Cavern of Secrets

Haviah Mighty drops by the Cavern after a big win: She’s the winner of the 2019 Polaris Prize for the album, 13th floor. Lauren and Haviah get into how to work with a producer, writing for discomfort, and using your voice as an instrument. “My approach is to open up minds so that the ignorance won’t be so wilful.”

Author, funny woman and busy person Eden Robinson calls into the Cavern from Kitimat, British Columbia to talk nail polish, carting around family in a big car and the gift that menopause gives you. Eden’s books include Traplines, the Giller-nominated Son Of A Trickster, and Blood Sports. Her trilogy, the Trickster series, is becoming a miniseries for CBC and her novel, Monkey Beach, is becoming a film. “If you need stories, take the bus.”

Carly Lewis, journalist, kind woman and spectacular human being, joins host Lauren Mitchell in the Cavern. Carly has written for the Globe and Mail, New York Magazine, the Atlantic, Hazlitt and more. She talks about the value of feeling isolated, getting away from your anger and making sure your parents drink water. “I feel like everybody has a little invisible suitcase with them and in that suitcase is their anger.”

Georgia Webber, writer and illustrator, comes to the Cavern of Secrets to talk about what it means when you can’t express yourself, learning to draw again, and allowing the possibility that someone will say ‘yes’ and help you. Georgia’s graphic memoir, Dumb, is about what it means to become voiceless and how it changes you.

Sarah Hagi, writer and queen of Twitter @geeklylonglegs, comes to the Cavern of Secrets to talk about the Garfield restaurant, the Blackest cartoons and how to have fun (again) as a writer. “It was intended to be a joke piece where I was like, yeah, Bugs Bunny is black.”

Monica Heisey, author, comedian, TV writer and all around warm and funny individual joins host Lauren Mitchell in the Cavern to talk about the years that have passed. After a three year hiatus, Cavern of Secrets is back. Since then, Monica has become even more successful, gotten a divorce, and moved to London where she’s delighting the locals with her British accent.

“I was more of a Greek mythology girl than a horse girl…”

The specific way men interview women (5:05), Rory Gilmore, journalist (17:17), and the Avril Lavigne riots of 2021 (48:27)

The corniness of Justin Trudeau (9:42), the emotional intimacy of fandom (14:45), and alternate sources of food (35:19)

Saving lives and fighting fires (13:58), protesting at Standing Rock (23:16), and riding in cars with cops (37:18)

The glamorous life of an intern (8:20),the incredible whiteness of CanLit (22:15), and playing video games for the story (44:40).