Robert MacNeil on his first novel ‘Burden of Desire’
The Story
An expat journalist rediscovers his Canadian roots by writing a novel set during the Halifax Explosion.
Program: Midday
Broadcast Date: March 2, 1992
Guest(s): Robert MacNeil
Host: Valerie Pringle
Duration: 7:28
The Halifax Explosion more
Rumours from the Halifax Explosion
Was the blast so big that folks actually saw the bottom of the harbour?
Halifax Harbour’s colourful past
A former sailor brings Halifax Harbour's vibrant history to life.
The immediate medical response to the Halifax Explosion
A medical school professor explains how Haligonians cared for each other immediately after the explosion.
Halifax rebuilding after the explosion
The innovative 'Hydrostone' development gives birth to a unique and vibrant community.
Rewriting the history of the Halifax Explosion
A new comic book about the Halifax explosion stirs up controversy.
Determining 9:04:35 a.m. as the precise time of the Halifax Explosion
A geophysicist explains how the explosion's exact time was verified while elaborating on the blast's destructive power.
Arthur Lismer’s ‘Sorrow’ painting depicts aftermath of Halifax Explosion
CBC viewers get a rare look at "Sorrow", one of Arthur Lismer's Halifax Explosion-era paintings that had been lost for…
Remembering the Halifax Explosion of 1917
A memorial pays tribute to the victims of Canada's biggest man-made explosion.
New archival discovery of the Halifax Relief Commission
A Halifax police clerk stumbles upon an historical treasure trove of medical relief records.
Rescue effort following the Halifax Explosion
Aid comes to Halifax from all over the world.
Halifax Harbour is a major wartime port
The ongoing First World War means Halifax is bustling with wartime activity.
Halifax Explosion witness tells his story 50 years later
Thomas Raddall describes the moment of the explosion and its aftermath.
Establishing blame in the Halifax Explosion
Haligonians demand justice for those responsible for the blast.
Eyewitness accounts 50 years after the Halifax Explosion
Two pilots aboard the ill-fated ships blame each other for the blast.
One doctor’s gruesome first hand account of the Halifax disaster
Hundreds of wounded stretch Halifax's physicians to the limit.
Albert Wood remembers being peppered by glass in the Halifax Explosion
A memory of the Halifax Explosion.
Mont-Blanc pilot Francis Mackey recalls Halifax 1917 explosion
Fifty years later, the Mont-Blanc's pilot maintains his ship had the right of way in the collision that sparked the…
Two ships collide and Halifax reels
A re-enactment of the events leading up to the fatal explosion.
Veteran CBC host J. Frank Willis remembers the Halifax Explosion
Willis recalls his own experience of the day that changed Halifax forever.
Surviving the disaster of the Halifax Explosion
Victims remember the tragedy of the event.
Halifax: A city in ruins after the explosion
The explosion levels most of Halifax.