Aborsh

Jan 30 2025 19 ep. 37 mins 73
Aborsh Podcast artwork

Aborsh examines why talking about abortion is still such a big deal, what “choice” really means and looks like and why that answer is different for different people. Join Toronto-based artist Rachel Cairns as she shares her abortion story while speaking with experts and activists about reproductive freedom in Canada.

  Society & Culture  Education  Arts
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Megan’s Story: Pro-Abortion Billboards

Jan 30 2025 46 mins  
Driving through a sea of anti-abortion billboards, Megan wondered why pro-choice voices can’t occupy the same amount of space. Inspired by a road trip conversation, she shares her journey of reclaiming public narratives and advocating for abortion as a visible and unapologetic right. “ We had about a four-hour drive and on the way there we passed like 10 anti-abortion signs on

Abortion in the Media

Jan 28 2025 70 mins  
In this episode, we speak with the research initiative Abortion On Screen about the portrayal of abortion in TV and film and journalists Nora Loreto and Liz Renzetti about the media's role in perpetuating misconceptions and stereotypes about abortion. We examine the framing and portrayals that shape cultural narratives around abortion and influence public perceptions of pregnancy a

Kerry’s Story: motherhood & abortion

Jan 23 2025
This week’s guest is author Kerry Clare, who talks about learning how to openly discuss abortion and share her personal experience. Once she found her voice, she made it her mission to keep the conversation going: “I was one of those people who said, ‘I really am pro-choice, but it would never be a choice I'd make myself,’ which just seems like a really handy way to put it.

Sex Ed

Jan 21 2025 66 mins  
Like abortion, sex ed is a human right, and in this episode, we draw parallels between comprehensive sex education and abortion access. We discuss how the moral panic around sex education fuels harmful taboos and enables abuse, and how terms like “pro-life” and “parental rights” are often weaponized to disguise far-right political agendas — one that strip kids, women, que

Christa’s Story: abortion feelings

Jan 16 2025 61 mins  
Christa’s abortion story is intertwined with other profound experiences of grief and the duality often present in life’s defining decisions. As captured by a friend's advice: “She told me about other people who had had abortions that she knew. And it helped a lot. And she gave me advice that I've applied many points in my life. She said, if you'd had a kid, it would have been

Birth Control

Jan 16 2025 64 mins  
In this episode, we're diving into a topic we touched on last season, one that’s often at the beginning of many abortion stories: birth control. What we love about it. What we wish was better about it. Why it should be part of publicly funded health care, and how it can even help reframe conversations about abortion.

Season 2 Trailer

Jan 05 2025 3 mins  
Aborsh is back for a second season, diving into why abortion is still such a “big deal,” what “choice” really means, and why that answer is different for different people. This season explores reproductive choice across Canada and globally through conversations with experts, activists, and people who’ve had abortions.

Introducing Expectant

May 15 2023 15 mins  
Expectant is a six-part audio series that muddies fiction and non-fiction as a woman faces the prospect of becoming a parent during the climate crisis. Through conversations with climate researchers, parents, mental health experts and childfree families, she grapples with grief, hope, and the biggest decision of her life: should she bring a child into this world?

How and Where It’s Going

Aug 01 2022 48 mins  
In the final episode of this season of Aborsh, Rachel ties up loose ends and looks forward. She’s joined by Aborsh story editor Tracey Lindeman to revisit key takeaways from the series and what progress might look like for Canadian reproductive rights and freedom.

Economics, Gender Inequality & Abortion

Jul 25 2022 43 mins  
Distinguished professor Sarah Kaplan, founder of the Institute for Gender and the Economy, joins Rachel to discuss why reproductive rights is an economic issue as much as it is a human rights issue. We talk about “gendered capitalism,” the wage gap, the care economy, how we measure GDP and the economic consequences of having children.