Now or Never cover art

Now or Never

Now or Never

Written by: CBC
Listen for free

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 2026
Social Sciences
Episodes
  • My body rules! Reclaiming your body from head to severed toe
    Oct 15 2026

    The relationship we have with our bodies - and specific body parts - is always changing, as we navigate aging, illness and injury. So when your body changes in ways you aren't expecting, what do you do about it? On this episode, five people show you how it’s done.


    Welcome to "Paint Your Own Booty!" night, where artist Emmy Tran teaches people to paint their own behinds in a body-positive environment. She tells us how picking up a paintbrush helped her have a healthier relationship with her own body, after struggling with body dysmorphia for years.


    There's an old tradition in Dawson City, Yukon which some might find…gross. It’s called the Sourtoe Cocktail and it’s a rite of passage that’s been happening since the 70s. It’s one part liquor, one part mummified toe. But where do these toes come from? We track down the owner of one frostbitten, severed toe, and ask how it ended up in a bar in Dawson City.


    When Edmonton’s Jesse Mulley weighed 524 pounds, he hated his life. He could barely walk, struggled with his mental health, and felt desperate for change. He made a promise to himself to start working towards healthy goals, and not quit for an entire year. Three years later, he’s lost more than 300 pounds, completely transforming his body, mind and life.


    When Paralympic bronze medalist Leanne Taylor learned she was paralyzed from the waist down after a biking accident in 2018, she was afraid to ask if she could ever have children. Eight years later, she’s a mom to a one-year-old son and determined to make sure other people with disabilities know what’s possible.


    One of the hardest parts of Anabia Bilal's cochlear implant surgery was convincing her mom to let her do it. In 2025, Anabia became the first person in North America to have a cochlear implant that uses smart technology. Anabia and her mom Zehra Hyder share how life has changed since.

    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
  • Inside the mysteries keeping people up at night
    Oct 8 2026

    Today Now or Never digs into four mysteries that are keeping people up at night, and forcing them into action.

    When air cadet trainer pilot Brian Renaud was flying with a student, he saw something in the sky he couldn’t explain. Not once…twice. Now he searches the sky above Gimli, Manitoba — 24 hours a day, seven days a week — looking for other unidentified flying objects trying to figure out what it was that he saw.


    For the past 26 years, someone known only as “JY” has posted thousands of lovestruck personal ads in the Toronto Star, all addressed to the same woman: Frances. So who is JY, and why does he have it so bad for Frances? Three readers — Edward Brown, Sue Brophey and Vicki McKee — share how they came together to get to the bottom of this real-life love mystery.


    Stan Dworkowski woke up from an eight-day coma with no memory of how he ended up badly injured in a ditch just outside of Nisku, Alberta. Now, he’s investigating his own mystery trying to piece together the hours he simply can’t remember.


    Have you ever loved a song so much that you want to know everything about it? Over 40 years ago, a mysterious song was recorded from a Toronto radio station onto a cassette tape. More than a thousand people all across the world are now trying to find out who wrote this song. We’ll meet the people who are searching for the band behind the song they’ve named CIA.

    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
  • Who's in your corner? The power of a mentor
    Oct 1 2026

    What does it take to come through overwhelming odds, discover your passion, and get to the top of your game?


    Today on Now or Never the answer is: the right mentor.


    Meet three people taking stock of how far they’ve come, turning to the person who helped get them there and saying thank you.


    As a kid in Winnipeg’s inner city, Dale Turcotte III had to grow up fast. His biological dad was in jail. His parents struggled with addiction. And he often had to take care of his five younger siblings, while figuring out where their next meal would come from. Today Dale is 18-years-old, captain of his football team, and settling in at university on a football scholarship. He tells us the story of what it took for him to get here, and how two complicated father figures helped keep him on the right path.


    Twenty-nine musicians take to the stage with one goal: to thank the retired music teacher

    who changed their lives. Meet David “The Proz” Proznick and find out how musician Mike Ardagh finally convinced him to come to the sold out concert you won’t want to miss.


    Hannah Chown thought she was hanging up her cleats and her dreams of playing pro soccer. She’d landed a teaching job and had said goodbye to her record-breaking run as the captain of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's team. But then one call from the Ottawa Rapid FC changed everything. David Chown, her dad and first coach, shares what this moment means to him.


    Show More Show Less
    51 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet