The Pulse
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Episodes
141 episodes
Boxing and Drumming to Battle Parkinson's & The Hands & Hearts Food Program Feeding Families
LISTEN HERE: Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Doug Pickard has spent more than 13 years proving that boxing gloves and conga drums can push back against a disease with no cure, turning rhythm itself into therapy ...
Airplane! - The Funniest Movie Ever Made?
What happens when you gather two Gen Xers who worship a comedy classic, two Millennials seeing it fresh, and one very unimpressed holdout? You get the most hilariously divided episode of Too Old or Movie Gold yet.Hosts Olan VanderLinden ...
Pam Botterill - The Importance of Belonging
Pam Botterill joins Cindy Thompson on A Resilience Project to share what she calls a good-news story of adoption. An Indigenous woman from the Wei Wai Kum First Nation in Campbell River, BC, Pam was adopted at nine months old and raised by a no...
Tears for Fears Drummer Jamie Wollam & Cancer Warrior Carly Carey creates Carly’s House
Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Jamie Wollam grew up tapping along to Kiss and AC/DC records in Southern California, never imagining he'd spend sixteen years behind the kit for Tears for Fears - or that he'd find sobriety and a re...
Nanoose Firefighters Watch Backdraft - And They Have Feelings
What happens when you screen a Hollywood firefighting blockbuster for actual firefighters? You get the most entertaining and most brutally honest episode of Too Old or Movie Gold yet.Hosts Olin VanderLeen and David Purcell of the Comox V...
Katie Bergman - When Justice Just Is
Why You Should Listen to This EpisodeKatie Bergman is a writer and social justice advocate who has devoted a decade to the non-profit sector, specialising in human trafficking interventions. After experiencing trauma and burnout a...
Laura Palmer of Island Crime Podcast & Cheryl Dill on BeachFest 2026
Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Cheryl Dill has spent years helping build one of Vancouver Island's most beloved summer traditions into an internationally recognized event drawing visitors from all over the world. Laura Palmer is ...
When Cities Stop Waiting - with Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto
What happens when the province can't move fast enough and people in your city need help now? In this episode of Non-Partisan Hacks, hosts Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Marianne Alto, Mayor of the City of Victoria, recorded live at the ...
Kaleb Dahlgren - “Crossroads”: Finding Strength in Vulnerability
Why You Should Listen to This EpisodeIf you’ve ever been told you can’t - and refused to accept it - this episode is for you. Kaleb Dahlgren speaks from a place of hard-won strength: as a survivor of the Humboldt Broncos tragedy, ...
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...
