A weekly documentary show for people who love narrative podcasts. These are stories you can’t stop thinking about. That you’ll tell your friends about. And that will help you understand what’s going on in Canada, and why. Every week a journalist follows one story, meets the people at its centre, and makes it make sense. Sometimes it’s about people living out the headlines in real life. Sometimes it’s about someone you’ve never heard of, living through something you had no idea was happening. Either way, you’ll go somewhere, meet someone, get the context, and learn something new. (Plus it sounds really good. Mixed like a movie.) One story, well told, every week, from the award-winning team at the CBC Audio Doc Unit.
A weekly documentary show for people who love narrative podcasts. These are stories you can’t stop thinking about. That you’ll tell your friends about. And that will help you understand what’s going on in Canada, and why. Every week a journalist follows one story, meets the people at its centre, and makes it make sense. Sometimes it’s about people living out the headlines in real life. Sometimes it’s about someone you’ve never heard of, living through something you had no idea was happening. Either way, you’ll go somewhere, meet someone, get the context, and learn something new. (Plus it sounds really good. Mixed like a movie.) One story, well told, every week, from the award-winning team at the CBC Audio Doc Unit.
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 Erfan on a treacherous eight-year journey. He hoped to find a safe haven in Indonesia. Instead, he spent years stuck in a refugee prison camp. When he finally reached Canada, Shams vowed to help bring others like himself to safety — and he found the people who could help him do it.
On this week's Storylines, Alisa Siegel follows three strangers from vastly different worlds, united in a single mission: to rescue refugees trapped in Indonesia and help them begin new lives.
Produced by Alisa Siegel and story editing by Liz Hoath. This program originally aired in March 2024
Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit