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Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Award-winning author Sam Wiebe takes us on a tour of Vancouver Island's surprisingly deep film history, from a wartime propaganda set near Victoria's airport to Hatley Castle's many starring roles and the Ucluelet shoreline that played feudal Japan in Shōgun. Plus, Nanoose Bay marathon swimmer Melanie Buggey explains how she crossed the Strait of Georgia in a record 8 hours and 42 minutes, and why Ben & Jerry's was part of the plan.

This Episode Features:

(17:56) Sam Wiebe is an award-winning, bestselling author best known for his Wakeland crime novels. His new book, Shot in Vancouver: Adventures in Hollywood North, is a genre-by-genre history of movies and TV shot in BC, from wartime propaganda filmed on Vancouver Island to the Emmy-sweeping hit Shōgun. Sam explains "Shot in Vancouver Syndrome," why Hatley Castle at Royal Roads keeps getting cast as every evil family mansion, how Victoria played Racine, Wisconsin in Bird on a Wire, how Ucluelet's shoreline became feudal Japan, and why so much classic CBC programming, including The Beachcombers, is nearly impossible to watch today. www.samwiebe.com

(05:04) Melanie Buggey grew up swimming with the Ravensong Breakers in Qualicum Beach and now lives in Nanoose Bay. This past summer, the 33-year-old marathon swimmer crossed the Strait of Georgia from Sechelt to Schooner Cove in 8 hours and 42 minutes, without a wetsuit, setting a new record. Melanie talks about the childhood ferry ride that planted the idea, bulking up on Ben & Jerry's to fend off hypothermia, a close call with a lion's mane jellyfish, and her training for the 2027 World Aquatics Masters Championships in Budapest.

Episode Quotes:

"BC filmmaking is a mess, but it's a beautiful mess. There's just so much more variety than anyone knows, and we should be proud of that." - Sam Wiebe, Author, Shot in Vancouver: Adventures in Hollywood North

"I tried gaining weight the healthy way. It was not happening. And then I just said, 'To heck with it. Ben & Jerry's is gonna be my new best friend.'" - Melanie Buggey, Marathon Swimmer, Nanoose Bay

The PULSE Community Podcast is a weekly Vancouver Island podcast hosted by Peter McCully and Dave Graham, featuring conversations with musicians, authors, actors, athletes, business leaders and community builders from Vancouver Island, British Columbia and beyond. The PULSE Community Podcast is part of The PULSE Podcast Community.

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