Shameless Talks 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 improve does not mean that I, along with the content I produce, am not already great, and that I won’t empower someone in some way. So I hope I’m listening to my podcast, you get to learn about second gens, their significance, the intersections within their experiences, what you can do to participate in movement, and most importantly how to become at peace with yourself by acknowledging the power within you.

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.