In an empty parking lot somewhere in northern California, Andrew Song and Luke Iseman inflate a balloon the size of a small car, full of sulfur dioxide. They will then launch the balloon high up into the stratosphere where it will pop, releasing its sulfur dioxide contents.

Song and Iseman are the co-founders of Make Sunsets, a geoengineering startup that sells cooling credits. For a price, you can purchase a bit of the sulfur dioxide they’re pumping into these balloons and launching into the stratosphere, with the belief it will offset the warming effects of CO2.

Because if you send enough sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere --- we’re talking a million tonnes a year --- it’ll significantly cool our warming planet. But the idea raises scores of complicated scientific and moral dilemmas.

In this documentary, John Chipman goes to California to learn about the potential risks and benefits of solar geoengineering.

Reported and produced by John Chipman, with assistance from Joan Webber and Catherine Rolfsen. Mixed by Michelle Parise . It originally aired on What on Earth.

Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit

Despite being our national sport, and that most Canadians agree it should be for everyone, hockey remains surprisingly exclusive, especially when it comes to ice time. For some, the barriers to access the game are significant, and the sport can feel unwelcoming.

In his documentary, “Hockey for All,” CBC journalist Douglas Gelevan uncovers how the complex system of ice time allocation often favours elite male players, while pushing others to the margins.

Reported by Douglas Gelevan and produced by Michelle Parise / originally aired on The Current

Sethu Ramaswamy grew up in a cultured Indian family and it rubbed off on her. She loved books and ideas. By the age of 10 Sethu had read all of Charles Dickens’ novels, but her emerging interest in books and ideas would have to be put on hold.

When she was the same age, she was forced to leave school, get married, and become a mother at 15. As an adult, she raised a family and for the most part, lived in the shadow of her husband — who was a successful journalist in India.

But that wasn’t the end of her story. When she was 80-years-old a new chapter in her life opened up. She wrote a book called Autobiography of an Unknown Indian Woman, and it was met with fanfare and acclaim in India. It told the story of a child bride whose husband was both her true love and her captor. On this week’s episode, Sarmish Subramanian brings us the story of her remarkable grandmother.

Produced by Sarmishta Subramanian and story edited by Karen Levine. The doc originally aired on The Sunday Edition in 2009.

Storylines is part of the CBC Audio Doc Unit