Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast

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In their own words

Host David McGuffin talks to Canada’s greatest explorers about their adventures and what inspires their spirit of discovery.

Why you'd press play

An Arctic explorer disappears; your inner archive sleuth suddenly has plans.

Press play if you want

  • to follow a lost explorer through old logbooks instead of settling for the legend
  • to meet the people behind a famous shipwreck, not just recognize the song
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Best episodes of Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast

Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.

Searching for life beyond Earth with Sara SeagerApr 7, 2026

A grounded, curious path from strange exoplanets to the still-unsettled question of life in Venus's clouds.

Phosphine in the clouds of Venus gives this episode its charge: a faint radio-telescope signal that remains difficult to square with lightning, meteors, volcanoes, or the standard non-biological explanations.

200 km across the Atacama: Ray Zahab on survival, heat, and the edge of human limitsMar 24, 2026

A desert running story where heat, water, and navigation carry real survival stakes.

Extreme heat in the Atacama is treated less as backdrop than as the central operating condition, the thing that can turn a controlled expedition into a serious problem in minutes.

Newfoundland, Cod Collapse and saving the North Atlantic right whale with Jenn Thornhill VermaMar 10, 2026

A grounded look at right whales, Newfoundland and Labrador's cod fishery, and the politics shaping both.

Explore sets the North Atlantic right whale's fragile future against the politics of Newfoundland and Labrador's cod fishery. Jen Thornhill-Verma, an award-winning journalist from Newfoundland and Labrador focused on oceans and fisheries, gives the whale story its hard scale:…

The life and death of an iceberg with Jill HeinerthFeb 24, 2026

An iceberg's journey reveals hidden organisms, climate loss, and diving's quiet pull as both work and refuge.

Jill Heinrich's documentary project follows an iceberg from Greenland's calving grounds toward Newfoundland's Iceberg Alley, and the episode finds its footing in that mix of scale and intimacy.

Michael Palin on Monty Python, polar plunges and travelling with curiosityFeb 10, 2026

A travel conversation where curiosity survives armed searches, bad timing, and a window cleaner's call.

Michael Palin's travel life comes through as a habit of staying curious when the world will not behave like a tidy documentary. The episode moves from his detention while filming in Venezuela, where a YouTube search for the fish slapping dance softened the mood, to old sat-phone…

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Episodes

  1. 1

    Searching for life beyond Earth with Sara Seager

    Sarah Seager discusses how a reported phosphine detection on Venus raised the possibility of microbial life while remaining scientifically controversial.

    Apr 7, 2026·50m·3 clips
  2. 2

    200 km across the Atacama: Ray Zahab on survival, heat, and the edge of human limits

    On Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast, host David McGuffin interviews Ray Zahab about a 200-kilometre Atacama route from Chile’s Pacific coast to the Altiplano.

    Mar 24, 2026·51m·3 clips
  3. 3

    Newfoundland, Cod Collapse and saving the North Atlantic right whale with Jenn Thornhill Verma

    Hidden gem

    Explore, a Canadian Geographic podcast, talks with Newfoundland and Labrador journalist Jen Thornhill-Verma about the cod collapse and 14 months of reporting on the North Atlantic right whale.

    Mar 10, 2026·53m·3 clips
  4. 4

    The life and death of an iceberg with Jill Heinerth

    Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast talks with Jill Heinerth about The Berg, a CBC's The Nature of Things documentary that follows an iceberg from Greenland's Ilulissat ice fjord to Newfoundland's Iceberg Alley.

    Feb 24, 2026·34m·2 clips
  5. 5

    Michael Palin on Monty Python, polar plunges and travelling with curiosity

    Hidden gem

    Michael Palin discusses Monty Python, travel documentaries, the Franklin expedition, and filming in politically restricted countries.

    Feb 10, 2026·52m·3 clips
  6. 6

    Artemis II: A Canadian goes to the moon with David Saint-Jacques

    Hidden gem

    Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques explains why Artemis II will send Jeremy Hansen around the Moon for roughly 10 days as Orion’s first crewed test flight.

    Jan 27, 2026·31m·2 clips
  7. 7

    Storytelling at the edge of the world with award-winning filmmaker Trevor Wallace

    Trevor Wallace tells David McGuffin how repeated Greenland expeditions introduced him to a population of fewer than 60,000 people, Inuit cultural continuity, and debates over sovereignty, Denmark, the United States, and rare-earth resources.

    Jan 13, 2026·1h 2m·4 clips
  8. 8

    Christmas at Devil’s Portage – Charles Camsell

    Dec 23, 2025·9m
  9. 9

    The Hudson’s Bay Company charter: "Incredible and problematic"

    Dec 3, 2025·12m
  10. 10

    Run Like a Girl with Catherine McKenna

    Catherine McKenna explains how the title Run Like a Girl grew from a childhood soccer insult and became a metaphor for doing things her own way.

    Nov 25, 2025·54m·3 clips
  11. 11

    Across Quebec’s Ungava Peninsula with Dave Greene

    Hidden gem

    Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast follows Dave Green’s 25-day, 400-kilometre ski expedition across Quebec’s Ungava Peninsula toward the Pingalowit Crater and Ungava Bay.

    Nov 11, 2025·42m·2 clips
  12. 12

    Frozen fjords and first ascents: Shira Biner’s Baffin Island odyssey

    Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast follows Shira Biner’s 29-day, human-powered expedition from Clyde River across 150 kilometres of sea ice to Eglinton Fjord on Baffin Island.

    Oct 28, 2025·53m·3 clips
  13. 13

    Gales of November: John U. Bacon on the untold story of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald

    Hidden gem

    Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast features John U.

    Oct 14, 2025·1h·4 clips
  14. 14

    Vanished Beyond the Map: Adam Shoalts on the mystery of lost explorer Hubert Darrel

    Hidden gem

    Adam Schultz and host David McGuffin examine Hubert Darrell, an explorer who vanished in the Western Arctic in 1910 and was praised by Roald Amundsen as someone who could go to the moon.

    Sep 30, 2025·58m·4 clips
  15. 15

    The future of exploration with Richard Wiese

    Richard Weiss, seven-time president of the Explorers Club, describes exploration as an activity with a “nobility of purpose,” citing Kilimanjaro’s automated weather station and bio-prospecting for extremophiles.

    Sep 11, 2025·39m·2 clips
  16. 16

    Waterborne: Dan Rubinstein’s 2,000-kilometre paddleboard adventure

    Hidden gem

    Dan Rubenstein explains the 2,000-kilometre Waterborne journey connecting Ottawa, Montreal, New York City, and Toronto by paddleboard.

    Sep 2, 2025·41m·2 clips
  17. 17

    Is a River Alive? with Robert Macfarlane

    Hidden gem

    Robert Macfarlane discusses Is a River Alive?

    Aug 19, 2025·58m·4 clips
  18. 18

    Learning from water with Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

    Hidden gem

    In Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson explains how Theory of Water uses Nibi, the Anishinaabe word for water, to examine interconnection, renewal, and land-based knowledge.

    Jun 24, 2025·48m·3 clips
  19. 19

    I Interviewed The Beaverton's Luke Gordon Field. He Replied in Headlines (Kidding! This is a fun conversation)

    Luke Gordon-Field, editor-in-chief of The Beaverton, explains how a fake Chris Hadfield roaming-bill story made millions mistake satire for news.

    Jun 10, 2025·44m·3 clips
  20. 20

    The Open Road: George Stroumboulopoulos on Music, Motorcycles, Movies and Canada

    Hidden gem

    George Strombolopoulos connects Canadian music to the country's vast geography, recalling bands touring by van before smartphones and citing Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, and The Tragically Hip.

    May 27, 2025·1h 24m·5 clips
  21. 21

    Return to Ellesmere Island with Ray Zahab and Kevin Vallely

    Hidden gem

    Ray Zahab and Kevin Vallely describe a 28-day ski expedition across Ellesmere Island after an earlier attempt was halted by deteriorating snow and dangerous conditions.

    May 13, 2025·44m·2 clips
  22. 22

    Singing Back the Buffalo with Tasha Hubbard

    Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast features Tasha Hubbard discussing Singing Back the Buffalo, her documentary about Indigenous efforts to restore bison to traditional territories.

    Apr 29, 2025·46m·3 clips
  23. 23

    Dam proud: How the beaver has shaped Canada's environment

    Hidden gem

    Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast marks 50 years of the beaver as Canada’s national animal with ecologist Glynnis Hood, who describes beavers as ecosystem engineers with effects across Canada.

    Apr 15, 2025·48m·3 clips
  24. 24

    Elbows Up! Hockey, politics and patriotism with Roy MacGregor

    Roy MacGregor compares the 2025 Four Nations tournament with the 1972 Canada-Soviet Summit Series, arguing that Donald Trump, tariffs, and the Canada–United States final made 2025 a political hockey event.

    Apr 1, 2025·28m·2 clips
  25. 25

    Episode 100: Diving into the Darkness with Jill Heinerth

    Jill Heinerth and David McGuffin mark episode 100 of Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast by revisiting Heinerth’s cave-diving career and the documentary Diving Into the Darkness.

    Mar 18, 2025·44m·3 clips
  26. 26

    Exploring the depths of sperm whale communication

    Hidden gem

    Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast interviews Shane Garrow, founder of the Dominica Sperm Whale Project and biology lead for Project SETI, about decoding sperm whale codas.

    Mar 4, 2025·48m·4 clips
  27. 27

    The core of the mountain with Alison Criscitiello

    Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast interviews Alison Criscitiello about mountaineering, ice-core science, and the Mount Logan expedition featured in For Winter.

    Feb 18, 2025·46m·3 clips
  28. 28

    Journey of resilience: Jillian Brown on water, wilderness, and healing

    Hidden gem

    Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast features award-winning photographer and explorer Jillian Brown discussing expeditions, trauma recovery, and nature's role in healing.

    Feb 4, 2025·55m·3 clips
  29. 29

    Encore Presentation: Sugarcane — the Oscar-nominated documentary of St Joseph's Mission Residential School with Julian Brave NoiseCat

    Julian Brave Noisecat discusses Sugarcane, his documentary about St.

    Jan 23, 2025·43m·3 clips
  30. 30

    Christmas at Devil's Portage - Charles Camsell

    Dec 19, 2024·9m
  31. 31

    Laval St. Germain’s journey to Afghanistan’s highest mountain

    Hidden gem

    Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast follows extreme adventurer Laval Saint-Germain from Dubai and Kabul toward Mount Noshak, Afghanistan's roughly 7,500-metre highest peak.

    Dec 10, 2024·51m·3 clips
  32. 32

    Running solo across Death Valley with Ray Zahab

    Hidden gem

    Ray Zahab tells David McGuffin how he crossed 170 kilometers of Death Valley from high mountains to Badwater Basin in about 53 hours during the hottest week recorded there.

    Nov 26, 2024·34m·2 clips
  33. 33

    Manitoba's historic Dawson Trail with Pierrette Sherwood and Mimi Lamontagne

    Nov 12, 2024·44m
  34. 34

    Our Green Heart - The Soul and Science of Forests with Diana Beresford-Kroeger

    Oct 29, 2024·36m
  35. 35

    Storm chasing with Jaclyn Whittal

    Oct 15, 2024·41m
  36. 36

    Sugarcane: the documentary of St Joseph's Mission Residential School with Julian Brave NoiseCat

    Sep 30, 2024·43m
  37. 37

    Canoeing across the Arctic with Dave Greene

    Host David McGuffin interviews Canadian explorers about their adventures and the mindset behind their journeys.

    Sep 17, 2024·1h 4m
  38. 38

    Autumn paddling and northern lakes with musician Sam Polley

    Sep 3, 2024·51m
  39. 39

    Paddling the Peel Watershed with Bobbi Rose Koe

    Aug 20, 2024·51m
  40. 40

    A solo canoe journey across Canada with Mike Ranta

    Aug 6, 2024·1h 2m
  41. 41

    How the Quest was found

    Jun 25, 2024·53m
  42. 42

    Finding Sir Ernest Shackleton's last ship with John Geiger

    John Geiger recounts the discovery of Shackleton's last ship, Quest, and discusses the explorer's legacy.

    Jun 18, 2024·31m
  43. 43

    How the Farmerettes helped win the Second World War with Alison Lawrence

    Jun 4, 2024·30m
  44. 44

    Gone Viking with Bill Arnott

    Host David McGuffin interviews author Bill Arnott about his travels retracing Viking exploration routes.

    May 21, 2024·32m
  45. 45

    The new Canadian Canoe Museum with Carolyn Hyslop and Jeremy Ward

    Host David McGuffin interviews the curator and executive director of the Canadian Canoe Museum about its new building and the history of canoes.

    May 7, 2024·40m
  46. 46

    Searching for Franklin with Ken McGoogan

    Apr 23, 2024·46m
  47. 47

    Polar exploration and more with geoscientist Susan R. Eaton

    Host David McGuffin interviews polar explorer Susan Eaton about her underwater encounters with humpback whales and her work with Sea Women Expeditions.

    Apr 9, 2024·1h 5m
  48. 48

    RCGS Fellow and naturalist Brian Keating on our natural world

    Mar 26, 2024·49m
  49. 49

    Laval St. Germain: Mountains, oceans and the Arctic

    Mar 12, 2024·59m
  50. 50

    Passing the Mic, Part 3 — The students of Netsilik School, Taloyoak, Nunavut

    Feb 27, 2024·18m