Atlantic Voice

Carole Rankin knew she wasn't alone in having a traumatic birth story. So she undertook a quilting project to bring other women's experiences together with her own, and make it into something memorable.This story from producer Caroline Hillier was the gold award winner for audio documentary at the 2025 Atlantic Journalism Awards. It first aired on AV in 2024.

In 2023 producer Heidi Atter took 3 recorders into the Labrador wilderness: one for her, and two for students of the Sheshatshiu Innu School - Flora Rich and Ray Sillett. Hear their adventures at an outdoor experience designed to connect kids with their culture in this documentary, In The Country.

Some of the foggiest places on Earth are on the east coast. (We even invented the fog horn.)Producer Natalie Dobbin heads to Sable Island to unravel the mystery and fascination we have with fog, in this documentary from 2024.

Most of the carbon on Earth is in the ocean. But putting exact figures on that, and figuring out how it's changing, is a giant puzzle. Meet three scientists using underwater drones to try and chip away at this issue, and the urgency they're facing amid the climate crisis, in this week's documentary. Migaloo's Mission first aired in 2023.

Hundreds of hay barns used to dot the Tantramar Marsh between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Those barns have all but faded into memory, but what remains behind is a powerful testament to the time, and change. The CBC's Jonna Brewer catalogued the landscape in 2016 with this moving and poetic documentary.

Mike Dawe has done a lot amid his cancer diagnosis - from an Ironman race in Sweden, to witnessing his daughter's first breath. How does he stay positive - and keep going forward? Mike shares his inspiration with the CBC's Adam Walsh in this documentary, The Starting Line, that first aired in 2024.

Lee's Nails is an institution on Halifax's Quinpool Road. But when Lan and Phai Nguyen started it up decades ago, the nail industry was a shadow of what it is today. Now that manicures are big business, and the Nguyens are getting ready to retire, the Nguyen family is taking a look back at their life journey from Vietnam to Nova Scotia. A documentary from Josefa Cameron, that first aired in 2024.

Baby Christina de la Cruz is pulling out all the stops for her 40th birthday bash, and pulling in the larger Filipino community around her in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. And as she reflects on her life milestone, it's a chance to see how her community has grown, too. A documentary by Andrea McGuire, that first aired in 2024.

Sure, it was short lived, expensive, and (to some) a failure... but the Bricklin, New Brunswick's 1970s sportscar venture, still fascinates today. Proud Bricklin owners from around the world gathered in Saint John last summer to mark the car's 50th anniversary, and CBC Producer Myfanwy Davies tagged along. This documentary won gold at the 2025 Atlantic Journalism Awards, and first aired in 2024.

From nurturing baby seaweed in a garage, to serving up it for supper: there's a world of possibilities growing around kelp in Nova Scotia. Producer Moira Donovan dives into the fledgling industry that could support a new wave of people making a living from the sea, even as the climate changes. This documentary first aired in 2023.

Get a glimpse into the sacred tradition of sweat ceremonies, through the knowledge and experience of two elders on Lennox Island First Nation. From grandfather stones to spiritual connections, the CBC's Laura Meader brings us to a backyard sweat lodge in this documentary, first aired in the fall of 2024. This story touches upon residential and day schools, so please take care while listening. A 24/7 support line is available for survivors, and anyone affected by residential schools: 1-866-925-4419.

There's small, and then there's McCallum. (Population: 20 or so). There's one teacher at the school, and one student - who's just about to graduate. Producer Caroline Hillier takes us to this isolated Newfoundland community to find out what comes next, in her documentary.

In 2023, the Titan submersible implosion grabbed the world's attention. But there's another side to the story you might not know about: How the family of two of the victims found solace with the St. John's Muslim community, and ended up making a generous, and much needed, gift. That's all in The Best of Planners, a documentary from Caroline Hillier.

When a small church lost its minister, its churchgoers decided to do the job themselves. Meet the 5 lay ministers in Freshwater, Newfoundland: they're keeping their church alive, even if it's not exactly the way head office would go about it. Freshwater, United first aired in 2023, and won top honours at the Wilbur Awards in 2024, for religious issues covered by secular media.

When Grace Annie Lockhart graduated Mount Allison University, she wasn't allowed a cap and gown. Why? Well, she was the first woman to ever graduate university in the British commonwealth, and "I suspect that they just did not know what to do," says archivist David Mawhinney. 150 years later, Grace isn't well known, and David and others hope to change that. A documentary from the CBC's Mariam Mesbah.

Halifax's Meaghan Smith had a hit album, a Juno, and the promise of bright things to come - until she gave birth, and it all fell apart. She's not the only musician trying to maintain her career with parenthood pressures - and finding different paths forward. Follow her, Jill Barber, and more in this documentary from Carsten Knox.

10 p.m., Oct. 8, 1986: Sarah Sherman still remembers the exact date and time she met her first husband. The years after, though, involved horrific abuse and tragedy. But from her darkest moments, Sarah has emerged as a survivor, creating change in New Brunswick's health care system. As a note: this documentary contains graphic depictions of intimate partner violence, so listen with care. This story was produced by Robert Gow, with co-production from Robyn Abbott and sound from Chantal Jansen Van Rensberg.If you or someone you know is experiencing intimate partner violence in Atlantic Canada, there is help out there, and one way is through provincial helplines. In Newfoundland and Labrador you can call or text 1-888-709-7090, in PEI you can call 1-800-240-9894, and in the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick you can call or text the provincial crisis lines at 211.

Hop on a spring snowmobile ride for an immersive journey through life on the northern coast of Labrador: time at the cabin, throat singers, and kids messing around, building a fire. Our tour guide in and out of the community of Rigolet, in Nunatsiavut, is CBC Labrador's John Gaudi. His documentary is called The Lure of the Land.

For 16 days, Lisa Johnson endured what's known as a "dry cell" in a Nova Scotia prison. Solitary confinement, with no working toilet, in conditions some liken to torture. This episode first aired in 2021, and Lisa's legal battle since has led to changes in federal regulations around dry cell use in Canada. We're airing this story again as Lisa prepares for another court date over the dry cell in June, this time with a lawsuit for damages. A note to listeners: this episode features strong language and disturbing details.

Eliza Showell came to Cape Breton to work, at the age of 12. Her family back in England never knew what happened to her until more than a hundred years later, when relatives came looking. Find out the details of Eliza's life in this documentary, just one of the many British Home Children sent to Canada to work in indentured servitude.