'll find all episodes of The PULSE Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, TikTok, and YouTube podcasts, as well as PULSECommunity.ca.

Check out the Vancouver Island Podcast Directory: The Vancouver Island Podcast Directory is a free public resource curated by The PULSE Community, helping listeners discover podcasts produced on Vancouver Island and the surrounding coastal islands.

Special Thanks to our Sponsor Ian Lindsay & Associates for supporting ThePulseCommunity.ca.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to stay up to date on guests, contests and more: https://bit.ly/PulseNewsletterSignup

#ThePulsePodcast #VancouverIslandPodcasts #NonPartisanHacks #HuuAyAht #TreatyGovernment #Reconciliation #Parksville #VancouverIsland #LocalGovernment #CivicEngagement

Support the show

"Send us a text about this episode!"

Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal is widely regarded as the world's leading expert on resilience. Founder of the Resilience Leadership Institute, she draws on more than fifteen years of original research to reveal what separates people who bounce back from those who break down - and speaks candidly about her own experience living with dyslexia and post-traumatic stress disorder.

 Dr. Stejskal's empirically based framework, The Five Practices of Particularly Resilient People, distills over a decade and a half of research into practical tools anyone can use. In this conversation with Cindy Thompson, she shares the mindset shifts and daily practices behind that framework, and invites listeners to consider whether their own past experiences have quietly become obstacles to moving forward. Recognized as a leading global authority on resilience, wellbeing and mental health, her mission is to positively impact the lives of one billion people through the practice of resilience by 2030. 

The Resilience Project is a Vancouver Island podcast hosted by counsellor Cindy Thompson, featuring conversations with authors, health professionals, community leaders and everyday people whose stories of resilience, healing and personal growth offer hope, encouragement and practical life lessons. The Resilience Project is part of The PULSE Podcast Community.

The PULSE Community Podcasts can be found at: ThePulseCommunity.ca

Cindy Thompson's website: cindythompsoncounselling.ca

You'll find all episodes of the PULSE Community Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TikTok and YouTube.

Episode Sponsor: Tablet Pharmacy

Check out Skookum Kid's Stories with downloadable colouring pages on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, and YouTube.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter of new podcast releases and contests!

Check out the Vancouver Island Podcast Directory: The Vancouver Island Podcast Directory is a free public resource curated by The PULSE Community, helping listeners discover podcasts produced on Vancouver Island and the surrounding coastal islands.

#DrTarynStejskal #ResilienceProject #VancouverIsland #ParksvilleQualicum #ThePulseCommunityPodcast #CindyThompson #VancouverIslandPodcast

Support the show

"Send us a text about this episode!"

Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Corner Gas creator and award-winning comedian Brent Butt opens up about his small-town Saskatchewan roots, seventeen years on the road, and his brand new comedy album, while Nanaimo sommelier Veronica Szick previews the fifth annual Parksville Wine Walk.

This Episode Features:

(22:28) Award-winning comedian Brent Butt grew up the youngest of seven kids in Tisdale, Saskatchewan, before spending seventeen years on the club date circuit and creating and starring in Corner Gas, one of the most-watched sitcoms in Canadian television history. Brent is also a published author - his novel Huge became a number one bestseller in Canada, and he's currently at work on a second thriller set in the world of television. He just released his debut comedy album, Easily Distracted, recorded live at Calgary's Bella Concert Hall, and this September he'll play four Vancouver Island stops in Courtenay, Duncan, Campbell River and Sidney. Find dates and tickets at brentbutt.com.

(06:23) Veronica Szick is a Nanaimo-based sommelier and event planner and the host of the Parksville Wine Walk, now celebrating its fifth year in downtown Parksville. Veronica shares what drew her to a career in wine, why Parksville's shops made the perfect setting for a wine walk, and what's new for this year's event on Friday, August 28th. Get tickets and details at mcmillanartscentre.com.

Episode Quotes:

“I always said jackass to all my buddies all the time. It just seemed like a good old-timey, old guy thing to call somebody.” - Brent Butt

“If Vancouver Island only had not-so-great wines, this wouldn't really be a thing, and we'd only be going to beer festivals.” - Veronica Szick

 The PULSE Community Podcast is a weekly Vancouver Island podcast hosted by Peter McCully and Dave Graham, featuring conversations with musicians, authors, actors, athletes, business leaders and community builders from Vancouver Island, British Columbia and beyond. The PULSE Community Podcast is part of The PULSE Podcast Community.

 LISTEN: We have had the chance to talk to many authors from across Vancouver Island and beyond - explore more stories and interviews on our Vancouver Island Authors page.

You'll find all episodes of The PULSE Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TikTok and YouTube, or on our website ThePulseCommunity.ca.

Click here to learn how to Support the show.

Episode Sponsors: Thrifty Foods, Tablet Pharmacy & Ian Lindsay & Associates.

Check out Skookum Kid's Stories on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart and YouTube.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter and never miss an episode.

Check out the Vancouver Island Podcast Directory: Vancouver Island Podcast Directory is a free public resource curated by The PULSE Community, helping listeners discover podcasts produced on Vancouver Island and the surrounding coastal islands.

#BrentButt #CornerGas #VeronicaSzick #ParksvilleWineWalk #VancouverIslandPodcast #ThePulseCommunity

Support the show

"Send us a text about this episode!"

What happens when you get four real golfers in a room to break down Hollywood’s most famous golf swing? You get one of the liveliest, most opinionated episodes of Too Old or Movie Gold yet.

Host Olen Vanderleeden of the Comox Valley was joined by fellow Gen Xer David Purcell, filling in while regular co-host Matthew Stockton was away at "sports conversion camp," to tackle the 1996 golf rom-com Tin Cup, starring Kevin Costner, Rene Russo and Don Johnson. Representing the Millennial panel: comedian Will Corry and self-described driving-range devotee Anthony.

The trivia digs deep. Kevin Costner trained as a real golfer for the role, and his now-iconic three-quarter swing only happened because coaches couldn’t get his full swing to look right on camera. The film’s unforgettable water-hazard finale echoes a real moment from a 1987 tournament, and the whole concept traces back to golfer Chip Beck’s infamous lay-up at the 1993 Masters. The course itself didn’t even have a water hazard before filming - the crew built one, and it’s still there today.

By the numbers, Tin Cup landed as the 29th highest-grossing movie of 1996 and actually out-earned Happy Gilmore that same year, while pulling a 74% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes against a 65% audience score. Not bad for a film the panel says basically broke even once promotion costs are factored in - so does it still hold up almost 30 years later? Four real golfers weigh in.

“Caddyshack will never be dethroned as a golf movie. Happy Gilmore’s number two now, but this one’s still in our top three.”  - David Purcell

“I watch this movie every five years or so. It’s super fun.”  - Olen Vanderleeden

Too Old or Movie Gold is a Vancouver Island movie podcast hosted by Olen Vanderleeden, where classic films meet modern audiences through conversations about timeless movies, memorable performances and the stories behind some of cinema’s greatest productions. Too Old or Movie Gold is part of The PULSE Podcast Community.

Text us about this episode

You can also voice message Too Old or Movie Gold and be a part of the podcast!

You’ll find all episodes of The Too Old or Movie Gold Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, TikTok, YouTube, and ThePulseCommunity.ca

Click here to learn how to Support the show.

Sponsor for this episode is Fireside Books.

Check out The PULSE Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart and YouTube podcasts, as well as ThePULSECommunity.ca

https://thepulsecommunity.ca/

Sign up for our weekly newsletter of the latest podcasts and contests!

Check out the Vancouver Island Podcast Directory: The Vancouver Island Podcast Directory is a free public resource curated by The PULSE Community, helping listeners discover podcasts produced on Vancouver Island and the surrounding coastal islands.

#TooOldOrPureGold #TinCup1996 #GolfMovie #MoviePodcast #KevinCostner #GenXvsMillennial #ThePulsePodcast #ThePulseCommunity #VancouverIsland #90sMovies

Support the show

"Send us a text about this episode!"

Joe Bakhmoutski is a father, husband, author and testicular cancer survivor from Melbourne, Australia. After years of living with debilitating anxiety, Joe faced a cancer diagnosis that carried him through the lowest depths of misery and pain before forging a closer bond with his family and a new sense of purpose.

Author of Simplify Cancer and Finding Hope in Times of Uncertainty, Joe has made it his mission in life to help others facing their own cancer journey. In this conversation with Cindy Thompson, Joe shares a number of his pivotal learnings and resilience practices, from the mindset shifts that got him through treatment to the small daily habits that kept him grounded. His contagious energy and positive outlook run through the entire conversation, offering listeners a genuine sense of hope through adversity, and a reminder that even the hardest chapters can lead somewhere worth reaching.

The Resilience Project is a Vancouver Island podcast hosted by counsellor Cindy Thompson, featuring conversations with authors, health professionals, community leaders and everyday people whose stories of resilience, healing and personal growth offer hope, encouragement and practical life lessons. The Resilience Project is part of The PULSE Podcast Community.

The PULSE Community Podcasts can be found at: ThePulseCommunity.ca

Cindy Thompson's website: cindythompsoncounselling.ca

You'll find all episodes of the PULSE Community Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TikTok and YouTube.

Episode Sponsor: Tablet Pharmacy

Check out Skookum Kid's Stories with downloadable colouring pages on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, and YouTube.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter of new podcast releases and contests!

Check out the Vancouver Island Podcast Directory: The Vancouver Island Podcast Directory is a free public resource curated by The PULSE Community, helping listeners discover podcasts produced on Vancouver Island and the surrounding coastal islands.

#JoeBakhmoutski #ResilienceProject #VancouverIsland #ParksvilleQualicum #ThePulseCommunityPodcast #CindyThompson #VancouverIslandPodcast

Support the show