Sweater Weather

#34—Ducks, feat. Marc Herman Lynch

*TW: This episode includes discussion of sexual violence.* Today we talk Ducks, Kate Beaton’s celebrated graphic memoir — winner of Canada Reads, a New York Times Notable Book — about her two years working in the oil sands of Fort McMurray, where men outnumber women fifty to one. Harsh economic realities forced Beaton to leave her Cape Breton home for northern Alberta, where she found strange beauty in a desolate landscape, and human connection in the midst of sexual harassment, danger, and even violence. The book gorgeously and heartrendingly depicts a time, place and culture. For our discussion, we're joined by Marc Herman Lynch, author of the novel Arborescent (2020) and a cartoon enthusiast who grew up in Fort McMurray.

Sweater Weather Live! Talks Ducks with Marc Herman Lynch, Sun. Apr. 23 at the Memorial Park Library

Reserve your free tickets at our Eventbrite page.  Join Naomi and Aaron of the Sweater Weather podcast for their deep-dive discussion of Ducks, the award-winning graphic memoir by Kate Beaton about life in the Alberta oil sands. They'll be joined by special guest Marc Herman Lynch, a literary scholar, comics enthusiast, and novelist.  This event takes place Sunday, April 23, in the Alexander Calhoun Salon at the Memorial Park Library in Calgary, Treaty 7 territory. Recording will begin shortly after 2 pm.

#33—Ian Tyson, feat. Jeremy Klaszus

Saddle up your quarter horse and grab that flask of whiskey for this ride through the life and works of country music legend Ian Tyson. Born in Victoria, BC, in 1933, Tyson’s recording career spanned six decades, from his time in the Greenwich Village coffeehouse scene as one half of the folk duo Ian & Sylvia, to his years as a solo country artist working from his ranch in Longview, Alberta. With our guest Jeremy Klaszus, ghostwriter of Ian Tyson’s 2010 memoir The Long Trail: My Life in the West, we discuss Tyson’s love of horses, his tumultuous romances, and his fascination with the lore of the West. Ian Tyson died on his Longview ranch in December 29, 2022, at the age of 89. While we’re not exactly sure what a ‘real’ cowboy is, we all agree that Tyson was one of ‘em. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/canadiansweater

Sweater Weather Live! Talks Ian Tyson with Jeremy Klaszus, Sunday Mar. 5 at 2 pm

Reserve your free tickets at our Eventbrite page: www.eventbrite.ca/e/sweater-weather-live-talks-ian-tyson-with-jeremy-klaszus-tickets-528972780827 Join the audience for Sweater Weather Live! talks the life and music of country legend Ian Tyson. Our special guest will be Jeremy Klaszus, editor-in-chief of The Sprawl and ghostwriter of Ian Tyson's memoir The Long Trail: My Life in the West.  This event takes place Sunday, March 5 at 2 pm at the Memorial Park Library in Calgary on Treaty 7 territory.

#32—Anne of Green Gables, feat. Cheryl Foggo

In 1908, thirty-four-year-old Lucy Maud Montgomery published a novel set in the fictional Prince Edward Island town of Avonlea. Her heroine: a loveable and drama-prone red-headed orphan, adopted by an elderly brother and sister who turn out to need her as much as she needs them. The book is Anne of Green Gables, of course, a novel that made its author famous and helped turn PEI into an international tourist attraction. With our guest, writer and filmmaker Cheryl Foggo, we learn how much of Maud’s life resembled Anne's, and how much it didn't—from scorned admirers to kindred spirits to bosom friends. Plus, we debate the age-old question: who does Anne love most, Diana or Gilbert? This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Memorial Park Library in Calgary, on Treaty 7 territory. Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/canadiansweater

Sweater Weather Live! in Calgary, Sunday Feb. 12 at 2 pm

Join Naomi and Aaron for this live recording of the Sweater Weather podcast as they discuss the enduring appeal of the classic novel Anne of Green Gables. They'll be joined by writer and documentary filmmaker Cheryl Foggo. This event takes place Sunday, February 12 at 2pm in the salon of the Memorial Park Library in Calgary, on Treaty 7 territory.  Book your free tickets on our Eventbrite page to reserve your spot! : https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sweater-weather-live-talks-anne-of-green-gables-with-guest-cheryl-foggo-tickets-512155700487

#31—The Other Side of Nickelback

In this audio documentary special, Aaron dives deep into the history of Nickelback, the most commercially successful and critically despised Canadian band of their generation. In the aughts when Nickelback dominated the air waves and sold out stadiums, bashing them publicly became a competitive sport for tastemakers and social media users. What spurred this unprecedented love/ hate relationship with Nickelback, and how did this band from Hanna, Alberta, find themselves at the centre of a cultural, class and political conflict? If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons get early access to new episodes and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round!

#21—The Kids in the Hall (Full Episode)

In the spirit of the season, we've brought out from behind the paywall our full episode on The Kids in the Hall. Happy holidays, everyone! Support us on Patreon ~~ Inspired by the recently released sixth season of The Kids in the Hall, Naomi and Aaron discuss this legendary sketch comedy show. We follow the Kids' paths to becoming comic actors, and how the show was too dark to enjoy when we were kids ourselves. We breakdown some of their most notorious sketches, including Cabbage Head and The Chicken Lady, and pay special attention to their unfairly maligned feature film, Brain Candy (1996). Finally, we consider the dangers of cultural nostalgia and decide that we'll do it anyway.  

#30—The Hockey Sweater, feat. Maxime Raymond Bock

One fateful day in the winter of 1946, a boy in the village of Sainte-Justine, Quebec, opened his Eaton’s package to find, instead of a coveted Montreal Canadiens jersey, the dreaded blue of the Toronto Maple Leafs. That despised hockey sweater was destined for literary, if not sports, fame. That boy became author Roch Carrier, who has published some thirty books, run for political office, and headed numerous government agencies, including the Canada Council for the Arts and the National Library of Canada. But it was the NFB’s 1980 film adaptation The Sweater, lushly and wittily animated by Sheldon Cohen, that established Carrier’s reputation as a writer. Joined by Montreal novelist and hockey enthusiast Maxime Raymond Bock—author most recently of Morel (2021)—Aaron and Naomi revisit Carrier’s story, which for a time graced Canada’s five-dollar bill. What’s been gained, lost and tweaked in translation? How does the tale reveal the tensions between Quebec and English Canada, as well as its author’s political sympathies? And why don’t parents ever understand your fashion choices? If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons get early access to new episodes and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round! Prefer watching Sweater Weather as a video podcast? Visit our website to find links to the show on all major audio, video and social media platforms.

#29—Sarah McLachlan, feat. Kris Demeanor (Live)

You will remember her—singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan was born in Halifax, studied music from the age of four, started winning singing awards not much later, and was offered her first major record deal at seventeen. Throughout the nineties, she won a boatload of Grammys and Junos for her work on the albums Solace, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, and Surfacing, and she founded and headlined the all-female music festival Lilith Fair. In 2006, she starred in the SPCA’s iconic commercial that broke all our hearts and raised millions, and soon after founded a music school for under-served children. Musician,actor and writer Kris Demeanor joins us for our first live show, in Calgary, where McLachlan proves a controversial figure, arousing every possible feeling, and making us “feel those feelings hard.” Some of us appreciate McLachlan more than others, but whether you’re a fan or not, surrender sweetly to our conversation about Canada’s mid-tempo ballad queen! If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons get early access to new episodes and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round! Prefer watching Sweater Weather as a video podcast? Visit our website to find links to the show on all major audio, video and social media platforms.