The Pulse
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Episodes
132 episodes
Ethan Askey touring Vancouver Island & the Parksville Car and Bike Show
Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Ethan Askey has carried a harmonica in his pocket for the better part of 30 years - from campfires on the Alsek River to festival stages in Europe, from Junior Wells' living room in Chicago to the s...
Santiago Dominguez - Autism: A Personality, Not a Disability
Why You Should Listen to This EpisodeIf you or someone you love has ever felt like an outsider in a world that wasn’t built for the way your mind works, Santiago Dominguez speaks directly to that experience. Diagnosed with high-fu...
Matt Sager of “Lost Car Rescue” on “Classics for Kids” & Crime Novelist Sam Wiebe
Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Matt Sager brings a 1940 Ford five-window coupe and a classroom full of students to turn a rescue car into a raffle that could raise a million dollars for the kids at Cowichan District Hospital. Sam...
When Democracy Becomes Dangerous with Marianne Meed Ward
Recorded live at the AVICC convention in Victoria, this episode of Non-Partisan Hacks brings a remarkable guest to the mic. Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Marianne Meed Ward - Mayor of Burlington, Ontario and co-founder of ElectRespect ...
Henry McKay - If Not You, Then Who?
Why You Should Listen to This EpisodeIf you've ever wondered what it takes to break a cycle - of trauma, of violence, of generational pain, this episode is for you. Henry McKay speaks with a clarity and courage that only comes fro...
Kyle McKearney's To The River Tour & 99-year-old Eva Hilborn's Wonderful World of Books
Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Kyle McKearney stopped chasing what the industry told him to be, went home, made the record he wanted to make, and had it mixed by the same engineer behind Chris Stapleton and Beyonce. Eva Hilborn d...
Carys Cragg - How I Came to Meet the Man Who Murdered My Father
Why You Should Listen to This EpisodeWhat does it take to face the person who shattered your world? Carys Cragg was 11 years old when her father was murdered. Decades later, she chose to correspond with - and ultimately meet - the...
Singer-Songwriter Sean Thomas & Parksville Museum Curator Sarah Ronald
Why You Should Listen to This Episode:Sean Thomas was 17 years old when he began producing Debbie Gibson's comeback album - the same year he was learning to drive a car. He then took his talents to Las Vegas as her music director,...
From the Ground Up: Amit Gaur on Three Years at the Council Table
Recorded on location at the AVICC (Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities) Conference, this episode of Non-Partisan Hacks brings a familiar face to the mic. Joel Grenz and Sean Wood welcome Parksville City Councillor Amit ...
Lynnsay Scollon - Finding Beauty in Vulnerability
Why You Should Listen to This EpisodeIf you've ever felt undone by circumstances that seemed, on the surface, ordinary - this episode is for you. Lynnsay Scollon speaks with remarkable honesty about how a series of seemingly small...
Forward House: Recovery, Community, Hope & Tom Sewid: Sasquatch Investigator Returns to Vancouver Island
Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Jeff Vircoe walked into a meeting on February 22nd, 1986, and hasn’t had a drink since. Today he’s president of Forward House - the Parksville-based nonprofit marking 25 years of steady, quiet servi...
Rick & Karen Sanchez - When a Spark Becomes a Beacon for Helping Others
Why You Should Listen to This Episode:If you've ever wondered what it looks like to say yes to a calling — even when it means leaving everything familiar behind - this episode is for you. Karen Huebert-Sanchez and Ricky Sanchez br...
Vancouver Island Actor-Musician Ajay “Blue Jay” Friese & Master Gardener Debora Gurrad
Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Ajay Friese grew up on Vancouver Island, spent five years auditioning before landing Lost in Space, sang Bob Marley on screen, moved Laura Linney to tears with his debut single, and just released hi...
Bring the Bill: Rob Shaw on First Reading, DRIPA, and the Erosion of Debate
In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks, Joel Grenz and Sean Wood welcome back BC political reporter Rob Shaw - host of Political Capital and co-author of the bestselling A Matter of Confidence - for the “Criterion Edition” of hi...
Rob de Toni & Heather Emmerzael - Preventing Burnout Through Resilience Practice
Why You Should Listen to This EpisodeWhat happens when you’ve achieved everything you set out to do - and it still isn’t enough? Rob de Toni, a litigation lawyer, and Heather Emmerzael, a Registered Nurse, both built successful ca...
Chris Buck - Boots & Boats Festival & the Seaside Cruizers Show and Shine
Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Chris Buck has written 500+ songs in Nashville, earned a gold record, and just cracked the top 40 as an independent artist - all while staying unmistakably Canadian. Jim Moroz and the Seaside Cruise...
Dr. Kirk Austin - Buoyancy: Building Resilient Kids
Why You Should Listen to This EpisodeIf you are a parent, grandparent, caregiver, or teacher — or anyone who cares about the emotional wellbeing of a child — this episode is essential listening. Dr. Kirk Austin brings years of exp...
Aaron Cully Drake On Writing Your Book Using AI & Singer Songwriter Roy Forbes
Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Author Aaron Cully Drake has a provocative and practical take on AI in the writing process — not as a ghostwriter, but as a structural editor that never lets a contradiction slide. And Roy Forbes, M...
Alicia Nicholsen - The Resilient Mommy: Writing Through Grief and Into Healing
Why You Should Listen to This Episode If you’ve experienced loss in motherhood — or love someone who has — this episode is for you. Alicia Nicholsen speaks with the kind of honesty that only comes from having lived through th...
Richard Brodeur Opening NEW Gallery in Parksville & 54–40’s Brad Merritt on Porto & Rock The Range
Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Richard Brodeur backstopped the Vancouver Canucks to their first Stanley Cup final in 1982 — and spent the next four decades quietly building a second remarkable career as a painter. Now he’s soon o...
A Resilience Project: Dr. Doug Walker - Cultivating Resilience In Community
Why You Should Listen to This EpisodeWhat does it take to rebuild — not just buildings, but lives — after catastrophic disaster? Dr. Doug Walker knows firsthand. In this deeply moving conversation, he shares how surviving Hurrican...
Sun Fest Founder Greg Adams & Dr. Anne Herdman Royal from Oklahoma to Nanaimo
This Episode Features:(30:35) Greg Adams, founder of Lake Town Ranch and Sun Fest joins the podcast The undrafted NHL defenceman who played 545 games across a decade-long pro career talks about growing up in the Cowichan Va...
So You're Thinking of Voting in an Election
In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks, Joel Grenz and Sean Wood go full civics class -the fun kind - on what it actually means to be a thoughtful voter. From the difference between local, provincial, and federal elections to party slates, candid...
Karen Peters - Parenting Within Interracial Adoption
Why You Should Listen to This Episode If you’ve ever thought about what it truly means to be an ally — not just in words, but in the daily, lived work of parenting — this episode will stay with you. Karen Peters and her husba...
Laura Kelsey's Debut Album "Hidden Mountains" & QB Chamber CAO Daniella Novak
Why You Should Listen to This Episode: If you’ve ever wondered what it actually takes to make a small town’s business community thrive — not just survive — Daniella Novak has the answer, and she delivers it with the conviction of someone...
