Personally: Creation Myth

When Helena was still married to David, she lived through something she doesn’t often revisit—it was too big, too scary. But now she’s ready to talk about it with two friends who were there: Chris and Bernadette. They are a generation older and do not have children. Together, they finally answer the question. What does purpose look like without kids? 

Four of Helena’s friends are pregnant. They’re spending more time with other mothers and mothers-to-be. Will there still be room for her? And while her friends experience the biggest transformation, Helena clings to her routines. Why can’t she be more spontaneous—like her sister! Her sister once got on a boat to the North Pole with six strangers to see vegetarian orcas. It did not go well. But it taught her the biggest truth on planet earth. Can Helena learn it too?Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Since she can’t decide if she should get sterilized or not, Helena asks a stranger. A guy named Sam who doesn’t have any stake in her life. Sam regretted having his kid. He didn’t realize at the time what he was getting into, what he would be giving up. But he understood the moment his son was born. So when Helena asks, “Should I have a kid or no?” Sam is ready for it, “I thought you'd never ask.”Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Just like her grandmother, her great-grandmother, and her aunt, Helena gets depressed. She sits down with her mother Annika, to really talk about it. “It was as if your skin no longer fit,” her mother says. Together they unearth the painful moments that have shaped their relationship. After years of struggling with her mental health, Helena is left wondering what to do with the time she has left?Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

With her sterilization scheduled, Helena sits down with her new lover to explain her decision. But the conversation leads in an unexpected direction. More confused than ever, she reaches out to Alejandra, a woman who underwent the same procedure and doesn’t regret her decision—it confirmed her true identity. Helena is not so sure. The clock is ticking. What is she scared of?Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

After her abortion, Helena’s marriage is at a tipping point. David still wants kids, and she wants her tubes tied. In a moment of despair, a conversation with Ama the poet shifts Helena's understanding of what a good life can look like. Maybe she can center her pleasure?Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Helena does not want kids. Her husband does. For years they’ve battled it out. Then, while he is on his way back from a surfing trip, she finds out she’s pregnant. What will she tell him? What should she do? She calls her dear friend Joshua for help: he’s wise, he’s a parent, he knows her well. But she doesn’t have a lot of time. Her husband will be home in an hour. This episode was a 2025 Tribeca Official Selection.Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Helena knows she doesn’t want kids. She’s sure of it. Almost. It was a constant topic of conversation with her friend Sigrid in her 20s. Sigrid would try to convince her, but having children was not what she wanted for her life. Then one day in Paris, she meets David.Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Introducing the new season of Personally, called Creation Myth. Helena does not want to have kids. Kid, child, baby - not for her. She’s just not parent material. So why is she obsessed with parenthood? Why does she ask her friends who are parents for every detail? She’s in her forties now. The door is almost closed. And suddenly, she wonders. Does she want a kid?

The final chapter in our series on Daryl Allen. We end the story where it started.Email us at [email protected] creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

We share Daryl's play with the world.The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

This is the story of what happened in Vietnam.The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Janet's side of the story.The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

In the second part of our trip to Kansas, we go on a hunt for the Allen Family Farm.The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

In this episode, we go to Kansas.The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Daryl and Dan were in love, until something happened that changed everything. This is the story of the evolution of Daryl and Dan's relationship; a queer love story set against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis.The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Daryl Allen always wanted to be a playwright, but before his art found success, his life was cut short by HIV. Before he dies, he leaves one of his scripts with an ex-boyfriend, asking his ex to do something with the play. 25 years later, the script is given to Dane Stewart, a playwright living in Montreal, and he falls down the rabbit hole. The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseildes arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council forthe Arts.

In a moment of fate in 2017, Dane Stewart is gifted a bundle of love letters and theatrical scripts, written by a queer man named Daryl Allen before AIDS took his life in 1991. Along with the letters, Dane is given a task: tell Daryl's story and give his art the audience it lost when his life was cut short.Part investigation, part documentary, and part love story, Resurrection asks us what we leave behind when we go. Daryl proves that for every person lost to AIDS, there's a life story just waiting to be resurrected.The creation of this podcast was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Many listeners were left with a lot of lingering questions and thoughts after the first three episodes. In the final installment of ‘NO’ we respond to some of the questions that we heard a lot of.What do I tell my kids? What if my no DOES mean yes? Additionally, some of the producers and trusted sex educator, Samara Breger unpack some of the blind spots and larger themes from the last three episodes.

The third episode of NO: Kaitlin’s search for the answer to why coercion is so omnipresent lands her in one obvious place. Straight, cis-gendered men. In this episode, Kaitlin consults the men in her life that she loves, her friends, her father, her exes to see if they had ever pressured someone into having unwanted intimacy. But she knows she cannot end her search here. She must reach out to the men who have transgressed her to get their side of the story.

In the second episode of the series, we catch up to Kaitlin while she is in her mid-twenties, waiting to fall in love. Over the years she has become an expert at advocating for her own pleasure. She has learned how to say no to the sex that she doesn’t want to have with tact and grace. Just as Kaitlin thinks she has figured out the art of sexual negotiations, another unsettling experience becomes a catalyst for a search for answers.

We meet Kaitlin in her youth as she learns to navigate her first sexual experiences along with the confusion of her desires. Kaitlin learns how to decline unwanted sexual advances and the difficulty of advocating for her needs. But what is she to do when her words are ignored and her agency is taken from her? "Advance" a non-psychedelic trip into my girlhood was originally produced in May 2017 and features sound design and composition by Shani Aviram. 2025 UPDATE: Drove by North Dundas the other day on a joyride. The smoking tree is not small anymore. 

Revisiting NO. After 8 years and several disappointing hook-ups wherein KP found herself wondering if the world forgot the lessons that shook 2017, she decides it's high time to listen again to the series that brings you inside of a 'no' that sounds like a 'yes', and all the 'yes's that really wanted to be 'no's. CREDITSNO. written and produced by Kaitlin Prest, scoring and composition by Shani Aviram, editing by Sharon Mashihi, editorial feedback and production support from Mitra Kaboli, Phoebe Wang, Ariel Hanh. Editorial advisory board: JCJ, Brendan Baker, Stephanie Foo, Cassie Wagler.

In 2004, a racial controversy erupted at a small, mostly white performing arts high school in rural Massachusetts. There were protests. TV news crews. A tense all-school assembly. And then, an announcement: the school would stage an iconic American musical that no one saw coming. We're Doing The Wiz from Radiotopia is the story of that production. Radiotopia Presents premiers short multi-episode series in one podcast feed, unified by bold, inclusive storytelling pushing the boundaries of audio. Learn more at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm

My aunt Rari divorced her husband so completely and so long ago that I don’t even know the man’s name. She tells me that story and about the life she built without him. It makes me contemplate the value of a life spent alone — but also of lifelong companionship.

Most divorces in my family bring some sense of relief. It may take three years to get there, or it may take thirty years, but once it’s over, it feels pretty clear that this is for the best. But it’s not so clear for my Uncle Eric’s relationship.

The idea of a lifetime commitment can feel impossible, when it can still fall apart in year 20, or year 30, or 35. My own parents’ marriage never made it that far, but some of my aunts and uncles did, only to find that after all those years, they too were better off apart.

My grandmother never sent presents for birthdays or holidays, and didn't expect us to either. She seemed to resist anything that felt like authority, convention and tradition; which is why it's so strange that she was once married to my grandfather — a Harvard-educated lawyer.

My parents divorced when I was eight years old — young enough that I don’t have a lot of clear memories of it, but old enough that I was definitely watching, listening, and learning. So I asked them both to tell me what happened, and got two pretty different stories.

When I decided to get married, every living member of my family who had ever been married had also gotten divorced. Apparently, I thought my marriage would end differently.Listen to Personally: Forever is a Long Time starting June 16, 2025.

As Alex’s newfound family grapples with who he really was and what side of the war he was fighting for, COVID sets in. Will Alex ever get a real reunion?

Alex finally takes a DNA test, hoping to prove his identity – once and for all. What will it find? Who will it find? The results surprise everyone, even Alex.

Alex’s story goes viral (as viral as it can in the early 2000s), but doubts and accusations swirl around him – dividing his family and community. Alex is called a liar and a conman trying to profit from the Holocaust, yet he refuses to do the one thing that would prove he’s telling the truth.

Uldis is now Alex – living an ordinary, happy life in Australia, but the horrors of his past have resurfaced. Fifty years after his name was stolen from him, can he find it again? A letter from Minsk might hold the answers.

Uldis Kurzemnieks believed he would take his lie to the grave – his life had depended on it. For decades, he told the same story of how he survived the Second World War as a boy, but his niece always believed there was more to the story. Now, she’s learning the whole truth – piece by shocking piece.

As a child, Alex Kurzem faced a choice: be killed or join the killers. After escaping the massacre that killed his family during the Holocaust, he’s found by the enemy and taken in as one of their own – becoming a Jewish boy masquerading as a Nazi soldier. He’d live with this false identity for so long, he no longer remembered who he was before.This is the story Alex would tell the world decades later, but could a story so unbelievable be true? Host Dan Goldberg finds out.

“Isn’t this the a-hole who killed Paul McKinnon? Shut up and die!” A distracting obsession. An unexpected letter. And a controversial method of regaining lost memories. Plus, a final message from Paul.

“Were you waiting for me to just say goodbye?” Alex and his grief counsellor, Yvonne, dive into one memory of Paul that Alex never forgot and try to trigger others. Plus, Alex’s parents discover that some of their own memories are not what they seem.

A funeral. A strange smell. A story that just doesn’t add up. In the days after Paul’s death, grief consumes Alex’s family. His mom is catatonic. His dad is furious. Both are focused on one thing: demanding the police take responsibility for what they’ve done. Meanwhile, Alex’s memories of Paul are already slipping away. Now, he confronts the roots of that memory loss with a grief counselor who has her own connection to Paul — she saw him die.

Alex worshipped his older brother, Paul. But when Paul was killed by a speeding police car at age 14, Alex almost immediately started to forget him. First his voice. Then his laugh. Then pretty much everything else. But what if those memories could be retrieved? Through a series of intimate conversations with family and friends about Paul’s final moments alive, Alex begins to explore why Paul’s death has become the only thing he remembers.

How do you forget your favourite person in the world? Alex remembers everything about the day a speeding police car killed his brother. But his brother, alive? Those memories are lost – and he wants them back. Sorry About the Kid is an emotional, deeply personal meditation on the losses that define us. Hosted by Alex McKinnon. Produced with Mira Burt-Wintonick (WireTap, Love Me).

Graham faces his fears and travels to Vancouver to learn how to surf from blind screenwriter Ryan Knighton.Special thanks to Ryan Knighton.

After an unsuccessful eye surgery, Graham feels estranged from his camera. Blind photojournalist Samantha Hurley offers a different perspective before she leaves to photograph the 2024 Paralympic games in Paris.Special thanks to Sam Hurley.For more about Sam Hurley’s work visit https://samanthahurley.myportfolio.com/ New episodes will be released weekly on Tuesdays. Don't want to wait? Binge the whole season right now via CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Graham talks to blind artist Devon Healey, who makes dance shows for people who don’t see and explores the world of audio description.Special thanks to Justin Miller, Tarragon Theatre, Outside The March Theatre company and Vanessa Smythe. For more on Devon Healy’s “Rainbow on Mars” visit https://outsidethemarch.ca.New episodes will be released weekly on Tuesdays. Don't want to wait? Binge the whole season right now via CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Because there are no visual identifiers for Graham’s condition, people don’t think he’s losing his sight. They think he’s an asshole. Graham talks to his friends about why they think he has problems in social situations.Special thanks to Dan Barra-Berger, Yvonne Felix, Steven Aquino, Steven Scott, and Erica Peck. New episodes will be released weekly on Tuesdays. Don't want to wait? Binge the whole season right now via CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Writer and journalist Graham Isador has a degenerative eye disease. It’s started to impact his day-to-day and his work prospects. He’s been looking for the best way to talk about it.New episodes will be released weekly on Tuesdays. Don't want to wait? Binge the whole season right now via CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Graham Isador is losing his vision. Through Short Sighted's mini episodes, he situates listeners in the everyday experience of a blind or low vision person for an intimate and irreverent look at accessibility and its personal impacts.A five-part series from CBC’s Personally. New episodes will be released weekly on Tuesdays, starting Nov. 19. Don't want to wait? Binge the whole season via CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Anna Maria makes a trip to find out more about Pat's past and confirms something she’d suspected. If you or someone you know is affected by intimate partner violence, you can find a list of resources here. Find transcripts of the series here.