Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Musician Sam Polley’s first canoe trip was with his dad, Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy, his mom and siblings. He doesn’t remember much about it, but he clearly got hooked. All these years later, he’s still an avid canoe tripper with a love of the lakes and rivers in northern Ontario. Sam is best known for his rockabilly band Sam Polley and The Old Tomorrows and playing with The Jim Cuddy Band, fronted by his father. When Sam isn’t touring or in the studio or writing songs, he likes to feed his muse by taking off on canoe trips into the wilds north of Toronto. We’re into September now. Summer is drifting away, there’s mist on the water in the morning and a nip in the air, even when the sun is out. One of the things we get into in this conversation is Sam’s love of autumn canoe tripping. The lakes and rivers are largely empty of people and along with all that space and peace — and your pick of campsites — there’s also no bugs. And while Sam is a self-confessed Toronto boy through and through, he is proof that even if you live in the most densely populated city in Canada, amazing canoe tripping adventures are still accessible. We get into his trips in Algonquin Park, Killarney and Temagami. It’s a fun romp spiced with his own music.

With a passion for learning and a love for teaching, the Indigenous northerner talks about her experience guiding canoe trips and paddling through lands that her family has known for generations

Journey around the planet in this Explore episode with stories and insights from one of Canada’s most well-travelled wilderness adventurers

The RCGS Fellow and extreme adventurer talks about his epic journeys across the globe from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to the top of Mount Everest

Inuit youth from Canada’s most northerly community share their stories using their own voices and words

In this episode, we're back in Taloyoak, Nunavut, mainland Canada’s most northerly community, to talk with Joyce Ashevak, Martha Neeveacheak and Roger Oleekatalik. They are three of the students who took part in Canadian Geographic’s Passing the Mic program, which aims to give Inuit youth the tools to share their own stories with the world. Joyce and Martha are both throat singers, a unique and incredibly powerful Inuit vocal art form. And Roger is one of the leading young hunters in this community, which sits on a peninsula jutting out into the Arctic Ocean, west of Hudson Bay. I got to spend an amazing week with them and 15 other students at the Netsilik School last October, teaching them interviewing, storytelling and podcasting. We’ll hear many of their stories over the next two episodes. I started with these three young people because their stories are rooted in the land and in Inuit traditions and you can sense the positive impact this has had on them. A strong connection to culture has been proven to be important in overcoming challenges around mental health and addiction, which are major issues in northern communities. Martha and Joyce have been throat singing for several years. It is an amazing thing to witness and it was a pleasure talking to them about how powerfully it changes them and their lives. We actually met Roger’s grandfather Jimmy on this podcast last fall, in an episode focused on Jimmy‘s effort to create the first Inuit-led conservation area around Taloyoak. Go check that out if you haven’t already. It’s amazing. Roger is a chip off that block, for sure. In his last year of high school, he spends as much time as he can on the land, hunting to provide for his family and the community. It's an occupation that brings him both pride and joy. I hope you enjoy these conversations, and the singing! Passing the Mic is made possible with the support of Polar Knowledge Canada. And also by listeners like you who donate to the RCGS Polar Plunge Fundraiser. The 3rd annual Polar Plunge is taking place March 4 in rivers, lakes and oceans across Canada. To find out how you can participate and donate, go to RCGS.org/polarplunge. You’ll be helping make this kind of unique Canadian Geographic storytelling possible.

In the first of three episodes from Taloyoak, podcast host David McGuffin speaks with Mayor Lenny Panigayak, who shares stories about embracing traditional Inuit life, his social media platform, being out on the land and more

Veteran sailor and polar explorer Ken Burton discusses the story of RCMP’s Henry Larsen and his journey through the Arctic

Podcast host David McGuffin reads the story of Arctic explorer Charles Camsell, recalling a memorable Christmas along the trail to the Klondike in the 19th century

The award-winning Canadian filmmaker, photographer, author and multimedia artist discusses her epic six-year journey across the world's longest hiking trail