Man Alive

It was religious programming that didn't preach. When Man Alive debuted on Sunday afternoons in 1967, its non-denominational, magazine-style approach differed from any other religion-based program in CBC history. After two seasons, the CBC-TV program moved to a weeknight, becoming North America's only prime time program focusing on religious issues. Over the years, Man Alive featured an eclectic range of topics — from marriage, to apartheid, to UFOs. Roy Bonisteel was host from 1967 until he retired in 1989, after which hosts included Peter Downie, Arthur Kent and R.H Thompson, who hosted until the program's end in 2000. Here, we feature entire episodes from the 1972-73 season, plus excerpts from other seasons.

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Beyers Naudé

Broadcast Date: Dec. 4, 1972

Beyers Naudé was once a believer in apartheid, South Africa's national program of racial segregation. Like most white Afrikaners of his era, he was raised that way. But the horrors of 1960's Sharpeville massacre changed his thinking — and now, in 1973, he's a leader in the anti-apartheid movement. This has led to ostracism from his Afrikaner community. "But I'm convinced that this is a price which one has to pay for convictions sincerely held," says the Christian leader in this 1973 episode of Man Alive.

Beyers Naudé

• Because of his role in the struggle to end apartheid, the South African government deemed Naudé to be a "banned person" in 1977, which was essentially a form of house arrest that limited his ability to interact with others.

• His ban was lifted in 1984. In 1985, he succeeded Archbishop Desmond Tutu as Chairman of the South African Council of Churches.

• When Naudé passed away in 2004, the South African government held an official state funeral. President Thabo Mbeki spoke at the service, hailing Naudé as a key figure in South African history: "Sacrifices he made guaranteed us our peace and reconciliation because they told those who might have sought vengeance that the Afrikaner people are not their enemies, because Beyers Naudé was not their enemy but their comrade, friend and leader."

• In 2004, a television program aired in South Africa called Great South Africans (modelled after the BBC's Great Britons series, which also inspired CBC’s The Greatest Canadian). Based on an informal nationwide poll, Beyers Naudé came in at number 36 on the list of greatest South Africans.

Man Alive: Beyers Naudé

Medium: Television

Program: Man Alive

Broadcast Date: Dec. 4, 1972

Guest(s): Beyers Naudé

Duration: 23:54

Last updated:
April 4, 2011

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Media	Title and date	Description
Television 15:55	Feb. 8, 1993 Life in an orphanage	Alice Quinton recalls the theft of her childhood and her stigmatizing diagnosis.
Television 3:11	Nov. 15, 1988 The importance of a happy home	Callwood at home relaxing with her family.
Television 0:52	Nov. 15, 1988 Callwood's unhappy childhood	Growing up in Belle River, Ont.
Television 16:19	Nov. 22, 1981 Saint or subversive?	A Quebec missionary is murdered in Guatemala because his teachings too closely resemble Marxism.
Television 25:18	Feb. 15, 1981 Explaining evolution	Man Alive discusses evolution and the long-standing controversy it created.
Television 11:02	Jan. 4, 1981 Meeting the Dalai Lama	Roy Bonisteel sits down with the famed Tibetan leader to discuss life in exile.
Television 10:38	March 8, 1977 David Suzuki on making science accessible	As he becomes more famous, Suzuki talks about his motives for making science accessible.
Television 6:17	Sept. 24, 1973 The Gzowski family gives up TV	Peter Gzowski, a radio broadcaster and father of five, tries a "daring and hazardous" experiment with his family.
Television 27:27	May 14, 1973 Man Alive: Nature and spirituality	Man Alive host Roy Bonisteel, his children, and naturalist Wayne McLaren ponder the relationship between nature and spirituality while canoeing in the wilderness.
Television 57:10	April 30, 1973 Man Alive: Jews in Israel	Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the state of Israel, Man Alive looks at what it's like to be a Jew in Israel in 1973.
Television 26:21	April 16, 1973 Man Alive: Bruce McLeod	Man Alive spends a day with the new moderator of the United Church of Canada, 44-year-old Bruce McLeod, seen by some as the church's voice for a new generation.
Television 27:20	April 9, 1973 Man Alive: Jean Vanier	Jean Vanier, a champion for the mentally challenged, talks to Roy Bonisteel about the power of prayer.
Television 26:59	April 2, 1973 Man Alive: Development in New Guinea	In the second part of a two-part series on development, Man Alive explores a development project in West Irian, the Indonesian part of New Guinea.
Television 27:01	March 12, 1973 Man Alive: Development in Philippines	Man Alive looks at urban and rural development — and the many tricky issues associated with it — in the Philippines in 1973.
Television 26:44	March 5, 1973 Man Alive: Metropolitan Anthony Bloom	The head of Britain's Russian Orthodox Church discusses the Christian view of suffering and redemption.

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Man Alive

Beyers Naudé

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