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Now or Never

Now or Never

By: CBC
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In a world that can feel pretty scary, it’s easy to get stuck. This is a show that celebrates what it takes to try. To take the risk. To have the talk. To rock the speedo. Because making even the tiniest change takes courage, and hosts Ify and Trevor are here to remind you that you’re not alone when you do. New episodes every Thursday.

Copyright © CBC 2025
Social Sciences
Episodes
  • What would it take to face your biggest fears?
    Oct 30 2025

    Just in time for Halloween, stories of people being scared out-of-their-mind about something, but doing it anyway.


    The last time Mike Bahuaud ran a half-marathon, he went into cardiac arrest and collapsed at the finish line, where his heart stopped beating for nearly five minutes. One year later, he's determined to run the exact same marathon, to finish what nearly ended him.


    It was a regular Friday afternoon in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland when Shem Evans was randomly attacked and beaten by seven teenagers while picking up his kids from school. After the attack, fear rocked his family and the community. But when his wife Bailey Rempel didn’t see enough change, she took a leap and ran for city council to try to make things safer for everyone.


    Lynn Sainté has a deep fear of throwing a party where no one shows up. But she also really wants to relive her church choir days, so she's booked a venue, hired some musicians, and sent out the invitations. When Ify checks in, she's only sold three tickets with a week to go. So will anyone show up? Ify joins her friend Lynn on the night of the event, to find out if all the nerves and stress are worth it.


    After a traumatic swimming lesson as a child, Aaliyah Hall then discovered two of her family members died from drowning. She's been terrified of the water ever since. But now, she’s part of a group of Black women in Hamilton who are learning how to float without fear.


    “Everything that mattered to me in my life, was stripped.” In a matter of months Judi Rees learned of the sexual abuse her children experienced, became dangerously ill, and ended her 30-year marriage. After living through a season of terrifying events, Judi shares what she’s learned from the other side.

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    54 mins
  • "I run for everyone who can't." Runners share what keeps them moving
    Oct 23 2025

    If you, like us, are not a runner, it might seem nuts to risk the muscle pain, the boredom, not to mention the chafing. So we asked a bunch of people what keeps them moving, and got some really surprising answers.


    Four days ago, Tata Shifrin finished her first full marathon in Toronto. Which is not what her doctors would have predicted, since she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014 and told she would likely be using a cane or wheelchair by now. The single mom tells us how what started as a sarcastic joke to her Russian grandmother is now a promise she's making to herself, and her three children.


    Three times a week, the Running on Faith run club gathers at dawn on the streets of Surrey, B.C. What makes this run club a little different is that everyone connected to it lives in a shelter or recovery center. Founder

    Andie Van Der Eerden tells us how she took her own battle with depression and anxiety and turned it into a mission of hope.


    The kids in the Windbreakers Indigenous Youth Running Club in St. Albert, Alberta tell us about the connection between sweetgrass and running, and why it's always a good idea to put sage in your sneakers.


    When Luc Zoratto stopped using drugs and alcohol, he started running. A lot. After years of non-stop training and marathon finishes, Luc is falling out of love with the sport that gave him so much.


    Newfoundland’s Florence Barron is running in one of the most challenging road races in the country…at the age of 87. It’s not her first time competing, and as long as her body allows her, she says it won’t be her last.

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    52 mins
  • What's up with my hormones?!
    Oct 9 2025

    From endorphin highs to perimenopausal lows, hormones can wreak all kinds of havoc on our bodies and emotions. So how are people dealing, and why don't we talk about it more? Ten Canadians get real about navigating through puberty, perimenopause, male infertility and all the other hormonally charged events that turn our worlds upside down.


    What happens when your instrument betrays you? Winnipeg Boys' Choir singers Colton Johnson and Sal Tait open up about the awkward, funny and heartbreaking reality of singing through puberty.


    13-year-old Rayne recently came out as transgender to his mom, Jolene Murdoch, and has begun talking to her about gender-affirming care options like hormone therapy. It’s something Jolene is just beginning to wrap her head around, but now there is a new sense of urgency: The family lives in Alberta, where the provincial government is considering using the notwithstanding clause to implement a law that would prevent doctors from providing puberty blockers and hormone therapy to youth under 16.


    Abbie Hentges knows just how impactful hormones can be. Last year, she was diagnosed with a mood disorder called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) that is so debilitating, her husband Ryan describes it as 'At breakfast, she's one person. By dinner time, she's another person." Abbie is now on a journey to rebuild her relationship with her husband and her condition.


    Is there anything funny about perimenopause? Saskatoon musician Farideh Olsen thinks so. She is channeling her hot flashes and mood swings into hilarious songs and videos about riding that hormonal rollercoaster without losing your sense of humour.


    When Laura Spencer and Emanuel Nazareth were trying to conceive, they had no idea of the emotional roller coaster that lay ahead of them. Male factor infertility. Two gruelling rounds of IVF. And years of ups and downs as they struggled to create the family they’d always dreamed of. They tell us why it's so hard to talk about male infertility, and what they're doing to break the taboo.


    Going through puberty is hard enough. But for Jenni Kausch, the bodily changes brought on by puberty were life changing in more ways than one. Now, she’s finally getting treatment for lipedema — and raising awareness of the condition.

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    1 hr
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