Howard Heathcote grew up in a house of addicts. Out of 2 parents and 9 children, only one, an older sister of Howard’s, miraculously avoided drugs and alcohol completely. Aside from that miraculous exception, fate was all bu…
It takes a special person to be a leader. One thing historians have questioned for years is the apparent mental instability of both great and terrible leaders alike. Do the qualities that mark those with mood disorders als…
Jay Bahadur is an investigator for an international agency. He’s a Canadian, born in Toronto, Ontario, who went on to be a journalist and author, becoming well-known for his reporting on Somalian pirates. He got an inside l…
Since the release of our first episode about Kratom, we’ve had a flood of comments from users telling us how much Kratom has changed their lives. It’s nothing short of shocking and amazing to hear how so many people were lif…
Perhaps the most fascinating and stunning part of our journey learning about Kratom is the real-life stories from its users. It is after hearing these stories that we really understand the effect this plant can have on lives…
Canada is experiencing record numbers of deaths from opioid overdoses. In 2017, there were an estimated 4000 drug overdose deaths in the country. A substance that may be able to put a dent in that number is worth looking int…
When Chris Bergoch writes a movie, he doesn’t shy away from social advocacy topics that can be seen as controversial. At Stand Up Speak Up, we try to raise awareness around important social issues, so when Karla discovered t…
Why does someone get involved in the criminal world? What makes someone interested in joining a motorcycle gang known for brutal activity? We tell the story of one man who was let down by the Quebec foster care system growin…
Statistically, men commit far more acts of physical violence than women, and that also applies to serial killers. There are far fewer female serial killers than males, but the number is big enough not to be ignored - and may…
If you’ve listened to Stand Up Speak Up before, then you’ve heard the voice of host Karla Stephens-Tolstoy. Usually, she’s helping tell the story of others, but you might not have known that Karla herself has led a pretty in…
It’s estimated that illegal trade accounts for one-fifth of the global GDP. In his 2009 book McMafia, Misha Glenny outlined the growth of organized crime around the world, from drugs and sex trades to internet frauds and mon…
Most of us have enjoyed a good action movie, but the difference between a movie and Don Mann’s life, although it may sound like something from a movie, is that his life is completely real. No written storyline. No special ef…
Prepare for some raw true crime discussion, as we enter part 2 of our chat with Christian Cadieux of Crime & Trauma Scene Cleaners. What’s just another day at work for Christian, could very well be traumatizing for most of u…
When tragedy strikes, Christian Cadieux and his team at Crime & Trauma Scene Cleaners are called in to handle the cleanup. With crews across Canada, there’s nothing they haven’t seen, and nothing they’re afraid of. Some cont…
We trust law enforcement to do the absolute best job keeping communities safe, conducting investigations, and bringing criminals to justice. But, what about when they don’t live up to their duty? As we saw with the Shelley D…
Maryalice Ashbrook was born into a family that seemingly had it all. Her grandfather was president of a huge company that listed a movie studio among its subsidiaries. Her mother counted Joan Crawford and Jane Russell among …
After a dramatic episode 8 of Finding Shelley Desrochers, we now bring the series to a close. Karla shares her final thoughts on the case and an update on police involvement. We’ll hear from Dr. Pauline Boss, an educator, an…
We call in the London Police after making a gruesome discovery. Karla and Chris Williams P.I. enter dangerous situations while trying to uncover the truth about Shelley Desrocher’s disappearance. At this point in time, we’ve…
Karla and private investigator Chris Williams of Canadian Private Investigation Services spent an entire day in London, Ontario in the area where Shelley was last seen. They speak with people who live in the neighbourhood, o…
Karla took to the streets of London, with Chris from Canadian Private Investigation Services, to see what they could find out with regards to Shelley’s disappearance. Karla talks about what that experience was like, visiting…
By now you’ve heard Shelley’s story. You’ve heard about her troubled childhood, her time in the foster care system, how she was trafficked into sex work, and everything we know about Shelley’s disappearance. We now wanted to…
We take a look at the Finding Shelley Desrochers series so far. You’ll hear some of Karla’s radio interviews, and then get an inside view of what it’s been like behind the scenes working on this podcast and dealing with the …
Shelley Desrochers hasn’t been seen since January 2016. She’s one of three women who lived a “high-risk lifestyle” to go missing from London, Ontario, Canada in the last decade. In this series, we go beyond the police and ne…
Shelley Desrochers hasn’t been seen since January 2016. She’s one of three women who lived a “high-risk lifestyle” to go missing from London, Ontario, Canada in the last decade. In this series, we go beyond the police and ne…
