This is Ottawa

For one week only we’re calling ourselves 'This is Ottawa, Illinois'. Robyn Bresnahan reaches out to the city south of the border to talk to fellow Ottawans about life there, how they’ve been thinking about the US Presidential election and what comes next.

Since 1982, Yangtze restaurant on Somerset Street has been a destination for lovers of dim sum. But the family behind it has decided it’s time to move on. Robyn Bresnahan meets its manager to find out why, what’s next and what its closure means to the families who’ve been eating there through the generations.

Depending on who you ask, roundabouts are either Ottawa’s answer to keep traffic flowing -- or 'pedestrian death traps'. Robyn Bresnahan heads to Ottawa’s newest roundabout in Orleans to hear why the City is in favour of building more roundabouts and how an engineer navigates criticism from those who feel they’re a dangerous waste of space.

Podcast listener Matt Bell has always been curious about something. Given that a central part of the city is surrounded by two rivers and the canal - is it technically an island? We took his question to a geology expert who initially guffawed and then dug into her stash of city maps to come up with an answer.

They’re read at sporting events, music festivals, school assemblies, corporate conferences and city hall meetings. But have they become more performative than meaningful? Robyn Bresnahan meets two women from different First Nations who share similar views on what land acknowledgements ought to include to make them more than “white noise”.

There are nearly 9000 students living in college and university dorm rooms in Ottawa. So what’s dorm life like? And how much has changed in the nearly three decades since host Robyn Bresnahan lived in residence? She takes a trip down memory lane to find out.

In 2018 a boutique hotel called The O’Brien opened to great fanfare in Gatineau Park. The derelict mansion overlooking Meech Lake had been given a multi-million dollar facelift  - funded by taxpayers. But the following year, it was closed. What happened? Robyn Bresnahan investigates.  

Mathieu Grondin says he’s been in “listening mode” all summer since being appointed Ottawa’s new nightlife commissioner. So what did he hear? Robyn Bresnahan meets him for an evening stroll – ending up at an Ottawa speakeasy – where he gets a grilling from three night owls.

There’s a community garden at the corner of Somerset and Preston streets. But if Can Le’s dream comes to fruition, shovels will soon be in the ground for a brand new museum to commemorate the Vietnamese “boat people”. Robyn Bresnahan digs into the story of how Ottawans opened their homes and hearts to thousands of refugees in what became known as Project 4000.

Between the Ottawa River, the Rideau Canal and the Rideau River, Ottawa has some prime waterfront space. So why aren’t there more cafes and restaurants along it? Robyn Bresnahan goes for a bike ride with a chef who sees so much potential along Ottawa’s waterways. Plus, an urban planner weighs in with a bird’s eye view.

Clubs, bars, internet dating — so much of queer culture is focused on spaces for young people. So where does one go to find connection in their senior years? Robyn Bresnahan meets two longtime friends determined to create a safe community for Ottawa’s 2SLGBTQ+ community as they age. NOTE: This episode has been corrected. The original version misgendered one guest.

Ottawa’s Glenroy Gilbert was part of the relay team which famously defeated the Americans in the 1996 Summer Olympics, bringing home gold for Canada in the 4x100m. Although it was the highlight of his sporting career, he confesses to Robyn Bresnahan he wishes he’d done things differently.

Life after an Olympic medal isn’t always easy. When the extreme training, intense discipline, physical pain and world travel suddenly ends, some athletes can end up in a dark place. Robyn Bresnahan talks to a decorated Ottawa paddler who’s now helping fellow Olympians transition from one stage of life into another. Please note that this episode discusses mental health with a brief mention of suicide.

You can rent an e-scooter in Ottawa with the scan of a QR code - but not a bike. While Montreal and other cities have had great success with bike-sharing, why did Ottawa’s past attempts deflate? Robyn Bresnahan hears about the wheels in motion to bring bike sharing back.

Residents in and around Calgary were asked to restrict their water use after a massive water main rupture. A local state of emergency was declared and infrastructure experts said the crisis should be a wake-up call for other cities too. Robyn Bresnahan wades into Ottawa’s system and hears about the work that's been going on since a local scare in 2011.

At 150 years old, Mechanicsville is proud of its blue-collar history. But like many other Ottawa neighbourhoods, old buildings are being replaced with new condos. Robyn Bresnahan takes a look under Mechanicsville’s ‘hood with a long-time resident who doesn’t want to see gentrification replace its gritty roots.

“The Pond” in Rockcliffe Park is a bucolic swimming hole in the city. But the lake right next to it is off limits to the public. Only residents who have homes backing on to the lake can swim or boat in it. How did this come to be? Robyn Bresnahan dives into the history of McKay Lake and hears how it’s more complicated than a tale of posh versus plebe.

"A lot of people laughed in my face and told me I should try hairdressing": tradeswomen in Ottawa have heard that - and worse. Despite a shortage of skilled workers, women are still under-represented. Robyn Bresnahan visits a garage in Manotick to hear what life is like for the only woman working there.

He’s a successful Ottawa musician. But Jim Bryson says he wishes he’d also trained in the trades. Robyn Bresnahan visits his home studio in Stittsville to hear why he thinks people ought to sing a different tune about the trades -- and he says Ottawa’s “classism” does nothing to help.

There’s a place in Ottawa where tens of thousands of foreign flags live. Robyn Bresnahan gets a tour from the woman in charge and finds herself feeling lucky she brought a secret weapon when an impromptu quiz on world flags breaks out. 

People have done some pretty weird things during the past 50 years of the Ottawa Race Weekend. But Hugh Neilson’s stunt might take the cake. Robyn joins the theatre director to hear why he intends to run 42 kilometres whilst singing and playing a ukulele. Plus a short history of other oddities.

If you shop at a farmers market or get a local veggie delivery, you may have noticed something. Those behind the stalls are fairly young. Robyn Bresnahan digs into why organic farming is an attractive career for a new crop of first generation farmers.

When Ottawa hosted its first PWHL game, it broke an attendance record for a women’s professional hockey game. It’s a night Hayley Scamurra won’t forget - not least because she scored the first goal for Ottawa. Robyn Bresnahan recruits a young player with the Nepean Wildcats to interview Hayley about that goal, living in Ottawa and having to switch her Ottawa jersey for her Team USA jersey to face-off against her teammates. 

As you drive to the Ottawa airport, there’s a sign for Thad Johnson Private. It’s a small road with an incredible story. Robyn Bresnahan dives in with an amateur historian who began researching after seeing a particular photo of one of the world’s most famous aviators' visit to Ottawa.

It’s a popular travel route for pleasure boaters…But not many people dare to dip a toe into the canal, let alone swim. Should they? An 80-year-old triathlete shares how he swam in the canal and lived to tell the tale, and a biologist tells Robyn what’s REALLY in that water. 

He’s a professor at Algonquin College. His husband is a nurse. But home ownership remains out of reach. In the same week the federal budget gives a nod to renters, we’ll meet a couple who feel they’ve done everything right, but still can’t climb onto Ottawa’s housing ladder. 

Ottawa used to have a plethora of movie theatres downtown. What ever became of them? And what does a city lose when most of its downtown theatres are shuttered? Robyn Bresnahan meets the man who literally wrote the book on the history of Ottawa's cinemas.

Black bears in the Byward Market. Beavers on Sparks Street. Wild turkeys disrupting traffic in Barrhaven. Ottawa frequently contends with wildlife. But sometimes it ends badly - usually for the animals. Robyn Bresnahan explores how we can better live in harmony.

Ottawa has some mighty fine breweries. And while most are in the business of selling booze, some have started crafting alcohol-free options to cater to a generation re-thinking their drinking. Host Robyn Bresnahan finds out whether brewmasters see the sober curious movement as a threat or an opportunity. 

It’s been decades since the late columnist Allan Fotheringham dubbed Ottawa “the town fun forgot.” So why does that stale old stereotype persist? Host Robyn Bresnahan meets a cast of characters with theories and ideas of the story the city should be telling about itself.

We’re handing it over to the kids this week to dream up their ideal March break. Host Robyn Bresnahan heads to an elementary school in Stittsville and hears what a holiday at home would look like with kids at the helm. And then two parents share their top tips for things to do on an Ottawa staycation. 

A rare solar eclipse is taking place on Monday, April 8th. Schools will be closed because it’s deemed unsafe for students to be outside without proper eye protection. But some parents and school trustees question whether that’s the right move - and if it will actually lead to the opposite outcome.

Sometimes it’s cloudy. Sometimes it’s bubbly. And depending on the time of year you drink it, Ottawa’s water tastes different. Robyn Bresnahan heads to the source of it all and taps into the expertise of an engineer who’s spent his life thinking about drinking water.

Move over Beavertails, poutine and shawarma. Robyn Bresnahan goes for a meal with the couple behind the hugely popular Eat the Strip blog to find out what they think Ottawa’s new quintessential food is and the story it tells about our city.

If you've ever tried online dating you'll know it's a world of hit and miss. This week Robyn Bresnahan meets a woman who had more misses than matches and decided to seek love the old fashioned way.

Ottawa used to have a grand main train station right downtown. That building is now the temporary home of the Senate. The city’s current train terminal sits five kilometres away in the east-end. Robyn Bresnahan hops on the train with a self-described ‘railhead’ to talk about whether that move was the right one.

If you've ever been to a sports event at Lansdowne stadium, you've likely noticed the gleaming condo overlooking the field. Who lives there? And what's it like when 20-thousand strangers converge on your "front yard" on game days? Robyn Bresnahan heads up to the ninth floor to find out.

Snow. We trudge through it, get stuck in it, shovel too much of it. But some question whether the city has its priorities backwards when it comes to what gets plowed first. Host Robyn Bresnahan digs into Ottawa's snowplow plan.