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What would it take to make the Rideau Canal swimmable? Where do you go to find love in Ottawa when you've given up on online dating? Every week, host Robyn Bresnahan seeks out people to answer one question about the city we love. New episodes every Monday.
24 Episodes
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At 150 years old, Mechanicsville is proud of its blue-collar history. But like many other Ottawa neighbourhoods, old buildings are being replaced with new condos. Robyn Bresnahan takes a look under Mechanicsville’s ‘hood with a long-time resident who doesn’t want to see gentrification replace its gritty roots.
“The Pond” in Rockcliffe Park is a bucolic swimming hole in the city. But the lake right next to it is off limits to the public. Only residents who have homes backing on to the lake can swim or boat in it. How did this come to be? Robyn Bresnahan dives into the history of McKay Lake and hears how it’s more complicated than a tale of posh versus plebe.
"A lot of people laughed in my face and told me I should try hairdressing": tradeswomen in Ottawa have heard that - and worse. Despite a shortage of skilled workers, women are still under-represented. Robyn Bresnahan visits a garage in Manotick to hear what life is like for the only woman working there.
He’s a successful Ottawa musician. But Jim Bryson says he wishes he’d also trained in the trades. Robyn Bresnahan visits his home studio in Stittsville to hear why he thinks people ought to sing a different tune about the trades -- and he says Ottawa’s “classism” does nothing to help.
There’s a place in Ottawa where tens of thousands of foreign flags live. Robyn Bresnahan gets a tour from the woman in charge and finds herself feeling lucky she brought a secret weapon when an impromptu quiz on world flags breaks out.
People have done some pretty weird things during the past 50 years of the Ottawa Race Weekend. But Hugh Neilson’s stunt might take the cake. Robyn joins the theatre director to hear why he intends to run 42 kilometres whilst singing and playing a ukulele. Plus a short history of other oddities.
If you shop at a farmers market or get a local veggie delivery, you may have noticed something. Those behind the stalls are fairly young. Robyn Bresnahan digs into why organic farming is an attractive career for a new crop of first generation farmers.
When Ottawa hosted its first PWHL game, it broke an attendance record for a women’s professional hockey game. It’s a night Hayley Scamurra won’t forget - not least because she scored the first goal for Ottawa. Robyn Bresnahan recruits a young player with the Nepean Wildcats to interview Hayley about that goal, living in Ottawa and having to switch her Ottawa jersey for her Team USA jersey to face-off against her teammates.
As you drive to the Ottawa airport, there’s a sign for Thad Johnson Private. It’s a small road with an incredible story. Robyn Bresnahan dives in with an amateur historian who began researching after seeing a particular photo of one of the world’s most famous aviators' visit to Ottawa.
It’s a popular travel route for pleasure boaters…But not many people dare to dip a toe into the canal, let alone swim. Should they? An 80-year-old triathlete shares how he swam in the canal and lived to tell the tale, and a biologist tells Robyn what’s REALLY in that water.
He’s a professor at Algonquin College. His husband is a nurse. But home ownership remains out of reach. In the same week the federal budget gives a nod to renters, we’ll meet a couple who feel they’ve done everything right, but still can’t climb onto Ottawa’s housing ladder.
Ottawa used to have a plethora of movie theatres downtown. What ever became of them? And what does a city lose when most of its downtown theatres are shuttered? Robyn Bresnahan meets the man who literally wrote the book on the history of Ottawa's cinemas.
Black bears in the Byward Market. Beavers on Sparks Street. Wild turkeys disrupting traffic in Barrhaven. Ottawa frequently contends with wildlife. But sometimes it ends badly - usually for the animals. Robyn Bresnahan explores how we can better live in harmony.
Ottawa has some mighty fine breweries. And while most are in the business of selling booze, some have started crafting alcohol-free options to cater to a generation re-thinking their drinking. Host Robyn Bresnahan finds out whether brewmasters see the sober curious movement as a threat or an opportunity.
It’s been decades since the late columnist Allan Fotheringham dubbed Ottawa “the town fun forgot.” So why does that stale old stereotype persist? Host Robyn Bresnahan meets a cast of characters with theories and ideas of the story the city should be telling about itself.
We’re handing it over to the kids this week to dream up their ideal March break. Host Robyn Bresnahan heads to an elementary school in Stittsville and hears what a holiday at home would look like with kids at the helm. And then two parents share their top tips for things to do on an Ottawa staycation.
A rare solar eclipse is taking place on Monday, April 8th. Schools will be closed because it’s deemed unsafe for students to be outside without proper eye protection. But some parents and school trustees question whether that’s the right move - and if it will actually lead to the opposite outcome.
Sometimes it’s cloudy. Sometimes it’s bubbly. And depending on the time of year you drink it, Ottawa’s water tastes different. Robyn Bresnahan heads to the source of it all and taps into the expertise of an engineer who’s spent his life thinking about drinking water.
Move over Beavertails, poutine and shawarma. Robyn Bresnahan goes for a meal with the couple behind the hugely popular Eat the Strip blog to find out what they think Ottawa’s new quintessential food is and the story it tells about our city.
If you've ever tried online dating you'll know it's a world of hit and miss. This week Robyn Bresnahan meets a woman who had more misses than matches and decided to seek love the old fashioned way.
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I used to live in Vaughan and love having my windrow removed. I miss that now that I'm back in the Ottawa area.