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The PDA fix: public displays of affection could improve your health

Researcher Karen Blair was in Toronto’s gay village recently counting the number of couples walking by holding hands. Over one 15-minute period, researchers saw nine mixed sex couples walk by holding hands and just one same sex couple. “Even just realizing that 10 years after same sex marriage has been legalized, same sex couples in Canada are still not equally comfortable holding hands — that’s still saying something.”

July 13, 2017 By Chris Lambie

Will a little PDA keep the doctor away? Public displays of affection like hand holding, hugging, or smooching on the street corner are coming under the microscope at St. Francis Xavier University, where Karen Blair, an assistant professor of psychology, is trying to determine how they affect human health. “My overall hypothesis is generally that...

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Filed Under: Education, Featured, Subscribers only Tagged With: holding hands, Karen Blair, PDAs, same sex couples

The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Mo Kenney. Photo: Matt Williams

Episode #18 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne is published.

Mo Kenney’s new record Covers is a perfect winter companion — songs from across the rock spectrum that she’s pared down to piano or guitar and turned them into sad ballads. She joins Tara to talk about choosing and arranging them, and opens up for a frank discussion of the alcohol dependency it took a pandemic for her to confront. Plus: Movies are back (again).

This episode is available today only for premium subscribers; to become a premium subscriber, click here, and join the select group of arts and entertainment supporters for just $5/month. Everyone else will have to wait until tomorrow to listen to it.

Please subscribe to The Tideline.

Uncover: Dead Wrong

In 1995, Brenda Way was brutally murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building. In 1999, Glen Assoun was found guilty of the murder. He served 17 years in prison, but steadfastly maintained his innocence. In 2019, Glen Assoun was fully exonerated.

Halifax Examiner founder and investigative journalist Tim Bousquet has followed the story of Glen Assoun's wrongful conviction for over five years. Now, Bousquet tells that story as host of Season 7 of the CBC podcast series Uncover: Dead Wrong.

Click here to go to listen to the podcast, or search for CBC Uncover on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast aggregator.

About the Halifax Examiner

Examiner folk The Halifax Examiner was founded by investigative reporter Tim Bousquet, and now includes a growing collection of writers, contributors, and staff. Left to right: Joan Baxter, Stephen Kimber, Linda Pannozzo, Erica Butler, Jennifer Henderson, Iris the Amazing, Tim Bousquet, Evelyn C. White, El Jones, Philip Moscovitch More about the Examiner.

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