Tell Me A Story

Shye Klein survived the Nova music festival massacre on October 7th, 2023 - one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Israeli history. At the festival, he photographed 54 people - 52 who survived and 2 who were murdered. He has since dedicated himself to sharing testimony about the mass casualty event where 411 people were murdered and 55 kidnapped.

Tofunmi was trying to give his girlfriend the perfect birthday when a man in a Ram truck yelled a racial slur at him through the window in broad daylight, with his young daughter laughing in the passenger seat.  What followed was a confrontation, a near-accident, and a lesson Tofunmi's father tried to teach him the next day: that real power means not reacting, even when everything in you is sc...

Stefania was lying around after hip surgery, watching YouTube DJ sets, when she started wondering: "What would it be like to be the one making people dance?"  Six months later, she was hobbling into DJ school on crutches for an intro class that left her brain buzzing, and completely exhausted.  Now she's curating vibes across Toronto, learning to read body language in real-time, all...

"Authenticity is freedom."  Radz is reflecting on a decade-long journey of learning to stop hiding parts of himself.  What started as panic attacks that wouldn't stop led to a bipolar diagnosis at 28, a brief stint in jail, and eventually a complete reframing of how he shows up in the world.  Radz shares his experience navigating mental health in tech sales, the difference between We...

"Judy!" a McDonald's worker yelled at Dylan as he walked into Penn Station. From that day forward, it was solidified. One random pink name tag he’d worn for exactly one day turned Dylan into Judy almost everywhere he went. Judy he was, and would be, forever more. Dylan reveals how a bag of old political pins led to 100 custom name tags, a tattoo on his chest, two bowling shirts from...

Antonio used to be Juan, the soft-spoken trumpet player who got good grades. Then high school happened, and Juan needed to disappear. Enter Antonio: tougher, cooler, running with a crew that his old friends wouldn't recognize. One name change led to a complete personality overhaul as Antonio got pulled into Toronto street culture, searching for belonging in the darkest of places. Antonio tells...

"The first thing that I smell, I just smell death."  Yuliya found herself on a plane with two ex-prime ministers heading to Israel less than a month after October 7th.  She shares the story of landing in an eerily empty country and traveling to Kfar Aza in armored vehicles.  She describes the burned cars piled high, the ransacked homes of families. Ultimately, Yuliya explains why sometim...

"My name is Julia. I don't know if you know who I am, but... I'm outside your house."  That's how Julia introduced herself to her half-sister's mom after parking outside their Toronto home with zero warning.  Growing up on opposite sides of the world, Julia and Kat only knew about each other in fragments. A photo on the wall, a gift sent years ago, whispers of "you h...

There Yonatan was, living his best life on his motorcycle in rural Australia, when he crested a hill and realized–oh GOD!--there's no more road.  Cue the crash, the broken foot, and a farmer who basically handed him a Diet Coke and said "good luck getting to the hospital."  As Yonatan explains, sometimes life has to literally knock you off your bike to get your attention. You’ll lear...

Ben Train is a professional magician, which means he knows how to keep his cool. Except, apparently, when he’s performing on national television… doing a trick he really didn’t want to do. Ben shares how a last-minute submission landed him back on Penn & Teller: Fool Us , why he was hoping the producers wouldn’t pick a certain trick, and what it’s like to frantically rehearse for one of the bi...

One minute, Mike Arnone was soaking up the sun in Panama’s San Blas Island. The next, he was stuck on a boat full of strangers, two dead engines, and no way back to shore. “Well, this wasn’t in the brochure,” he thought.  Mike shares his story of panic on the high seas, and how he stayed calm while everything and everyone started rocking.

During Toronto’s infamous 2013 ice storm, Ben Sterlin found himself alone in a freezing house with no heat, no power, and no idea what to do next. So he did the only thing that made sense: he called his best friends. He didn’t know that bundling up with a few friends and playing board games by candlelight would turn into an unforgettable moment that left a lasting mark on his life.   🔥 If you’ve...

Marny Florence didn’t set out to host a Monster Truck show. She just kept saying yes to dance gigs, to random auditions, and to following her wild dreams, until one day she found herself front and center with a microphone in hand and a stadium full of fans roaring back. Marny talks about what it’s really like to follow your gut, take ridiculous leaps, and roll with the momentum when life hands you...

“Guys… I think we were in a cult.” Rachel Evangeline Chiong thought she was just going to a Christian homeschool conference in Indianapolis. New clothes, a road trip, a little light Bible study… it was all pretty standard. Until, years later, her sister sent her a text. Rachel tells the story of how a childhood curriculum called the Wisdom Booklets led to a trip into a very conservative Christian...

When David Gasch first heard about the Moishe House - a subsidized home for Jewish young adults to host community events - he had no idea it would become the setting for one of the most formative chapters of his life. David tells the unlikely origin story of Toronto’s Annex Moishe House: Facebook posts, pandemic pivots, two sukkahs, and a Shabbat dinner that drew 50 people out of isolation.  What...

Jordana and her husband were newly married, newly moved in, and freshly sweating in their apartment without AC. So, like any reasonable modern-day couple, they bought a portable air conditioner. But then came the smell. At first, it was just a little fishy. Then it got weird. Then it got alarming . After rounds of cleaning, Googling, and gaslighting herself, Jordana submitted a maintenance request...

As it turns out, a sidewalk isn't only for walking. Toronto moves fast. So when Gershom Maes planted himself at the intersection of Bathurst and St. Clair with a black sharpie and 3 pressing questions, the city did something unexpected: it responded. This story speaks to our moments of shared humanity, fleeting connection, and the magic of standing still.  🎧 Listen, share, and let us know: wh...

You meet a girl at university orientation. You grab a coffee, exchange numbers. Totally normal…right? Until one day, you get a call from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  Somehow, Shaun Bernstein became the last known person to see her before she vanished. Listen in to hear how meeting a fellow student spiraled into one of the strangest chapters of Shaun’s life. Late-night texts. A duffel bag in...

The field was empty. The kids hadn’t shown up. Maybe no one was coming. Ira had come all the way from Israel to a village in Ghana, determined to start a football team from scratch. But between the no-shows, the language gaps, the balagan, and the cultural curveballs, it wasn’t looking good. A group of teenagers with tough home lives. A volunteer coach with zero experience. And a shared love of th...

Ashley Jett lost nearly 100 pounds, and completely changed her life. As she puts it: "It's been a heck of a journey." Tune in to hear Ashley’s story from struggling with her weight to embracing a vegan lifestyle that changed everything. We talk mental health, self-worth, and the power of the people around you. Ashley’s message is simple: You can change your life, and you deserve to f...

It all started with a casual encounter at a food festival, and somehow ended with a bouldering session in a dentist’s office in Brooklyn.  Yeah, you read that right. Adam explains how embracing discomfort and taking unexpected risks are what life is all about. And sometimes, the best connections often come from saying yes to the unknown.

Jackie had everything she needed growing up: stability, comfort, a clear path ahead. But when she decided to chase her dream of becoming a journalist, everything changed. Moving to Accra, Ghana’s capital city, meant starting from scratch. It meant crashing on the floor of a tiny apartment, stretching every cedi, and facing the question: How much do I really want this? Should she keep pushing forwa...

Have you ever followed a path that wasn't really yours because it felt safer, easier, or just made others happy? Graydon gets it. He studied computer science because that’s what he was “supposed” to do, but deep down, he wanted more. So, he took a leap, trading a stable career for life on the road, and toured for nearly a decade with his band, The Young Novelists. We cover messy friendships, t...

Reporting from East Africa, Jack set out to cover a world-famous marathon. He ended up in a story straight out of an action movie. Buckle up for a beer-fueled bus ride, high-stakes border crossings, and the kind of adventure that makes you question reality. Oh, and did I mention there might be a TV show in the works? #TellMeAStory #journalismlife #eastafrica #wildstories

Michael grew up thinking ADHD was something to fix . He was the kid who couldn’t sit still, who zoned out in class, who felt like his brain was running five different marathons at once.  In this episode, Michael gets real about what it was like growing up with ADHD, how it shaped his education, his relationships, and his faith, and the moment he realized that ADHD wasn’t a curse, but a competitive...