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Now or Never

Now or Never

By: CBC
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In a world that can feel pretty scary, it’s easy to get stuck. This is a show that celebrates what it takes to try. To take the risk. To have the talk. To rock the speedo. Because making even the tiniest change takes courage, and hosts Ify and Trevor are here to remind you that you’re not alone when you do. New episodes every Thursday.

Copyright © CBC 2026
Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Surprise! Our 10th anniversary live show gets wild
    Apr 23 2026

    Now or Never celebrates ten years of diving in with people as they gather the courage to take a leap into the unknown, with a live show from Winnipeg's Gas Station Arts Centre!


    There are always surprises in a Now or Never story, and this live show is no exception.


    Winnipeg couple Trish Cooper and Sam Vint’s life together has been filled with hilarious and surprising (mis)adventures together, including culture shock on the rez, surprise gummy overdoses, and discovering your partner is an accidental fugitive. After 23 years together, can Sam pull off a surprise for Trish live on stage?


    Musician Boy Golden shares songs from his new album, and a truly jaw-dropping story from the road.


    Now or Never all-star Vivian Ketchum is back for a record fifth appearance on the show. We were there when she graduated high school at 58, sat on her bed as she shared the residential school memories that keep her up at night, and joined her at the post office opening letters from Canadians across the country sharing their reconciliation commitments. What is Vivian up to now? Dating! Hear her raw and unfiltered takes on sex and dating in her sixties.


    Two months ago, Jo Dworschak quit her job to follow her dream of being a full-time storyteller and comedian. She joins us on stage to share how fixing a broken elevator in a bathing suit at 17, lit the spark for the life she’s living today.


    Hundreds of Canadians have shared their stories on Now or Never over the years. Can Ify and Trevor remember them all? We challenge them with a game of "Guess the Guest," as past guests pop up on stage with three clues, while a blindfolded Trevor and Ify try to figure out who they are.


    Plus, Ify and Trevor try their best to surprise each other.

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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Breakups are hard! How to get over a heartbreak
    Apr 16 2026

    Breakups can look a lot of different ways: slow dissolves, out-of-nowhere blow-outs, mutual partings-of-ways. But the truth is, they all hurt. Today on Now or Never, we revisit the stories of people in the thick of it, and the surprising ways they're getting through.


    When Litia Fleming broke up with Richard Kemick after 10 years together, it came as a shock to Richard. But two weeks later, they got an even bigger jolt: Litia was pregnant. Find out how these exes are juggling new parenthood, dating, and the joys and challenges of living together after breaking up.


    After a painful divorce, Saba Ahmad vowed to go to law school and become the lawyer she never had. She graduated last spring, and is providing support to other South Asian women facing the end of a marriage, as she pursues her last steps to becoming a lawyer.


    Three years ago, exhausted from all the arguing, nagging and fighting, Jessyka and Jordan Hagen called it quits — only to realize their breakup would eventually save their marriage.


    Host Ify Chiwetelu heads to Next Generation Arts, a youth arts organization in Scarborough, to learn lessons on wading through heartbreak.


    And we crash a support group helping men talk about their emotions after a breakup - but if you’re late, expect to do push-ups.

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    54 mins
  • How do you save a community that's on life support?
    Apr 9 2026

    Towns and neighbourhoods all across the country are facing their own challenges. Now or Never is flying into a few to find out what it really takes to hold a community together, when everything's trying to pull it apart.


    Little Jamaica has been the heart of Toronto for generations of Caribbean and African residents and entrepreneurs. Then the subway came. It took 15 years of constant construction to build the new line. It meant years of constant headaches for business owners. Now the ones who are left say they need more than community spirit to stay alive and vibrant. Jason McDonald, the owner of a beauty salon in the area and chair of the Little Jamaica BIA, shares what's at stake and takes us on a tour of the neighbourhood.


    It took far longer to start an intentional community from scratch than Ron Berezan anticipated. But after a decade, construction equipment is in the ground at Blueberry Commons in Powell River, B.C., a co-housing project where everyone farms the same land, shares amenities, and makes decisions together. They plan on opening this summer, but there’s still a lot to do before Ron and the team’s dream officially becomes reality.


    There’s a revolution going on inside Winnipeg’s Good and Plenty Arts Collective Clubhouse, where women and gender diverse musicians take the lead and learn the techniques of music production, creating community along the way. Lana Winterhalt and Veronica Blackhawk tell us why that's so important.


    The remote town of Faro, Yukon has surplus housing at prices that are rare to find in other parts of the country — and mayor Jack Bowers is trying to convince people to move in. The town’s population dropped significantly after a zinc mine in the community shut down in the '90s. Jack says Faro has slowly been rising from the ashes since, but more people need to move in for the town to sustain itself in the long-term.


    Darrell Warren is determined to fight crime in his neighbourhood. At 64 years old he’s voluntarily staking out drug houses in Winnipeg’s north end, and starting a tip line so other community members can come forward as witnesses, and help him try to make change. But is it safe?

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    54 mins
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