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How are high rents impacting Ottawa businesses? What happens during an all-nighter at the Elgin Street Diner? Every week, host Robyn Bresnahan does a deep dive into a story you're curious about and the issues you want to understand in the city we call home. New episodes every Monday. Have an idea for an episode? Email: thisisottawa@cbc.ca
106 Episodes
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There's a big, building-sized hole at the corner of O’Connor and Slater streets. A 14-storey office tower was brought down to make way for a new condo building. So how was it done? In this encore episode, Robyn Bresnahan learns about the painstaking work that goes into flattening a downtown high rise.
If food is medicine, why are so many hospital meals unpalatable? Robyn Bresnahan speaks to a patient who asked staff to stop bringing him food altogether. She also finds out what hospitals in Ottawa are doing to improve what’s on patients’ trays.
The second half of This Is Ottawa’s live trivia show got a little wild. There was karaoke, charades and a revelation of criminal activity. Featuring JUNO nominee Tyler Shaw, graffiti artist Mique Michelle, comedian Tavis Maplesden and musician Jon Hynes!
What is the most Ottawa thing you can do? In which neighbourhood would you find the intersection of Mulder Avenue and Scully Way? What’s a Gee Gee? Join in the hilarity from our Ottawa-themed live trivia show at Redbird, featuring comedian Tavis Maplesden, musician Jon Hynes and special guests!
There was a day when you couldn’t throw a bag of popcorn without hitting a movie theatre in downtown Ottawa. Where did they all go? In this encore episode, Robyn Bresnahan goes for a stroll with the man who literally wrote the book on the history of Ottawa’s cinemas.
It’s like eBay - but run by the Canadian government. The GC Surplus site sells everything from ATVs used by the military to Air Jordan sneakers confiscated at the border. Robyn Bresnahan gets a tour of the Ottawa warehouse - where she discovers the most gobsmacking item of all.
It’s an anxious time for federal public servants. Thousands of job cuts are coming. Robyn Bresnahan meets two former government workers who thought they’d be in the job for life, but jumped before they were pushed, reinventing themselves in second careers.
The steamy Canadian series Heated Rivalry has hit home for Ottawa players who spent years playing hockey as closeted athletes. But will the show be the catalyst for a cultural earthquake in hockey? They say that’s another story.
The National Capital Commission has been a lightning rod for criticism. From shutting down a lemonade stand on Colonel By Drive to a Sparks Street with no spark - Ottawans have loved to loathe the NCC. But after a slew of new initiatives - and more to come in 2026 - are people’s tunes changing? And, if you listen then want to know more about the historic O'Brien House in Gatineau Park we have a whole episode on it here.
There’s a big increase in the number of women incarcerated in Ontario. The CBC’s Julie Ireton dug into why - and spoke with two women who were in and out of the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre – and never want to go back.
Sometimes art imitates life. And sometimes life imitates podcast. That was the case for Robyn Bresnahan when she stepped outside one morning to discover her car was gone. In that moment, this episode from December 2024 flashed through her mind.
According to Ottawa Tourism, more Christmas movies have been filmed in Ottawa than anywhere else. In this encore episode, Robyn Bresnahan hears why producers love the city for cheesy holiday rom-coms – and what it takes to make the city look like Christmas in the middle of the summer.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe steps up to the plate for a year-end interview. On the roster: Lansdowne 2.0, unreliable transit, civility at City Council and being called “anti-women” after a spat with the PWHL.And, if you want to hear the one where Robyn joins the Mayor on a morning commute from Manotick, it's here.
Making new friends in early parenthood can be trickier than you think. Because - beyond the baby - what else do you have in common? Robyn Bresnahan goes for brunch with a group of women who met on a matchmaking app for moms.
Hundreds of doctors are looking to leave Quebec -- angry at a new law. What will it mean in the Outaouais where doctors are already in short-supply? Could the discontent be a boon for Ontario?
Fear and apprehension around math can start in elementary school. Recently, hundreds of school psychologists gathered in Ottawa to hear how math anxiety is impacting kids - and what can be done to overcome it.
They’re not trained food critics. But tens of thousands follow their social media posts to find out where to eat. We go for lunch with four of the city’s top “food-stagrammers”.
Ottawa City Council has greenlit a project that’s been red hot with pushback. So now that Lansdowne 2.0 is a go, what does it mean for residents, visitors, festivals, sports teams - and the city’s financial future?
Marathon Village, near Carp has been in emergency mode. With very little rain over the past few months, wells have run dry and residents have had to change their water habits drastically. Robyn Bresnahan visits the community to hear about the frustration, confusion and worries for winter. Plus, two hydrologists weigh in with advice for what NOT to do if the well runs dry.
Fancy a new career? Ever considered witchcraft? Robyn Bresnahan meets three Ottawa witches, including the owner of a shop in the Glebe where business is brooming and a tea leaf reader who is thrilled that witches are having their hour.
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awsome listen!
I used to live in Vaughan and love having my windrow removed. I miss that now that I'm back in the Ottawa area.