Dr. Michael Antil left North Carolina in mid‑2023 with his wife and kids, driven out by an increasingly conservative political climate and COVID-era hostility toward doctors. He’s now a family physician to over 2,000 patients in Toronto. He was repeatedly denied permanent residency in Canada, lost in a maze of paperwork and immigration red tape. In this encore episode, we have an exciting update t

For Black women in Nova Scotia, getting basic health care can be a real struggle – so the Nova Scotia Sisterhood, a primary care clinic in Dartmouth, takes a different approach. Detailed intakes lead to everything from cancer screening to mental health care, delivered by a Black female team that understands the community. And there are Pap parties, too.

Farley Yuras, 74, traveled to Poland to have both knees replaced after the wait in Edmonton became unbearable. He and his wife say that because of long delays, Alberta should reimburse people who leave the country for medically necessary surgery. Steven Lewis, an adjunct professor of health policy at UBC, says the wait for elective surgeries in many provinces is “chaos and anarchy,” and needs fixi

Dr. Erin Norris used to hide her multiple sclerosis to preserve her career as a rheumatologist. She was following an unspoken rule in medicine: either you practice at 100%, or you can’t practice at all. Yet one in five Canadian MDs self-identifies as having a disability. Now, Dr. Norris has rebuilt a career that works for her – all while challenging an ableist medical culture that pushes doctors w

Minnesota nurse Shane Tyson was frustrated by patients going without care because they couldn’t afford medication, and shaken by an ICE arrest at his hospital. Meanwhile, Canada needs nurses – and when Tyson saw B.C. was recruiting, he made the move to Nanaimo. Local volunteers Tod and Jocelyn Maffin have built an online community helping health-care workers like Shane move to Canada.

Gurleen Kaur Chahal is one of the inaugural students at Toronto Metropolitan University’s new Peel Region medical school, designed to serve the area’s diverse population. In this encore episode, she shares her determination to be part of the solution for the kinds of struggles her multigenerational Punjabi household has faced accessing care.

After 25+ years as a family physician, Dr. Fan-Wah Mang closed her practice because she burned out. Now, she’s at Humber River Hospital in Toronto, teaching the next generation of family doctors how to avoid the pitfalls that made her leave. In this encore episode, two of her residents also share what they’ll need to be a family physician long term, and it may surprise you.

When Ned Bell’s wife was recovering from cancer surgery at Vancouver General Hospital, the unappetizing food she was served left a bad taste in his mouth. So the five-star chef teamed up with her surgeon to rethink patient meals. In this encore episode, Dr. Brian Goldman visits Chef Bell to see how the “Planetary Health Menu” is improving patient health while reducing the carbon footprint of hospi

Allan Brooks tumbled down a ChatGPT rabbit hole after an innocuous question about pi. Three weeks and 7,000 prompts later, he emerged from a 300-hour spiral. In this encore episode, psychiatrist Dr. Keith Sakata, who examines the phenomenon dubbed "AI psychosis," says the built-in sycophancy of chatbots needs to change before more harm is done.

When he's not working in the ER, Dr. Nicholas Sparrow spends his spare time in a surprising way. He responds to critical threat-to-life calls over the vast landscape of B.C.’s southeast corner as a volunteer through the Kootenay Emergency Response Physicians Association (KERPA), a charity he created. In this encore episode, Dr. Brian Goldman rides along on one of Dr. Sparrow's shifts to learn how

How much would you pay to get your knee or hip replaced? Calgarian Linda Slater's knee pain became unbearable during her two-year wait to see an orthopedic surgeon. In this encore episode, we learn how she drained her retirement savings to pay $30,000 for a new knee at a private Toronto clinic. Dr. Rick Zarnett, an orthopedic surgeon who works out of both a private clinic and public hospital, says

When Kyle Brymer went to the ER with altered speech, facial drooping, severe headaches and confusion, the doctor blamed his symptoms on his post-grad academic workload and even his partner Kirstie. In a few days, Kyle went back to the ER – and this time, the stroke was unmistakable. We’re re-airing this episode from last season, as strokes in young people are on the rise in Canada, with one in 20

IDEAS, hosted by Nahlah Ayed is a daily podcast that explores how ideas over place and time shape our world. In the days before her medically-assisted death, journalist Elaine Dewar made it her mission to finish writing her book revealing ignored Canadian history. For more than three years, the author investigated how Canada's health care system cruelly mistreated Indigenous people — including for

Dr. Tara Kiran knows primary care in Canada can be better. That's why the Toronto-based family physician and researcher went to the Netherlands, a world leader in health, to see what we can take away. What she found is a system that provides around-the-clock care and primary care teams who can see patients when they need it most. In this encore episode, Dr. Kiran and Brian chat about what the Neth

When sportscaster Scott Oake isn't rinkside at NHL games, he's often hanging out at a substance use treatment centre in Winnipeg. He's there to be close to his late son. An urn with Bruce's ashes greets everyone who walks through the doors of the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre. We’re re-airing this 2025 Mindset Award-winning episode for reporting on addiction, taking you inside the centre to learn abo

Miles Randell says years of working as a Vancouver paramedic led to post-traumatic stress that left him “unemployable.” When the help he needed wasn’t there, he created TEAAM (Technical Evacuation Advanced Aero Medical), a non-profit that deploys helicopters to provide advanced life support in some of the most rugged locations in B.C.’s wilderness. But TEAAM is also a workplace where health-care w

What if birth care put women and babies first? Dr. Michael Klein’s guiding question came from the Ethiopian midwives who let him “catch” his first babies during a gap year in med school. It would go on to shape his lauded career in pediatrics and family medicine—and challenge medical dogmas like routine episiotomies. His research helped show the once-common procedure often did more harm than good,

As Toronto and Vancouver play host to the international soccer tournament, public health officials have been preparing for the influx of people and any health risks that come with it. From wastewater surveillance and food safety inspections to sexual health outreach, Dr. Michelle Murti of Toronto Public Health and Dr. Mark Lysyshyn of Vancouver Coastal Health discuss the work happening behind-the-

Carol Ann McDevitt spent two years looking forward to a trip to Egypt. But an accident on a camel ride completely changed her travel plans and her understanding of travel insurance. McDevitt and other Canadians share what people should know about travel health policies before packing their bags.

Calgary nurse and primary care behavioural health provider Rachel Fynn prescribes exercise as medicine. Through Alberta's Prescription to Get Active program, she helps patients improve their physical and mental health. Once intimidated by the gym herself, Rachel is now a dedicated weightlifter, and proof of the power of movement.