Producer, CBC

Craig Desson

Commissioning producer and documentary maker at CBC. Long-form projects about people, history, ideas, and place.

View my work →
Craig Desson

Selected Work

Walter Benjamin's Aura Ideas · CBC  ·  2025
See You in Court CBC Podcasts  ·  2025
Occupation Mon Amour CBC Creator Network  ·  2025

Selected Audio Work

Walter Benjamin's Aura
A German philosopher who died in 1940 somehow predicted the digital age. This doc explores his idea of "aura" and why it still resonates.
Ideas · CBC 2025 → Listen
The Man Who Picked a Fight with a Piece of Junk Mail
In 1999, a Montreal man got a letter promising $833,337 and decided to collect. His lawsuit against Time Magazine went all the way to the Supreme Court.
See You in Court · CBC 2025 → Listen
Chinese Students Share Stories of Intimidation from Beijing
Chinese students and dissidents in Canada describe being monitored and pressured, allegedly at the direction of Beijing.
The House · CBC 2024 → Listen
AI at the Ballot Box
2024 was the biggest election year in history and the first where AI arrived at the ballot box. This doc weighs the threat and the possibility.
The Sunday Magazine · CBC 2024 → Listen
Where Did All the Trains Go?
Canada was once a world leader in passenger rail. This doc traces how that changed and what we lost along the way.
What on Earth · CBC 2023 → Listen
The End of the Road
I rode with an asylum seeker from New York City to Roxham Road, documenting the last stretch of a journey thousands were making.
The House · CBC 2023 → Listen
The Old Money Simulator
Every year, vast wealth changes hands through inheritance in Canada. This doc goes inside the financial world of the very, very rich.
The Doc Project · CBC 2022 → Listen
Whose Condo is it, Anyway?
Using property records, I traced the ownership history of the land my condo sits on. What I found was a story about how private property in Canada was made.
The Doc Project · CBC 2021 → Listen
Feeling Detention
Two researchers were documenting children held in a Canadian immigration detention centre. This doc follows what happened when they decided to go public.
The Doc Project · CBC 2018 → Listen

Selected Produced Work

What Canada Can Learn from Spain about High-Speed Rail
Spain built one of the world's most accessible high-speed rail networks. As Canada pursues its own version, this video asks what a good system actually looks like.
CBC Creator Network 2025 → Watch
I Fell in Love with a Quebec Reality Dating Show
A Turkish-Canadian creator on how Occupation Double, Quebec's most beloved dating show, finally helped him understand the province.
CBC Creator Network 2025 → Watch
A Montreal Fencing Club
A short doc set inside Montreal's Escrime Mont-Royal, where fencing is still treated as an affair of honour.
CBC Creator Network 2025 → Watch
Wabi-Sabi for Artists
A Japanese photographer based in Montreal on the philosophy that helped him make peace with being an artist.
CBC Creator Network 2025 → Watch
How Canada Got Stuck Building Slow-Moving Rail
Why do Canada's rail ambitions keep stalling? Made with This Week in Canada, this video traces the politics, the money, and the missed opportunities. Nearly 100,000 views.
CBC Creator Network 2024 → Watch
Mavis Gallant's Unwavering Determination to be a Writer
An illustrated portrait of Montreal writer Mavis Gallant, who spent decades alone in a Paris apartment, quietly becoming one of Canada's most celebrated authors.
CBC Creator Network 2024 → Watch
Ten Minute Topline — Jeremy Dutcher
A conversation with musician and activist Jeremy Dutcher on his music, his language, and what it takes to carry a culture forward.
CBC Creator Network 2023 → Watch
Moonrise
A giant red moon low on the horizon is one of the most beautiful things you can see with the naked eye. Trevor Kjorlien explains how to find it.
CBC Creator Network 2022 → Watch
Somebody Knows Something
Lead digital producer on one of Canada's most downloaded podcasts, hosted by David Ridgen. Cold cases, families, and the slow work of making the past speak.
CBC Podcasts 2016–2019 → Listen

About

Craig Desson is a producer and documentary maker at CBC, based in Montreal. He has spent over a decade making long-form radio journalism for flagship programs like Ideas, The Current, The Sunday Magazine, The House, What on Earth and The Doc Project.

His documentaries follow people at the edges of systems that illuminate what is happening at the centre. His docs tell stories of asylum seekers, researchers gone rogue and philosophers in exile.

He also leads the CBC Creator Network in Quebec, where he works one-on-one with digital creators to bring their news ideas to life on CBC national and local platforms.

Craig Desson