Shameless Talks

Family Dynamics is about growing up with immigrant parents, and the subtle cultural divide that Canadian-immigrant children experience. As a child of a Chinese mother, I wanted to know how much of my experience is shared with others whose parents don't match the ones we see on T.V, read about in books, or who the teachers in school describe to us when they refer to the person who signs our field trip forms. Sometimes the frustration of a parent who doesn't match our society built expectations can create tension and resentment. This podcast doesn't shy away from those feelings, but rather embraces them as the inherent flip-side to the appreciation that comes when we recognize that we have unique parents who are just trying their best to figure out an already complicated tasks, raising a child, in a whole new set of rules than what they grew up with.

A podcast by Maryan Haye that looks at movie awards season.

Growing up in Canada as a second-generation Afro-Jamaican came with many challenges due to my identity being caught between the West and the Islands. Second-generation youth of the Caribbean diaspora are often overlooked, but little do they know, they are actually a key component in the future development of the Caribbean. I wanted to create a podcast that would shine a spotlight on these youth, and teach them how to utilize the privilege within their complex identities to better the positioning of the islands in the global sphere. In creating this podcast, it was very important for me to ensure that I was able to display my message effectively and make a genuine impact on my listeners. It was challenging because I would spend hours over-thinking and re-editing in hope of making everything perfect, until I learned how to become comfortable with the idea of being imperfect. I was able to affirm to myself that this is my first ever podcast and my editing isn’t at the level of a professional, but having room to

New episode of Shameless Talks is here! This is our first-ever *live* episode and we’re talking politics! You’ll hear from some rad storytellers like Lia and Tessa who began We Give Consent, a social media awareness campaign fighting to have the concept of consent included in the official Ontario Sex Ed curriculum; we’ve got Frizz Kid talking about their experience with online bullying and that day they stood up to bully in class(!); we’ve got The Degenderettes discussing gender inclusivity and finding a community that let's you be yourself; and we’ve got Claire AH, a sex educator, podcaster and matchmaker on her work to krip sex & sex ed.

A new ep. of Shameless Talks is here! In this episode, we’re talking about Independence! You'll hear from Vivek Shraya, a multi-disciplinary artist, writer and musician, talk about trying out different methods to fine-tune her art, what working with young artists has taught her and how coming out as trans has made her challenge some old assumptions; we speak with Sofy Mesa, a member of feminist art collective Bonerkill, about interactive art shows, the strength of a female-identified collective and about who’s ‘allowed’ to be an artist and why; and we speak with Tau Lewis, a self-taught sculptor who explores Black identity politics and African diaspora in her work and how she finds a sense of independence in making art.

This episode is about music! You'll hear from Brighid Fry, a teen singer-songwriter, on learning how to get good at it and about what to do about stage fright; we speak with Keysha Freshh, a female rapper from Toronto, about being female in a male-dominated musical genre and how to get some studio time if you’re low on funds; we speak with Gabriel Guiboche or 2Spirit, a 2-spirited rapper and musician from Manitoba, on how her upbringing and coming out as 2spritied earlier this year has shaped the music she makes and wants to make.

This episode we welcome Shameless editors past and present as guest hosts. They explore shadeism - the discrimination of skin tone within race and talk about deeply internalized white supremacy within families and communities, learning how to disassociate skin tone with self-worth and their ever-evolving relationship with the sun. The conversation was inspired by a short called Shadeism by Nayani Thiyagarajah which has been extended into a full length documentary titled Shadeism: Digging Deeper by Nayani and the Refuge Production team. Theme music is by the ever-rad LAL.

A new ep. of Shameless Talks is here! Well, a mini-ep. Hosted by our arts editor, Julia De Laurentiis Johnson, this short podcast - dubbed Shameless Talks Short - was recorded at our Alternative Beauty issue launch in January 2016. We set up at the Artists' Newsstand at the TTC's Chester Station and asked passers-by what makes them feel beautiful. Take a listen!

This episode is about sex! You’ll hear from Andy Villanueva of Project Slut, a collective that set out to abolish their high school’s sexist dress code and won; sex-educator Kaleigh Trace talks about navigating sex and disability, squashing sexual shame and reveals her best sexy tips; and Cinnamon Maxxine, a fat, Black, queer porn performer, weighs in on the importance of fair, unfetishized representation in skin flicks. With special appearance from comedian and songwriter Diana Bailey.

In this episode, we're talking environmental justice. You’ll meet Rebecca Mandamin, a teen who helps run a group called Ferda Water, advocating for safe and fair water use in her community of Shoal Lake No 39 (Iskatewizaagegan). She talks about what inspired her to care, a memorable march to a mayor's office and the challenges of being a young activist in her own community. Then, Mariah Griffin-Angus from Environmental Defence talks about the importance of clearly labeled self-care products. She outlines some bad offenders & safer alternatives, how to read a product label and what you can do to pressure companies to be more transparent about what's in their products.

A young entrepreneur, a Fat Nutritionist & a manoomin roaster.