Photo: Brie O’Keefe, left, and Melaw Nakehk’o, right, first launched their podcast “Lynx River Revisited” in December of 2025. The pair, having both watched “North of 60” growing up, sought to create their podcast to discuss the accuracy of the show’s portrayal of living in the NWT. Photo courtesy of Pat Kane
By: Kody Ferron
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Yellowknifer
The second season of a Yellowknife-produced podcast is on the horizon and this time, it will be appearing on YouTube.
Lynx River Revisited: A North of 60 Rewatch Podcast, premiered its first season in December 2025. The podcast, hosted by Indigenous artist Melaw Nakehk’o and “NWT settler” Brie O’Keefe, reflects on the legacy of the CBC TV series “North of 60,” which aired between 1992 and 1997. The podcast discusses the accuracy of the television series, using the hosts’ extensive and diverse experience growing up and living in the NWT.
The podcast has received $20,000 from the Indigenous Screen Office, which will go towards producing the second season of the show in partnership with Youtube. All episodes will be made available on the platform.
In recognition of the team’s work on season one, the podcast was selected for showcase at the 2026 National imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival, which is being held in Toronto between June 2 and 8.
About becoming a YouTuber, O’Keefe says she’ll have to fake it till she makes it.
“I’m not a seasoned, Indigenous fashion week model, or A-list film star, like my co-host,” she said, “So, I think I’ll get used to it.”
Nakehk’o says she’s optimistic that the new step towards YouTube stardom will be a fun opportunity for the team.
“We had zero intentions of becoming YouTubers,” she said. “I think it’ll be fun. I always really love trying new things, and I love new media. I think there’s so much we can do with new media, especially in the North, because a lot of YouTube is just ‘do it yourself’.”
The series has been lauded by the Lynx River Revisited hosts for its general authenticity to life North of the 60th parallel.
“What they got right, 10 out of 10, every single time, is community dynamics, gossip; both the toxic and the positive, and the multilayered nature of the relationships you have to have when you all are coexisting so closely,” said O’Keefe.
Nakehk’o similarly praised the show’s accuracy.
“Today, there’s so many inaccuracies with how Indigenous communities are portrayed in mainstream media,” said Nakehk’o. “But at the time, in the 1990s, they did an excellent job.”
“You could tell they cared,” added O’Keefe. “They really cared about that side of this show.”
Launching Lynx River Revisited was no small feat for the pair, as bringing their vision to life took coordination between – and help from – many different groups.
The hosts said season one of the podcast was funded by the NWT Arts Council, and that Cabin Radio was integral in helping the pair to find their stylistic approach to the podcast.
“They just have always had our backs, and it’s been such a great partner to work with,” said O’Keefe.
Additionally, as the Indigenous Screen Office funding requires that as many team members as possible be Indigenous, scheduling recording sessions around the limited availability of Indigenous camera operators also presented a challenge for the podcast.
Ultimately, despite the challenges associated with production, the team behind the podcast agrees: the investment of time and sweat-equity was worth it.