Whether it's through sheer luck or hard work, you've been handed an opportunity you've maybe only dreamed of. What do you do with it?

Actor Feaven Abera has been hustling in the industry since she was 17 years old. She remembers taking jobs to pay for acting classes, commuting from Hamilton to Toronto and back for auditions and student films, and sometimes coming up short on bus fare. At 25, she was ready to call it quits, until a phone call changed everything.

When Joey Gibbs spotted a lost stuffed bunny at the Vancouver airport, he decided it needed to go on an adventure of a lifetime too before being reunited with the owners.

On a whim, Amanda Buhse entered her name to be a seat filler at the Emmys. When she got the call, she had less than 24 hours to get from Winnipeg to LA and be camera ready to rub elbows with the stars on TV.

Edith Lemay, Sebastian Pelletier and their four children have swam with dolphins in Indonesia, sailed high above Cappadocia in a hot air balloon, and jumped into ancient lakes in Mongolia. But this epic around-the-world-adventure is more than just fun - they're also trying to create 'visual memories' before three of their kids lose their eyesight permanently. 

What do you pack to take to space? How do you handle the fear? And how do you prepare your family to watch you blast off? Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen gets personal ahead of his mission to the moon.

‘Tis the season for exchanging greetings, sending salutations, and dashing off (humblebrag) holiday letters. 

But chances are, there’s someone you haven’t reached out to yet…so what are you waiting for?

Today Now or Never is nudging you to finally get those meaningful messages out into the world, starting with our own Trevor Dineen.

For the past three (!) years, a complete stranger with Trevor’s old phone number, has been redirecting his birthday messages and phone calls. Trevor has never spoken to him, but today, he calls up this helpful stranger to say thanks. 

When her baby boy Lewiston was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Calgary’s Jessica Janzen was determined his short life would be full of joy. That meant dance parties to Can’t Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake. Now, Jessica is trying to get Timberlake to join her in a dance for what would be Lewiston’s 10th birthday.

When Laurie Froman was a teenager growing up in Six Nations of the Grand River, her dad used to do little drawings on her lunch bags, along with this simple message: “Have a good day. Love, Dad.” Laurie tells us why she’s hung on to these paper lunchbags for 35 years, and why the message is even more dear to her since her dad Cecil passed away. 

Toronto’s Cheryl Swanson didn't expect to give birth in her living room, but her son had other plans. Ever since that night she’s held onto a debt of gratitude that she needs to deliver. The question is: twelve years later, can we find the paramedic to make it happen? 

When her colleagues at the University of Regina learned that Angela was fleeing domestic abuse, they stepped up and helped her feel safe. Angela shares the difference it made and how other workplaces can do the same.

Keith Merker wrote a Christmas song to cheer up his wife Lindsay as she was going through chemotherapy. The couple wasn’t in the spirit to enjoy the song at the time, so it collected dust for over a decade…Until this year, when Keith was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. The family is now on a mission to use the song to spread a message of joy and hope as widely and loudly as they possibly can.

This week, stories of people racing to save something before it disappears completely.

For most of his life, Gerry Smerchanski has watched the stars from his property in the small town of Teulon, Manitoba. But now the town has grown up around his home, and the amateur astronomer’s night sky is disappearing because of light pollution. Find out how he’s fighting to preserve the night sky, and why it matters.

After looking all over her Saskatoon home, Barb Rudoski finally found her old wedding video from 1991. Now that she’s transferred the VHS to digital, she’s finally able to take her daughters back in time to the big hair, shoulder pads, and 90s-tastic realness of her wedding day, with hilarious results. 

Where have all the male friendships gone? According to Statistics Canada, we're seeing our friends less often, and have fewer close friends to confide in — and this is especially true for men. Find out how something called the "Wednesday Waffle" is helping Justin, Arman, Sawyer and Mike of the Toronto Dingos Aussie-rules football club stay connected, after suffering a devastating loss on their team.

Life in the small town of Flatrock, N.L. used to revolve around the church — until it was put up for sale. Although they couldn’t save their beloved church, Sonya Power-Parsons and a group of volunteers now dedicate much of their lives to reviving the community cemetery where generations of family members are laid to rest, a place that was also at risk of disappearing forever.

And what happens when you're a little too good at saving things? When her living room was so filled with boxes that there was only a narrow path left to walk through, Colleen Peters knew something needed to change. Hear the tips and tricks that helped her face her collecting problem.

Isabell Weitman has always loved creating, but she turned to art as her creative outlet when she was diagnosed with a nervous system disorder and wasn’t able to work. The BC-based artist creates beautifully eerie pieces using items that a lot of us would never think of saving, including bones, dead insects and dried flowers, plants and fruits. And she recently found an artistic collaborator — an orb weaver spider named Gary, whose webs have become the focal point of Isabell’s works.

Messing things up is part of the human experience.

But what happens when you fail at something so big, and so publicly...how do you come back from that?

On this episode, four people confess their most epic fails, and what they're doing to dig themselves out.

Edmonton’s Kayla Huszar used to cajole, bribe and beg her children to brush their teeth. But her "gentle parenting" approach led to both her kids needing emergency dental surgery, and feelings of failure. How Kayla created boundaries, stopped getting bullied by her kids, and ditched the permissive approach.

When Jeremy Campbell first dreamed up the Line Spike Frontenac music festival this summer, he pictured 20,000 fans in a field, singing along to an all-Canadian lineup featuring Chantal Kreviazuk and Burton Cummings. Instead, his liquor license got revoked, fewer than 4000 people showed up, and he's now over $225,000 in debt. He tells us what went wrong, and why he still has the confidence to try again next year.

Ify takes her mic to Toronto's Metropolitan University, where students confess their biggest academic fails.

After years of gruelling training and international marathons, long-distance runner Natasha Wodak failed all of her attempts to make it to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Now 43 years old, the life-long competitor is learning how to accept where her body is at during this stage of her career — although she still hasn’t ruled out the 2028 Olympic Games.

After an existential crisis in her early 20s, Erica Rankin decided to quit her 9 to 5 job and start a protein cookie dough business. Things were going well at first, but after a mouldy cookie dough incident and some retail flops, Erica was forced to file for bankruptcy and move back in with her parents. She tells us why she's still determined to live the entrepreneurial life, and how she's doing it despite a lot of burned bridges.

Roommates. They can be great, they can save you money....and they can also make your life a living hell.

Roommate households are the fastest growing living arrangement in Canada, so we wanted to know, how are people making it work? (or not)

Five stories of people navigating some tricky real-life moments with their roommates.

Deb King never thought she’d need to find a roommate at 67 years old, but that’s exactly what she’s doing right now. We join her on the hunt for “someone normal,” as she fends off dating requests, does background checks, and just tries to find a home for herself and her dog, Cirque du Soleil.

Jewel Casey and Jordan Woodward have spent the past seven months living together in an apartment in Invermere, B.C.…as exes. Despite the rough patches, sticking out their year-long lease together has led the couple to come to some surprising realizations about where their relationship went wrong.

It's move in day for Marisa, Matt, Chet, and Izabella, a group of friends in Toronto who just bought a 1.3 million dollar home together. They say that co-owning is their only way to crack the Toronto housing market. So how do they decide who takes out the garbage? And what happens if one of them gets a job in another city? They show us the whiteboard and 20-page contract that gets into the nitty-gritty of cohabitating with friends.

After Bev Suek's husband passed away, she realized she didn't like to live alone. So she opened up the doors to her six-bedroom home in Winnipeg, for other 50+ women who don't want to live alone, either. Trevor drops in for a visit with the real-life Golden Girls of Winnipeg, to find out how they handle everything from making meals to overnight guests (wink wink).

Sarah Scanlon and Jennifer McDonald joke that their 1000 square foot, three bedroom bungalow in Guelph is an 'eco-lesbian retreat.' Best friends for the last 17 years, they decided to buy a house together in 2021. And if you think close friends (who also happen to be exes) don’t necessarily make great roommates....Sarah and Jen are here to prove you wrong.

Saying goodbye can be hard — whether it's to a relationship, a job, or the place you call home. On this episode, hear how people knew it was time to say goodbye, and what happened after they walked away.

Ify pops in for one last visit to the Imperial Pub, an iconic neighborhood bar in Toronto that's closing its doors after 81 years. Long-time owner Fred Newman reflects on the end of an era, while regulars raise their glasses for one last toast.

After Donald Trump was elected back to the Oval Office in 2024, Anthony and Dominic Sposato became increasingly uneasy about living in America as a married gay couple with a 10-year-old son. They decided to pack their life into boxes and sell their home in New Jersey, with dreams of moving to Edmonton. But they aren’t yet sure if their application to immigrate across the border will be accepted.

For 21 years, Sam Corbett was the drummer in The Sheepdogs, one of Canada's most successful rock bands. But last month, he decided to call it quits to focus on being a stay-at-home dad. He tells us what it was like to break up with a band he's known since high school, how he's adjusting to life without thousands of adoring fans, and the moment he knew he had to put down his drum sticks for good.

How do you know when it’s time to say goodbye to your marriage? We sit down with Kristen Clancy and Robbie Gruenbauer, who just got divorced a few weeks ago, for a real conversation about what went wrong in their 12 year marriage, and how they managed to stay friendly through the breakup.

Asking what someone does for work is more complicated these days. More than a million Canadians, or 5.6 per cent of the working population, are holding down multiple jobs. So today on Now or Never we’re looking at the art, and real cost, of the side hustle.

After two decades in the education industry, Lethbridge, Alberta teacher Verna Mabin didn’t expect she’d still be working a side hustle…and searching for another. And just wait till you hear what she’s using her extra income to pay for.

By day, Winnipeg’s Sam Davidson works for the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba, but by night, he transforms into the spandex wearing, hip swiveling,  Red Hot Sammy Peppers, bringing the heat inside the wrestling ring. How long can he hold on to his alter ego?

Devon Flynn is an unapologetic job juggler in Prince George, B.C. With ten jobs sending him T4s, you’d think he’d have enough to make ends meet, but when things dried up a few months ago, Devon had to face some tough decisions. How he’s making side hustles work for him. 

For years, Raymond Girard has dreamed about building a business around his love of lego. After getting derailed by a serious bike accident, he’s finally ready to take his side hustle to a fulltime gig. 

Just in time for Halloween, stories of people being scared out-of-their-mind about something, but doing it anyway.

The last time Mike Bahuaud ran a half-marathon, he went into cardiac arrest and collapsed at the finish line, where his heart stopped beating for nearly five minutes. One year later, he's determined to run the exact same marathon, to finish what nearly ended him. 

It was a regular Friday afternoon in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland when Shem Evans was randomly attacked and beaten by seven teenagers while picking up his kids from school. After the attack, fear rocked his family and the community. But when his wife Bailey Rempel didn’t see enough change, she took a leap and ran for city council to try to make things safer for everyone. 

Lynn Sainté has a deep fear of throwing a party where no one shows up. But she also really wants to relive her church choir days, so she's booked a venue, hired some musicians, and sent out the invitations. When Ify checks in, she's only sold three tickets with a week to go. So will anyone show up? Ify joins her friend Lynn on the night of the event, to find out if all the nerves and stress are worth it.

After a traumatic swimming lesson as a child, Aaliyah Hall then discovered two of her family members died from drowning. She's been terrified of the water ever since. But now, she’s part of a group of Black women in Hamilton who are learning how to float without fear.

“Everything that mattered to me in my life, was stripped.” In a matter of months Judi Rees learned of the sexual abuse her children experienced, became dangerously ill, and ended her 30-year marriage. After living through a season of terrifying events, Judi shares what she’s learned from the other side.

If you, like us, are not a runner, it might seem nuts to risk the muscle pain, the boredom, not to mention the chafing. So we asked a bunch of people what keeps them moving, and got some really surprising answers.

Four days ago, Tata Shifrin finished her first full marathon in Toronto. Which is not what her doctors would have predicted, since she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014 and told she would likely be using a cane or wheelchair by now. The single mom tells us how what started as a sarcastic joke to her Russian grandmother is now a promise she's making to herself, and her three children.

Three times a week, the Running on Faith run club gathers at dawn on the streets of Surrey, B.C. What makes this run club a little different is that everyone connected to it lives in a shelter or recovery center. Founder

Andie Van Der Eerden tells us how she took her own battle with depression and anxiety and turned it into a mission of hope.

The kids in the Windbreakers Indigenous Youth Running Club in St. Albert, Alberta tell us about the connection between sweetgrass and running, and why it's always a good idea to put sage in your sneakers.

When Luc Zoratto stopped using drugs and alcohol, he started running. A lot. After years of non-stop training and marathon finishes, Luc is falling out of love with the sport that gave him so much.

Newfoundland’s Florence Barron is running in one of the most challenging road races in the country…at the age of 87. It’s not her first time competing, and as long as her body allows her, she says it won’t be her last. 

From endorphin highs to perimenopausal lows, hormones can wreak all kinds of havoc on our bodies and emotions. So how are people dealing, and why don't we talk about it more? Ten Canadians get real about navigating through puberty, perimenopause, male infertility and all the other hormonally charged events that turn our worlds upside down.

What happens when your instrument betrays you? Winnipeg Boys' Choir singers Colton Johnson and Sal Tait open up about the awkward, funny and heartbreaking reality of singing through puberty. 

13-year-old Rayne recently came out as transgender to his mom, Jolene Murdoch, and has begun talking to her about gender-affirming care options like hormone therapy. It’s something Jolene is just beginning to wrap her head around, but now there is a new sense of urgency: The family lives in Alberta, where the provincial government is considering using the notwithstanding clause to implement a law that would prevent doctors from providing puberty blockers and hormone therapy to youth under 16. 

Abbie Hentges knows just how impactful hormones can be. Last year, she was diagnosed with a mood disorder called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) that is so debilitating, her husband Ryan describes it as 'At breakfast, she's one person. By dinner time, she's another person." Abbie is now on a journey to rebuild her relationship with her husband and her condition.

Is there anything funny about perimenopause? Saskatoon musician Farideh Olsen thinks so. She is channeling her hot flashes and mood swings into hilarious songs and videos about riding that hormonal rollercoaster without losing your sense of humour.

When Laura Spencer and Emanuel Nazareth were trying to conceive, they had no idea of the emotional roller coaster that lay ahead of them. Male factor infertility. Two gruelling rounds of IVF. And years of ups and downs as they struggled to create the family they’d always dreamed of. They tell us why it's so hard to talk about male infertility, and what they're doing to break the taboo.

Going through puberty is hard enough. But for Jenni Kausch, the bodily changes brought on by puberty were life changing in more ways than one. Now, she’s finally getting treatment for lipedema — and raising awareness of the condition.

If you could fix just one thing, what would it be? Affordability? Mental health? Your love life?

Big problems feel like they need big solutions, but this week on Now or Never, Ify Chiwetelu and Trevor Dineen are jumping in with Canadians who are putting simple fixes to the test. Not content to just complain, these people are doing something to make a change.

Retired social worker Paul Jenkinson is out to fix loneliness with two folding chairs and a homemade sign. He gave up the lease on his home in Nova Scotia to jump in his car and pop up in parking lots, parks and sidewalks across Canada with a simple offer: to listen to strangers, about anything. Trevor tags along on a listening session and gets a surprise.

Wikipedia is the internet’s encyclopedia - but its entries are incomplete, with only one in every five entries featuring a woman. That’s where Toronto journalist Takara Small comes in: trying to fix the world’s most-read encyclopedia, one entry at a time.

Krista Nugent has been single for five years. She's gone on dates and has had her fair share of conversations on the apps, but hasn't had much luck finding something that lasts. Refusing to leave her dating life up to chance, the Victoria-based realtor is doing what she knows works for getting houses sold - marketing herself.

Ruth Hasman operates on stuffed toys for a living. The Vancouver-based teddy bear doctor has patched up hundreds upon hundreds of stuffed toys from across the country over the past three decades. At 82 years old, repairing people’s beloved furry keepsakes still brings her joy, and she hopes to carry on her legacy and pass on her skills to a new generation of tinkerers.

When Melissa Porter decided to collect used clothing donations for a family whose house burned down in Sudbury, she and her husband Drew never expected that simple fix would take over their house, and their lives. How a clothes drive grew into a non-profit organization with a team of nearly 100 volunteers from around the world.

What does it take to change your mind about something? At a time when people seem more entrenched in their beliefs than ever before, we're highlighting stories of flip-flops, U-turns, and changes of heart. 

Feeling unhappy in her body, disappointed in her career, and battling depression, Daria Kropop booked a one-way ticket from London, England to Toronto and vowed to completely transform her life. And she's given herself 365 days to do it. We check in on her on day 250 to see how it’s going.

Jordan Man has been a Toronto Maple Leafs superfan since childhood, spending every Saturday night watching Hockey Night In Canada with his family. But every year the team would break his heart in the playoffs. After his partner Emery Mather called him out for taking the Leafs' losses too personally, he decided it was time to break up with them for good. 

Melanie Chambers was always dead-set against marriage. So how did she end up spontaneously proposing to the love of her life on the dance floor at her 50th birthday party? She tells us how she came around from thinking marriage is a raw deal for women.

And Claudemier Bighetty takes us to the encampment in Winnipeg where he lived when he was addicted, homeless, and involved with gangs. Now he’s two years sober, married, and works to help others leave homelessness behind. So what does it really take to change when you had your first drink at age six, and your criminal record is as thick as a brick? Claudemier and his partner Deidra share their love story.

Total consumer debt hit a record high in Canada this year, with the average Canadian owing $22,000 in non-mortgage debt. So how are students, seniors, and maxed-out families tackling their debt head on? (and why is it so hard to talk about?)

On this episode, people get real about what they owe, how they got there — and the surprising ways they're digging themselves out.

First up, Ify Chiwetelu ventures out to Toronto's Trinity Bellwoods Park armed wiith her microphone and one nosy question: How much debt do you have?

Jake Sanford was a rising star in baseball with a $590,000 signing bonus and a swing that got him drafted by the New York Yankees. But behind the stats was a gambling addiction that cost him everything. 

Rachel Garand never thought she'd still be working at age 80, handing out food samples at Costco. But with $16,000 in high-interest credit card debt, Rachel's golden years are anything but golden.

For Danica Nelson, debt has never been an option. In fact, at 35, she’s never even received a credit card bill with a balance owing. And while her stringent approach to money has kept her financially healthy for years, it’s also left her indebted in other ways.

Every month, Esosa Idahosa and six of her friends each put $1000 into a pot of money, and one of them collects. It's called an ajo — or an esusu, or sou-sou — and Esosa says it's been a game changer helping her attain her financial goals.

And want to retire by 35, with no debt, living in one of the most expensive cities in Canada? We revisit a conversation with Stephanie Williams and Celestian Rince, who are on track to do exactly that.

When you're a fan of something, it can take over your whole life. So what's behind the roots of our various obsessions, and how far would you go for your fandom? Today we're taking you inside the world of superfans.

Adrian Ma loves the band Oasis so much, he flew 5000 km to see them kick off their long-awaited reunion tour this summer in Cardiff, Wales. Without a ticket. So does he find a way in, or did he just make the dumbest (and most expensive) mistake of his life? Adrian takes us along on an epic adventure of finding your tribe, the power of music, and the magical moments that can bring an entire community together.

When Tristan Sacrey lost his dad suddenly, he didn’t know how to process his grief. So he turned to the thing he enjoyed most about their time together: Scooby Doo. Now, with more than 3000 collectibles in his home office, Tristan has turned his grief into joy (and it's also helped him find love with a fellow Scooby Doo fanatic).

If you’re a fan of anime, video games, comic books, or sci-fi, and you've never experienced a convention — this is your chance. Ify heads to Toronto's Fan Expo to ask cosplayers about the time and money that goes into dressing up, and what they get out of it. 

72-year-old Fredericton grandpa Larry Canam might not seem like the kind of guy to have millions of fans on TikTok, but his low-fi milkshake videos have turned him into a social media superstar. He tells us how making milkshakes on his 50-year-old blender is helping brighten people's lives during difficult times.

Jaycen is a member of the furry fandom, a diverse community of fans who love to dress up as anthropomorphic characters. Jaycen’s family in rural Alberta have always supported his furry identity. But now that he’s in university with hopes of being a teacher, he’s grappling with whether he should hide this core part of his identity because of stereotypes that could affect his future career.

People are using AI in surprising ways, and it's raising all kinds of questions: Should I be asking this chatbot for relationship advice? What about bringing someone's voice back from the dead? On this episode, hear how people are navigating the possibilities, fears, and weirdness of AI right now.

First up, Trevor takes his mic to the streets, to ask people how they're using AI to solve a real problem in their lives right now - from personal therapy sessions, to budgeting, to existential questions about God.

Meet Danielle Boyer, who was inspired by the Tickle Me Elmo doll to make a robot that uses AI to teach kids her community's language, Anishinaabemowin. Thinking deeply about the ethics of AI and technology, Danielle says just because you can build it, doesn't mean you should.

Six months ago, Nile Séguin began asking ChatGPT questions about how to improve his life. Today, “Chat” has become his go-to organizer, problem solver, and cheerleader that he messages everyday - and he's not entirely sure how he feels about that.

After Alec Cooper was diagnosed with ALS, a terminal disease that will leave him paralyzed and take away his ability to speak, he decided to clone his voice using AI. Alec and his wife Sylvie Barma are discovering there’s more to the AI voice clone than they expected, including its role in helping them cope with Alec’s diagnosis.

And we'll bring you the story of a former punk band who are using AI to reunite with their lead singer, 40 years after he died. Lloyd Peterson and Chris Maxfield tell us about the experience of playing music again with their late friend Iggy Morningstar, and how it helped them process his death for the first time.

Congratulations, you've done the thing you set out to do. Your first half-marathon. A dream job. Mastering the ukulele. But what happens AFTER you accomplish something big? On this episode, stories of people trying to figure that out.

In her twenties, Eman Bare personified 'girl boss' hustle culture. She earned degrees in law and journalism, designed clothes that showed at New York Fashion Week, became a certified yoga instructor, and wrote 11 books - all before the age of 30. Today, her main goal is to be in bed by eight. This recovering overachiever tells us how burnout taught her to finally say the word 'no.'

Jimmy Chau was excited to run his first full-marathon, he just wasn't expecting it would take him nearly seven hours to do it. He tells us about finishing dead-last in the Manitoba Marathon, and who was there for him at the end.

When Ben Scrivens retired from his career as an NHL goalie in 2016, he had to figure out how to get a “real job” for the first time in his life. Ben tells Trevor why he chose to get a master's degree in social work, helping other retired players deal with the jealousies, ego adjustments and hard truths that he struggled with after hanging up the skates for good.

And Syrian-Canadian Amrou Nayal is about to visit Syria for the first time in 16 years. He reflects on lost hope, sacrifices, and staying loyal to the revolution when others gave up, and tells Ify how this moment has allowed him to dream again about the future for Syria.