Naomi and Aaron are joined by author Marcello Di Cintio to discuss the TV show Letterkenny (2016-2023).

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How are ya now, Sweater Wearers? In this episode, we’re joined by friend and award-winning author Marcello Di Cintio to discuss the Crave original series, Letterkenny, the Canadian small-town comedy that had fans smokin' darts and poppin' Puppers for its twelve seasons. We chat about the show's origins as the creation of Jared Kesso, who plays the alpha hick Wayne. Naomi, a newbie to the series, shares her first impressions and wonders if this show is ferda the boys more than the girls, while Aaron reminisces about his own upbringing in an Ontario farm town kind of like Letterkenny. Marcello is the biggest fan of Letterkenny among us, having watched every single one of its 81 episodes. Some of Marcello's delightful non-fiction is eerily Letterkenny-esque, including idiosyncratic horse trainers and denim-clad downhill skiers. Go and read Marcello's work when you're done chorin'.

Follow Marcello on X: @DiCintio
"The Cowboy Exclaims" by Marcello Di Cintio: https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/a-cowboy-exclaims/
"Head for the Hills" by Marcello Di Cintio:  https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/head-for-the-hills-skiing-in-the-canadian-prairies/

Naomi and Aaron discuss the TV show The Littlest Hobo (1979-1985).

[This is a preview of a premium episode of Sweater Weather. To hear the full episode – and for access to all our premium episodes – subscribe to Sweater Weather on Patreon. As a patron, you'll receive a brand new episode every week! Go to patreon.com/canadiansweater for details.]

This week on Sweater Weather, we ride the rails of nostalgia with The Littlest Hobo, the classic Canadian TV show about a lone German Shepherd who runs and swims and flies in hot air balloons across the land, bringing joy to everyone he meets (except the bad guys). In 114 episodes from 1979 to 1985, Hobo can’t resist solving problems for all the hapless humans he meets along the way.

We reminisce about our own memories of watching (or avoiding) these canine adventures on Saturday afternoons, and the mixed emotions the show evoked—part comfort, part melancholy, part confusion, and yes, part cringe. We uncover fascinating tidbits about the making of the show. Did you know that multiple dogs portrayed the Littlest Hobo, all trained by the exuberant Chuck Eisenmann? We talk about London, the German-Shepherd actor who was actually several German Shepherds, from their unique reverse-masking colouring, to their roles as star and studs and stunt performers.

From helping a lonely grandfather reconnect with his granddaughter, to saving kids from trash compactors, speeding trains, and poor parenting, Hobo’s adventures were always full of excitement and dare we say weirdness. Is Hobo just a dog, or could he be something more—a guardian angel in disguise? Is it really a good idea to tell your life story to a stray dog, like all the humans on this show do? Should you give a German Shepherd your undelivered mail and hope for the best?  Find out in this episode!

Naomi and Aaron discuss the documentary Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe (2023).

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This week we rumage around our Tickle Trunk and pull out this wonderful documentary about the life and career of children's entertainer Ernie Coombs, aka Mr. Dressup. If you don't have your own Tickle Trunk, you'll find the documentary on Amazon Prime. Surprising facts that we learned from this documentary directed by Robert McCallum: Mr. Dressup wasn't actually Canadian, Mr. Dressup was real-life friends with Mr. Rogers, and once Mr. Dressup studded Finnegan out to a dog breeder to help pay down gambling debts. We might be mistaken about one of those factoids, because what we actually learned was that Mr. Dressup was a pure soul dedicated to the entertainment of Canada's children, including many who grew up to be celebrities, such as Michael J. Fox, Jonathan Torrens, and Eric McCormack, all of whom make moving appearances as talking heads. Prepare to have those heartstrings thrummed. Also, don't miss the visit from Paulrus the Walrus, Naomi's own puppet pal who never watched Mr. Dressup but who is apparently a big fan of Sweater Weather.

Naomi and Aaron discuss the TV show Breaker High (1997-98).

[This is a free sample of a premium episode of Sweater Weather. To hear the full episode – and for access to all our premium episodes – subscribe to Sweater Weather on Patreon. As a patron, you'll receive a brand new episode every week! Go to patreon.com/canadiansweater for details.]

Ahoy, Sweater Wearers! This week we sail back to the late 90s and into the Canadian teen sitcom Breaker High, a much requested topic for our show. Airing from 1997 to 1998 on YTV, Breaker High captured the imaginations of young viewers by setting high school on a cruise ship. We explore many of the characters, including the wacky Sean, played by a young Ryan Gosling showing off his comedic chops in the role. Maybe we're biased by future knowledge of baby Gosling's success, but he stands out as a real talent. We discuss Breaker High's filming location in Burnaby, BC, and we examine the sometimes dated depictions of other cultures, languages, and cuisines that make the show a bit cringey to watch today. We end by musing about how Breaker High portrays a fantasy where kids from different social groups—whether nerd, cool, jock, or joker—are all friends. In fact, little Naomi had an on-going fantasy similar to Breaker High, except it took place on a spaceship, a show idea we'll be pitching to YTV soon enough.

Naomi and Aaron discuss the TV show Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (2023-).

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In this edition of Sweater Weather, we wade into the murky world of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent. In total disregard of the law, in no particular order, we laugh about the unique Canadian spin on the Law & Order franchise, set in Toronto. We enjoy the show's fast-paced, clue-hopping style, we reminisce about watching the endless re-runs of the original Law & Order with good ole Jerry Orbach (aka Lenny), and we debate the origins of the exaggerated hoser accent of Detective Henry Graff, played by the series’ charismatic star, Aden Young.

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In this episode, we re-visit the controversial and classic Canadian novel Bear (1976) by Marian Engel. The winner of the Governor General's Award for fiction, Bear is known for its scandalous content and has sparked discussions for decades with its unconventional narrative about a woman's romantic relationship with a bear. We explore Engel's life, as well as the broader feminist and nationalist themes that permeate her book. We also touch on the cultural context of the 1970s, the power of ursine symbolism in Canadian culture, and our own (entirely chaste) encounters with bears in real life. Finally, we wonder if it would be possible to write a sequel to this wild novel.

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In this episode, we dive into the movie BlackBerry (2023), starring Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton and Matt Johnson (Johnson also directed the film). The film rides a wave of early 2000s nostalgia and explores a pre-smartphone era, and we reminisce about never having a BlackBerry ourselves while people around us did. We especially enjoyed a scene where an obnoxious businessman swizzles whiskey and chomps a cigar while showing off his new BlackBerry. We delve into the contrasting personalities of the Co-CEOs, Mike Lazaridis (played by Jay Baruchel) and Jim Balsillie (played by Glenn Howerton), drawing comparisons to the similiar tech-founder narrative of The Social Network. Finally, we talk about the film's portrayal of BlackBerry's changing workplace culture and Mike Lazaridis's dissolving ideals on the way to the BlackBerry's downfall.

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In this episode of Sweater Weather, Aaron and Naomi discuss the documentary I Am: Celine Dion (2024), which is available on Amazon Prime. They explore Celine's image, her massive success, and her corny yet undeniably popular style. The documentary itself focuses on Celine's current battle with Stiff Person Syndrome, including an impactful scene of her having a seizure, a symptom of her SPS. However, the documentary steers clear of anything potentially problematic, especially regarding her controversial marriage with Rene Angelil. Aaron and Naomi analyze this approach, comparing it to more journalistic documentaries and question the trend of celebrities creating documentaries about themselves. They discuss vulnerability being used as a strategic move in such a self portrayal, but they also recognize Celine's authentic charm and personality shining through. Overall, Aaron and Naomi enjoyed the documentary and found themselves with a new-found appreciation for the person (if not the music) of Celine Dion.

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.

​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.

Reserve your free tickets at our Eventbrite page. 

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 on 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.

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. Reserve your free tickets at our Eventbrite page.

​​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 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.

​​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? 

​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, Feb. 12 at 2 pm, in the downstairs meeting room of the Memorial Park Library in Calgary. 

​​One fateful day in the winter of 1946, a little 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?

​​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 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!

​​Join us Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 for the first ever live recording of the Sweater Weather podcast, 7pm at The Rose and Crown Pub in Calgary!

Naomi and Aaron will delve into the life and music of singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. And if you're not already swooning in the arms of an angel, we'll be joined in our discussion by musician, actor and writer Kris Demeanor.

​In episode 28, we revisit the antics of shock comic Tom Green. In the early nineties, Green rose to local Ottawa fame with a rap album, a radio show, and a program on public-access television. In 1998, The Tom Green Show gained a national following on the Canadian Comedy Network, and in 1999 it jumped to the American big time on MTV. Green was the network’s golden/meat-covered boy, a box office success in the films Road Trip (2000) and Charlie’s Angels (2000)—before being waylaid by testicular cancer, a short-lived marriage to actress Drew Barrymore, and the critical lambasting of his directorial debut, Freddy Got Fingered (2001). How did Green develop his innovative comedic methods? Why have some parts of his shtick aged like a fine wine, and others like a dead moose? Did his family ever forgive him for that stunt with his grandmother and the dildos? Also, Naomi remembers Tom razzing her as a teen on the not-so-mean streets of downtown Ottawa.

​Screenwriter Abdul Malik (Peace by Chocolate, CTV’s Transplant) joins us to talk about Atom Egoyan’s 1997 film, The Sweet Hereafter, one of Canada’s most celebrated movies and the pinnacle of the Toronto New Wave moment. We revisit the melancholic, majestic, and morally compromised town of Sam Dent, a fictional community in BC’s interior that has lost almost all its children to a school-bus crash. Ian Holm plays a carpet-bagging lawyer with his own emotional baggage, while Sarah Polley portrays a young girl who survives both the bus accident and her father’s abuse. In this stark winter landscape, we warm to Egoyan's elegant filmmaking but are left cold by his moralizing vision. Should The Sweet Hereafter still be celebrated 25 years later?