A Love Affair with the Unknown with Gill Deacon

Acclaimed Inuk musician Susan Aglukark has had an extraordinary career, but the personal story behind her Juno Award-winning songs and international accolades hits even harder. Her latest book, Kihiani: A Healing Journey, tracks the multi-generational impacts of colonization and one woman’s brave and creative path to glorious confidence and strength. Susan believes that reconciliation and Indigenous healing happens by sharing stories like hers—laying bare the trauma in order to move through it. This conversation is a celebration of creativity, of curiosity, of triumph over fear. And a reminder that, as Susan tells Gill, “we don’t know what we don’t know”.Subscribe to our newsletter for more A Love Affair with the Unknown Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Becoming a New Yorker and Globe and Mail cartoonist in your early 20s is incredible. Getting diagnosed with chronic pain in your early 20s is pretty devastating—and limits your ability to do the very things that give you a sense of identity. Gabrielle Drolet shares the wild and painful ride of managing a debilitating illness in her warm and remarkably funny memoir Look Ma, No Hands, a book she could only write with the help of adaptive voice-to-text technology. In this delightful conversation, she tells Gill how she has grown through this challenging time; how creativity helps with making sense of uncertainty; and how facing adversity deepens our compassion. Gabrielle’s story is a bracing reminder that we always get to choose how we handle the hard things that beset us.Subscribe to our newsletter for more A Love Affair with the Unknown Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having first gained acclaim for finding the awesome in the everyday, Neil Pasricha has grown to become a wildly successful expert on happiness. His many books have sold millions of copies and spent over 200 weeks on the bestsellers lists—mostly because of his evidence-based advice on how we can better handle the strain and uncertainty of our busy lives. Neil Pasricha is so good at reminding us that we always get to choose how we respond to life’s unknowns and challenges, and if we take the time to look for it, we can find lots to be grateful for. You’ll want to take notes in this wide-ranging conversation, as Neil shares with Gill his thoughts on how our devices are sabotaging our ability to handle uncertainty, and how we can re-invigorate our relationships to bring more meaning, joy and confidence into every day. Subscribe to our newsletter for more A Love Affair with the Unknown Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since her breakout novel A Complicated Kindness, internationally acclaimed author Miriam Toews has captured our hearts with unforgettable characters and heartbreaking stories. Most of her 10 books have been works of fiction, shot through with threads of her real life experience. In her latest book, A Truce That Is Not Peace, Miriam lays it all bare in memoir form: not just the deaths by suicide of both her father and her sister, but the all-but-unbearable struggle it has been for her to make sense of it. As warm and hilarious in person as she is on the page, Miriam Toews is a courageous reminder that uncertainty is literally all we have, and the idea that we’d ever be able to have all the answers is sheer folly. Subscribe to Gill’s newsletter for more A Love Affair with the Unknown Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having mega-hit songs and international fame in your early 20s is a tough act to follow, but Steven Page has done the work to figure it out. He has navigated the ups and downs and wild uncertainties of fame for decades— as the former frontman of Barenaked Ladies, and now as a successful solo artist. A much-scrutinized breakup with longtime best friends and bandmates, a headline-grabbing drug arrest, and a candid struggle with mental health, Steven Page is a very public example of courageously navigating hard things and finding joy and purpose along the way. You’ll be moved by his generous, warm-hearted vulnerability in this wonderful conversation that feels like a great hangout with the nice guy who lives next door. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The host of the wildly successful TED podcast How To Be A Better Human, comedian Chris Duffy infuses every conversation with thoughtful curiosity, wit and enthusiasm—including this one! Chris and Gill talk about his determination to help us all bring more laughter into our lives; why humour is such a potent stabilizer in the midst of uncertainty and change; the wisdom he learned from his students when he taught fifth grade; and why we should all take ourselves less seriously, especially now. Plus an early peek at some of the strategies Chris shares in his book Humor Me -released January 6, 2026- on how to get better at being funny and finding the comfort and joy of humour wherever you look. Subscribe to our newsletter for more A Love Affair with the Unknown Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After an unreasonable number of cancer diagnoses and a nearly two-year battle with long Covid, Gill has learned a lot about navigating uncertainty, yes. She’s also become a model of resilience, something the team at the terrific Psyched Up podcast wanted to celebrate. This week’s episode finds Gill on the other side of the interview microphone. Psyched Up host Dr Diane McIntosh is a psychiatrist and a trusted expert in the field of mental health. She’s a best-selling author, researcher, and practicing clinician. Each episode deals with a different aspect of mental health, with a focus on real-world stories. For the resilience episode, the story is Gill. Subscribe to our newsletter for more A Love Affair with the Unknown Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imagine taking over the absolute top job in your field, at a time of unprecedented national and international scrutiny on your team. Oh, and you’re the first woman EVER to hold the position. That is the challenge General Jennie Carignan wakes up to each morning, as Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff, the highest ranking military command in the land. At a time of unprecedented uncertainty about Canada’s sovereignty, and on the heels of historic defence spending in the most recent federal budget announcement, General Carignan sits down with Gill for a frank conversation about how prepared Canada is to weather storms, both political and climate-driven. She talks candidly about how she handles fear, how to mitigate uncertainty with preparedness, and says Canadians can expect significant change in how its Armed Forces operate—a change that might include everyday civilians playing a role in national defence. Subscribe to our newsletter for more A Love Affair with the Unknown Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Serena Ryder is incredibly comfortable belting her glorious voice into a microphone. A multiple Juno award winner, she sells out concert halls wherever she goes. Songs like “What I Wouldn’t Do”, “Stompa” and more have scored TV soundtracks, and become iconic rallying cries for celebration. But Serena is incredibly courageous about sharing her vulnerable side as well, using her voice to speak up for those who struggle with mental health issues. Serena’s own history with depression and anxiety has taught her a lot about how to face uncomfortable feelings and move through them to heal and grow stronger. In the middle of her “Merry Myths" holiday concert tour, Serena took time to be her most open-hearted self in this conversation with Gill. It’s a beautiful and hope-filled chat—a powerful reminder that even the most successful among us wrestle with uncertainty and challenge. For Serena Ryder it’s all fuel for wonder and learning how to be alive.Subscribe to our newsletter for more A Love Affair with the Unknown Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A long-time productivity and self-help writer for The Guardian, Oliver Burkeman catapulted to international renown with his 2021 book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. In that book, as well as his 2025 follow up Meditations for Mortals, Burkeman jolts our productivity-obsessed culture awake with the reminder that we can’t possibly get everything under control in the short time we have here on earth. It’s a realization that seems terrifying and slightly depressing at first blush, but the more Burkeman talks us through it the more liberating and life-enhancing it feels. In this conversation, Oliver Burkeman expands on imperfectionism ,on the wisdom of not seeing life as a problem to be solved, and the power that comes with letting the future be the future.Subscribe to our newsletter for more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.