The Women Of Ill Repute

Jessi Hempel was the first in her family to come out. Not long after, her father, sister, brother and mother followed suit, each one coming to terms with their gender, sexuality and secrets from their past. An accomplished writer and podcaster, Jessi decided to tell her family’s story through interviews with them, mixed with her own memories. The result is “The Family Outing: A Memoir”: When peopl...

Aisha Brown is the first Black Women Ever … to have a comedy special on Crave TV. That was back in 2020, and a lot has changed since then, but maybe not enough. Aisha fights the same demons that many comedians do, be they female, or people of colour, or both. Am I funny enough? Pretty enough? Can I be smart and truthful and still have people like me? We say yes, and also who cares? Topics covered...

Lana Payne is a firecracker. She’ll answer anything. As the new head of UNIFOR Canada’s biggest private sector union, she talks about dealing with Doug Ford, allegations of corruption, making nice with other unions and the threat of a general strike. All with a big smile on her face. She’s proud of being the first woman in that job and super proud of her union roots in Newfoundland. Maureen is a b...

Well OUR first man anyway. We’ve 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...

Erin Davis makes us think of Christmas. Not only because she was a long time morning host at CHFI, Canada’s biggest holiday music station. Not just because played the Fairy Godmother in one of Ross Petty’s Christmas pantomimes. Not because she’s an accomplished vocalist, a philanthropist, and a podcaster who reads bedtime stories while visions of sugarplums dance in our heads. These are all good r...

It’s easy to get cynical about politics. But Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek says to heck with that. She’s going all in. And it’s not just the hats. She has 5 cowboy hats and 5 pairs of boots. Calgary is now the 3rd most diverse city in Canada. How does she keep everyone happy? Particularly with some controversial comments from premier Danielle Smith and a horse head dumped in Jyoti’s  driveway. We tal...

Women are not funny, or at least not as funny as men. Men don’t like funny women, they like women who laugh at their jokes, but not their penises. If women are funny, they’re probably lesbians. On and on it goes, despite ample evidence to the contrary. Enter Allison Dore, laughing. Allison is the founder of Howl and Roar Records, a female centric comedy record label that facilitates in the creatio...

Why do they do it? It’s easy to have a theory of why war correspondents put their lives on the line. Are they dealing with trauma? Are they addicted to the adrenalin? Maybe. Maybe they just have big hearts. For more than 20 years, photographer Lynsey Addario has been one of very few women covering conflict around the globe. Afghanistan, Libya, Sudan and now Ukraine. For the New York Times, for Nat...

There’s Canadian famous, and then there’s Famous famous. Like author Louise Penny. Luckily, she was Wendy’s best friend in grade 9, so we were able to persuade her to come on the podcast. Maureen, Louise and Wendy talk all about friendship, fame, and facing fear. Too many f’s? Well, that’s her motto: Don’t be Afraid. She’s just published book #18 in her Three Pines Inspector Gamache series. A Worl...

She’s a badass blues woman with the best laugh in this or any other business. Sass Jordan joins us to talk about female rockers (there aren’t that many), great musicians, and how to spot true talent. Not giving a damn about anything except love, family and creativity, and maybe food and drink. What it’s like to be in Dad territory, as in “My dad thinks you’re hot”. Warning: lots of hooting and hol...

You may have had The Talk with one of your parents. You know, the squirmy, uncomfortable and downright incredulous chat about what happens when a man and a woman truly love each other, etc.etc. But for many of us, the fun part of it all came from Sue. Sue Johansen, the feisty, hilarious, and deeply kind creator of Sex with Sue. For decades, on radio and television,in Canada and the U.S., Sue expla...

We’ve always been here, writes Ann-Marie MacDonald. And so have the moors. She calls her new book the queerest she’s ever written. But what is queer? Isn’t everybody different? Fayne, published by Penguin Random House Canada, is placed in the late 1800’s and is full of love, diversity, and magyk. There’s also a fascination with pudding! The book is huge! So huge, we feared it might be a chore to r...

So glad you asked! What started as a little podcast hosted by two nervous women with love in their hearts and stars in their eyes … is still a little podcast hosted by two nervous women etc etc. But we’re still here, and it’s going pretty well! Join Wendy and Mo for a look back at the first 12 episodes: hear about the fights, the scandals, the guests we didn’t get, the ones we did that scared or s...

Broadcasting is a brutal business, especially for women over fifty who may or may not have gray hair. There is one woman, however, who has been at the top of her game, on both radio and television, and she is, of course, Marilyn Denis. Host of the appropriately named The Marilyn Denis Show on CTV, as well as CHUM-FM’s perpetually top rated radio morning show Marilyn Denis and Jamar, Marilyn is eve...

Just when you’re convinced the world is a dark place with an uncertain future, along comes Hannah Alper. It’s not that Hannah’s a foolish optimist. She is, as Gloria Steinem calls it, a “hopeaholic”. Hannah has been an activist for social and environmental change since she was 9 years old - and that wasn’t that long ago! She’s a motivational speaker, a blogger, an author and budding journalist. Sh...

If you are famous and in trouble, she is the one you call. She’s Canada’s pre-eminent criminal defence lawyer. Marie Henein defended Jian Ghomeshi. Was she doing her job or a “traitor to women”? We found her defiant, in love with her job, and surprisingly funny! She dishes on marriage, her favourite tv shows, and the stupidity of trying to find a “work life balance”. Marie Henein is a criminal def...

 Why are we so obsessed with the mob? Can women be just as cutthroat? Is Italian culture too macho? We have all the answers (not!) in our chat from Rome with Barbie Latza Nadeau about her new book “The Godmother”. She tells us about admiring and reviling “Pupetta” , who, ya, shot her husband’s killer and became a mafia icon. Barbie got to interview her just before she died. She spills about Mafia...

Going There. She moved to London, but boy, she’s still writing. Leah McLaren talks to us about her new book ”Where You End and I Begin”. About her writer mom, family commitments, being weird (aren’t we all?) and “whatever happened to that fucking guy?” Ya, that one, who may have started it all in a barn when her mom was 12. Maureen cracks a few narcissist jokes. Leah is not sure they apply. Leah M...

Jen Agg is the owner and power behind Toronto restaurants The Black Hoof (now Bar Vendetta), Rhum Corner, and Grey Gardens. She is both revered and criticized for outspokenness, her work ethic and her honesty with regards to rampant sexism and discrimination in the restaurant industry. She has no time for Michelin stars, and thinks vodka is stupid. Jen also wrote a bestselling memoir called “I Hea...

You can take a girl out of the Maritimes, but she’ll still go home to visit. Jax Irwin, morning co-host on Toronto’s Virgin radio, joins us to talk about life and laughter, coming out, her love of family, and playing with the good guys. Plus: bringing your girlfriend home to mom, and where to get an octopus costume. We love writing and would love for you to read what we write. Sign Up for our Subs...

You think you know Jann Arden: she’s Canada’s cranky songbird, but still comes across as everyone’s best friend. Writer, singer, songwriter, actress, comedian, animal rights activist - Jann’s all that, but still maintains that failure is an integral part of personal success. We talk about mothers, addiction, and the importance of friends. Oh, and Wendy drops the F-bomb. Again. This highly anticipa...

Former Justice minister and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould is not just angry–not just determined to improve the lives of indigenous people. She’s all that, but we discover she’s also a hoot! She dishes on how hugs from prime minister Justin Trudeau made her skin crawl. And she gets personal about her hubby, her sister, not being able to have kids, and trying to function on 3 hours sleep a n...

If Mary Walsh isn’t the mother of Canadian comedy, she is certainly its sister. Born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland, a founding member of the CODCO comedy troupe, Mary went on to co-create the legendary news satire program This Hour has 22 Minutes. There, she created the infamous character Marg Delahunty, a fearless, sword-wielding warrior princess in cat’s eye glasses who became the scour...

Howdy! Once upon a time, two lady broadcasters realized they weren’t really ladies, or even broadcasters anymore. So they became podcasters, and part-time cowgirls. Wendy and Mo talk about all the truly strange coincidences in their lives, how they came together, how naive they were thinking a podcast would be easy, and the trials and tribulations of finding, identifying and recruiting other women...