Let's Find Out

In our second episode, we wondered about the name of a black student in an Edmonton Technical School class photo from 1932. In this episode, Kyle Muzyka explains how he found out the answer.

Earlier in 2018, we hosted a live panel dedicated to one of the most important questions in Edmonton’s food history: how the heck did green onion cakes get so popular in Edmonton? These delicious, flaky, greasy little circles of fried goodness didn’t just magically worm their way into our hearts. This episode, we’re getting a taste of what’s changed for green onion cake master Siu To since that ep...

Back in 2017, Sheila Thomas asked why there was no headstone to mark the grave of Frank Beevers – the first Edmonton police officer killed in the line of duty. This episode, we find out what it’s like to actually see your idea turn into cold, hard, granite reality.

With geese flying south in August and snow in September, it sometimes feels like winter in Edmonton spills far outside its season. What if instead of getting frustrated with the weather though, we tweaked the way we measured the year? Ben Freeland learned that the Cree calendar divides the year into six seasons. So he wondered why we don’t revive the calendar here in Treaty Six territory. Further...

How is the proliferation of tall buildings in Edmonton affecting training and planning by Edmonton Fire Rescue? Susan Padget asked that question on Taproot Edmonton ‘s story garden. Finding out the answer taught us about a surprisingly tangible transition the city is making.

How did Edmonton come to be known as a prairie city? Dustin Bajer asked that question on Taproot Edmonton’s story garden. Finding out the answer – and figuring out whether this area is aspen parkland, or prairie, or forest – challenged our ideas about the land we live on.

We’re back in the Ritchie neighbourhood for a second set of locals’ questions and a live history walk exploring their answers. Karen Wall wanted to know how one neighbourhood could support two independent cobblers. Nicole Anderson wanted to know the history of her home in Ritchie. And Scott Harris wanted to know what the story was behind the quonset-hut type rounded-roof buildings with the squared...

Susan Padget asks whether it’s true that workers died during the construction of Edmonton’s High Level Bridge. Oodles of extra content on our website: http://www.letsfindoutpodcast.com

When Kelsey Chief took an orientation tour at the University of Alberta in 2015, one of the stops took her to a mural in Rutherford Library: Henry Glyde’s painting, “Alberta History.” In this episode, Kelsey talks about the anger she felt seeing that mural. And University of Regina artist and professor David Garneau shares a different take on the mural.

Daniel Emberg wanted to know why green onion cakes took hold in Edmonton when they did. He flew in from Winnipeg to join us for a live panel at the Mercury Room to find out the answer. Featuring special guests Linda Tzang, Siu To, and Marty Chan.

Mariam Macabanding and Laila Elbery help us investigate how climate change could affect the ways Indigenous peoples around here connect to nature. We’ve been working with a group of students from Hazeldean Elementary and Queen Elizabeth high school. They gave us some questions about climate change in our area. Then we brought them to CJSR (Edmonton’s campus and community radio station) for a radio...

Rasha Chebli and Nuha Taha help us investigate whether climate change is affecting wildfires in Alberta. We’ve been working with a group of students from Hazeldean Elementary and Queen Elizabeth high school. They gave us some questions about climate change in our area. Then we brought them to CJSR (Edmonton’s campus and community radio station) for a radio camp to teach them how to use radio and p...

Glen Carlson asks us to help him figure out whether the Bay store downtown really used to have a Christmas train on the rooftop. Get the full story on our website: https://letsfindoutpodcast.com/2018/01/31/episode-18-the-case-of-the-christmas-train/

Nicole and Jason Harcus ask whether the hill in Gallagher Park used to be a dump once upon a time.

What should we keep, and what should we throw away? We use a case study of three boxes that Chris’ parents asked him to finally sort through. And we bring in expert witnesses: a private records archivist from the Provincial Archives of Alberta, and two people connected to letters we published in a previous episode.

Raymond Matthias asks if he’s found the remains of John Walter’s ferry. We take a live history walk into the river valley to examine the debris he found and get to the bottom of his question.

Lauren Crazybull asks what parallels we can see between broken treaties and gentrification in Edmonton. Our journey starts on a hill at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery with Papaschase First Nation’s Chief Calvin Bruneau.

Tess Dehoog asks whether it’s true that the German Nazi party came to Edmonton to learn about Alberta’s eugenics program.

Kory deGroot asks where we can learn about queer history in Edmonton. Answering that takes us through old love letters at the U of A Archives, a sneak peek at some research Fort Ed is doing, and hearing a story about coming out late in life.

Ritchie is a beloved older neighbourhood near Mill Creek Ravine. In this episode, we gathered residents’ questions about a school, a meatpacking plant, and some trees in the area. And then we took a walk to find out the answers together.

What are paleontologists digging up at Edmonton’s Danek Bonebed? We head down into the ravine to answer that question and a whole lot more questions about dinosaurs from Edmonton kids.

I’m looking for questions about the Ritchie neighbourhood for a historical walk. And we’re hiring! More details on the website: Long Weekend Update

Nathan Smith asks what food plants have been important to Indigenous peoples in the Edmonton area. A simple question opens up a deep process of learning how to ask questions across cultures, and who knowledge belongs to.

Under an avalanche of fake news and misinformation, it seems more important than ever to understand how we know what’s true. On March 11, 2017 we brought out a panel of speakers to The Needle Vinyl Tavern in Edmonton. They answered audience questions about how they know what’s true in their field. Our panelists: – Dr. Kisha Supernant (Métis Anthropology Professor & Archaeologist) – Dave Courno...

Constable Frank Beevers was the first Edmonton police officer to be killed in the line of duty. Sheila Thomas asks: why is his grave unmarked?