The Women Of Ill Repute

Latest Episodes:

Vivek Shraya: How to Succeed as a TV Star Oct 17, 2023

Show notes

Vivek Shraya wants to talk about failure. She has a new TV series on CBC called “How to Fail as a Popstar”. Vivek says that failure is what keeps her up at night. Why didn’t she become the next Madonna? Did people think she was too brown? Too queer? Or maybe she was too held down by people’s expectations? Vivek embraces the failure, and argues we need to stop focusing on resilience and allow for disappointment.

Meanwhile, Vivek is an associate professor, a filmmaker, the author of several books, a musician, and a huge success. She’s also written, produced and starred in this new series. Vivek talks to us about what it’s like to cast herself, starting out as a nerdy little brown boy singing at the West Edmonton Mall, to the transgendered woman she is now with a big story to tell.

You can watch the video of the recording here on YouTube.

A transcription of the show is available here.

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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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Jon Dore: Border Crosser Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

Jon Dore is a national treasure, or will be when he returns to Canada from Alaska, where he’s been living these past few years. He’s not everyone’s cup of maple syrup, however. His humour lurks on the dark side: domestic arguments, pregnancy, cancer, his own surprise diagnosis of epilepsy. There are few borders Jon won’t cross, literally and figuratively. We talk about lifestyle changes, free speech, love of family and country, and being best friends with an 8 year old.Jon Dore was named Best Newcomer by the Canadian Comedy Awards back in 2013. Ten years later, he won the Juno for his album A Person who is Gingerbread. In between, Jon has created, hosted and appeared in lots of big shows, like Canadian Idol, How I Met Your Mother, Inside Amy Schumer, Humour Resources and The Lake. He currently lives in Juneau, Alaska with his partner Christina and their two children, but hopes to move back to his native Ottawa.

You Can watch the episode on YouTube.

A transcription of the show is available 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

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Jennifer Podemski: The Storyteller Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

Good stories don’t have to be based in truth, but they are all the more compelling when they are. Have you seen Little Bird? You must. The series, available on Crave, tells the story of Esther Rosenblum, born Bezhig Little Bird, a First Nations woman who was adopted into a Jewish family during the Sixties Scoop, when children were forcibly taken from their families.

Jennifer herself is half Jewish, half Ojibwa. She’s a brilliant and highly acclaimed actress, writer and producer, but sees herself as a clown, and would have joined Cirque du Soleil if she hadn’t broken her leg in a ski accident. We talk about family, work, kids and culture and the importance of being able to tell your own story.

You Can watch the episode on YouTube.

A transcription of the show is available 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

Melissa Bubb-Clarke: Backstage Sep 26, 2023

Show notes

She has a lot of letters: SVP at MLSE. Melissa Bubb-Clarke has a big job overseeing music and other live events at huge arenas. But what’s really cool is that she gets to see behind the stage and meet the stars! We talk to Melissa about her favourite concerts (like the Tragically Hip), brown M&Ms, and what it’s really like for the Madonnas of the world behind the scenes. We resisted the temptation to grovel for free tickets.As Vice President at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, she oversees the Entertainment portfolio including Live Nation Canada. Melissa also sits on the board of the Academy of Canadian Recording Arts and Sciences. WM.

You can watch this episode on YouTube.

A transcription of this episode is available here.

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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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Sheila McCarthy: Women of Ill Repute Talking Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

Even when playing old ladies, she’s beautiful. Sheila McCarthy is one of those people you feel like you’ve known forever. And maybe we have. She’s been in everything, and now stars in Sarah Polley’s “Women Talking”, the Oscar-winning movie based on a true story by Miriam Toews about Mennonite women and girls drugged and then raped by men they know in their Bolivian colony. It’s all about violence and women talking!!!! It’s important, and it works. Sheila talks about learning to say sorry to someone who’s been abused, getting the role, and having her feet washed by the Queen! (Aka Claire Foy, who yes, is also in the movie)Sheila’s an actor, dancer, and singer.

She’s been at it since she was 5. She first broke through in “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing”, then in “Emily of New Moon”, “Little Mosque on the Prairie”, and in many Anne of Green Gables shows. She has won gobs of Genies, Geminis, ACTRA’s. WM

You can watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

A transcription of this episode is available 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

We now have a YouTube Channel! Please hit the Subscribe button when you get there. And because you asked for it - Future episodes will be in video form. https://www.youtube.com/@WomenofIllRepute

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Colin Mochrie: The Ambivert Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

Colin Mochrie: The AmbivertIs an ambivert a pervert? No, it’s most of us! Maybe we are all just less funny versions of Colin Mochrie, who reveals he is, of course, an ambivert, someone who feels comfortable in social situations but also really enjoys time alone. You may know Colin as an extrovert, but he’s often really introverted. He says he’s afraid his neighbours might think he’s a dick, when he’s really just shy.Colin is a famous improv guy, he was on the U.K. and U.S. versions of “Whose Line is it Anyway” for decades. He is now doing big shows in L.A. with a hypnotist. He tells us why “Hyprov” is a perfect mix for improv. He also performs “Scared Scriptless” with comedian Brad Sherwood. His wife, Deb McGrath, who he met at Toronto’s Second City, is also an improv pro. She is an extrovert! He says they just hide away in different corners of the house when the laughs run out.

You can watch this episode on YouTube.

A transcription of this episode is available 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

Samantha Irby: Quietly Hostile Sep 05, 2023

Show notes

Samantha Irby is not as hostile as she might like us to think, quietly or otherwise. What she is is brutally and hilariously honest. Fierce and foul-mouthed, Sam joins us to talk about why it’s ok not to like your body … How she’s not responsible for killing Big on And Just Like That, but did help expedite his demise (send your outraged emails to us, not her). Also: how to be a decent stepparent, what she keeps in her purse, and her crazy pandemic Chihuahua. Oh, and the world’s best moisturizer. The New York Times calls Samantha Irby “a side-splitting polemicist for the most awful situations”.

A blogger, writer and television writer, Sam has published five books, including her latest, Quietly Hostile, which she describes as a survival guide (of sorts). Her essay collection Wow, No Thank You won the Lambda Literary Award in 2021. Subscribe to Samantha Irby on Substack where she publishes Bitches Gotta Eat.

You can watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

A transcription of this episode is available 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

We now have a YouTube Channel! Please hit the Subscribe button when you get there. And because you asked for it - Future episodes will be in video form. https://www.youtube.com/@WomenofIllRepute

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

Mary Berg: The Next Big Thing Aug 15, 2023

Show notes

This is Mary Berg’s moment. If you haven’t noticed, Mary is everywhere these days. She’s already been on our radar as the winner of MasterChef Canada, the host of two cooking shows, the author of three cookbooks and now … the host of The Good Stuff with Mary Berg, a new national daytime talk and lifestyle series replacing the irreplaceable Marilyn Denis on CTV’s fall schedule. Despite her pretty damn adorable appearance, Mary is no lightweight: she learned to cook as the result of a family tragedy. She has degrees in history, English and information science. She worked as an insurance broker, then quit to compete in MasterChef - without any formal culinary training. Sure, Mary makes it easy, but we know better. We talk recipes and entertaining tips, but also how exciting - and daunting - it is to be on the precipice of being the next big thing.

This episode is in partnership with Kitchen Stuff Plus. It’s Back to School time again, and you can find everything you need for yourself and your family at KSP’s back to school event. Lunchbags, water bottles, all important FOOD STORAGE (Mo’s obsession). Back to School made easy, with 24 stores across the GTA. Or shop online at https://www.kitchenstuffplus.com

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A transcription of the episode is available here.

You can also watch the episode here through our YouTube Channel.

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

Suzanne Boyd: Ageless Glam Aug 08, 2023

Show notes

What does it mean to age gracefully? Does it involve defiance or acceptance? For Suzanne Boyd, editor-in-chief of Zoomer magazine, it means making the most and best of the time we have, each according to his or her own preference. There’s a world of opportunity for people over the age of, say, 45? But it’s also OK to wear pyjamas and watch Jeopardy all day, if that fulfills you. Of course it helps if you have Suzanne’s drive, energy and downright gorgeousness. Come meet the woman who says comfort is overrated, and that she’d never be caught dead in a loafer, unless it’s a silver platform.

Moses Znaimer says Suzanne Boyd is the only Canadian editor who is her own brand. Prior to her current role running Zoomer media, Suzanne was editor-in-chief at Flare magazine, the first person of colour to helm a national Canadian publication. Then she went to New York to launch Suede magazine, where she was named to Advertising Age’s prestigious A List and was also lauded in The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Italian Vogue and Women’s Wear Daily. She is perennially named to multiple Best Dressed lists.

A Transcription of this episode is available 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

We now have a YouTube Channel! Please hit the Subscribe button when you get there. And because you asked for it - Future episodes will be in video form. https://www.youtube.com/@WomenofIllRepute

You can also watch the show on YouTube Here.

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Zoe Whittall: Lovers And Liars Aug 01, 2023

Show notes

Have you ever been scammed? Ripped off? Betrayed? Lied to? Ever fallen for a sociopath? Are YOU a sociopath? How would you know if you were? These are the questions we discuss with Zoe Whittall, author of the bestselling novel “The Fake”. Zoe is a Canadian poet, teacher TV writer and novelist. She has won all sorts of awards for her work, including being shortlisted for the Giller Prize, and her 2016 novel, The Best Kind of People, is being developed for film by Sarah Polley. “The Fake” is her fifth novel, and tells the story of a charming con artist who changes the lives of two victims (or patsies, as Mo calls them). We also tackle humour and mental health, Judy Blume, and growing up in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

“The Fake” is published by Harper Collins. Zoe is currently working on a book based on the Gilmore Girls, to be edited by Jen Sookfong Lee - another Woman of Ill Repute!

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

A Transcription of the show can be found here.

We now have a YouTube Channel! Please hit the Subscribe button when you get there. And because you asked for it - Future episodes will be in video form.

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

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