Recorded live at Bar Orwell on May 17th, 2023.  (Next show is on July 19th! ) Tickets here. 

Things explained: the major difference between Philly and Toronto, the sound of Chinese opera, the vagaries of the Delco accent, the fact that people in fact play bingo, 

Follow Kenley Ku and go to her shows. Follow Zoon and listen to their album Bekka Ma'iingan. Keep up on everything Everardo Ramirez and listen to Goodbye Horses. And don't not follow Sidney Cummings!

Logo by Luba Magnus.  Theme song by egward.

Special thanks to Kelsey Ryan. 

https://explaintoronto.libsyn.com/

@explainTOpod

@value_dog

Recorded live at Bar Orwell on April 19th, 2023.  (Next show is on June 21st! Tickets here. )

Watch Shelved on Crave and follow Chris.  Listen to poolblood and follow their exploits.  Follow Sashka and watch for her upcoming comedy album. Check out Paterson's work here. Toss Kyle a follow while you're at it.   

Logo by Luba Magnus.  Theme song by egward.

Special thanks to Kelsey Ryan. 

https://explaintoronto.libsyn.com/

@explainTOpod

@value_dog

Recorded live at Bar Orwell on March 15th, 2023.  (Next show is on June 21st! Tickets here. )

Follow Guled and watch Tallboys on CBC Gem. 

Follow Sarah's exploits, but maybe not on BeReal(er).

Follow Mark and don't forget that his show Gary And His Demons can be streamed here (for the first episode, the rest on Prime in Canada and coming soon to Freevee in the USA). You should binge the heck out of it. 

Logo by Luba Magnus.  Theme song by egward.

Special thanks to Kelsey Ryan. 

https://explaintoronto.libsyn.com/

@explainTOpod

@value_dog

Recorded live at Bar Orwell on February 15th, 2023.  (Next show is on March 15th! Tickets here. )

Follow Afrakaren and see her live. 

Check out Rakhee's social media and watch Run The Burbs on CBC. 

Listen to J3M's music  and follow him here.

Logo by Luba Magnus.  Theme song by Egward

Recorded live at Bar Orwell on December 19th, 2022. 

Things explained: the hidden meaning of Christmas, the life of a 905 survivor, the big trend of 2023 (it's ENM, baby), the making of Last One Laughing and who really laughed, Brendan's postponement, peeing on Blue Mountain, and much more!

Follow Brandon Ash-Mohammed and listen to his album. Don't miss Jill Krajewski's memes nor her web presence.  George is on Tiktok and IG and makes another show called In The Car & In The Kitchen (bad co-host, though). 

Logo by Luba Magnus.  Theme song by Egward

Recorded live at Bar Orwell on November 16th, 2022. 

Follow James O'Hara  and listen to his album! Lurk on Joel Edmiston's social media.  Go ahead and follow Ellen Froese while you're at it and listen to and buy her music. Logo by Luba Magnus.  Theme song by Egward

Recorded live at Bar Orwell on October 19th, 2022.  (Next show is November 16th!)

Special appearance by Meryl Streep. 

Things explained: the hater quotient, hip-hop goss from the pre-Drake days, Sima's acting come-up, cement ceilings, segregated social media from the pre-MySpace days, feeding Doritos to pigeons, how to start a film festival, the dork quotient, life as a boy comedian, Yonge Street when there was pinball, urban planning wonkishness, and so much more. 

*oops, the mics aren't at the same level... probably for the best to help Brendan take up less space, right?

Follow Sima Sepehri and go to Tiny Grievance on Thursday nights.  Attend the Toronto Indie Horror Fest.  Go ahead and follow Mikey Kolberg while you're at it.  Logo by Luba Magnus.  Theme song by Egward.

Recorded live at Bar Orwell on August 17th, 2022.  (Next show is Sept. 28th!) Things explained: the going price for hot dogs, the hate for Galen Weston, the benefits of drinking Yop, which musicians should be bopped on the head, why Lizzo might not be the best walk-on music, the qualities of Margaret Atwood, and a whole lot more!  Follow Tim Blair on Twitter and watch Tallboyz.  Listen to Dorothea Paas' music. Go ahead and follow Natalie Norman while you're at it.  Logo by Luba Magnus.  Theme song by Egward. 

B.A. Johnston is a force to be reckoned with. Coming straight outta Hamilton, he has been plying his unique brand of acoustic punk rock mixed with vaudeville mixed with prop comedy mixed with shiny, shiny, torso nudity across the dive bars and punk houses of the land for years now.

We conducted our conversation over the Internet, as is custom during these oh-so-unprecedented times.

Things explained: his new children's book, the storied Toronto-Hamilton rivalry, the possibility of barf and glitter as team colours, the legacy of short-lived professional sports leagues, getting riled up by wrestlers, the evolution of his increasingly elaborate stage show, playing shows in Saskatoon (sorry, I'm from there, it had to come up) and the unique qualities of Regina pizza, the wonders of regional foods including Hamilton's own topping-free Roma pizza, the precarity of being the country's "most contagious showman" in a time of global pandemic, the bizarre nature of Hamilton being sold to Torontonians, the razor-thin profit margin on subs, and other topics. 

Music included: "Geddy Lee" and "Our Love Is Like The Cleveland Browns", both from The Skid Is Hot Tonight

Listen to and buy B.A.'s vast catalogue here: https://bajohnston.bandcamp.com/

Exmiranda is a rapper, a practitioner of a fantastic style of oftentimes throwback hip-hop densely layered with internal rhymes. We spoke remotely, as is custom in these times. 

Things explained: her work with the CNIB and other community engagement and advocacy work, our mutual lack of understanding of astrology, growing up in Rexdale and going back for food, replicating cheesecakes from La Rocca, pleasing the inner child, how the pandemic has proven how difficult it can be to work from home, the value of chilling, moving to Ghana during middle school and back to Toronto in high school and consequently feeling like an outsider in both situations, starting with spoken word poetry and the influence of Exmiranda's brothers on her interest in hip-hop, how all you have is all you need, being a part of a musical and entrepreneurial family, the paradox of pursuing perfection, her upcoming work with Myseum of Toronto (go ahead and give them a follow), and other topics. 

We also play a game called Occasion For Rhyming. It's fun!

Exmiranda recently released a verse addressing living with systemic racism and police violence, listing many of those who have famously been murdered by the police. We talked about her catharsis and mourning through creating work in tribute to those individuals. I urge you to find ways you can help contribute to Black Lives Matter and to abolishing the police and ending state violence.  https://linktr.ee/NationalResourcesList

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

Music on this episode: "Say Their Names", "Grow Up"

Exmiranda's website: https://exmiranda.com/

Exmiranda on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sincerelyexmiranda

Myseum of Toronto: http://www.myseumoftoronto.com/