It’s our 50th episode!!! To celebrate - we did it live on stage at Red Bird. Five Ottawans got up in front of a packed audience and told stories about when this city surprised them. This week we’re airing the first two stories, starting at a bygone beloved local diner. Pull up a stool and enjoy.

Young Addy Myers was kicked in the chest by a horse, causing a rupture to her heart. She was airlifted to hospital by a specialized team from the children's hospital, CHEO. Robyn Bresnahan hears the story and gets a chopper ride with the crew responsible for emergency care in the air.

Rates of HIV are rising in Ottawa. But a diagnosis today is not the death sentence it once was. Robyn Bresnahan goes for tea with someone who tested positive shortly after arriving in Canada. They talk about finding love, keeping secrets from family and what happened when they decided to disclose their HIV status to their boss.

Rats coming up through toilet bowls. Rats hanging from bird feeders. What can be done once rats decide to make your home THEIR home? One city councillor has suggested rodent birth control. Another says education and prevention is the answer. Robyn Bresnahan meets a woman whose backyard was overtaken by rats - and rings up Alberta’s ‘rat czar’ to hear how that province stays (mostly) rat-free.

Some of Ottawa’s corner stores have been around for decades. But their numbers are shrinking. Robyn Bresnahan goes behind the counter to find out what life is like, how booze is changing the game and what would be lost if independent corner shops continue to close.

Lice lice baby. After a COVID siesta, lice are back. And so too is a strain referred to as “super lice”. Robyn Bresnahan combs through how to spot the difference and hears why one pharmacist says the current Canadian guidelines on treating lice need to be updated.

Fasten your seatbelts and hear what happens when host Robyn Bresnahan gets a lift from Manotick to City Hall with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. When they hit gridlock, Robyn surprises the Mayor with questions from Ottawans between the ages of 12 and 73. And when the Mayor boasts he can sing - she challenges him to prove it. It’s Carpool Mayor-aoke! Kind of.

The made-for-TV movie industry is booming. Particularly when it comes to holiday rom-coms. Robyn Bresnahan hears why producers love Ottawa as a location for these schmaltzy flicks - and what it takes to make the city look like Christmas in the middle of summer.