We’re excited to share news of an extraordinary project in honour of David Illiatovitch-Owen: a new podcast, My Brother David, coming in 2026 from Sarah Illiatovitch-Goldman in partnership with iHeart Media.
Many long-time Bayview readers will remember David as the spirited proprietor of De La Mer Fresh Fish & Seafood. While he had a soft side, his friends and family fondly remember his razor-sharp wit, unapologetically unfiltered opinions, and language spicy enough to require its own disclaimer — in other words, the ideal co-pilot for this podcast.
His presence in the community left a lasting mark, and now his voice and story will reach even farther. In 2023, at age 48, David passed away after fighting a courageous and lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.
iHeart Media is co-producing My Brother David, providing major support for recording, production, promotion, and distribution, with the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of listeners. Sarah’s team, including world-renowned podcaster Julie Shapiro, is hard at work bringing the project to life — and additional donations to Cue6 Theatre (a registered non-profit) will help ensure the podcast reaches its full potential. Contributions are tax-deductible and deeply appreciated.
Read more about the project, in the words of David’s father, Jeff:
Dear Family, Friends and Colleagues,
As you may recall, when my son, David, was informed in 2022 that his treatment for pancreatic cancer had been unsuccessful resulting in a terminal prognosis, he asked his younger sister, Sarah, to record his thoughts and experiences so that others might learn from his journey and receive some measure of comfort from someone fighting a similar battle. It was David’s wish that, if possible, these recordings be transformed into a podcast with as wide a reach as possible. To assist in facilitating that dream, Sarah started a Go Fund Me campaign to obtain seed money for production and you were kind and generous in donating to this cause. Sarah and her team used the contributions from you to produce high quality samples of what the podcast might be and then knocked on countless doors in search of media companies that would want to move the project forward.
I am therefore delighted and excited to inform you of the remarkable result of your generosity. The fact that I am sharing this news during World Pancreatic Cancer Month and during the week of the second anniversary of David’s untimely passing at the age of 48 feels somehow to not be a mere coincidence.
The tenacious dedication of Sarah to fulfill her brother’s wish, coupled with her own inimitable talents, have resulted in iHeart Media, www.iheartmedia.com the world leader in podcast broadcasting and distribution (through their own international network of radio stations and affiliates) committing to air a multi-episode podcast titled “My Brother David” commencing in the Fall of 2026. Sarah and her team will be responsible for producing the podcast in conjunction with iHeart.
iHeart’s commitment includes substantial financial investment in production expenses as well as providing recording facilities, technical assistance and the costs of promotion and distribution. The podcast will be broadcast on the iHeart Network and its affiliates and it is not unusual, especially if there is audience uptake of the story, for such podcasts to attract hundreds of thousands or even millions of listeners. Moreover, although Sarah will maintain strict control over the content of the podcast, it will be branded as an iHeart co-production (as opposed to a podcast produced out of house for which iHeart serves only as the promoter/distributor). Historically, iHeart co-productions are the highest rated offerings of its catalogue and tend to draw the largest number of listeners.
So what you have assisted to foster my dear friends, has become truly remarkable. Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for what you have helped to achieve.
Sarah’s team, which now includes world-renowned podcaster Julie Shapiro www.julieshapiro.org, will be working hard to complete the production over the coming months. Despite the significant contributions of iHeart, monies will still be required to bring the project to the finish line. I will not impose any further upon your generosity. Should you decide to additionally support this project however, I know it would be greatly appreciated. Cue6 Theatre www.cue6.ca, a not for profit arts organization that Sarah helped found, has been retained to provide staff and technical resources for the podcast production. As Cue6 is trusteed for charitable giving by the Veritas Foundation theveritasfoundation.com, any further donations to this project will be eligible for a charitable tax receipt.
I will leave you with three things:
First, please find below FAQs put together by Sarah about the podcast. The FAQs includes links to a sample of the podcast and how to donate. Second, please feel free to share this email with anyone who you think might be interested in this project. Third, while our tears over the loss of David endure, our grief is somehow softened by the knowledge that his voice and indomitable spirit will be there for others through this podcast. Thanks for making that possible.
If you have any questions, please get back to me.
Jeff
Podcast FAQS From Sarah:
What’s the name of the podcast?
- My Brother David
What’s happening with the podcast?
- The podcast has been picked up by iHeart Media. www.iheartmedia.com
iHeart is one of the biggest podcast organizations in the world. Not only are they picking up the podcast (amazing in and of itself) but they have also chosen the podcast as one of the few that they are actually co-producing. They are putting their name on it alongside ours and giving us all kinds of financial, production, promotion and distribution resources to make sure that it is made impeccably well and that people hear it. They think it has huge potential to win awards, touch hearts, and open minds. It is not unrealistic to think that hundreds of thousands of people will now be listening to David’s story. We plan to release it at the beginning of next November to align with both Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month and the third anniversary of David’s death.
If iHeart has picked it up, why are you fundraising?
- The short answer: There is a portion of money that we are responsible for raising to pay our team.
The longer answer: iHeart is giving us many resources to take this way beyond the scope of what we could have imagined and some of that includes money, but with all the people who will be listening to this, we need to make sure it is the best it can be. So in a way, iHeart coming on board means our budget has had to expand significantly.
Are donations tax deductible?
- YES! Cue6 Theatre, the arts organization I helped found and of which I am the literary manager, has been retained to provide resources and staff to produce the podcast. Cue6 is a registered non-profit organization that is trusteed by the Veritas Foundation. When you donate to Cue6 through our website, you will get a tax deductible charitable donation receipt through the Veritas Foundation.
Can I hear the podcast?
- Not yet! But you can listen to the promo for it here (at the bottom) www.cue6.ca/my-brother-david and also see some short videos produced by Cue6 about the project and to assist Pancreatic Cancer Canada (now Pancreatic Cancer North America) www.pancreaticcancernorthamerica.ca for 2024 World Pancreatic Cancer Month.
How do I give?
- Directly through the cue6 website – www.cue6.ca/my-brother-david
Our heartfelt thanks to the family for allowing this to be shared with the Bayview community.