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Ep. #315: Maz Jobrani

Maz Jabroni is an outspoken standup comedian and actor based in Los Angeles, California. A proud Iranian-American, Jabroni has made appearances on late night tv shows, taped comedy specials for Netflix, wrote the bestselling book, I’m not a terrorist, but I’ve played one on TV, starred in films like Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero, and he currently appears as a character named Fawz on the CBS sitcom, Superior Donuts. Jabroni will be in Montreal July 12-27, 2017 to host 19 performances of The Ethnic Show, a beloved segment at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. He was in Toronto recently for a show of his own and I caught up with him for a brief chat about Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, domestic racism and racist immigrants, the Ethnic Show, and much more. Sponsored by the Bookshelf, Pizza Trokadero, and Planet Bean Coffee.

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News Podcast

Ep. #298: TIP ‘T.I.’ Harris

T.I. is an American hip-hop artist and actor who originally hails from Atlanta, Georgia. A popular rapper who also goes by TIP Harris, he’s known for being one of the earliest artists to bring trap music to the masses. T.I. has appeared in numerous films, including ATL, Roots, Ant-Man, Takers, and American Gangster among others and he’s also a published novelist. He’s also no stranger to controversy, aligning himself with artists like Iggy Azalea and Robin Thicke, and he’s been incarcerated on gun and drug charges for lengthy stretches of his adult life. His acclaimed, outspoken new album is called Us or Else: Letter to the System and it’s prompted him to tour across Canada, from Vancouver to Halifax, throughout January. I recently had the chance to speak with T.I. on the phone for just 10 minutes, which is obviously really short for this show but, because we covered some interesting ground about the United States and its social and political climate, here we are. Sponsored by the Bookshelf, Pizza Trokadero, and Planet Bean Coffee.

Related links: twitter.com/Tip vishkhanna.com

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News Podcast

Ep. #261: Hooded Fang

Hooded Fang is an excellent and adventurous rock ‘n’ roll band from Toronto. Over the past decade, the band has toured the world and released a number of daring records that chart a unique, ever-changing sound steeped in underground rock idioms and exciting ideas. Their latest album is called Venus on Edge, it’s out now via Daps Records, and has compelled Hooded Fang to travel to different cities, including Guelph recently, where Daniel Lee, April Aliermo, and Lane Halley joined me in the CFRU studios to discuss watching me tech this episode, whether or not it’s really all that fun to do it yourself, women in music, the meaning behind Venus on Edge, a sex show, many meanings, what love’s got to do with it, existential crises, more tension, boredom and fun and side projects, Lazy Lane, playing with yourself, Itchy Lane, guitars on fire, playing guitar in BART, through composition, Phèdre and Lee Paradise, April knows Daniel or so the marketers would have us believe, sassy music videos, children are excuses, working with kids, the rise of Toronto’s consciousness, marginalized people speaking for themselves, Toronto is in Canada, progressive kids, times I’ve experienced racism, Tariq Hussain, Samir Khan, co-opting oppressive motifs, Kanye West and the Yeezus and Watch the Throne tours, hot and sauerkraut, mixed people and The Future of Hate™, what will happen to the racists, Maureen Tucker and Ralph Molina, talking about everything, post-Rob Ford, including Lane, Toronto’s all-ages punk scene, trying to do good but also tokenism, doing not talking, it can take time to get things done, VCR, pronoun awareness, Jonah Falco, including Lane, the Lawnya Vawnya Long Night talk show and its programming, baby formula tastes like science, writing what you talk, nice looking condos, needing things to write songs about, making people feel things, a pre-Sled Island show and Sappyfest, Lane’s family in PEI, google.com, Where the Streets Have Been Renamed, Daps Records, the song “A Final Hello,” and that was the end of this talking.

Related links: hoodedfang.com dapsrecords.com vishkhanna.com

Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes.