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What happens when you gather two Gen Xers who worship a comedy classic, two Millennials seeing it fresh, and one very unimpressed holdout? You get the most hilariously divided episode of Too Old or Movie Gold yet.

Hosts Olan VanderLinden and Matthew Stockton of the Comox Valley are joined by comedian Will Corry, Debbie, and Sean to revisit the 1980 comedy classic Airplane! - written and directed by the legendary ZAZ trio (Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers). The verdict from most of the panel? Pure gold. But Sean has entered the chat, and Sean is not having it.

The episode digs deep into what makes Airplane! a masterclass in comedy - the wall-to-wall gags, the genius of casting deadpan dramatic actors like Leslie Nielsen (whose career was almost finished before this film revived it), and the sheer rewatchability that still reveals new jokes decades later. The panel shares their personal favourite bits, debates how many jokes Millennials actually catch, and marvels at a movie that earned $83 million on a $3.5 million budget and landed a 97% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.

There are also some remarkable behind-the-scenes facts: the film was pitched to the studio as "Animal House on a plane," the rights to the source material were purchased for just $2,500, and the directors legally changed their names so all three could get directing credits. Oh - and MythBusters confirmed a regular person actually could land a plane using only instructions from the tower.

And then there's Sean - who gave it a two out of ten and would rather rewatch Escape From New York. Surely he can't be serious. Don't call him Shirley.

“This is my favorite type of humor. This is one of a handful of comedy movies that actually makes me laugh out loud every time I watch it.” - Olan VanderLinden

“When being random is your hook, if that's all you got, you got nothing.” - Sean, the lone dissenter

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Pam Botterill joins Cindy Thompson on A Resilience Project to share what she calls a good-news story of adoption. An Indigenous woman from the Wei Wai Kum First Nation in Campbell River, BC, Pam was adopted at nine months old and raised by a non-Indigenous family in Powell River, BC.

In this episode, Pam reflects on the unexpected threads connecting the Celtic music of her upbringing to the drumming traditions of her Indigenous roots, finding a common rhythm between the two worlds she belongs to. She shares the emotional experience of meeting her biological mother and siblings for the first time, and how that reunion deepened her understanding of family and identity.

Pam’s story is, at its heart, about belonging - belonging to a family, a culture, and a community. That sense of belonging carried her through her battle with cancer, where the people around her became a source of strength and resilience.

We invite you to listen to this conversation about identity, reconnection, and the many forms belonging can take.

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What happens when you screen a Hollywood firefighting blockbuster for actual firefighters? You get the most entertaining and most brutally honest episode of Too Old or Movie Gold yet.

Hosts Olin VanderLeen and David Purcell of the Comox Valley invited a special all-firefighter panel to weigh in on Ron Howard’s 1991 action classic, Backdraft: volunteer firefighter Michael, and sibling duo Caitlin and Trevor Holme of the Nanoose Bay Fire Department who come from a three-generation firefighting family, just like the brothers in the film.

The verdict? The fire scenes are genuinely extraordinary. The firefighting? A glorious dumpster fire of Hollywood exaggeration. The panel hilariously dissected everything from heroes running into burning buildings without masks or hoses, to cowboy-style solo antics that would end careers today. As Michael put it, it was “almost a movie of how to not do anything correct.”

But it’s not all laughs at Hollywood’s expense. The group digs into what the film does beautifully - Donald Sutherland’s scene-stealing performance, fascinating behind-the-scenes production details (including a fireproof camera operator who literally walked through real flames), and how the movie treats fire itself as a living, breathing character.

Backdraft earned $152 million on a $40 million budget and holds a 72% Rotten Tomatoes critic score. But does it still hold up in 2026? Two Gen Xers who loved it, two Gen Z firefighter siblings watching it fresh, and a crew of people who actually fight fires for a living all weigh in.

“You go in as a team. You’ve got a partner. You do not leave your partner. You go in with them, you come out with them.” - David Purcell

“I thought it was very Hollywood, but you know, I was able to sit through it fairly well, so that says something, I guess.” - Caitlin, Gen Z firefighter

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Why You Should Listen to This Episode

Katie Bergman is a writer and social justice advocate who has devoted a decade to the non-profit sector, specialising in human trafficking interventions. After experiencing trauma and burnout at the frontlines of humanitarian work, she wrote When Justice Just Is to open a conversation about inner wellbeing and social change.

In this episode:

Katie Bergman joins Cindy Thompson on A Resilience Project to share the deeply personal story behind When Justice Just Is - her first book and a call to those doing the hard, often invisible work of helping others.

Over ten years in the non-profit sector, Katie worked with teams around the world - preventing labour exploitation among migrant workers in rural Cambodia, supporting survivors of human trafficking in the US, and protecting at-risk girls from abuse in Bulgaria. It was extraordinary, purposeful work. It was also work that took a toll. A few years in, Katie began to see how individual, systemic, and societal factors were quietly eroding the wellbeing of people in helping roles - including her own.

After her own experience of trauma and burnout at the frontlines, she did what writers do: she wrote about it. When Justice Just Is is a book about self-stewardship for people who give deeply to the world - and a reminder that caring for ourselves is not separate from caring for others. It’s the foundation of it.

The PULSE Community Podcasts can be found at: ThePulseCommunity.ca

Cindy Thompson’s website: cindythompsoncounselling.ca

Learn more about Katie Bergman: whenjusticejustis.com

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What happens when the province can't move fast enough and people in your city need help now? In this episode of Non-Partisan Hacks, hosts Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Marianne Alto, Mayor of the City of Victoria, recorded live at the AVICC convention.

Victoria is BC's capital city - a mid-sized municipality shouldering an outsized share of the region's housing pressures, homelessness, and mental health and addiction challenges. Mayor Alto talks candidly about what it looks like when a city decides to stop waiting: building 97 new shelter and transitional housing spaces, creating a first-of-its-kind Community Safety, Wellbeing, and Partnerships department, and funding nonprofit service providers when senior governments can't or won't.

She also shares what she's learned about courage, accountability, and adaptability - and why standing in a room full of people yelling at you is sometimes just part of the job.

Listen for:

• How Victoria exceeded its provincial housing targets - and why Mayor Alto was eager to be picked first

• Why Victoria carries more than 80% of the region's social services - and what she's doing about it

• The story behind the Dollar Place facility: two public meetings, hundreds of angry residents, and a decision she'd make again

• How the city's Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan is funding nonprofits to do what the province hasn't

• What she told her council on inauguration day: "Listen, think, and then do good work"

• Advice for elected officials deciding whether to run again - including a frank conversation about vitriol in public life

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