Latest Facts & Arguments podcast episodes
By The Globe and Mail
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Podcast Description
True stories on the ordinary and extraordinary moments of Canadians' real lives, written for The Globe and Mail's Facts and Arguments page.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
My friend's dying tested my atheism | I lived comfortably with the belief that this life is all there is, but the experience of watching my friend die challenged this comfort | 9/13/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
2 |
I love teaching but I hate marking | It's like being a comedian who has to stay after the show to clear tables and sweep floors | 9/7/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
3 |
I work in the family business | I see my parents every day, along with my older brother and the family dog. Some people say I'm lucky. Others think it would be hell on Earth | 8/30/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
4 |
I'm far from Canada but still connected | A Facts & Arguments Essay by Sandra McLellan, a Canadian in Switzerland, on the beauty of living in the global village | 8/23/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
5 |
Here comes the party | A Facts & Arguments Essay by Peter Portlock, a church organist, on a wedding ceremony that changed him | 8/16/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
6 |
I love story time | I never realized how far down the intellectual ladder I'd slid until diving into one of my son's storybooks. He didn't want to finish it, but I did | 8/9/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
7 |
The day I nearly drowned | I knew how to swim but I had never learned how easy it is to drown, not in a storm, not at night, not even that far from shore | 7/23/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
8 |
Failure can be a good thing | I am going to fail at something when it comes to raising my son. But to fail is the opposite of not trying | 7/23/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
9 |
Lessons I learned at sea | Heather Spurling's Facts & Arguments Essay on teaching students aboard a tall ship | 7/19/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
10 |
I'm a twentysomething divorcee | Failed marriages happened to other people. Older people. We were different, or so I had hoped | 7/12/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
11 |
The cottage-country grim reaper | In the days when land lines were scarce, relatives would call the local general store in case of emergencies. The owner served as death’s emissary | 7/6/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
12 |
The scar that changed my life | I was 6 when I fell down the stairs and cut my face on a broken glass. The result changed the way I approached life | 6/28/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
13 |
I was a roofer with a fear of heights | It was the last job I would have preferred, but I needed the money. Then one day it happened. I fell | 6/18/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
14 |
I'm a grey-haired supply teacher | One child asked if I was his teacher's mother. Another said I sound like a grandma. I'm a novelty amid teachers 20 to 30 years younger | 6/14/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
15 |
My two-wheeled old friend | Through periods of use and abuse, neglect and storage, blue skies and winter storms, my bike has been a patient and willing companion | 5/25/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
16 |
He stole my jokes. Literally | A thief took my laptop – with all my stand-up material. I either had to rewrite all my jokes, or quit my hobby | 5/25/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
17 |
Lean on Mom | My daughters still need to see me as a parent – and nothing but. So I avoid sharing my own angst with them | 5/17/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
18 |
Lost on the West Coast Trail | After seven hours of stumbling through the rain forest, we were wet to the core and nothing resembling a path could be seen | 5/10/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
19 |
It's your fault I'm a brat | 'You made me this way,' I used to tell my parents. If I yell, it's because you yell. If I act out, it's because you act out | 5/3/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
20 |
Baby steps | When my daughter was born I realized there were no instructions to be found. Our hospital team led us down the path of new parenthood | 4/26/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
21 |
Our Houdini cat | At night we herded Paka into the basement and closed the door. The next morning, she was on our bed | 4/19/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
22 |
Graveyard handyman | The bench next to my father's grave was weather-worn. I packed up my tools and set off to rebuild it | 4/12/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
23 |
Farewell, hockey-free household | When they were younger I convinced our sons the game was rough. Slowly, they chipped away at my stance | 4/5/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
24 |
What I've learned owning a pub | I hatched the idea after St. Patrick's Day celebrations six years ago. I now have a better understanding of the phrase go for broke | 3/29/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
25 |
Secrets of the ya-ya brotherhood | Before we left for a sabbatical year in Europe my four boys were squabbling and competitive. Being away taught them to share and bond | 3/22/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
26 |
The man's guide to growing a beard | I'm not the most masculine guy, but it's amazing how letting your hair follicles hang out changes your perceived manliness | 3/15/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
27 |
I make my hubby's lunch | I feel like an imposter. Handing him a sandwich every day just doesn't jibe with my belief in equality between the sexes | 3/8/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
28 |
Time doesn't heal all wounds | When his mother died, Carl Chauvin writes for Facts & Arguments, he closed the drawbridge on his emotions | 3/1/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
29 |
I'm getting over my fear of writing | I always thought I’d have something to say, on paper, by the time I reached middle age. But I was filled with self-doubt | 2/22/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
30 |
A mouse, a trap and me | I had to catch the critter, but my family wanted me to do it humanely – and fast | 2/15/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
31 |
I'm a weather watcher | Tracking what the skies are doing where my kids live is sometimes easier than keeping track of them | 2/9/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
32 |
My father's almost Olympic experience | He was supposed to play on the hockey team that won gold in the 1948 games. But a faulty medical exam kept him at home | 2/2/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
33 |
My grandfather's criminal past | Family legend was that he had been tossed into jail for drunkenness. He actually served three years for arson | 1/25/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
34 |
It's time I get with the metric system | I know that above 30 C it's hot and below 0 C it's cold, but I haven't a clue about the temperatures in between | 1/18/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
35 |
I've laced up my hockey skates again | Nothing is more humbling than returning to the ice after more than a decade as a spectator | 1/11/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
36 |
I've joined my mother's club | Like the women Mom played cards with, the members of my new book club are starting to bond | 1/4/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
37 |
REPODCAST: Ghost of Christmas trees past | Finding the perfect balsam fir always used to be Dad's job. After his death, it fell to us | 12/21/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
38 |
Mourning my loyal Loser Cruiser | She played good tunes and always pulled confidently to the right, but eventually she lost her pep | 12/14/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
39 |
Stamp therapy | Through the fog of chemo brain, sorting my Czechoslovakian stamps connected me to my family's history | 12/7/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
40 |
A growing concern | The plant has taken up space in my kitchen for 25 years. In my ruthless moments I've said it's time to let it go | 11/30/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
41 |
I'll take Huge Blunders for $200, Alex | I messed up before even appearing on Jeopardy. I said I was from Ottawa instead of Newfoundland | 11/23/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
42 |
Retirement? It's not for me | My retired friends go on and on about their yoga classes and golf. What is this endless adult play in aid of? | 11/16/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
43 |
My little guy is a new dad | Wasn't it only yesterday he was throwing things off his high chair? Now he outweighs me and I'm a grandpa | 11/9/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
44 |
My bird-brained piano teacher | I've learned a lot from Max, my African grey parrot, who sits on my knee while I bash away at the keys | 11/2/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
45 |
Bonding over the board | Learning to skateboard at 30, my friend and I grew closer with each failed ollie and attempt to drop into the bowl | 10/26/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
46 |
From wife to widow to only parent | When my husband died, grief became my full-time job. Four years later, I refuse to be an absent mother | 10/19/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
47 |
My high-school career is over | I won't be on the sidelines cheering for my kids any more. They've graduated and I don't know what to do now | 10/12/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
48 |
Feminist by day, housewife by night | I used to scoff at women who threw away career goals to have kids. But lately, I've been leading a double life | 10/5/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
49 |
I never got Dad's green thumb | I can't grow tomatoes or corn; even my pumpkin patch produced no gourds. Still, I won't give up the garden | 9/28/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
50 |
Guitar hero | After nearly 40 years of classical guitar I'd never mastered anything. The blues seemed an obvious choice | 9/21/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 50 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Excellent Podcast
I really like this podcast when I haven't had a chance to read the section in the paper. I enjoy hearing the thoughtful and relevant personal essays. Thank you for podcasting. :-)
