Episodes

On this episode of Explore, host David McGuffin is joined by Arctic explorer and elementary school teacher Dave Greene. Earlier this year, Greene completed his fourth RCGS-flagged expedition across northern Quebec’s Ungava Peninsula. As the leader of this ski expedition, Greene shares his experience, traversing the harsh landscape alongside teammates Chris Giard and Lee Fraser. Skiing hundreds of kilometres through -40°Celsius temperatures, the goal of the expedition was to reach the spectacula...

In this episode of Explore, podcast host David McGuffin speaks with Canadian climber and expedition leader Shira Biner, who led the first female-plus team to establish a new 600-metre route on Eglinton Tower in the remote fjords of Baffin Island. Biner recounts the 2025 expedition, which was partly funded by The Nat Gillis Adventure Photography Expedition Grant awarded by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Over 29 days, the team travelled entirely under human power, skiing 150 kilometres ...

“From 1875 to 1975, there were 6,000 shipwrecks on the Great Lakes — one a week for a century. Everyone remembers one: the Edmund Fitzgerald. And that’s because of the song.” — John U. Bacon, Explore Podcast This year marks 50 years since the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the most famous shipwreck in Great Lakes history. In this episode of Explore, host David McGuffin welcomes back John U. Bacon, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Halifax Explosion, Cirque du Soleil: The Spark ...

Through extensive reporting for his new book, RCGS Explorer-in-Residence Adam Shoalts discusses the story of Hubert Darrell, the legendary Arctic explorer who vanished in 1910

“I think in any exploration there’s a nobility of purpose — it’s more than just pounding my chest and saying, ‘Hey, I’m on top of Mount Kilimanjaro.’ It’s about filling a knowledge gap or serving the greater good.” — Richard Wiese, President, The Explorer's Club Join us for a fascinating conversation with Richard Wiese, world-renowned explorer, Emmy Award-winning host of Born to Explore and the newly re-elected 46th President of The Explorers Club, a role he has held seven times, including as t...

“On a paddleboard, you‘re vulnerable to tides and winds. You don‘t fight them—you learn to fit into natural rhythms.” Journalist and author Dan Rubinstein joins the Explore Podcast for the second instalment in our annual canoe/paddling series to share the story of his epic three-month, 2,000-kilometre paddleboarding journey, which took him from Ottawa to New York City and back via the Ottawa River, the St. Lawrence River, Lake Champlain, the Hudson River, the Erie Canal and Lake Ontario. Along t...

The award-winning author shares his thoughts on the importance of rivers, why they deserve legal rights and the deep connection between humans and water

Leanne discusses her latest book, The Theory of Water: Nishnaabe Maps to the Times Ahead, a genre-defying work that weaves together traditional storytelling, theory, and land-based knowledge. Through various lenses — skiing, eels, beavers, canoes, shorelines — Simpson reflects on the interconnectedness of people, water, and the natural world, and on how we might reimagine our relationships in a time of climate grief and transformation. This live conversation touches on land based learning, Indig...

The Beaverton, Canada's Leading Satircal News site, is turning 15. A conversation with Editor in Chief Luke Gordon Field.

Strombo!

Behind the scenes of an epic Arctic crossing as two explorers conquer the Canadian High Arctic in deep winter

"Buffalo are renewal. We know that — it’s baked into who we are." This week on Explore, David McGuffin sits down with award-winning filmmaker, scholar, and advocate Tasha Hubbard to discuss her latest documentary, Singing Back the Buffalo. This powerful film delves into the deep, sacred relationship between buffalo and Indigenous Peoples, highlighting how these iconic animals are more than just symbols of the past — they are key to cultural, spiritual and ecological renewal. Singing Back the B...

A deep dive into the world of beavers as Canada celebrates 50 years of the iconic species as the country’s national animal

The award-winning journalist explores the intersection of hockey, politics and patriotism, highlighting Canada's 2025 4 Nations Face-Off victory over the U.S. amid tensions from Trump's tariff war

A breathtaking conversation with the world-renowned explorer, from the making of her award-winning documentary and diving in the Antarctic to facing life-threatening situations and the impact of climate change on diving

Canadian whale biologist Shane Gero discusses the ambitious project attempting to communicate with sperm whales and the hope to learn more about these mysterious cetaceans

Few people have been to the summit of Mt. Logan, and even fewer people have been to the summit and stayed for more than 24 hours. But for the sake of science, RCGS Fellow and world-leading ice core scientist Alison Criscitiello and her team took 10 days to summit Canada’s highest peak, where they camped for 16 days. In her new documentary, For Winter, Criscitiello takes viewers on a gruelling journey to the top of Mt. Logan, where she and her team of six researchers extract the longest ice core...

Welcome back Explore listeners! We are thrilled to have award-winning photographer and explorer Jillian Brown as our first guest of 2025. Based in Squamish, B.C., Brown has an epic list of adventures. She was the first Canadian to paddle across the continental US, from Oregon to Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. Brown was also part of the first crew to paddle down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in a sea kayak, which is not made for whitewater, as she explains. As a survivor of trau...

Julian Brave NoiseCat’s award-winning film Sugarcane follows a very personal investigation into abuse and missing children at St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School that sparks a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve

Recalling a memorable Christmas along the trail to the Klondike in the 19th century with an annual reading of Charles Camsell’s Arctic explorations by podcast host David McGuffin

The renowned Canadian adventurer immerses readers in a thought-provoking discussion about the current state of Afghanistan and his experience on Mt. Noshaq

I’m thrilled to have Ray Zahab back on Explore. Many of you know Ray as an extreme adventurer, Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer-in-Residence and friend of this podcast. Ray joins me to talk about his gruelling solo run across one of the hottest places on earth, Death Valley, California during a record breaking heatwave this summer. The last time we talked, in spring 2023, he was heading off to Death Valley. He had just completed chemotherapy for a rare form of blood cancer, during w...

Highlighting the new interpretive trail featuring a series of permanent art exhibits and 15 wayfinding markers showcasing traditional place names and the Dawson Trail's historical legacy

The renowned botanist, biochemist and best-selling author on the wisdom of trees and her new book about the science of forests and the role trees can play in reversing the climate crisis