Explore: A Canadian Geographic podcast

In this episode of Explore, host David McGuffin sits down with lawyer, conservationist, former senior aide to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and one of Canada's most accomplished Arctic paddlers, Ted Johnson.For more than two decades, Johnson and a remarkable group of friends, including diplomats, journalists, cabinet ministers, and occasionally Pierre Trudeau himself, set out each summer to canoe some of the most remote rivers in northern Canada. From the Hood and Coppermine rivers to little-known rivers on Banks Island and Ellesmere Island, Johnson shares stories of first descents, close calls, vast caribou migrations, and landscapes few Canadians will ever see. Along the way, he reflects on a changing Arctic, the evolution of wilderness travel, and what it was like to paddle and camp alongside one of Canada's most transformational Prime Ministers. This captivating episode explores a remarkable era of northern exploration and the enduring pull of Canada's wild rivers.Ted Johnson is a lawyer, conservationist, pilot, and former senior advisor to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. An Officer of the Order of Canada and Fellow of both the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Royal Geographical Society, he has spent decades exploring Canada's North by canoe, helping document and promote some of the country's most remote wilderness rivers.To learn more about the paddling adventures of Johnson and his friends, Sing Louder, Paddle Harder, edited by his colleague Robert Fowler, contains hundreds of images and stories from across the Arctic. CreditsExplore: A Canadian Geographic Podcast is hosted by David McGuffin.Produced by David McGuffin and ExploreProductions.ca in partnership with Canadian Geographic. Editor-in-chief: Alexandra Pope Digital and travel editor: Madigan Cotterill Digital marketing manager: Caroline Workman For more stories of adventure, science, history, and exploration, visit CanadianGeographic.caFollow Explore wherever you get your podcasts and leave a rating or review if you enjoy the show.

Canada’s former Environment Minister reflects on the personal challenges, political battles and moments of resilience that shaped her journey to the front lines of global climate action

The 2025 Nat Gillis Adventure Photography Expedition Grant recipient discusses her journey leading a groundbreaking team in Canada's North

Through extensive reporting for his new book, RCGS Explorer-in-Residence Adam Shoalts discusses the story of Hubert Darrell, the legendary Arctic explorer who vanished in 1910

“On a paddleboard, you‘re vulnerable to tides and winds. You don‘t fight them—you learn to fit into natural rhythms.” Journalist and author Dan Rubinstein joins the Explore Podcast for the second instalment in our annual canoe/paddling series to share the story of his epic three-month, 2,000-kilometre paddleboarding journey, which took him from Ottawa to New York City and back via the Ottawa River, the St. Lawrence River, Lake Champlain, the Hudson River, the Erie Canal and Lake Ontario. Along the way, he explored the idea of blue space—the powerful impact of water on our bodies, minds, and communities. In this conversation, Dan reflects on his new book Waterborne, the physical and spiritual pull of water, and why paddleboarding offered a unique way to connect with people, places, and history. From Mohawk communities reclaiming their relationship with the St. Lawrence River to grassroots activists restoring the Hudson to strangers offering kindness along the Erie Canal, Dan’s journey reveals how water shapes us, heals us, and connects us across boundaries.

This special live episode of Explore features a thought-provoking conversation about the deep importance of our relationship with water between host David McGuffin and acclaimed Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer, and musician Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, recorded at the Ottawa Writers Festival in May. Leanne discusses her latest book, The Theory of Water: Nishnaabe Maps to the Times Ahead, a genre-defying work that weaves together traditional storytelling, theory, and land-based knowledge. Through various lenses — skiing, eels, beavers, canoes, shorelines — Simpson reflects on the interconnectedness of people, water, and the natural world, and on how we might reimagine our relationships in a time of climate grief and transformation. This live conversation touches on land based learning, Indigenous ethics, and the hopeful possibilities of communal learning, all grounded in Simpson’s unique voice as both an academic and artist. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is an award winning, best-selling Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer, artist, and musician. She is the author of eight books, including the award-winning Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies and As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance. Her newest work, The Theory of Water: Nishnaabe Maps to the Times Ahead, continues her powerful exploration of land-based knowledge, community, and hope. Simpson has been widely recognized for her contributions to Indigenous thought, activism, and the arts. She is a member of Alderville First Nation and is based in Peterborough, Ontario.

Strombo!