Storylines

Russian trucks drive across Canada’s arctic. Foreign ships appear along our northern shores. For decades, it’s fallen on Tuktoyaktuk to be Canada’s watchful eyes in the Arctic. But the recent surge of attention about arctic sovereignty and security from politicians in the south raises a host of concerns for residents. Will promised military funding and federal focus on security solve the local pro...

Stephanie Azzarello was dying. To survive, doctors told her she needed to find someone willing to donate part of their liver.  Her story went out on social media and late one night, it reached the phone of a nurse and mother in Portland Oregon. There was something about Stephanie’s story that made Trisha Beard want to help.  Liz Hoath brings us this story about two women whose lives beca...

As wind energy continues to grow in Canada, so does the body count for migratory bats. Biologist Cori Lausen has spent years advocating to help prevent bats from being killed by wind turbines. She even helped inform the rules around wind energy development and bats in Alberta. But she worries it may have been too little too late to prevent some species from going extinct.  Molly Segal travels...

Indigenous communities in South America say mining threatens their water supply. But the world needs lithium for EVs to fight climate change. In the Salinas Grandes salt flats, which hold significant lithium deposits, some residents are saying no to mining. But towns are divided. Some want the jobs that come with mining while others fear what this lithium extraction will do to the water table. Sto...

In Finland, bomb shelters double as playgrounds. 900,000 reservists on standby. In Sweden, millions received war prep pamphlets. Defense spending doubled in four years. These Nordic nations aren’t taking any chances with Russia’s war in Ukraine raging. They remember what happened in 1939 when the Soviet Union invaded Finland. Both countries also joined NATO, so Canada is bound to defend them too.&...

At just 46, Jennifer Brady, a Halifax single mother and professor, made the shocking decision to apply to die. She couldn't get surgery in Nova Scotia for a painful condition called lymphedema. After six years of fighting, she saw medical assistance in dying as her only option. But what happened next set off a chain reaction that would take her case to the courts and the premier’s office. Angela M...

When a grizzly bear swam to Texada Island, 5 kilometres off the mainland of BC, it arrived in a place that was known to have no predators. The bear, which soon had the nickname, “Tex,” quickly divided this community of a little more than 1000 people. Some saw a beautiful animal that deserved protection, while others saw a dangerous predator that needed to be removed. In her documentary, “A Bear Ca...

Starting when she was two years old, Robin Heald endured years of sexual abuse by her stepfather.  As a young teenager, she told police, child protection services and her mother what was going on, yet little changed. Her mother even chose to stay with the man who was abusing her.  In the documentary, “It Ends with Me,” Robin takes us on a road trip to visit her mother and sister - a jour...

It’s Friday prayers at the Masjid Al-Noor mosque in St. John's, Newfoundland and the building is packed. Worshippers squeeze into the basement, they spill into the kitchen and lay prayer mats on the lawn. The Muslim community here desperately needs a bigger space.  Soon they’ll have one because a new mosque, under construction just up the road in a former church.   The story of how...

When tariffs on goods from China reached 145 percent, a cargo ship carrying tens of thousands of dollars worth of dog toys arrived in Los Angeles but was not unloaded. The toys remained on the ship as it sailed to New York City, in the hope that the tariffs would be lifted by the time it arrived. Had that plan failed, the entire cargo might have been destroyed. This was the kind of costly decision...

When Arthur Arnold resigned from the Moscow Symphony Orchestra in protest of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he walked away from one of the world's most prestigious symphony stages. This decision would bring him a world away, to Powell River, British Columbia, a town tucked between the ocean and the mountains with a population of 13,000. This town is at a crossroads. Two years ago, its economic hear...

Storylines is taking a break for the summer but we'll be back in the fall with a brand new season of audio documentaries.  Until then, scroll back through our feed to discover a collection of audio stories to keep you company all summer long. See you in September! 

It’s a little money saving trick Canadians who live near a provincial border know well. They drive to another province to save a bit because products are cheaper there. It’s the kind of thing you’d do without giving it a second thought. However, for Gerard Comeau, driving from New Brunswick to Quebec to buy a case of beer resulted in a ticket and a constitutional challenge that made it all the way...

In West Sacramento, California, an unlikely team of firefighters is helping save homes from wildfire. They have four legs, love to eat, and bleat when they're happy. If you haven’t guessed already, we’re talking about goats!  When flames raced toward a condo complex in 2022, the fire suddenly stopped. Residents credit the goats who had recently cleared the area of dry grass and brush. Tim Arr...

In 2014, Shams Erfan was pulled off a bus by members of the Taliban who accused him of being a traitor. A bystander intervened, saving his life, but Shams knew he was no longer safe in Afghanistan.  This threat set Erfan on a treacherous eight-year journey. He hoped to find a safe haven in Indonesia. Instead, he spent years stuck in a refugee prison camp. When he finally reached Canada, Shams...

For decades, Maria Grazia Filipucci carried on a secret love affair with a Catholic priest. They met as children and became friends, but when he turned 14, his parents sent him off to seminary. They stayed in touch, and as adults began a romantic relationship. Through periods of separation and togetherness, she had to navigate the emotional complexity of loving a man bound by a religious vow of ce...

On B.C.'s Sunshine Coast, climate change is changing the region in surprising ways, especially considering it’s nestled in a rainforest. In five of the last eight summers, the region has experienced drought and severe water restrictions. In 2022 it got so bad, The Sunshine Coast Regional District declared a local state of emergency. It’s the first time that’s been done in Canada because of drought...

When a Whitehorse resident wrote a letter to the mayor of a little Alaska border town to say she's boycotting the US and that she's "breaking up with America," it captured a feeling many Canadians have right now. But breakups hurt. And this one cuts deep, upending a tradition of connection between these two northern towns. In the small port town of Skagway, about two hours from Whitehorse, lo...

In the countryside across Cambodia, mass graves known as the killing fields, haunt the landscape. They are reminders of the reign of Pol Pot, one of the 20th century's most violent political leaders. He was the leader of the Khmer Rouge. When they seized power they undertook a radical experiment to create a pure Communist utopia. The plan was called "Year Zero." Pol Pot's communist utopia led to t...

In the small Innu community of Sheshatshiu, Labrador, 27 people have died from drug-related causes in just two years — a staggering number for a population of only 2,000. At the centre of this crisis is an alarming surge in cocaine, now deadlier than before. Police and drug experts say the situation on this Innu reserve is a consequence of a booming cocaine trade that’s unleashed high-purity cocai...

As election signs crowd our streets, leaders hold rallies and our airwaves are full of political advertising, we seldom consider the candidates who run knowing they have almost no chance of winning. These are people who put their names on ballots in ridings dominated by political heavyweights or party strongholds.  In the documentary, "The Longshots", CBC producer Joan Webber introduces us to...

Some people struggling with opioid addiction are turning to a powerful psychedelic called ibogaine. The drug is derived from the bark of an African rainforest shrub, and its proponents believe it sends people on a transformative journey that can free them from addiction.  In countries like Mexico, ibogaine use is unregulated, so resort-like clinics are offering what they consider treatment fo...

In Surrey, B.C., a bird renowned for its beauty became the centre of an ugly dispute. In the quiet Sullivan Hights neighbourhood, a group of peafowl divided a community for over a decade.  The story began when Ryan Craig and his wife bought a home and quickly noticed three peacocks roosting nearby. At first they were charmed, but soon became overwhelmed as this population exploded to some 100...

A black-and-white photograph shows 11 young Chinese boys in untucked shirts standing in a row, with a middle-aged Western man in a suit smiling behind them. This image would lead Fang Sheng on a journey to uncover his father's musical past and the identity of the mysterious "Mr. Adler," — a Jewish refugee who fled to Shanghai during World War II to escape the Nazis. In Finding Adler, we follow Fan...

In central Mississippi the poultry industry dominates, with massive processing facilities operating around the clock. Employing tens of thousands of workers, these chicken plants are the economic backbone of the region.  But on August 7, 2019, officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted one of the largest workplace raids in U.S. history, detaining 680 undocumented workers acro...