The Women Of Ill Repute

Well hello. It’s been a while. We are back, but only to say goodbye, then take you with us. After almost three years of being independent podcasters with the Sound Off Network, we are moving over to Substack. Substack is primarily a writers’ platform, but you can host podcasts there too, so we are taking the existing episodes of Women of Ill Repute (all 95 of them!) and putting them up there. You can still listen to us on Apple and Spotify and all the places you already get your pods, but on Substack they will be completely ad free. You’ll also have access to our newsletter, and whatever other content we dream up, like recipes, dark family secrets, and dark family secret recipes. Furthermore, it won’t cost you anything, unless you want to support us (for as little as $6 a month). We get into the why’s and wherefore’s in this episode, and if we sound a little wistful, well, we are. Have a listen, then come find us at https://womenofillrepute.substack.com/ We’ll see you over there! Xxxx Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Summer Throwback series continues. Is 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. We have a new sponsor! Embark is owned by a not-for-profit foundation, and they only do education planning and savings. They are passionate about helping students reach their full potential. The Embark Student Plan is a registered education savings plan (RESP) that supports your child’s journey to and through post-secondary education. Start an account using the promo code REPUTE100 and we’ll contribute $100. 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

Our Summer Throwback series continues. 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 have a new sponsor! Embark is owned by a not-for-profit foundation, and they only do education planning and savings. They are passionate about helping students reach their full potential. The Embark Student Plan is a registered education savings plan (RESP) that supports your child’s journey to and through post-secondary education. Start an account using the promo code REPUTE100 and we’ll contribute $100. 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

This week we go back to Episode 20 and the First Man. Rick Mercer was the first male to appear on our show. We decided to open up the floodgates and talk to anyone fearless and/or funny enough to want to talk to US, and no one fits that bill better than Rick. He’s been called a national treasure, Canada’s beloved comic genius, the scourge of Parliament Hill, and … the nicest man you’d ever want to meet. We love Rick for a million reasons, but especially because he works at the intersection of comedy and journalism. Whether he’s talking to Americans about Prime Minister Jean Poutine, or trying to convince Stockwell Day to change his name to Doris, Rick makes us think and laugh, then think again. We talk about Newfoundland, Meech Lake, anger, friendship, being funny, paying it forward, and Rick’s love of his partner of 30 years. Rick Mercer has more awards (25 Geminis), honorary degrees (9), and causes (UNICEF, Casey House, climate change, anti-bullying, gay youth) than anyone ever. He’s an officer of the Order of Canada, an honorary RCAF colonel, and the recipient of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. Not bad for a kid from St. John’s who never finished Grade 12. He’s written several books, including his latest, “Talking to Canadians: a Memoir”, and is thinking of starting a podcast. 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

It's August and we are into some Summer Throwbacks! We go back to earlier this year and Measha Brueggergosman-Lee, 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 as we release this in February, 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

Sometimes singers sing about singing, writers write about writing, and podcasters podcast about … yes, podcasting. This episode is actually a live off the floor recording of an interview we did with Sarah Burke, the founder of the Women in Media podcast and network. It takes place in Toronto at the Soundwave Summit, a conference and showcase for independent podcasters. Sarah tells us about why and how she started her pod, and then her network, and we all have a good chat about the ups and downs of this strange, still nascent little industry. Podcasting is an opportunity for everyone to have a voice. The question is … should they? And if so, how to do it successfully? To be honest, we are still figuring that out ourselves. A video and transcription of the show are 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So Wendy never reads sports, but always reads Cathal Kelly, the sports writer at the Globe and Mail. He’s funny and fearless and clever, Cathal just happens to have chosen sports as the best vehicle. We pretended we were going to talk about the upcoming Paris Olympics, and we did! (Cathal loves the Olympics, aka 23-year-olds doing crazy, exceptional things, sometimes involving the River Seine) We also talk about his book, a memoir Cathal wrote a couple of years ago, called “Boy Wonders”. The book says intimacy makes him nervous, but it’s so revealing. He tells of loving Morrissey of The Smiths and George Orwell, who both argue your dreams usually don’t come true. Just try to be happy, says Cathal, but then why has he not lowered his expectations for his writing? We talk about that, how his mother is still terrifying, and how the perfect way to style your hair is with French Formula hairspray. A video and transcription of the show are 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We both feel like we know her, Martha Chaves is after all the funniest Nicaraguan Canadian LGBTQ+ Stand Up Comedian in the World! We know her best from radio shows like “The Debaters”, and “Because News”. She also teaches comedy at Humber and Metropolitan Toronto University, showing the ropes to people just starting out. Martha tells us she’s heard and seen lots of sexism, racism and homophobia over the years in Stand Up, but she just pushes ahead. On her own at 17, (leaving Nicaragua is quite the story!) she figured out how to be positive and stay that way. One of her jokes is about Preparation H, and let’s just say it stirred a TV confession…. 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 is available on the episode page. You can also watch the show here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We love books and authors, we consider a lot of them for our podcast, but Vancouver Island’s Chelsea Wakelyn sent us an intriguing email. So we read her first book and got truly blown away. “What Remains of Elsie Jane” is a quasi-fictional story about losing her beloved partner, father to her kids, to drugs and addiction just as the opioid crisis began sweeping B.C. All while Chelsea was in her 30’s. It sounds like a gut-wrencher. And yes, it’s tragic and raw, but it’s also side-splittingly funny.We talked about being a weirdo, lust, Joan Didion and magical thinking, sneaking cigarettes, and how abstinence is not necessarily a virtue. Chelsea’s long-time day job has been as a toxic drug counsellor. And then, right after we recorded, something happened. Please enjoy the chat, and we’ll update at the end. 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 is available on the episode page. You can also watch the show here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are many pathways to fame and fortune, but being exceptionally good at doing laundry is an unusual one. Enter Melissa Dilkes Pateras, whose knowledge of housecleaning tips and tricks has turned her into an internet sensation. Well, that, and her sly sense of humour and unblinking acknowledgement of her sexuality. A resident of Uxbridge, Ontario, and mother of three, Melissa started making videos during the Covid-19 lockdown to entertain herself, and went viral on Facebook, then TikTok, and ultimately an appearance on the CBS Morning Show. She also found love when she connected with her now wife Tracy, who moved from Australia to Canada to be together. We talk love, keeping a clean house, trad wives, and the truth about laundry strips (it’s not good). 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 is available on the episode page. You can also watch the show here. Melissa is the author of “A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home: Housekeeping Hacks You Can’t Live Without”. Follow her on Facebook and TikTok. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s no getting away from Ann Pornel, not that you would want to. She’s loud, she’s proud, she’s utterly glamorous and funny as hell. Ann’s a sketch comedian and an actress who is best known as the host of The Great Canadian Baking Show. Born in the Philippines, Ann moved with her family to Canada, then came up through the comedy ranks at the University of Toronto (yes, U of T is a hotbed of comedy). She’s written for Baroness Von Sketch and This Hour has 22 Minutes, and was recently recognized as one of Canada’s Top 25 Immigrants - not bad for a country built by immigrants. We talk home cooking, recipe boxes, sitting on your front porch, Oprah and Ozempic, owning the word “fat”, and the transformative power of being funny. 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

George Stroumboulopoulos is a man for all seasons. He’s everything: a media personality, broadcaster, former VJ, radio, talk and reality show host, social advocate and one time host of Hockey Night in Canada. Everyone knows George, and George know everyone, but what do we really know about him? He’s 51 and lives in L.A. now, where he does a show for Apple Music. He’s a vegan who embraces a straight edge lifestyle, rides a motorcycle and loves heavy metal. He’s single (we think, but who knows) and has no plans to ever have children. His life is an open book - you can ask him anything, and we do, about his humble beginnings in West Toronto, the many famous people he’s met and befriended, and the fallout from his all too brief stint hosting Hockey Night. Still, Strombo remains a bit of a mystery, which of course makes him all the more interesting. No video for this episode - technical issues. Sorry. You can grab a copy of the transcription 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We had to ask about the red hair, does one get ridiculed or admired? Loreena McKennitt has a mass of beautiful red curls but is mostly admired for her music. When Mo thinks of her, she sees mists and magic and fairy tales. Loreena’s sold more than 14 million albums and toured the world with her harp and her beloved band of fellow musicians. She’s a singer, songwriter and composer with a new album full of early Celtic tunes called “The Road Back Home”, and is going on tour where she hopes the audience will sing along with her! Loreena’s never had a manager and organizes the tours herself. She says the insurance during Covid was half a million dollars! We talk to her about the joys of touring and about being a privacy activist. Ok, that was our word, Loreena says she’s not an activist, but she sure sounds like one, as she speaks about trying to make the world a better place. She was born in Morden, Manitoba and now lives in Stratford Ontario. You can watch the show on our YouTube page. You can grab a copy of the transcription 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Going to the coconut tree”. You hear it all the time on “Survivor”. What does that mean? Erica Casupanan spills the beans. She is the first Canadian to win “Survivor”, and the first Filipino. Tiny and Asian, she was tired of always being underestimated, so she used it on “Survivor 41”. Erika voted out her rivals, won over everyone else, and surprise, she won! More than a million bucks. A bit more than her previous salary as a communications manager, where she saw power dynamics at play. People are treating her very seriously now. Mo tried to get Wendy to try out for Amazing Race Canada, but Wendy couldn’t imagine life without her special pillow. Then Erika said she was only allowed to wear underwear for the whole show. That had absolutely nothing to do with Wendy’s decision. Really. Erika now does a podcast, called “Happy to See Me”, where she is not so secretly trying to make the world a better place. And to hell with the trolls, winning “Survivor” taught her she can do anything. As for the million bucks, Erica’s only bought one pair of fancy shoes. 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

Michael Smith is a Celebrity Chef who decided he had a problem with the Celebrity part. He’s kind of a big deal, has published several cookbooks, hosted TV shows on the Canadian Food Network, and wore the chef’s hat at some big-name restaurants around the world. Now, tired of Michelin-priced restaurants, he moved to Prince Edward Island and runs the 5-star “Inn at Bay Fortune”, where the farm is as sumptuous as the food. And there are oysters. Some nights he helps shuck 700 of them. Chef Michael got married, had kids, and embraced his inner tree hugger. He’s a nutritional activist, who says he went through a preachy period, but now he’s just trying to be “real”. We talk to him about tipping (he’s not for it), the show “The Bear” (he loves it), and living on the Island. We didn’t ask him for any potato recipes. Although He’s 6.5 –that would be a lot of potatoes. 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

Ron James says comedy should never be mean, but he sure has a lot of opinions! You should hear what he says about Quebec comedians. Is there a geographic link to comedy, a humour gene unique to Eastern Canada? Ron says he learned the power of laughter at his father’s knee in Glace Bay and then Halifax. That’s why he loves to tour, he says laughs are truly the bottom line.Like so many comedians, Ron got his start at Second City in Toronto. Then he moved to Los Angeles, and hosted a TV show. Alas, the show was short-lived, so Ron moved back and wrote a book called “Up and Down in Shaky Town: One Man’s Journey Through the California Dream”. It got turned into a CTV special, then he wrote and hosted “Blackfly” on Global, and “The Ron James Show” on CBC. And he tours! Ron has been selling out theatres across Canada for years. Book or go see Ron James here. 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

Jen Gerson of “The Line” readily admits to being a mouthy babe, but only when she writes, she insists she is actually shy. Jen says she’s just opinionated, not trying to change anyone’s mind. She argues that’s not a journalist's job, that only activists try to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable”. Well, call us afflicted! Her writing makes us think. Jen has written for The New York Times, The Economist, Macleans, the National Post and The Globe and Mail. Now, she co-hosts “The Line” on Substack with Matt Gurney, and is writing a book about the Satanic Panic! We ask her about the Q-Anon Satanic cult accusations now being slung at the Democrats, and the ongoing attraction of moral panics and conspiracy theories. It seems we eat up all the sex and violence. Amongst all of this, we talk about the changing views on immigration, and how it’s catnip for both Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre. You should subscribe to The Line's Substack, and their podcast. 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

You know you know Michaela Watkins, but you may not know why. Then you remember (or are told) that she’s been in over a hundred sitcoms, dramas and comedies, including a 2 year stint on SNL. And then you remember that you love her, and when you see her latest movie, Suze, you’ll remember why. In Suze, Michaela plays a woman who once wanted more for herself and sets about reclaiming it, with the help of her daughter’s abandoned boyfriend (played by up and coming Canadian actor Charlie Gillespie). Like Suze, Michaela is a woman whose long overdue time has come. We talk about how she so often plays the friend or the sister to the main character (like her real life pal Julia Louis Dreyfus.) How important kindness becomes as you get older. Coping with menopause, oh, and the trails and tribulations of having ADHD, or working with someone who does. Ahem. Suze is available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV. 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

Ron Sexsmith says “I’m not really shy, I’m just Canadian”. He’s a singer-songwriter who has never had a top 40 hit, is not rich, but is deeply admired by the people he admires most. Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, and Gordon Lightfoot, are all, were all, huge fans. Sexmsith’s songs, like “Secret Heart”, have been performed by everyone from Rod Stewart to Feist to Nick Lowe.We spoke to him as he was about to headline at Toronto’s storybook Massey Hall. When Ron was a kid and couldn’t afford a ticket, he’d hang outside to see his heroes, now he’s on the same stage. There’s no Taylor Swift action, but if you look carefully, he does move his hips! And Ron is happy. He left the bright lights of Toronto and moved to Stratford where he just recorded his 18th album, “The Vivian Line”. Ron’s wife Colleen had to plug in his computer, but you should see him on Twitter/X. The puns are excruciatingly funny, or maybe just excruciating! You can listen to his new album HERE on any one of the many ways to get music these days. 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

Award-winning director and cinematographer Dianne Whelan does not choose easy topics. She’s made docs about Mount Everest, and the Arctic, but this one, about being the first to tackle the whole Trans Canada Trail, takes the cake. Or in this case, the reheated oatmeal. Dianne has called her new documentary “500 Days in the Wild”, because that was the plan, to travel from St. John’s NL. to Victoria B.C., 24 thousand miles in 500 days. Only it took 6 years. Dianne burnt the original schedule and gave in to a harrowing, grueling, and heart-warming adventure. She began the trek disheartened and disillusioned, her marriage was over, her beloved dog had died, and the world was getting scary. On the trip, she fell in love, learned how people can be extraordinarily kind, and she survived. She came close but was not mauled to death by a bear, her canoe did not get swamped. The doc has stunning shots from across Canada, but what sticks is her confirmation that we are not in charge. 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

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. 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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

Andrea Werhun embraces being called a whore. But she’s really about work, about making money, about boundaries, and yes, having a good time. She’s also an activist who is tired of feeling sex workers should be ashamed. Andrea was an escort and then a stripper for several years. She’s now published a glossy memoir full of naughty pictures and stories and is about to star in a movie about her life. Ok, she’s in her 30’s! Mo and Wendy have issues with creeps, violence, and hygiene, but we sure support rights for all. We talk about generational differences, the need for more protection and less shame, Andrea’s partner, her mother, and the Johns. (The creeps and not creeps).Andrea Werhun is a writer, a comedian, and now an actor. She and Nicole Bazuin have just published “Modern Whore” with Penguin Random House. It’s about to be a major motion picture. You Can watch the episode on YouTube here. A transcription of the 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

Happy New Year! According to Hello magazine, this is Pamela Anderson’s year! Or did they mean last year? Either way, we are witnessing a turning point in the life of our favourite Canadian bombshell. Yes, she has moved back to Vancouver Island, and Pamela has not one but two new TV shows, but she’s been making headlines - actual headlines - for daring to go bare. Faced, that is. So we talk about that, and how, despite all the lessons she has supposedly learned, through her activism, her five marriages and two grown children, she still gives herself over to wild abandon.Pamela Anderson is a legend, from the day she was “discovered” in the audience at a BC Lions game, to the pages of Playboy, to a bit part on Home Improvement to the whole Baywatch phenomenon. Then came the marriages, including one to Tommy Lee, and the whole sex tape fiasco. Throughout it all, Pamela has stood up for her beliefs: animal rights, AIDS research, anti-pornography, the support of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Now she’s writing, gardening and cooking just like us! But not like us, because, make-up or no, she’s still PAMELA ANDERSON!. This episode is supported by Mave & Chez where you can get 10% off with the promo code WOIR at check out. 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

Join Maureen & Wendy for a special year-end episode celebrating the first full year of Women of Ill Repute! In honour of the fine guests who've graced us with their presence on the show, the Women of Ill Repute go through some of their favourite highlights from this year, such as Rick Mercer, Mary Berg, Marilyn Denis, Colin Mochrie and many others. Cozy up by the fire, grab a glass of wine, and come celebrate A Year of Ill Repute! A transcription 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

We’re not saying emotions aren’t real, or valid, but might they also just be … digestive issues? That’s one of Cat Alvarado’s theories. Cat is not a dietician. She’s a comedian, a self-styled Latina misfit, and a former teen bride (which she says may have happened on a sugar high). We talk about getting kicked out of church, reconciling sexuality with spirituality, and the acceptable number of people one can admit to sleeping with. Cat Alvarado has over 2 million views on YouTube’s Reel Rejects, was featured on Buzzfeed’s Tasty Channel, as well as the PBS show First Nations Comedy Experience. She hosts the comedy podcast Villains of History @villainsofhistory and has performed at some of the top comedy festivals in North America. Her debut album Off-White is available on Spotify. You can watch the episode here on YouTube. A transcription 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

Can you be a vegan, a plus-size designer, and a feminist? Hilary MacMillan says of course! She also says age, size, old viewpoints begone, that Mo and Wendy can wear see-through clothes if they want to. (We don’t) Even the dreaded leopard print. It’s back! We talk about Barbie, cute cows, and super thin models. And we reveal more secrets…check us out! Hilary MacMillan is a Canadian who designs contemporary cruelty-free clothes, which means no fur, no leather, no silk or wool. Her designs are full of stylish alternatives, styles and patterns. And they are available in sizes XS -4X. She has her own eponymous brand. You can watch this episode here. A transcription 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

It’s real! After a year of trying we finally got Carolyn Taylor to come on the podcast. She was one of the Baronesses on the comedy series Baroness Von Sketch, very funny: perfect! But her excuse for delaying us seemed like a joke. She said she was gonna be busy doing a TV series about choreographing an Olympic level pairs skating routine to Whitney Houston’s hit “I Have Nothing”. Ya, sure. Carolyn’s a comedian, who didn’t know how to skate, let alone how to choreograph a skating routine. Only now, she’s done it. And "I Have Nothing" is so good, Mo cried. And then laughed. We talk about the crazy pitch process, personal obsessions, and how we all now love the Olympic medalist David Pelletier. The series is funny and real. Mostly, we talked about the importance of trying even if it means humiliation and exhaustion. The series runs now on Crave. You can watch the recording of this episode here You can view a transcript of the episode 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

Ok, she’s done everything. Much Music rock ‘n roll host/producer, president at SONY Music Canada, honcho at CBC Radio, and all-around do-gooder. Seriously. Through it all, Denise Donlon has tried to use her powers for good. She has fought for women, gay people, for racial diversity, and usually had a lot of fun while she was at it. She spills about CITY-TV, the CBC, and having her heart broken by Leonard Cohen. Not in that way. Denise paved the way for women in corporate leadership at Sony Music, at the CBC, at Much, and is a member of the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame. She’s been awarded the Order of Canada, a few Geminis, and she has written a memoir: “Fearless as Possible (Under the Circumstances)”. She and her husband, the singer Murray McLaughlin, have been called “Canadian Royalty”. Whatever that is, she deserves it! 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

Hard to believe, but there was a time when flying was … glamourous. Not just for passengers, but for the crew, especially the stewardesses, as they were called. They were the goddesses of the air, beautifully groomed, alluring, international jet setters. Of course they also dealt with unwanted advances, brutal hours in high heels, and a constant attention to weight and appearance. It was a simpler time, but a fascinating one, according to Ann Hood, author of Fly Girl: A Memoir. Stewardesses, as alluring as they seemed, were so much more than busty sexpots, which, by the way, is Mo’s stripper name. In addition to being a former flight attendant with TWA, Ann Hood is the editor of Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting and the bestselling author of The Book That Matters Most, The Knitting Circle, The Red Thread, Comfort, and An Italian Wife, among other works. She is the recipient of two Pushcart Prizes, a Best American Spiritual Writing Award, a Best American Food Writing Award, a Best American Travel Writing Award, and the Paul Bowles Prize for Short Fiction. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island. 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

Wendy has a problem with rules. But some rules matter. Like the rules of improv. Naomi Snieckus loves those. And so does Maureen. Naomi talks about Improv Rule #1: Yes, And. About the importance of supporting a partner in comedy or drama or a podcast. And yes, in life.Naomi started doing improv at Second City in Toronto, and is now an actor, producer, writer and director. She was on “Mr. D", “Degrassi”, “Pretty Hard Cases”, and voices a ton of cartoons. During “Me Too” she launched The Firecracker Department which supports creative women and non-binary people. She’s also hosting a new podcast with Amanda Brugel called the Blaze Sessions. They are very supportive partners! A Video version of this episode appears here. A transcript of the episode is 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

Family secrets are now the stuff of tell-all memoirs, thanks largely to Jeannette Walls and her book The Glass Castle. Jeannette turned the book world - and the world in general - on its ear with her account of growing up rootless, homeless and in dire poverty. Jeannette has now moved on to fiction. Hang the Moon is her latest, the story of an intrepid young woman who becomes a bootlegger during Prohibition. We talk about memoirs and memories, truth and fiction, and what it’s like to have Woody Harrelson play your father. Jeannette Walls is an American author and journalist, widely known as a former gossip columnist for MSNBC until she wrote The Glass Castle, a memoir of her nomadic childhood and family life, that catapulted her onto the NYT bestseller list, where the book has remained for the past 8 years. Her third novel, Hang the Moon, was published in March 2023. Jeannette lives with her husband on a 200 acre ranch in Virginia. A version of this episode appears in video form on YouTube but sadly we lost connection to Jeannette's video about halfway through. A transcript of the episode is 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

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. 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

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

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

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. We have a new sponsor! Embark is owned by a not-for-profit foundation, and they only do education planning and savings. They are passionate about helping students reach their full potential. The Embark Student Plan is a registered education savings plan (RESP) that supports your child’s journey to and through post-secondary education. Start an account using the promo code REPUTE100 and we’ll contribute $100. 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

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 have a new sponsor! Embark is owned by a not-for-profit foundation, and they only do education planning and savings. They are passionate about helping students reach their full potential. The Embark Student Plan is a registered education savings plan (RESP) that supports your child’s journey to and through post-secondary education. Start an account using the promo code REPUTE100 and we’ll contribute $100. 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

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. We have a new sponsor! Embark is owned by a not-for-profit foundation, and they only do education planning and savings. They are passionate about helping students reach their full potential. The Embark Student Plan is a registered education savings plan (RESP) that supports your child’s journey to and through post-secondary education. Start an account using the promo code REPUTE100 and we’ll contribute $100. 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 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. We have a new sponsor! Embark is owned by a not-for-profit foundation, and they only do education planning and savings. They are passionate about helping students reach their full potential. The Embark Student Plan is a registered education savings plan (RESP) that supports your child’s journey to and through post-secondary education. Start an account using the promo code REPUTE100 and we’ll contribute $100. 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

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 Kitchen Stuff Plus | Houseware & Home Decor Retailer Kitchen Stuff Plus includes Housewares, Kitchen Gadgets, Bakeware, Cookware, Storage, Knife Block Sets and more available for sale at the best discount price. (4 kB) 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

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

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