As announced during CBC Radio’s TAPESTRY yesterday, host Mary Hynes has decided to retire at the end of this season. With Hynes’ retirement news also came the announcement that long-running program TAPESTRY will culminate with a season finale airing on December 31 on CBC Radio and CBC Listen. Hynes has hosted the award-winning, weekly radio show about philosophy, spirituality and what it means to be human for 20 years.
“I approached Tapestry the same way I did The Inside Track, back in my sports days,” said Hynes. “I was saying to the listener: ‘It’s okay if you can’t stand sports – there’s something here for you.’ Or, ‘It doesn’t matter to me whether you’re an atheist or a priest! If you’re a human being, this episode is for you. Pull up a chair, and listen to this…’. It’s been an honour – truly – to host this show for twenty years.”
“Tapestry has played a very special role as part of the CBC Radio offer over the years through weekly deep, thoughtful and often surprising conversations, reaching out to include perspectives from around the world, between generations and, recently, across the internet,” said Alison Broddle, Senior Director of Audio & Podcasting, CBC News. “It’s a program that, through Mary’s inclusive and curious voice, has built a special connection with the audience, especially in these trying times, as a place Canadians come to take refuge in the best of the human spirit.”
Before TAPESTRY, Hynes worked on both radio and television shows covering news, books and sports. She has covered three Olympic Games (Seoul, Calgary, Barcelona), reported from 23 countries, and is a former sports reporter for The Globe and Mail. In television, Hynes helped launch the live, nightly news show Studio 2 at TVO, working as co-host during the first two seasons. She later hosted Imprint, the network’s show about the world of books. With CBC Radio, Hynes has written and hosted award-winning programs on sports (The Inside Track) and the human body (Body and Soul).
TAPESTRY with Mary Hynes is produced by Rosie Fernandez, Arman Aghbali and McKenna Hadley-Burke and has taken home accolades from the New York Festival Radio Awards, The Gabriel Awards and The Wilbur Awards. TAPESTRY airs Sundays on CBC Radio at 2 p.m. ET/AT/CT, 2:30 p.m. NT, 3 p.m. PT, 4 p.m. MT. Past episodes are also available on demand via CBC Listen.