Valley Metro brings you stories about how the transit system connects communities and enhances lives. The riders are diverse yet their lives all intersect on public transit. Storylines, hosted by Juliana Vasquez-Keating and Ricardo Tejada, shares the stories about building and operating a transit system that brings people together and links them to their favorite destinations.
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In this episode, hosts Juliana and Ricky spotlight Valley Metro’s latest safety initiatives. First, we hear from Bus Security Coordinator, Dave Munley about Operation Blue Ride. Then we chat with Transit Security Manager, Don Schneidmiller about light rail and streetcar security improvement.By Valley Metro
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The triple-digit temperatures are here, and hosts Juliana and Ricky are talking about summer safety. Guests Cleo Warner from the Maricopa Association of Governments and Michelle Litwin from Phoenix’s Office of Heat Response and Mitigation talk about what their organizations are doing to keep residents cool. Plus, learn how Valley Metro is helping b…
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The impact of Ukraine’s new draft laws in Canada
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Early in the morning in Winnipeg, outside a grocery store, Dmytro is about to start his shift. Dmytro, who is in their mid-20s and identifies as non-binary, has only been in Canada for 18 months. They fled Ukraine when the Russian invasion was looming and could only leave the country because of a medical condition. However, Ukraine amended its medi…
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What The Puck? The strange story of a decades-old hockey rumour
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30 years ago, the Stanley Cup playoffs ignited a rumour that has been messing with Jane Macdougall’s life ever since. It was June 14, 1994, and the Vancouver Canucks had made it all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the New York Rangers. The Canucks were magic on ice, so when they lost by just one goal, fans expected the team to c…
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The Detroit blue collar workers who may decide this year's election
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At a union hall in Detroit’s industrial River Rouge neighborhood, workers have come together to vote for a new leader. The event feels festive, with a fire pit, a tent, and even 'walking tacos,' which are taco meat mixed into a bag of Doritos. But there are dark clouds on the horizon for the future of their industry. Many of these workers are emplo…
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Artificial intelligence at the ballot box
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In January, some New Hampshire voters thought they had gotten a robo call from Joe Biden, telling them to skip voting in the state primary. The robocall voice at the other end of the phone wasn’t Biden at all. In fact it was a deepfake, created by a political consultant working for a longshot democratic challenger to Biden. The audio itself was mad…
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Learn all about Valley Metro’s new fare system launching this summer. Hosts Juliana and Ricky speak with fare expert Dane Ryals about Copper cards, Smart Fare and more. We’re also giving away Copper cards to five lucky listeners.By Valley Metro
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Claire Hafner at 47, is among the top women boxers in the world. She’s just about ready for retirement but wants to win the Canadian title before hanging up her gloves. However, a question hangs over the timing of when retirement will come. Claire is also among a small group of women athletes who are participating in a landmark study on the effects…
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CBC producer Naheed Mustafa, then a freelance writer and broadcaster, landed at the Kabul airport on a blistering hot summer day back in 2008. She’d come to report on how the country had been transformed by the U.S. led war. By that point a lot had changed. In Kabul Afghans felt free to come and go as they pleased, women wore burkas but they also w…
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When Julia Pagel was seven months pregnant, she and her husband faced all the usual new parent decisions: making a birth plan, deciding which stroller to buy and whether to use reusable or disposable diapers. However, there was one choice that was extra tricky for the two of them. What would their child's last name be? Should they just go along wit…
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On May 1st the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will begin commercial operations. It marks the end of a 12 year saga that included protests, legal challenges and the purchase of the pipeline itself by the federal government. When Ottawa stepped in to buy TMX six years ago, it had an estimated price tag of $7.4 billion dollars. Today the cost has g…
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Finding freedom: Breaking the bonds of human trafficking
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Mary Kajumba needed money to make a better life for her daughter. So, with the help of a placement agency she left her home in Uganda, and went to Iraq where she got a job as a restaurant cleaner. It wasn’t long after she realised she was in trouble. Mary says she found herself working 18 hour days, sharing cramped accommodation with 30 other worke…
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In this Storylines episode, hosts Brittany and Juliana explore the history of transportation in the Valley with Martin Shultz, the original chairman of Proposition 400. Discover how Maricopa County transformed from a region without freeways or light rail into the extensive transportation network we know today.…
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Missing in Action: the decades-long effort to get stunt workers their Oscar due
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Over the past near-century, Academy Award categories have come and gone. In the silent film era there was an award for Best Title Writing. You know, the written cards that summarized the “dialogue”? Oscar worthy. This year’s 96th Academy Awards broadcast saw Oscars handed out in a whopping 23 different categories, from the big wins like Best Pictur…
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On October 23rd, 2023 Bob Hallaert, a man with a history of intimate partner violence, shot and killed Angie Sweeney days after she broke up with him. They’d been together for about three years. What happened that day didn’t just shatter the Sweeney family, it shattered Sault Ste Marie. And many believe what happened to Angie could have been stoppe…
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On this episode of Storylines, hosts Juliana and Ricardo sit down with Phoenix Public Transit Director, Jesus Sapien to learn how the city worked to ensure this year’s men’s college basketball finals is a slam dunk for visitors and locals alike. Plus, a bus route bracket buster as we find out which bus route will take it all in our first Great Eigh…
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Flushed away: The mysterious case of the missing public toilets
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Public washrooms are few and far between in Canada. When nature calls, it’s often a scramble to find a coffee shop or mall restroom that's accessible. In Montreal this is certainly the case, but it wasn’t always so. The city used to boast a decent network of public washrooms, constructed before the Second World War. Where did they go? And why, to t…
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In 2014, Shams Erfan was pulled off a bus by members of the Taliban who accused him of being a traitor. A bystander intervened, saving his life, but Shams knew he was no longer safe in Afghanistan. This threat set Shams on a treacherous 8-year journey. He hoped to find a safe haven in Indonesia. Instead, he spent years stuck in a refugee prison cam…
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Mission 300: how farming and hockey helped a former Canadian soldier on a rescue mission
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When Russia invaded Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put out a call to foreigners with combat experience to come and help. Paul Hughes, a former marksman and paratrooper with Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, went. Paul has been in Ukraine ever since, where he founded HUGS: Helping Ukraine, Grass Roots Support. Run out of a garage …
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24 Sussex: the past and uncertain future of the Prime Minister’s “rodent infested death trap”
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24 Sussex Drive. That Ottawa address has been the official residence for the prime minister since the 1950s, but Canada’s current one doesn’t live there because the house is in disrepair. Workers have already removed asbestos, mould and rodents, but it’s estimated it will cost millions more to make the building habitable—and secure. Critics call th…
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Separated: how an immigration system pushed to its limits is keeping refugee families apart
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It’s been 12 years since Widlene has seen her son. She had to leave the little boy in Haiti with family after she was targeted by gang members. The plan was to get out, find somewhere safe, make a home there, and have her son join her. So when she was granted asylum in Canada, Widlene believed her fight would be over. Instead, it was only just begi…
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Taking light rail to new heights! In this episode of Storylines, hosts Juliana and Ricky talk to Andrew Haines and Vanessa Quinto from Jacobs Engineering about the design and construction of the new elevated Metro Parkway station. Then, hear from riders who attended the Northwest Phase II extension grand opening.…
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You might associate sommeliers (wine experts) with fancy restaurants and snooty attitudes, but Canada’s Best Sommelier is as likely to be found traipsing the backwoods in steel toed boots and a cowboy hat, as in a MICHELIN starred restaurant in a three piece suit. It all depends on what he’s up to: is he harvesting maple syrup at the sugar shack he…
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The Great Bear Rainforest on BC’s coast is a spectacular place. Rugged mountains and old growth forests stretch all the way to Alaska. It was here that nearly a decade ago a group of coastal First Nations decided to halt most of the logging in their territories. And in the areas where they did log, they would do it differently. But ten years on the…
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Not long after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, Sasha Skochilenko walked into a grocery store in St. Petersburg, Russia. She reached into the pocket of her puffy winter coat, and pulled out a sheet of sticker price tags where she’d printed information she was learning about the war. Information she wasn’t getting from Russian state media. She placed…
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For years, thousands of kids with roots in Canada, the U.K., the U.S. and beyond lived under the Islamic State’s so-called caliphate. Some were taken there by their parents. Others were born there. But after the war against the Islamic State was won, many of these children still remain in limbo. They wait in detention camps, run by the group which …
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Hosts Brittany and Juliana are riding into the new year by showcasing all the ways you can travel with Valley Metro. First, they sit down with TDM Manager Abby Cooksey-Williams to learn how riders can win prizes while helping the environment. Then, they talk with Commute Solutions Coordinator Angie Wilkie about how the Vanpool program is getting an…
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Unapproved: the brain cancer treatment that's not available in Canada
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The federal government estimates that on average 27 people a day in this country are diagnosed with brain tumours. Among the most aggressive is Glioblastoma (GBM). According to Brain Cancer Canada, people with GBM have a life expectancy of 15-18 months. So when David Cormican was told that his father’s tumor was the “size of a baseball” the family …
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Buddy, b’y and “townie twang”: the survival story of the Newfoundland accent
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Is Newfoundland and Labrador English dying? No b’y, but it is changing! From dropping an 'h' to adding an 's', Newfoundland and Labrador accents are among the most recognizable regional accents in Canada. But while some features of those accents may be in decline, linguist Paul De Decker says younger generations are finding creative ways to keep th…
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The Marefat School in Kabul, Afghanistan earned an international reputation for being a place where democracy, freedom, and education could flourish. But when the Taliban took over the country in August 2021, many of the female teachers and students had to flee for their lives. On this week's Storylines, Leisha Grebinski follows the harrowing story…
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Green burials are a growing trend in after death planning. On this week's Storylines, Caroline Hiller visits graveyards across the country, exploring how some people are reducing their carbon footprint from beyond the grave.
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29. New masterpieces for the new extension
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Did you know that every Valley Metro light rail station is a canvas for public art? In this episode of Storylines, hosts Brittany and Juliana talk with three artists for Northwest Extension Phase II about the inspiration for their artwork.By Valley Metro
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In 2016, Adrian Ma received a truly thoughtful gift from his uncle. A gift he proceeded to put in his closet where it remained for the next seven years. It was a bottle of The Glenlivet Special Jubilee Reserve—a rare scotch whisky that sells for upwards of $3000. Adrian is a whisky guy… but this is, by an almost absurd degree, the most expensive bo…
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For Kent Hoffman it was a surreal delight to produce an interview with the famed American mentalist 'The Amazing Kreskin'. But what really surprised Kent was when a few months later he received a Christmas card from Kreskin. And another Christmas card the next year... and the year after that…. and every Christmas since. It turns out that Kreskin se…
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A two-part episode following Canadians desperate to get their families out of Gaza. PART 1.A decade ago in Gaza, Mohammed Fayad worked for the UN in the education and IT departments. He fled Gaza as a refugee bound for Indonesia, but had to leave his family behind. Years ticked by and he watched his kids grow up through videos. His ex-wife, the kid…
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Riders will have new payment options in 2024! Listen in as hosts Brittany and Juliana learn about the fare system upgrades and Smart Fare from Project Manager Kelly Hines. Then, they chat with Program Representative Alex Potter to learn about changes coming to the Reduced Fare Program. Learn more about the project at valleymetro.org/faretechnology …
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It’s fairly well known that some Canadians fought with the American armed forces in Vietnam, but fewer know about Canada’s official peacekeeping role there. But between 1954 and 1973, close to 2000 Canadians went to Vietnam to observe and safeguard peace accords. Erin Moore’s grandfather, Doug, was one of them. He wrote dozens of letters home docum…
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'Misogyny and climate denial seem to go together'
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As a family physician, Dr. Melissa Lem knew she couldn't stay silent on the health dangers of climate change. But when she spoke out against the use of fossil fuels, the backlash was more vitriolic and personal than she ever expected. She's not alone. From death threats to sexual intimidation and sinister phone calls, Dr. Melissa Lem, Tzeporah Berm…
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Over more than half a century, Canada welcomed close to 3,000 South Korean children, orphans, to be adopted by Canadian families. But new information is emerging that those adoptions aren’t all that the Canadian government – or adoptive families – thought they were. Journalist Priscilla Ki-Sun Hwang investigates the stories of adoptees Kelly Foston…
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Andrew Anderson never told his family the whole story of what happened during the years he spent as a spy in the Norwegian resistance during WWII. Nor did he share all the details about what happened next, as he fought to survive for nine months – held prisoner by the Nazis. But growing up in rural Saskatchewan in the 1970’s, Andrew’s son Gary coul…
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Lost Tracks: What happened to Canada's passenger train system?
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About a hundred years ago you could take passenger trains all over Canada. Rail was king… until the automobile and planes came on the scene, making the train look antiquated. Alongside a shift in federal spending and political attitudes, trains were pushed into the past.But if we’re serious about fighting climate change, then getting people out of …
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In 1987, the remains of a sailor were discovered on the coast of Labrador. A skeleton, wrapped in a shroud, buried with an overcoat, a loose key, and a knife with the initials “W.H.” He is believed to have been buried in the 1800s. There are many questions about the man now known as W.H. Who was he? Where was he from? And what brought him to the co…
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In this episode, hosts Brittany and Juliana discuss a major milestone for the Small Business Financial Assistance Program. First, you’ll hear from Business Assistance Program Manager, Terry Gruver to learn more about how the program works. Then, you’ll hear from small business owners who have benefited from the program.…
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In small hamlets, First Nations and Inuit communities across Canada’s north, many pregnant women have little choice but to travel south, far away from home, to give birth. Local care for mothers and babies simply isn’t available.For decades, Inuit women in the vast area of northern Quebec known as Nunavik faced similar pressures. That was until one…
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In 1961, Canada and the U.S. signed a treaty to co-manage the Columbia — a cross-border river that flows from B.C. through to the Oregon coast. Entire valleys were flooded and more than 2,000 people relocated to accommodate the fourteen new dams along the river’s main course.The Columbia River Treaty has generated billions of dollars for the govern…
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When the Scotty Creek Research Station in N.W.T. burnt down in an unusually late-season wildfire -- Thanksgiving weekend, exactly one year ago -- internationally recognized climate research was put on hold. Now, reporter Liny Lamberink is heading north as the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation and a group of scientists from across Canada are racing to …
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All Sonali Sharma wanted was to go to school in Canada and become a nurse. It was everybody’s dream for her. So much so, that when she was accepted to a private college in Vancouver, Sonali’s entire village turned out to celebrate. Her dad took out a loan against their small farm in India to make it happen. But when Sonali arrived in Canada, everyt…
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In this episode, hosts Brittany and Juliana speak with Erin Boyd of Culdesac about why the developer chose Tempe to build its first car-free community in the United States. Plus, learn how Culdesac helped expand Valley Metro’s Platinum Pass program for more inclusivity.By Valley Metro
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There’s a battle going on about how to teach kids to read. It’s been fought over decades. In Canada, it mostly shakes down as follows: on one side, phonics, which focuses on letters—how they sound, how they blend together, and sounding words out. On the other side, three-cueing—which uses context clues like what the story’s about, what letter a wor…
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In tiny towns and massive cities across Canada, it can be typical—and legal—to have a vegetable patch or a few chickens. But Newfoundland and Labrador has what many see as strict and outdated rules when it comes to growing your own food. Ironically, or perhaps relatedly, the province also has some of the highest rates of food insecurity in Canada.I…
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