I have to say I’m pretty excited about this. Not only because my old todradio.com producer Anne Penman is behind it, but because it’s an awesome series.

CBC Radio One is bringing This I Believe, the popular National Public Radio program, based on the 1950s series hosted by Edward R. Murrow, to Canadians.

Starting Monday, May 14, the 12-week series, hosted by former Reform Party leader Preston Manning, will feature short radio essays written and recorded by Canadians from all walks of life. Airing weekdays, after the 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. newscasts (except Monday’s 8 p.m. newscast just to be, you know, difficult), each essay explores the personal beliefs, perspectives and values that guide individuals.

Now wait, I hear you saying “Oh great, some namby-pamby navel-gazing exploration into values.” You really do have hear some of these to understand it. For instance, take magician Penn Jillette’s NPR essay on the show:

“I believe that there is no God. I’m beyond atheism. Atheism is not believing in God. Not believing in God is easy — you can’t prove a negative, so there’s no work to do. You can’t prove that there isn’t an elephant inside the trunk of my car. You sure? How about now? Maybe he was just hiding before. Check again…

Believing there’s no God means I can’t really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That’s good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around.

You can read his full essay called There Is No God too. It’s worth a read no matter what you believe.

You can submit your own personal essay at www.cbc.ca/thisibelieve

Selected contributors will be invited to record their essay for national broadcast during the 12-week series. These selections will air alongside essays by such prominent Canadians as Olympic gold medalist Clara Hughes, Canada’s first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Beverley McLachlin, Belinda Stronach, Auditor General Sheila Fraser, culinary king Susur Lee, former Iraq hostage James Loney, Inuit leader and Nobel prize nominee Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Chief Astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency Julie Payette, Kim Phuc, the haunting figure captured in the famous Vietnam War photograph, crime novelist William Deverell, and performer Rich Terfry (aka Buck 65).

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