Digging In with Allison Dore

Katharine Ferns is a Canadian comedian currently based in the UK. She was in Toronto to perform her one person show In Stitches, and we sat down to talk about creating a show, the Edinburgh Fringe and how telling your darkest secret (to an audience) can help you and other people. Katharine's story is a dark one that she infuses with light, and shows us how comedy helped her to heal.

Mike Wilmot is an internationally known comedian who has also appeared in dozens of movies and tv shows. We talk about how his success is traced back to a series of accidents, the importance of open mikes and continually writing, and why you should be nice. Also the health scare that changed his life. And more.

You can follow Mike on twitter@mikewilmot1 and find out where you can see him near you www.mikewilmot.ca

Wrestler/actor/tv host RJ Skinner and I share a love of television, which I always want to talk about. However, some of his tweets made me realize there was more going on in his brain than just reruns of Maude. So in addition to Bea Arthur and television greats, we also talk about insecurity, about creating things and putting them out in the world, and the surprising inspiration for his villainous wrestling persona. You can follow RJ on Twitter @RJCity1 or on Instagram @rjcity; and check out his web series, The Cynical Crafter on CBC Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEZ0tftoH9k

Dan Rodo, aka YouTube star The Danocracy, comes by for an amazing conversation about anxiety, positivity, and working on something until you get good at it.

Click HERE for Dan's YouTube Channel, and follow him on socials @TheDanocracy.

Actor and musician Dayle McLeod is a friend I haven't seen in 7 years. She graciously did my podcast before we even had a chance to catch up, and SHE BROUGHT THE HONESTY. Doyle surprises me with several big reveals about major events in her life, and we talk about how sometimes the worst things that happen to you end up weirdly being blessings. Dayle has an EP out, In Bloom, with a full length album coming out in a few months. You can follow her on Twitter @baby_dayle

Comedian Michelle Shaughnessy joins me for a real trip into the honesty cocoon. We talk about the rocky beginnings of our friendship, dealing with depression, Mean Girls, eating disorders and more. I have a bit of a personal breakthrough in terms of how I deal with an issue with Michelle, and we have some laughs. You can follow Michelle on Twitter and Instagram @michellesfunny or go to her website michellesfunny.com

WHEN SHE WAS 14 JENNIFER MCAULIFFE RAN AWAY...TO MEXICO. Who the hell does that? Why would she not bring that up the first time she was on this show????? We also talk about the crack house she owns in another city. This comedian is ridiculously smart and willing to take risks, and I think her second episode is better than the first.

Follow Jen on Twitter @jenniferjokes or check out her website www.jenniferjokes.com

I didn't have a new interview for this week, so I decided to make a sibling mixtape, with clips from Jon filling in with me on my show Ward and Al on SiriusXM channel 167, and an interview we did with Jeff Sammut, host of Canada Now on SiriusXM, host of The Jeff Sammut Podcast available on iTunes and at jeffsammut.com, and actually he recorded this interview for an episode of The Nightside on Newstalk 1010 here in Toronto.

In these clips we discuss topics as varied as how to catch a comet to space; would Jon survive the post-apocalyptic world?; how Jon thinks I could defeat Isis; are our parents funny?; and MORE.

Comedian, TV writer and actor Jon Dore (aka my brother) is here and willing to be serious for much longer than I expected. An intensely private person, I thought it would be more of a verbal wrestling match, but Jon is always surprising and showed up ready to talk.

You can see more from Jon at www.jondore.com

Writer and podcast host Brent Jensen joins me for a great talk about leaving the safe job for the job you really want, firing people, being a loner, dealing with loss and so much more!

He is the author of No Sleep Til Sudbury, Leftover People: A Journey Through Post-Rock and Roll America, and All My Favourite People are Broken; and the host of the podcast No Sleep Til Sudbury, where guests tell stories from their lives in 8-10 songs. You can follow Brent on Twitter @nosleepsudbury.