CBC Radio to debut Out in the Open, The Candy Palmater Show

Delving into the cultural zeitgeist and exploringdifferent, perhaps unheardperspectivesare central pillars oftwo new shows coming to CBC Radio One this month.

CBC broadcaster Piya Chattopadhyay is launching the weekly show Out in the Open on May 28, while The Candy Palmater Show featuring the outspoken lawyer-turned-comic, actorand writer will debut as a weekday program on May 30.

"It's real talk. It's about the nuance of life," Chattopadhyay, a familiar voice as occasional host of CBC'sThe Current, q and Metro Morning, said of her new show.

Set to air Saturdays at 3 p.m., Out in the Open will centre on one topic each week.

WhenI go for a beer with my buddies, we talk about things that are pretty complex most of us do...I want to explore all those issues.- Piya Chattopadhyay

Chattopadhyay and her team will"peelback the layers of one big issue" topics includelegal marijuana,belonging and identity, orsharing secrets online in order to explore diverse voices andpoints of view.

Each episode will be preceded by a podcast (the first premiereson May 18) tied to the theme ofthe broadcast version and inviting audience feedback.

"When I go for a beer with my buddies, we talk about things that are pretty complex most of us do. We talk about things like 'Do you want to have a kid or do you not want to have a kid? What do you think about race:is Donald Trump really a racist or not?' Race, gender, all those identity things... I want to explore all those issues.

"We live in a media world where there's someone on the right, someone on the left and some voice in the middle," Chattopadhyaynoted.

"I think life's a lot more nuanced than that and a lot more grey. I think, like most people, I'm really conflicted on the big questions."

'Outside the box'

With her two-hour weekday show (airing Mondays to Fridays at 1 p.m.), CandyPalmater said she's interested in being "a little looser and little more outside the box" in exploring a variety of perspectives on different topics and "the things that can help us understand one another a little better" with everythingpresentedthrough her distinctivelens.

I have no filter. I am unedited and on CBC that is not what people are used to hearing.- Candy Palmater

"I have no filter. I am unedited and on CBC that is not what people are used to hearing," she said.

An international speaker, the creator and star of TV's The Candy Show and a recurring actor on Trailer Park Boys, Palmater is a regular columnist with CBC Radio's The Next Chapter and has previously guest-hosted CBC Radio's q and DNTO.

The multi-hyphenateMi'kmawwoman from Nova Scotiasaid herhosting inspirations range from Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey to Ryan Seacrest and Mick Jagger.

"The sad thing about being a seasoned host is that when you are really good at it, it looks super easy and people don't even acknowledge it's happening," she said of American Idol MC Seacrest.

ButJagger?

"The first time I saw the Rolling Stones play live, I was amazed that in a field of 850,000 people, every single one of us felt like Mick Jagger was connecting with us individually," Palmater recalled.

"As a host, that is what I want to do."