The Women Of Ill Repute

Latest Episodes:

Carol Doda: Topless at the Condor Mar 26, 2024

Show notes

What IS the deal with boobs? Our preoccupation with women’s breasts isn’t just sexual, it’s social, historical, political and economic. No one knew that better than Carol Doda, a dancer and cocktail waitress, who, 60 years ago, dared to bare her nipples atop a baby grand piano as it descended from the ceiling of the Condor, a San Francisco nightclub. Somehow, it changed everything. Far from being exploited sex workers, Carol and her colleagues saw themselves as the harbingers of a revolution. Maybe so, but they paid dearly for it, submitting themselves not only to the male gaze, but the liquid silicone injections that assured it.

Carol Doda Topless at the Condor is a documentary set against the backdrop of the 1964 Republican National Convention, where the clash of values and emergence of a new sexual freedom were felt around the world. Filmmakers Marlo McKenzie and Jonathan Park join us to talk about the excitement and yes, the innocence of a time where a woman could have such an impact just by taking off her top.

You Can watch this episode on YouTube.

A Transcription of this episode is located on our episode page.

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If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Wendy and Maureen at womenofir@gmail.com

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Tassie Cameron: Law and Order Toronto Mar 19, 2024

Show notes

When Tassie Cameron first saw the opening credits for Law and Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, complete with the iconic DUN DUN sound effect, she felt a shiver up her spine. It was Cameron who was entrusted with the legendary series’ first foray beyond American borders, serving as show runner and head writer for the Canadian franchise. Tassie says Toronto is a natural fit, with its diverse population, distinct neighbourhoods and yes, rampant crime scene. There are differences, however, in our criminal justice system, and those can pose a challenge, along with the demanding responsibility to get the show right.

Tassie Cameron has a shiny resume, having written and produced a slew of award winning TV series such as Pretty Hard Cases, Flashpoint, Rookie Blue and Degrassi: The Next Generation. The daughter of crime reporter Stevie Cameron, Tassie grew up with the need to know whydunit as much as who. We talk about crime and corruption, using a Canadian cast and crew, and how Toronto is finally ready for its close-up.

You Can watch this episode on YouTube.

A Transcription of this episode is located on our episode page.

We love writing and would love for you to read what we write. Sign Up for our Substack Newsletter.

If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Wendy and Maureen at womenofir@gmail.com

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Tracy Dawson: The Trouble with Tracy Mar 12, 2024

Show notes

It felt like Old Home Week. A few years ago Tracy Dawson was on the CTV comedy show The Dish Show, co-hosted by you know who. Yes, of course, it was Mo. And Tracy is still tempting trouble, mouthing off and cracking jokes, only now she’s in L.A. She’s a comedy writer who’s just written her first book, “ Let Me Be Frank: A Book About Women Who Dressed Like Men To Do Sh**t They Weren’t Supposed To Do”.

Tracy got inspired after being told the TV shows she wanted to write for had “no female needs”! There may have been F-words expressed, but she’s a comedian, so the book is very funny. She is now working on a screen adaptation. We talk about how women can crack jokes, even if they wear pants with zippers in the front instead of in the back. Turns out front zippers were once for men only! Tracy is a writer, comedian and actress, who won a Gemini for her role in "Call Me Fitz" and has sold several TV projects in Canada and the U.S. She started at Second City in Toronto.

You Can watch this episode on YouTube.

A Transcription of this episode is located on our episode page.

We love writing and would love for you to read what we write. Sign Up for our Substack Newsletter.

If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Wendy and Maureen at womenofir@gmail.com

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Johanna Schneller: Star Whisperer Mar 05, 2024

Show notes

Why does the serious man movie always get the nod? On the eve of the Oscars, Johanna Schneller says some things don’t change. Hence Oppenheimer getting the glory and Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie getting snubbed. Wendy and Mo have different thoughts on the movie, but really? Barbie was huge! We talk to Johanna about Girl Power, why we love celebrities, and why Mean Girls may go on forever. But don’t worry, there are lots of reveals about getting famous people to open up.

Johanna is one of the top entertainment journalists in the world. We read her in the Globe & Mail, but also Vanity Fair, GQ, IN Style. She’s profiled Brad Pitt, Robert Downey Jr., Liam Neeson, Julia Roberts. She’s a screenwriter, with 4 major adapted screenplays, hosted The Filmmakers for CBC and TVO’s Saturday Night at the Movies! She’s co-written books about Toronto mayor Rob Ford, and transgender cyclist Kristen Worley. And, most recently The Last Doctor: Lessons in Living from the Front Lines of Medical Assistance in Dying. Johanna is married to writer Ian Brown, they have two children, including their son Walker, who was born with a rare and serious genetic disorder.

You Can watch this episode on YouTube.

A Transcription of this episode is located on our episode page.

We love writing and would love for you to read what we write. Sign Up for our Substack Newsletter.

If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Wendy and Maureen at womenofir@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bruce Cockburn: On a Roll Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

38 albums in, most of them gold or platinum, Bruce Cockburn is still Kicking at the Darkness. He’s a legendary singer-songwriter-activist who’s won 13 Juno awards, and is now heading out on tour with his latest, “O Sun, O Moon”, where he sings “In my soul, I’m on a roll”.

Now 78, Bruce is still trying to make the world a better place. We talk about the one time “the suits” got a say (Franklin the Turtle lyrics ), about others having hits with his songs (Lovers in a Dangerous Time), and the story behind his signature round glasses!

Bruce tells us he wondered if he was lacking the proper paternity gene, as he didn’t get to be around much for his first daughter. Now he has a second, and he’s become a US citizen to be with her and her mom in San Francisco. We were worried, him being a Canadian icon and all, but he’s kept his Canadian citizenship.

You Can watch this episode on YouTube.

A Transcription of this episode is located on our episode page.

We love writing and would love for you to read what we write. Sign Up for our Substack Newsletter.

If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Wendy and Maureen at womenofir@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Measha Brueggergosman-Lee: Open Hearted Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

Measha Brueggergosman-Lee is a diva in the true sense of the word: a famous female opera star, with all the fierce discipline and flair for drama that that entails. But Measha is also a mother, a wife, a memoirist, a 7th generation Canadian descended from Black loyalists, on her way to finishing a Masters degree in practical theology. She does everything wholeheartedly, which is all the more inspiring when you know her experience with cardiovascular disease, undergoing open-heart surgery not once but twice. Who better to be our guest this week, as February is not only Black History Month, but Heart Month as well?

Measha was born in New Brunswick, and now makes her home in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. Currently Artist in Residence with Opera Atelier, Measha has just released an album called Zombie Blizzard, featuring concert arias by Aaron Davis and Margaret Atwood. We talk about love, faith, honesty, race, health, and showing your scars .Measha Brueggergosman-Lee: both her heart and her names go on and on.

You Can watch the recording of the show on YouTube.

You can find a transcription of the show on our episode page.

We love writing and would love for you to read what we write. Sign Up for our Substack Newsletter.

If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Wendy and Maureen at womenofir@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Jennifer Gunter: The Gyno Guru Feb 13, 2024

Show notes

Is being a woman just like in the ads? Blood is blue, and we all need supplements that make us smell like a pina colada? Jennifer Gunter is a Canadian gynecologist who also writes for the New York Times, hosts a podcast, and has written several bestselling books: The Vagina bible, The Menopause Manifesto, and now: BLOOD, The Science, Medicine and Mythology of Menstruation. She lives and practices in California, but her new book is the #1 bestseller in Canada.

There’s lots of science, as she says, “Come for the sex, stay for the science”, but Gunter is also a myth-buster. She takes on GOOP, patriarchal thinking, and naturopaths. Wait til you hear what she says about the hymen! We talk about her new book, but also how we need more knowledge and appreciation, not just more supplements!

You Can watch this episode on YouTube.

A Transcription of this episode is located on our episode page.

We love writing and would love for you to read what we write. Sign Up for our Substack Newsletter.

If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Wendy and Maureen at womenofir@gmail.com

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Alan Doyle: Happy Man Feb 06, 2024

Show notes

Alan Doyle says the best part of leaving, is coming home. And home is Newfoundland. His elders voted to keep Newfoundland a country, but they lost the 1949 referendum and joined Canada. Alan is the first generation Canadian in his family. We talk about his love of touring, of music, of acting beside Russell Crowe, and partying in pubs. Alan plans to keep performing forever. Why, he asks, would one ever retire?

We tried to get him to confess to being secretly unhappy. It didn’t work. His new album is a bit more country, much more intimate, and he dares us to find his actual confessions in the songs. Still, it’s the good times, the old songs and sounds, that keep him going. After years of performing with Great Big Sea, he’s got a new band and a new album, called of course, “Welcome Home”.

You can watch the episode on YouTube

A Transcription is available on the episode page

We love writing and would love for you to read what we write. Sign Up for our Substack Newsletter.

If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Wendy and Maureen at womenofir@gmail.com

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Molly McGlynn: Fitting In Jan 30, 2024

Show notes

Molly McGlynn has a lot to distinguish her: an accomplished writer and director, her first feature film Mary Goes Round won multiple awards at all the cool festivals, and she’s written for TV shows like Workin’ Moms, The Wonder Years and Grace and Frankie. Molly’s latest feature film, however, is a semi-autobiographical account of a teenager who discovers she was born wth a rare disorder called MRKH syndrome, which impacts the development of the uterus, cervix and vagina, and is sometimes classified as intersex.Hence, Fitting In, starring dance phenom Maddie Ziegler and Schitt’s Creek actor Emily Hampshire, an extremely personal story about coping with the surprises our bodies can throw at us. We talk about Molly’s own experience, the dark humour that pervades it, and what’s involved in building your own vagina.

See the Trailer here!

Fitting In is set for theatrical release in February 2024.

A video version of this episode here.

A Transcription can be found on the episode page here.

We love writing and would love for you to read what we write. Sign Up for our Substack Newsletter.

If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Wendy and Maureen at womenofir@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily O'Brien: Comeback Kid Jan 23, 2024

Show notes

When she was 26, Emily O’Brien, a promising young woman (as they say) from Hamilton, Ontario made a really bad judgment call, and was sentenced to 4 years in prison for drug smuggling. That could have been the end of her story, as it is for so many, but Emily, given lemons, decided to turn them into lemon (and pepper and dill) flavoured popcorn.

While still incarcerated, Emily started Comeback Snacks, a gourmet popcorn business that allowed her to not only reinvent her own life, but those of some of her fellow inmates.Not only does Comeback Snacks offer truly delicious popcorn, but, through its partnerships with organizations like the John Howard and Elizabeth Fry Societies, it provides opportunities to people with criminal backgrounds to reintegrate and start anew. We talk with Emily about the arrest that changed her life, her time in prison, and her newfound mission.

Comeback Snacks - popcorn so good it’s criminal - is carried in over 200 stores, and can be ordered at https://comebacksnacks.com/shop.

A video version of this episode here.

A Transcription can be found on the episode page here.

We love writing and would love for you to read what we write. Sign Up for our Substack Newsletter.

If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Wendy and Maureen at womenofir@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices