Out In The Open

After four years on the air, Out in the Open is coming to a close. For this final edition, Piya revisits highlights from some of the stories that illuminate what the show set out to accomplish.

The latest season of Uncover: Dead Wrong dives deep into a botched police investigation, missing evidence, and a wrongful conviction in a city plagued with more than a hundred unsolved missing and murdered cases. Dead Wrong takes you through the twisting, unbelievable story of Glen Assoun who spent more than 17 years in prison for the murder of Brenda Way, a crime he did not commit, and asks who really killed Brenda? More episodes are available at http://hyperurl.co/uncovercbc

On Season 3 of Other People’s Problems, host Hillary McBride takes you where microphones rarely go, into her therapy office where her clients hurt, heal, and ultimately thrive. This is what people sound like when they talk with someone they trust about difficult childhoods, ongoing mental health struggles, and the sudden changes we’re all facing right now living through a pandemic. Here’s the first bonus episode of Season 3 of the CBC podcast, Other People’s Problems. More episodes are available at hyperurl.co/otherpeoplesproblems

Adoption can be bittersweet for everyone involved. At best, it results in a happy, healthy family. But it can also carry a load of conflict, confusion, and unanswered questions. This week, Piya wades into some of those things we don't tend to discuss when we talk about adoption.

Infertility affects about one in six couples in Canada and many individuals not in partnerships. And while there are many ways to make a family, not being able to conceive can deeply affect some people's identities and worldviews. This week, Piya explores how infertility can complicate your sense of self.

Throughout the 1980s, Satanic cults were widely believed to be terrorizing and torturing children. There were hundreds of false allegations and countless lives torn apart — but never any real proof. Uncover: Satanic Panic from CBC Podcasts is out now. Subscribe at cbc.ca/uncover

From those annoying phone scams to email hacks, bank fraud to catfishing... it can sometimes feel like everywhere you turn, there's a con just waiting to happen. But being taken advantage of like this can cut way deeper than your pocket book. This week, Piya explores how people recover after it happens to them.

Infertility affects about one in six couples in Canada and many individuals not in partnerships. And while there are many ways to make a family, not being able to conceive can deeply affect some people's identities and worldviews. This week, Piya explores how infertility can complicate your sense of self.

The media may move on...but for the people behind the headlines, the story continues. This week, Piya speaks with people affected by some of the year's top news stories of 2019 to find out what their lives are like after trending.

It's said to be the oldest profession in the world. But even so, sex work is still one of the most stigmatized ways to make a living. In part, that's because people can be exploited. In part, it's because sex trafficking is also a troubling reality. But there's also a subset of people who willingly choose to engage in sex work. This week, Piya speaks with some of them, to understand the personal value they glean from it beyond money and pleasure.

We have systems in place to bring justice to those who've been wronged. But we also know these systems aren't perfect, and even when a decision is meted out, it may not feel like justice to some. This week, Piya asks: Where do you turn when you believe the justice system has failed?

By choice and by circumstance, Ibram X. Kendi has devoted his life to this thing we call race. As a black man, he says he's both experienced and perpetrated racism throughout his life. As an author and historian, he's come up with a case to overcome it. This week, Piya speaks with Kendi about "How to Be an Antiracist", his rallying cry for all of us to reframe how we think about racism in order to remedy it. If we don't, Kendi says racism may well threaten our very existence.

A new investigative series from CBC Podcasts and the Norwegian newspaper VG. Hunting Warhead follows an international team of police officers as they attempt to track down the people behind a massive child-abuse site on the dark web. Listen at hyperurl.co/huntingwarhead

Observing other people's experiences of trauma can breed understanding and spur action. But it can also have a profound impact on the person who's watching. This week, Piya asks: How does bearing witness change you?

From the scores of people who've declared #MeToo, to whistleblowers calling out politicians from the inside, we're in a climate where speaking out and speaking truth to power is often celebrated. But sometimes, we have reason to keep quiet. This week, Piya explores what leads people to silence themselves... and what impact that can have on us all.

We tend to glorify occasions when families are reunited. But those moments are just the start of what can often be long, difficult paths. This week, Piya explores the reality of what happens after the movie moment of family reconnection.

As Canada's first female Prime Minister, Kim Campbell capitalized on her appeal as a new kind of politician, using her gender and straight-shooting style to signal a break from the past... which ultimately worked both for her and against her. This week, Piya speaks with Ms. Campbell about her whirlwind time in office as the first (on many fronts), her more recent return to public life (tweets and all), what's changed – and what hasn't – for women in politics in the quarter-century since she was in office, and why she thinks we need female leaders now more than ever.

Mona Eltahawy lives by two credos: Defy, disobey and disrupt... and f@#% the patriarchy. In her book "The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls", the Egyptian-American author and activist proposes her manifesto for achieving true gender freedom and equality. This week, Piya speaks with Eltahawy about the society-changing value she sees in anger, attention, ambition, power, profanity, violence, and lust.

Sessi Kuwabara Blanchard identifies as a transgender woman. But when she walks down the street, she says people often see her as a woman who was assigned female at birth (also known as cisgender). Blanchard tells Piya how passing can be liberating for her, but can also carry dangerous risks... and why the mere term is so controversial among transgender people.

"Passing" is the ability to be read as something you are not. While is can be a privilege for some people, it can also come with unforeseen consequences for both them and those who see them. This week, Piya explores the good, the bad and the cost of passing.