The Women Of Ill Repute

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 inspi...

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...

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...

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 MR...

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 Sna...

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....

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 t...

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 co...

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 peo...

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 con...

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. Caroly...

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...

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...

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", “Deg...

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 P...

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 d...

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 spee...

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...

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...

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...

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 h...

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,...

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 d...

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...

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 2...