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.

A sudden death. An organ donation crossing three countries. Two families, intertwined. That's all in this archival story from the CBC's Myfanwy Davies, an award-winning documentary from 2021.

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In less than 48 hours, Esther Aina's friend is getting married. And it isn't just any wedding - it;s maybe the biggest traditional Nigerian ceremony ever held in St. John's. Join in the celebrations, culture, and love story behind the big day in Esther and John Gaudi's documentary, To Grow In Love. This story first aired on Atlantic Voice in 2024.

Step into Christine Wu's kitchen as she takes us through making a classic Chinese dish, Mapo tofu is what the writer calls "poem food," and learning to cook it and other recipes led to her first poetry collection, Familial Hungers. As she chops up garlic and slices silken tofu, Christine guides us from plate to poem in her Halifax-area kitchen.

"My biggest fear is not protest, it's not anger, it's not division - it's apathy." So starts Randy Boyagoda's thoughts on finding common ground to talk to each other in deeply partisan times. Hint: it involves putting aside the smartphone and getting curious about others lives. A talk for everyone wondering where we go from here, and how.

Randy is a writer, thinker and advisor for civil discourse at the University of Toronto. This talk was recorded live at the Halifax Central Library, with the CBC's Adam Walsh, as part of the Hear Me Out conversation series.

In the Spotify era, it's hard to grasp that any song is inaccessible. But the Sons of Membertou's iconic debut album is proof. Or it was - until the Smithsonian Institution came along. Wendy Bergfeldt brings us this decades-spanning story of revival, an award-winning documentary that first aired in 2023.

PR - or permanent residency - is something Rupinder Kaur of Charlottetown, and so many other newcomers to Canada, hope for. But after back to back immigration cuts, PEI is no longer as welcoming as it once was. Steve Bruce brings us the story and struggle of people trying to call PEI home.