Afternoon Pint

A lot of people think “spy” means gadgets, fights, and glamour. We’ve got a different story for you, straight from a Canadian military intelligence operator who actually worked the Cold War and later returned to serve in Afghanistan. Mike Fournier, known as Intelligence Operator 230, joins us for a candid conversation about what intelligence work really is: supporting the commander, learning an insane amount of detail, living by st...

A pub table in Halifax is a strange place to map out a film and TV career, but that’s exactly where we end up with Taylor Olson, Bob Mann, and Adam DeViller. Between bites of a spice bag and a lot of laughter, we get into the real mechanics of building independent work in Nova Scotia: writing roles when the acting jobs don’t come, directing to control the full vision, and editing comedy with the kind of timing that makes awkward si...

You can feel the difference between a “housing” conversation and a “homeownership” conversation the minute Donna Williamson walks us through how Habitat for Humanity Nova Scotia actually works. We’re recording from the Burnside ReStore (with local beers from Burnside Brewing), and we start by clearing up the biggest misconception: Habitat doesn’t give houses away. Families buy at fair market value, but the model removes the barrier...

A kid from Williamswood leaves Nova Scotia at 17, lands in New York with no connections, survives the visa pressure cooker, and ends up directing heavyweight actors in Hollywood. That’s the real arc behind our conversation with Sonja O’Hara, an Emmy-nominated writer, director, and actress who’s built her career by treating filmmaking like both art and entrepreneurship. We talk about what the highlight reels never show: daily reject...

Nova Scotia has big resource potential, but the real question is whether we can turn opportunity into outcomes without repeating the mistakes that still haunt the province. We talk with Dustin O’Leary, a Nova Scotian working in gold mining business development, about what “responsible mining” has to mean if communities are ever going to trust it again.

We get specific about the parts people argue over most: reclamation bon...

This week we are having a drink at Jellies on Quinpool Road in Halifax with screen writer and director Tyler Burns, and the conversation goes from bar stories and many random interjections to the real deal on making Canadian comedy. 

Tyler walks us through what it took to build a six-episode series and then finding a place to put it where audiences would see it. Trailerparkboysplus.com happened to be the perfect spot for this raunch...

St. Patrick’s Day turned into a surprise live show when we crack a couple drinks at home and decide to hit YouTube with zero guest and no safety net. The result is a classic Afternoon Pint mix: real conversation, dumb games, and a chat that keeps pulling the night in new directions. If you like podcasts that feel like you’re sitting at the table with friends, this one is for you.

The serious heart of the night is a fundrai...

Gabriella is an art therapist who once refused to read out loud in ninth grade, met a teacher who really saw her, and discovered dyslexia and ADHD were the reasons school never fit. That shift—from “lazy” to “misunderstood”—set her on a path through art school and the classroom to a therapy practice that uses colour, texture, and play to help people find themselves again.

We talk frankly about late ADHD diagnoses, especial...

Founder Basam Murtaza Tahoor shares how he rebuilt his marketing career from scratch in Halifax—ditching gimmicks, mastering Canadian business basics, and proving that trust is the only real currency. From landing his first client to crafting a blue-ocean pivot into original illustration and brand IP, Basam breaks down buyer personas, pricing strategy, networking that actually works, and how to use AI without losing your human edge...

We sit down with Nova Scotia NDP leader Claudia Chender for a candid, ground-level conversation about what’s really driving the affordability crisis—and what can actually fix it.

Claudia shares her journey from law to politics, shaped by her work in education and advocacy, and a front-row view of how government decisions impact families. We break down the housing crisis—from rent caps and fixed-term leases to the difference between ...

What makes someone plant roots instead of moving on? We sit with Paula Knight, CEO of ISANS, to unpack the real work of turning arrivals into neighbours—and why belonging is the quiet infrastructure that powers Nova Scotia’s future. From first intake to first job, from a child’s first hockey game to a nurse’s first licensed shift, Paula shows how practical supports and human connection move people from surviving to thriving.

A single march in the rain changed everything. After losing his cousin to a senseless act of violence, Quentrel Provo turned grief into a mission: Stop the Violence, Spread the Love. We sit down with Q to unpack how a community showed up, how forgiveness sharpened his purpose, and why June 10 is now Stop the Violence Day—wear red, do one kind act, and make compassion visible.

We go deeper than slogans. Q explains how youth...

We sit down with Coach Micah Brown — former pro quarterback, founder of BATLX, and a leader in Atlantic Canada’s football development scene. 

Micah breaks down the mental intelligence behind football and why the best coaching is about way more than schemes and stats. We talk leadership under pressure, building confident athletes, mentorship and representation, and the real responsibility coaches carry as community leaders. 

The conve...

A forgotten shore, a loud crowd, and a quiet life that fuels a very big record—Christina Martin joins us for an unvarnished look at building a career that actually holds together. From quitting university to nannying in Austin, signing a dead-end contract in Germany, and then getting invited last-minute to open for Wilco, her story moves through detours that somehow line up. The band drama that pushed her out of a 70s revival proje...

We sit with Tia to trace the unvarnished path from teen motherhood and convictions, a string of rejections from employers due to her criminal background check to her $50 start up cleaning company that scaled across Halifax. 

Tia shares the weight of raising kids while surviving the street, a son shot seven times, and the accountability she refuses to outsource. We talk about why “diversity” often advances without finishing the last ...

Ready for a clear-eyed look at AI that doesn’t lean on buzzwords or doom? We’re joined by digital anthropologist Giles Crouch to unpack how these systems really work, what they cost in the physical world, and why culture—not code—ultimately decides which technologies endure. We trace the supply chain from rare earths and chip bottlenecks to the low-frequency hums of data centres built near homes, and we talk about the policy vacuum...

We sit down with newly elected Mayor Andy Fillmore after his first year for a wide-open conversation about what it takes to steer a city that’s growing in every direction: more people, more jobs, more pressure on streets and services. He talks frankly about trading the heat of Parliament for the hands-on grind of City Hall, where a mayor is one vote among many and every policy hits a sidewalk, a bus route, or a household budget.

For this years Holiday Special, The Afternoon Pint presents a radio-play reimagining of A Christmas Carol —written in-house and brought to life with the help of the three 48 Hour Film Festival winners known collectively as Shwing Entertainment. Mike turns his crankiness up to 11 for Scrooge while Matt works his improvisational muscle by preforming as all of the ghosts.

We then have some addtional stories from the AP content creator ...

What did 2025 really change? We sit down with Steve Murphy for a clear-eyed year-end that swaps noise for signal. The conversation starts with community—Christmas Daddies turning 62 and a bold decision to sell seized U.S. liquor to fund food banks—then widens into the defining fault line of the year: leadership tone and what it does to a country.

Politics loomed large without swallowing the local. Steve unpacks why style a...