Meet the new host of The Doc Project, Acey Rowe!

This fall, The Doc Project welcomes Acey Rowe as our new host. Acey is an award-winning radio producer with one eclectic resume: she co-hosted a drive-time radio show, did a stint on a reality show, and biked 2100 kilometres and lived to tell the tale.

Acey Rowe · CBC · Posted: Sep 06, 2016 10:03 AM EDT | Last Updated: September 8, 2016

Hi! I'm Acey.

I'm so glad to be joining The Doc Project as host this fall. Storytelling and documentaries are my jam, so it feels like a great fit.

I came to the CBC as a producer for DNTO. Every week I gathered and produced stories, helping people tell theirs and sharing a few of my own.

Acey in Drumheller, Alberta. (Eli Pasquali)

Some of my favourite stories I produced include one from a guy on a long-distance bike trip who got chased by a wolf, and another from a brother and sister who were separated as children and re-connected over Craigslist! I'm also pretty fond of one which I recorded with my mother about my family's totally normal tradition of Feminist Christmas.

I made my first documentary for DNTO about a social worker who was tasked with buying presents for 19 kids in foster care. From that point, I was hooked: The Doc Project feels like a homecoming.

I love documentaries for the opportunity they provide us to dig deep. They're where all the best parts of radio come together: a great story, rich audio, the chance to learn something new and see the world in a different way — or to see into a world you never would have had the chance to.

Documentaries are the best of interviewing, storytelling, and sound design, all in one place. And the art form keeps evolving! Docs are the place to play and experiment.

The Doc Project is Canada's destination for the best in audio documentary. We're also the place to learn about the craft. If you want to make your own doc, we're here to help. And hey, I love making docs — but I'm no veteran! I'll be learning right along with you. With that in mind, I wanted to share 5 docs I love and what we can learn from them.

The Current

'Cyborg' technology, Gamification & Bruce Mau on the Power of Design

This is a true example of telling the story with sound. Gord Westmacott's genius sound-design on this piece connects the listener to Bruce Mau. We understand his story through the use of sound. Without the sound design, the story would be lost.

Listening to docs on rocks at Moraine Lake, Alberta. (Eli Pasqulai)

Lesson: Sound tells the story.

Love + Radio

The Living Room

You can have a listener hooked with one voice telling their story.

Lesson: You've got nothing without narrative.

Outfront

The Change in Farming

This is a classic Steve Wadhams doc! I still remember exactly where I was the first time I heard it. I think that's true of anyone who's heard this doc ... but the lesson here isn't about memorability (though that's not a bad takeaway)....

Lesson: You'll find your best stories in strange places. So just go with it.

The Doc Project

My Almost Brother

If something doesn't scare you, it's probably not worth making. Great docs go personal, and Catherine Tunney admitting to — and then facing — the choice she made as kid, is about as personal as it gets.

Lesson: Go personal. Take risks.

This American Life

Buddy Picture

Lesson: It's okay to be funny. Actually, it's pretty great.

Some of these … maybe you won't agree that they're docs. It's an interview … or a straight-up story! But I think there are so many places to apply the ethos of documentary-making. None of these stories would exist now if documentary hadn't changed the way we make radio.