How can we recognize quiet? Is it the same way that we know a colour is black when we see it? The relativity of quiet in relation to noise intrigued me and I wanted to explore this idea in sounds I collected while exploring.

A selection of my audio creations.
How can we recognize quiet? Is it the same way that we know a colour is black when we see it? The relativity of quiet in relation to noise intrigued me and I wanted to explore this idea in sounds I collected while exploring.
The MENDing program at the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre works with men in the Peterborough area to educate and prevent gender-based violence. The program approaches ideas of gender expression and how violence factors into how society constructs masculinity – then attempts to break down those rigid ideas. Listen to the interview with Ted Lohrenz, MENding […]
On October 27, 2018 community members gathered by the Otonabee River in downtown Peterborough. They donned hard hats and work boots—picked up pry bars and hammers—and they got to work removing layers of asphalt from a municipal roadway. It’s the first Depave Day of many to come, organized by GreenUp, as part of Green Communities […]
If you drive North of downtown Peterborough, after about a half hour you will pass through the village of Burleigh Falls. There’s a roadside inn, a gas station, a restaurant, a boat launch — and if you stop at this little pit stop and keep a sharp eye you might spot the darting tails of […]
The election on October 28, 2018 wound up being an historic event – because this newly inaugurated City Council is the first in Peterborough’s history that has representation of Black Canadians. And we elected not just one black City Councillor – but two! Kemi Akapo and Stephen Wright will represent Town Ward and Northcrest Ward […]
Gender Journeys is a program offered by the Canadian Mental Health Association — and it’s a program I’ve heard about a lot over the last few years from friends of mine. It’s a support program for trans people, their friends, family, partners and other loved ones. For the trans community in Peterborough, it seems like […]
During the 2018 municipal election, Peterborough voters cast their ballots and the majority voted out incumbent mayor Daryl Bennett and voted in Diane Therrien, previously City Councillor for Town Ward. In light of this change, we invited Mayor-elect Diane Therrien to join us on our live show, broadcast through the facilities of Trent Radio. Co-hosts […]
This season, catch Peterborough Currents live on Trent Radio (92.7 FM) every Sunday morning from 10:00-11:30 a.m. You will hear extended versions of interviews and documentaries which will appear in the podcast. Plus there will be live guests in studio and phone in to share your thoughts live on the air. Each week there will […]
Nine interviews with the candidates for, and the acclaimed trustees and student trustees of the English public school board for the Kawartha Pine Ridge District. City of Peterborough candidates: Wayne Bonner (00:06:20), Dennis Hildebrand (00:18:10), Rose Kitney (00:26:15), and Steve Russell (00:38:50). County of Peterborough candidates and acclaimed trustees: Diane Lloyd (00:50:58), Shirley Patterson (01:00:43), […]
During every municipal election, eligible voters are able to cast their ballots for candidates running for municipal office. In the City of Peterborough, that means voting for the next mayor, voting for your city Councillor, and it also means voting for your local school board trustee. Local media and voters pay a lot of attention […]
In last August and early September, I spotted some posters appearing around downtown Peterborough advertising the Stonewall Revolutionary Committee. The name immediately sparked an interest in me and I wanted to learn more about the people invoking the name of the famous Stonewall Riots for a Peterborough Pride event. I spoke with three organizing members […]
Every Monday in Peterborough, right when City Council sits down for their weekly meetings, across the street Food Not Bombs Peterborough is setting up tables and laying out a free community meal, open to all.
Seven years ago, Janice Keil set out on a mission to find a perfect plot of land. She loaded up her bike, took the GO train, and cycled around Southern Ontario looking for an ideal location for her new home.
What is it like to confront Harvey Weinstein or to be swept up by the ‘antifa’ movement? Listen to the most significant stories of this year.
During the First World War, many women embarked on an adventure going overseas to serve in the Armed Forces as Nursing Sisters. For some, it was the farthest they’ve ever been from home and in many ways it was a lonely, harrowing and somber experience. We know this based on letters these nursing sisters wrote and sent back home.
Every little nook and cranny of Sadleir House was filled with music for two days in July of 2017 thanks to the organizing efforts of summer student Angelica Cooper. Unfortunately I couldn’t speak with all the artists, but I did speak with a lot of them! Hear them speak about the festival, their music and Sadleir House in this sound collage from Sad Fest.
It was a peaceful gathering for most of the day. The counter rally ‘Love Lives Here’ congregated at Emmanuel United Church, across the street from the park where a rally planned by Kevin Goudreau, a known white supremacist, was expected to be held.
The panel engaged in conversation about the critical importance of art and performance to the shaping of national identities and the emergence of a post-colonial Canada. This relevant and important discussion will include participating VOAN artists and local indigenous artists and intellectuals: Rebecca Cuddy, Ian Cusson, Nadia McLaren, Cara Mumford, Brian Solomon, Alice Williams, William […]
A master canoe builder visits Peterborough and shares his knowledge with young people, and with me in this radio documentary.
These are the highlights from Trent Radio’s live broadcast from Hunter Street on July 1 during the day-long street festival celebrating arts and culture in Peterborough. Electric City Culture Council and Artspace invited media artists to create a silent film with the theme of “recasting the past and inventing alternative futures.” Musicians and sound artists […]
A holiday program about disability disclosure for CBC Radio.
Peterborough has long embraced the extraordinary beauty of the heritage buildings that grace its downtown and the value and significance of both their architectural and social history. These buildings are the “jewels in our crown” and so are the dozens of artists, curators, writers, and gallerists who live and work there. Numerous restaurants, bars and […]
In speeches delivered at The Walrus Talks, accessibility advocate Aimee Louw imagines a future when she can access services without barriers, and Azeezah Kanji, director of the Noor Cultural Centre, interrogates racism and systems of exclusion in Canada.
Live from Sadleir House, Sounds Like Life braved a performance in front of a live studio audience. Part of Peterborough Independent Podcasters Pints & Podcasts pub night, I joined a number of other vulnerable podcasters getting onto the stage to lay our podcasts bare for all to see. I selected some sounds from the past […]
Originally published: https://soundslikelife.ptbopodcasters.ca/podcast/episode-4-the-one-with-all-the-donkeys/ There’s no question that the donkeys, mules and miniature horses at the Primrose Donkey Sanctuary in Roseneath, Ont. are well taken care of. Sheila Burns and her volunteers make the rounds every day to take care of these retired animals, many of which have stories of abuse and neglect. One afternoon in […]
The Primrose Donkey Sanctuary gives a home to discarded animals in Ontario. With the price of hay so high, there’s a lot of donkeys up for auction and owner Sheila Burns has her hands full with these guys.
On Saturday October 22, 2016, my family gathered in Sudbury, Ont. We were celebrating the 90th birthday of my lovely grandmother, Margaret. Over 100 people congregated in the church basement that day: a mix of my grandma’s family, extended family, old friends, new friends… people who were mostly strangers to me. Ahead of time, I […]
The Trans-Canada Trail is touted as the longest network of trails in the world. When completed, it will span the length of Canada, going from the tip of Newfoundland, to the Arctic Ocean in the Northwest Territories, and over to Vancouver Island. For my birthday, my partner and I went to none of those places. […]
Don Peters is the principal of the Aqsarniit Ilinniarvik Middle School in Iqaluit. In the past seven years that he’s held the position, he’s put his efforts towards finding programs that engage students and improve the attendance rates. http://mp3.cbc.ca/radio/CBC_Radio_VMS/981/979/checkup_20160305_28360_uploaded.mp3 “The attendance rates seven years ago were hovering around 60-62 per cent. Today, our attendance rates […]
Around the end of September and beginning of October, I had the amazing experience of helping James Whetung of the Curve Lake First Nation harvest wild rice in what he calls “the wild rice basket of the world”. Wild rice (manoomin in Anishnaabemowin) is a grain indigenous to the Central Ontario area, as well as […]
Fatima Abdul-Rahman is pleased the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, is reopening this weekend. But, after barely surviving the attack at the mall, she doesn’t want to work there anymore. When Al-Shabaab terrorists attacked the Westgate nearly two years ago, they killed 67 people and injured more than 175 others. Abdul-Rahman was one of those […]
It’s the kind of publicity a small business owner dreams of. Rock star walks into your store, puts on one of your coats. Pictures are taken. Images are then sent around the world. That’s what happened to shop owner Darren Halloran this weekend. He took a photo with Rod Stewart wearing one of his coats at his St. […]
A 72-year-old mystery was solved recently when Clay Bonnyman Evans found the remains of his grandfather, Lt. Alexander Bonnyman Jr, a WWII war hero lost since the Battle of Tarawa. Evans has been living with the legacy of his grandfather since his whole life. “I grew up with that medal of honour on my family’s […]