Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Jennifer Hollett: Toronto Mike'd #1339

Episode Date: October 6, 2023

In this 1339th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Jennifer Hollett about her years as a Much VJ, going to Harvard, entering politics, and working at Twitter and The Walrus. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Pumpkins After Dark, Ridley Funeral Home, Electronic Products Recycling Association, Raymond James Canada and Moneris.

Welcome to episode 1339 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. A fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh homemade Italian pasta and entrees. From Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Pumpkins After Dark.

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Today, making her Toronto mic debut is Jennifer Hollett. Welcome, Jennifer. Hi, great to be here. This is a sweet setup, your studio. I want to hear more, really, because you've been in a studio or two in your time and your very interesting career. I can't wait to dive in. But is this okay? Like this is the only space left in the house. I'm super impressed. So I live downtown Toronto. So the fact that you even have a house is very exciting. And what's been amazing for me in my career, starting out in digital, moving to TV, moving to digital and now working at The Walrus,

which is legacy, but more and more multimedia digital, is that I have taped podcast interviews on Zoom that sound great, but I love going into studios that to me, this very professional studio, but it's also home studio. so it's the best of both. Oh, thank you. Honestly, that's like praise from Caesar, because you know what you're talking about. So necessity is the mother of invention.

So that's why I'm like, watch your head, Jennifer, because you'll hit your head if you're not careful. You can imagine how Cam Gordon would feel when he comes down here. I was wondering that. Cam and I worked at Twitter Canada together, and he's a very tall man. But I also love, Mike, that you're a fan. And I can tell that by your interviews, but also just taking a look at the albums and just different paraphernalia. Okay, thank you.

I think that's why so many of us get into the media is because we love it. Okay, and we're gonna you know we're gonna do this again i'm gonna just warn the listenership who are like settling in for a two hour deep dive with jennifer hollett that i have pledged to do this in an hour and we're gonna be all killer no filler so we're about to cook with gas but based on that very nice uh intro there uh it sounds like you have listened to at least one or two episodes of Toronto Mic'd. I have, but I think how I know you more is social media. Oh, really? Yeah.

And also so many people who I'm connected to probably one degree away, be it media or pop culture, have been on your show. So you've created quite the community. Well, now you know why I've been so persistent. Not gently. I don't think I bug you every month or anything like that. But once in a while, I'm like, oh, Jennifer Hollett should come on Toronto Mic'd because you have such interesting aspects. Like you mentioned the one degree.

So yeah, Cam Gorded was here a week ago. He wrote a note. I should fast forward to the Twitter. It's basically to say hello. And he says hi. And that you were one of his favorite Twitter Canada colleagues. Oh, it's very sweet. I feel Cam and I, you know that expression of a work wife and a work husband. And I had a work wife and a work husband at Twitter. And Cam was the work husband because we sat right next to each other. Cam was head of communications. I was head work wife and a work husband at Twitter and Cam was the work husband because we sat right next to each other. Wow.

Cam was head of communications. I was head of news and government. So there was a lot of overlap. And in case people are wondering, like, what? You worked at Twitter, then he jobs left at Twitter. My job was to work with journalists and politicians to get them on the platform to make sure they were fully using the platform. And he was dealing with Twitter in the news. So lots of overlap.

Listen, there will be a, again, we're going to do this in an hour, all killer, no filler, but there will be a Twitter component. There's going to be a Walrus section, a Twitter section, a politics section, a much music section, but we're going to do it all in 60 minutes. But I'm going to get a fact right here. Now, some people think you're related to Michael Hollett of now, and now it's next. Of course, he's also an FOTM. You're now an FOTM, Jennifer. Here's what's so funny about this. I'm honored to be an FOTM.

Last night, I had dinner with Kate Hollett. Kate Hollett is Michael's sister. She's an artist. We were talking about this. She's an artist. And we were talking about this. So here's the backstory. I, for the most part, grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario. I studied journalism communications at Concordia University in Montreal. And I was super lucky. I got a full-time job straight out of university working at Sony Music in, at the time, what was called their consumer technology department.

And this is a very appropriate song. Well, we're going to keep it simmering in the background. You know, there's a swell to this song. Oh, your live production skills. So when I moved to Toronto, a lot of people are asking me, are you related to Mike Hollett? Do you know Mike Hollett? And at the time, the late 90s, Now Magazine, I mean, that's how we found out about concerts and music news and what was going on in the city. There was no social media.

As we know today, there were like bulletin boards for those of us who are fans. And I'm like, no, there's not a lot of Hollits around unless you're Newfoundland. So I emailed him and I said, dear Michael Hollit, hi, hi I'm Jennifer Hollett I don't think we're related but people keep asking me hi and I was year one of a career he was very established and he took the time to write back and say hi welcome to Toronto nice to meet another Hollett and that's how Kate Hollett reached out to me hey I know you know my brother. So I call Michael Hollett my fake dad and we've developed a friendship because we both work in media. We share politics and we're both Holletts. I saw Michael Hollett, F-O-T-M, Michael Hollett at

Roy Thompson Hall a couple of weeks ago for that 299 Queen Street West documentary. Were you at that premiere? I was, yeah. So I mean, I probably passed you in the hallway. Catherine McLenahan you at that premiere? I was, yeah. Okay, so I mean, I probably passed you in the hallway. Catherine McClanahan was at that premiere, and I didn't spot her either, and that would be another One Degree of Separation episode that recorded this week, because Catherine McClanahan, if people don't know, is the first woman VJ in Much Music history, and you would follow suit many, many years later as a VJ at MuchMusic, which we'll talk about. Yeah, and I appreciate all the women who came before me, Catherine, kicking it off because

the music industry is still very male-dominated. Well, this song is not male-dominated. Tell me, why did Toronto Mike decide to play this power ballad by Celine Dion? Because my first job at Sony Music Canada was online content coordinator. And then in time, I became a manager of new media. But I developed content for artists' websites.

And our biggest artist was Celine Dion. Think of the Titanic era. But also, she was signed to Sony Music Canada, not Sony Music US. That is a huge deal

to have someone that big signed to a Canadian label at that time. Yeah, I didn't even know that. Okay. Yeah, she was bringing in money bags for the label. One of the biggest artists that I've been able to work with, but I've been fortunate to travel around the world and to mention that I did work related to Celine Dion,

to my friends in Sierra Leone, when I was working with Journalist for Human Rights there. They're like, what? I mean, we have that tall poppy syndrome here in Canada. And I think we make fun of artists like Celine Dion or Nickelback. But around the world, she is highly respected and loved. And everyone sings along with her music, including men. I'm about to belt it out.

Are you kidding me? I'm just waiting for the cue. But if you go to right now, if right now you go to the Walrus website and tell us where, is it the walrus.ca? Yes. Yes. Okay. So if you go there right now,

of course, there's a link to see like who's on the team. You're like top of the food chain there. Jen Hall, it's right there. And one of the fun facts in your bio is, maybe the go-to fun fact, is that your first job after Concordia involved answering emails for Celine Dion. Well, so because it was the early days of the internet

as we know it, Netscape had just introduced graphics to give you a sense. This was the America Online. Isn't this song swell? All right, we'll wait because it's coming. You have to use really long one though you have to kind of use your arms with this song a little she does that pumping yeah she does this too you have to like oh yeah she's passionate yeah pump i always love the passion and i'm only now realizing i was calling her celine dion it

celine like you have that nice french on it that's's Céline. But I also learned all this. So part of the job was answering fan mail. And email was a new form of fan mail. Fans used to, I did this, you would write a letter, right? Or you would join a fan club. That moved online. And boy, the questions

to be clear, I was not pretending to be Céline, right? I was replying on behalf of Sony Music. But there were all types of questions. They were coming from around the world. And one big question was about her veil at her wedding. And was it sewn into her head? I remember being asked this question, not understanding it,

and having to do some research to confirm that it was not sewn into her head. It was glued in, right? Well, it was, I think, put in with her hair. Right, weaved in. The fans, the Celine fans are very dedicated, very loyal, very protective. They know everything. Well, if you think the Celine Dion fans are protective,

I can't imagine what the Prozac fans are like. Oh, wow. That's a deep cut. Prozac was a lot of fun to work with. Hold on, one second. Hold on. Listen to this you have a lighter i feel we should have a lighter oh my god listen to this okay we'll let her finish and then get right back to the prozac story

because it was celendion was the biggest name but you were working with i mean our lady peace prozac thank you celene okay the power of love there's a there's a there's a song to belt but what were you saying there before i rudely interrupted you no no i feel so warm and fuzzy right now so prozac cartoon band yeah relatively new concept this was pre gorillas yeah they were dependent on the internet because like they were not out and about beyond their videos so we were able to have a lot of fun again early days of of web taking these illustrations and bringing them to life and creating social relationships with the fans and that's what we really unlocked in the early days again 90s sony music canada is tapping into that fan energy and passion to create a word

of mouth and buzz it's not easy to sell records at the best of time but if you're a cartoon and can't do traditional media appearances and that that was part of the fun i always saw prozac as death pop right so we often call metal death metal i'm like that's death pop it's as poppy as it comes and i'm a big fan of pop music i make no apologies and that that's the best of death pop well the two jams off the top of my head here uh i've got a strange disease right then and uh it sucks to be you right oh yeah and then and this gets us to much music so so and again was denise donlin at sony at this time this is also another one of those are you related to michael hollett so when i worked at sony music denise was running much music

and then by the time i got to much music and became a VJ, Denise was over at Sony Music. And we only really got to know each other over the last few years because she's a friend of the Walrus. And it's a lot of fun because I would say of all the VJs and the different careers, Denise and I both have become media executives. And I've always looked up to her. And she was also one of the VJs and media leaders who was really passionate about connecting social issues to much music and pop culture and kumbaya festival yeah and that was that was my thing too when i was a vj covering politics and i did a special in afghanistan so yeah i feel denise and i have uh you know a connection in that way see a lot of great like natural segues in your career actually how think this leads to that it's uh very, but here's just to promote Monday's drop of the Randy Backman.

Don't say Bachman in Canada. It's Backman in Canada. Randy Backman episode is that he played the Kumbaya festival with fellow Winnipeg band, uh, the Watchmen. Wow. And there's a question that came in from,

uh, Sammy Cohen, drummer for the Watchmen. Also, also Twitter employee. That's, that's how I met Sammy. He was doing stuff with Cam Gordon. They had a podcast, if I remember correctly. But the podcast

unfortunately was completely ignored so it no longer exists. Inside joke. Okay. That's a good one. That was the title of the podcast. And if you check out the Doug and the Slugs documentary, you see a lot of Denise Donlan. She was And if you check out the Doug and the Slugs documentary, you see a lot of Denise Donlan.

She was a big deal in working with Doug and the Slugs during their heyday. I think a lot of people don't realize that the VJs in so many different ways throughout the eras that we actually were in the music scene in one way or the other. And I know a lot of the early VJs came from radio or were working with bands creating

art yeah and I think what the documentary 299 Queen Street West really captured is the whole point of much music and the approach was for it to seem like we were just regular people your friend your cousin in terms of how we talked and how we dressed and and sometimes maybe not being the most prepared or the most professional and that that evolved but uh i think that's why people are sometimes surprised to know like oh we had qualifications or or we were connected in in doing other things and then also went on to build on that that much music experience well you sure did oh my goodness gracious we're going to cover a lot of it here now uh how how do you, so MuchMusic, how do you get to MuchMusic? You moved to CTV? Like, I'm trying to get you from Sony Music to 299 Queen.

Yeah, so I was at Sony Music, and I met a lot of interesting people who had come through the building. But enough about Rain Maida. Well, shout out to Rain Maida. Rain Maida, we follow each other on Twitter and talk politics, actually. I had a chance to see him, Chantel and Rain, had a movie come out about the work they do together. And it was great to catch up because I worked very closely with Our Lady Peace. They were early adopters of the web and multimedia. Did you buy any NFTs from Rain Mada?

Oh, no. But see, this shows you how things just keep evolving. Yeah. And I think artists who, you know, got the web in the early days, it's no surprise that they'd be rain made oh no but see this shows you how things just keep evolving yeah and uh and i and i think artists who you know got the web in the early days it's no surprise that they'd be embracing the opportunities right now uh but what had happened actually was i was working on mc mario who is a really big dj right from montreal and a ctv producer came through the building and I was, you know, introduced as, you know, someone who, who works in web and kind of like, you want to meet her?

Yeah, you're digitally savvy. It was kind of, yeah, it was kind of like a, it was a really nice hyped up introduction. All to say a few years later, I got a call to audition for a new show on a new digital channel. The show was called The Chat Room, the channel Talk TV. And that Mark McInnes had passed on my business card. And it took me a moment to even think, what, how? And I learned later that Mark, he's a great producer,

and I'm very thankful to him for believing in me. But when he met interesting people, he had a folder, and he would just take their card or information and put it in that folder very old school and then when someone said hey we're looking for hosts we're trying to audition people he would go to that file folder and say oh here's some interesting people so that that's how I made the move and it was a bit stressful because I was really enjoying the work I was doing at Sony Music but my dream was always to be a TV host. So I think the timing's good because I feel like Napster was knocking at the door. Knocking at the door.

It kicked in the door. Yeah, it kicked in the door. And I think for Sony, not only was it a music label, but we also had the hardware part of the company. So Sony created the Walkman and the Disman. It should have had the MP3 man or whatever they would have called it. But there was that internal clash between the label and the

hardware part of the company. Of course. Yes, of course. It's amazing. So you make the move to CTV. That's what you do. You're hosting the chat room. This is on talk TV, as you said there. And that how does that get you on Much music yeah so although i feel like okay so i'm gonna pause myself well i want to hear the much music story in fact we're gonna spend the rest of the hour just kidding uh but steve did there were a few questions that came in of course and steve leggett is curious if you and ben mulrooney are still friends and steve writes i know their politics don't mesh but they seemed friendly back on CTV Talk TV, which is where I first learned of her and of Ben. I really enjoyed that show. I really enjoyed that channel

and I thought Jen was great on it. Wow, that's early days and I really appreciate that memory and thank you for tuning in. So yes, so I worked with a wide range of people in terms of hosts, but also guests. And not only did I work closely with Ben Mulroney, but also Seamus O'Regan, who is a federal minister. Yeah. And so for Ben specifically, obviously known best through his father in terms of his politics. When I ran for the NDP in 2015, Ben was very kind to speak publicly, both on Twitter, but to also people in the community to say that while we don't share our politics,

that Jen would make an incredible MP. And I was always thankful for that. And yeah, Ben joined us after he had graduated law school. And that was the beginning of so many of our television careers. And so it was a fun time, but we were also learning live on the air, which is probably the best way to learn in TV. But I also sometimes think I'm glad it was just digital.

Well, Ben Mulroney will be in it. We're kind of buddies now, but he's going to make his debut shortly. He almost made it last week and then he postponed it the last minute. And once he works out some work thing he's figuring out, he's going to drop by. But he's not a big fan of bike lanes, which we're going to chat about.

But this is a good chance for me to slip in a question. Yeah, so speaking of different politics, the bicycle mayor of Toronto did send in a question, wants to know if you're going to wear the banana suit again. Apparently he's seen you on a bicycle in a banana suit. I am a big fan of the Bicycle Mayor of Toronto. He was also an FOTM, Lanrick. Oh, yeah, no, Lanrick, who I also know through Twitter,

just like such a great advocate in the city and really embraces public realm and design. So what happened is Cycle Toronto put on this big Toronto bike ride. And my friend Allie Stewart, who is the director of policy and advocacy, she said, hey, will you join our fundraising group? And she called it Bananas for Biking. And that's because her bike is yellow and she calls her bike La Banane. And so I thought, oh yeah, that'd be fun.

And then another friend's like, oh, you should dress as a banana. So I managed to get a banana costume, but I'll tell you this, Mike. Yeah. My plan was just to show up dressed as a banana and tickle everyone kind of in the pregame and then just take the banana off and do the bike ride.

But the people on the street love the banana so much. All ages, all backgrounds, throughout the ride, people were yelling, hey, banana, Miss Banana, banana man. Look, a banana on a bicycle. You don't see that every day. You don't see that every day. And I was waving, and it was just so much fun for all involved. So I'd like to wear the banana

costume again because it made me and so many people smile it's so simple though if you wore that let's say you started wearing that banana suit every day it wouldn't have the same special quality like it's one of those things where like if we all wore banana suits every day nobody would even care about you being in a banana suit it's that we never see it that makes it special so you need to break out the banana suit like once in a blue moon yes yes and and i will say some people really close to me when i sent them a picture they saw me they were just like yeah so like it didn't even faze them that i was wearing a banana oh there's jennifer holland in a banana uh wearing riding a bicycle okay yeah on brand okay so much music time beep okay how

do you get hired at much music and uh what is this early 2000s i suppose yeah so uh and i'll go into detail because i think a lot of times we don't talk about how it happens oh i insist on great detail when you get a dream job so uh and and, it's a reminder of just living life and how these connections happen. So growing up in St. Catharines, Ontario, I spent a lot of time in Niagara Falls. So often when I have a friend visiting and they want to go to Niagara Falls, I offer to take them or like, let's go. And aside from doing the touristy things, I can kind of, let's go here and let's make sure to stop by the Flying Saer restaurant that type of thing and i was on the maid of the mist and someone i knew from ctv was on the maid of the mist and was like hey hi do you remember like i came on the chat room and i'm over at much music and yeah we yeah we should stay in touch yeah let's let's grab lunch i remember we grabbed

lunch at salad king shout out sure shout out to my favorite Thai restaurant. And we were chatting and he said, Oh, you should, you should apply to be a much music BJ. I remember thinking, well, I'm not looking for a job. I'm already a TV host, but, uh, never turned down a job you don't have. So I decided to send in a demo tape and I had a demo tape because I had been working in television right so I had clips to pull from in terms of music interviews and other things that I did that I thought would would impress the producers sizzle reel yeah exactly that that's but really approached it like here I am a tv host and I'm a big music fan but I was also a big much music fan because I grew up watching much music electric circus all of it all of it and then I was also a big Much Music fan because I grew up watching Much Music, Electric Circus, all of it, all of it. And then I was called in for an audition and I did a series of auditions

and Hannah Sung and I were hired at the same time. And this was in 2002. So it was a more traditional path. I didn't win a contest. I wasn't spotted, you know, out at a show or anything like that. It was by auditioning, but they were doing a big casting call. So they were considering a wide range of people and they had days of auditions, but it wasn't part of the VJ search. I did though, send in a tape for the VJ search a few years earlier. And my question for you, Mike, because this came up at the screening of the 299 Queen Street West documentary.

Did you, as a music fan and someone who works works in media did you ever send in an audition tape I wouldn't dare no I never once in my entire life have ever applied for any mainstream media job so no why didn't you consider it just not not your thing or this well until until I started a podcast 11 years ago I wasn't a guy who spoke into a mic. Like it just wasn't, I worked for B2B software companies as senior managers of digital marketing. Okay, this was my world. And when that basically,

when that was invented, I suppose, ever since the late 90s, I've been doing some form of digital marketing. I just simply didn't think I had a decent voice. I didn't think that was my path. I just started a podcast because I was producing Humble and Fred's podcast and I would watch them get a Jennifer Hollett on their show. And they would talk about the one time Jennifer Hollett met them at CFNY or something.

And I would be like, how did you not ask Jennifer Hollett about, she ran for as to be an MP, losing to future prime minister. More on that in a moment. She worked at MuchMusic. She's at the Walrus. Like there's a lot of meat on that bone. And then I realized I better do it myself. Like, so literally I got some gear.

I left my comfort zone and I said, I'll start a podcast. And here you are now spending an hour with me in my basement because I made that decision 11 years ago but prior to that I would never consider applying to be a VJ on much music or a radio host or anything in mainstream media didn't even consider it and I think that's the big change and what's so exciting about this moment in digital and social media is that anyone can like share their voice and and their passion And I think podcasts are extremely intimate because people sound like they sound. We're not trying to put on radio.

Yeah. And sometimes that happens in time, the more comfortable you get on air, Mike, you get into it. Well, at the end, I do an end that,

which is the most sticky thing I do ever. I think for any of us, there's always a little bit, there was always a little bit of a shtick, but whether it's podcasting or social media or the original Much Music, which I think the closest thing back in the day was community television or campus radio

to just showing up as is and being real. Right. And that was the appeal. I'm with you, appeal, because you're a banana. I see what you did there. Oh, okay, dad humor. All right, all right. Well, I am a you, appeal, because you're a banana. I see what you did there. Okay, dad humor. All right, all right. Well, I am a dad, okay.

So who, you dropped the name Hannah Sung, F-O-T-M, Hannah Sung. But can you name check some other, I would say on air for people to know the name, any colleagues at Much Music during your time there? Let's hear some names. Sure. So I worked the most closely with rick campanelli and by the time we were working together coasting much on a man george tromblop list also who i work closely with he had re-nicknamed rick the franchise because he was no

longer the temp he was so much bigger that didn't quite stick it was the franchise but internally it did because rick really was there for so many eras right and i think lived the dream for so many viewers that he came in as a temp and then became one of the biggest he was like the glue like the phil hartman of saturday night live yeah and also just such a nice guy and i think that's why he really connected with with artists and he doesn't age i know know. How is that? He comes over periodically and I stare at him and I'm like, how come I'm older and you're not?

I don't understand. Yeah, I know, I know. I think a big part of aging is how you feel in the inside and how that projects. So that might be a big part of that for Rick, that he just has that energy.

But also I worked closely with and remain good friends with Nam Kiwanuka. Love her. I love her. Oh, she's so great. And there are also a new generation of VJs coming in. So when I joined, Rainbow Sun Franks was there, Amanda Walsh, and then they went on to pursue incredible acting careers.

But Devin Soltendijk, Sarah Taylor, it was a nice overlap in many ways of eras. And I always compare VJ cohorts to Saturday Night Live where you always have your favorite era and the people who watch earlier after are kind of like, what, I don't know those people or they're not my favorite. And that's part of the ownership that fans have.

Amazing. Okay, so yeah. And by the part of the ownership that fans have. Amazing. Okay, so yeah. And by the way, when you do run out of water, I can set you up with a long answer and run up and get you more. I'm just going to let you. Can I say what's so funny about that is prior to my career in music, I was a DJ at a pub in Montreal

and the equivalent to that trick was we would play Tainted Love and just go to the washroom because it was a long song, right? Absolutely. Play Tainted Love and run to the washroom. Many a smoking DJ has thrown on Indiegogo de Vida by, what is it, Iron Butterfly?

Oh, wow. Okay, that's another trick. And apparently, I think it runs 17 minutes or something and then they can go out, get their smoke, go to the washroom, get their coffee, come back and Indiegogo de Vida is stillida is still going like that was the old j and conversely because i have

friends at radio if you were up against it like you only had a couple of minutes till the news break or whatever uh a couple of jams one particularly blurs song two is what you would hear before the break so often on humble and fred on 102.1 the edge you would hear song two and then the news because we have two minutes. We need a two-minute song. And the other one I want to shout out Sloan, F-O-T-M Sloan,

because The Good in Everyone is also like a couple of minutes and you'd hear that just before the break as well. This fact, I got to get Amanda Wald. Are you still friendly with Amanda Wald? Yeah, so Amanda lives in LA, but every once in a while, she'll come through Toronto for a writing gig

or again there there's lots of tv and film production here and we'll catch up so we have stayed in touch uh also do not as much in Los Angeles but anytime I visited we connect there and that that has been fun because I think being a VJ is such a unique experience in the best possible way, but also at times in challenging ways in terms of being recognized and criticized to your face. And it's, it's been also a lot of fun just to watch like the great, unique dynamic careers of,

of the VJs because people go in such different directions. Absolutely. So here's what I'm going to do. Okay, Jennifer, I'm going to play you in 2002 on much music and I'm going to do. Okay, Jennifer, I'm going to play you in 2002 on Much Music, and I'm going to let it run because I'm going to go upstairs and fill that glass with water.

And people will still hear you. Your mic's live. So if you wanted to do a pop-up video type reaction, it's up to you. Otherwise, we can all just listen. Let's hear some Jennifer Hollett on Much Music. You are back with Much, Harrison Ford live in the environment. I read that you have a species of spider named after you. That's true.

Tell us more about that. I know you do a lot of environmental work. Yeah. I did some, I can't even remember what I did for the New York Museum of Natural History. Their idea of a reward was to name a spider after me. What does this spider look like? I think it looks just like me. Like you?

You're almost 60. And damn, doesn't he look good? In K-19, you play an older version of yourself at the end of the movie. Yeah. I want to know how much longer you see yourself in the business. Because watching the movie, I thought, you're going to be still acting all the way. You can do it. Your career, I think there's no end in sight.

But I want to know when you're ready to just take it easy. but I want to know you're right when you're ready to just take it easy as long as I you know can find work that's interesting and challenging as long as I can be in the kinds of films that I want to be in I'll continue to work I don't have to play the same roles I'm playing now but I think I can all right I can work as probably you know as long as I want to. The role's for older guys. Do you consider yourself another guy at this point? Well, okay, so you nailed that because, I mean, he's wrong

because he will play Indiana Jones in his 80s, as time would tell. But he's a lousy interviewer, right? Like, he's no energy, right? He was, and you can hear it, so crusty. And it's so interesting that you picked this clip for two reasons. Well, it's the number one most viewed Jennifer Hall at a Much Music clip on YouTube. That's why I picked it. So, obviously, he's a big name.

And he's the type of celebrity that even if you don't follow pop culture, you know who he is and you get excited. Everyone's seen Star Wars, right? Yeah. And also, again, if you grew up follow public culture, you know who he is and you get excited. Everyone's seen Star Wars, right? Yeah. And also, again, Maybe not Cam Gordon. But if you grew up in the 80s, right, you know, and he's in so many TV shows and films.

So I was told by his team, head of the interview, you can't ask any personal questions. And that's because at the time he was dating Calista Flockhart, if you recall. Of course. You're still with her, by the way.

But this is fine for me, right? If I'm told not to ask about a relationship, but I actually wasn't. Yeah, because that's a private matter. I'm like, yeah, that's totally fine. So I did the interview and there were a lot of fans on the street. There was a lot of excitement.

I remember there was a kid dressed up as Indiana Jones in full costume. So there was a lot of energy. And then afterwards, when we were done the interview someone from from his team from probably the film company came over and said we said don't ask any personal questions and i said i didn't and they said you asked about his age wow to me that's not a personal question. No, I'm with you. That's a career question. That's a measurement of time on earth, which is not the same as asking about his relationship with a personal relationship with a woman.

Yeah, and for me, in the film, he plays an older version of himself. Hence, in the audience, you're thinking, wow, will that be him? And it is him now. So to be offended, whether he was or the team was that I asked about his age, come on.

I'm sorry. Hollywood is all about age. I mean, you did ask me not to ask you about your age. Oh, I did not. I am probably 48 years old. But I do... You're catching up to me.

I do understand that there is some sensitivity and that's why I wanted to talk about it because it is ultimately a quick question here. And you were proven correct. I was proven correct. Here's the other funny thing. I also was given this beautiful promo shot from like,

again, the, like the, I don't know if it was the publicist or the film production company, but I was given this like really like nice picture of the two of us. Sometimes someone will take that before the interview. And it's now in my mom's hallway next to graduation photos. So anytime someone comes in to move something or do something in the house,

they go, wait, why is Harrison Ford on your main hallway? And it's very funny. And we keep, we keep it there, but my sister has opinions on that being next to her. Guelph university graduation picture. So I was, I mean,

it was a big fan of Conan O'Brien's late night talk show. And especially for a period of time, I watched a lot of late night TV. I haven't watched any late night TV in like a decades. It's wild. But I remember Harrison Ford notorious for being the kiss of death no energy not a chatty guy can't tell a good story it's like what's why is this guy such a good actor and so terrible as a guest i mean that was a tough i think that would be a tough challenge i don't

know if i could have harrison ford on toronto mic for an hour without like having to rough them up a little bit another band that's like, but I was able to crack them, and I'm so glad because they're one of my favorites, Beastie Boys. Wow. And you have a check your head sticker above the low ceiling. Because you did have to check your head.

I had to check my head, so that was a great reference. So I was really happy I was able to do a great interview with them, not only because I'm a number one super fan, but I think what i've realized is some bands and some actors they don't like this part of the job they don't like going out and answering the same questions was here on monday and hayden who i spent many nights with during

the summer because our sons play on the same soccer team wow notorious for he hates interviews and he told and i said hey you got to come by for tron mike and i'm like a fellow soccer dad i think he was pressured into it that way but uh absolutely doesn't like to talk for 10 minutes let alone do a toronto mic i know you also were like i don't like long interviews and i was thinking oh what's jennifer gonna say 20 minutes 25 minutes and then you said you would do an hour and i'm like i'll do an hour so here we are for an hour but hayden hates it and i asked him early on like and he's like uh he goes like I'm not I'm not looking forward to this at all some people don't like talking they just want to create art and let you absorb the art they don't

want to talk about their thinking as they create this art like they just don't like that there's a lot of pressure and also too it's often done back to back on a media tour and not all interviewers do their research or care. And there are a lot of awkward, uncomfortable questions. So I get it. But guess what? That's part of the gig. That's the business side of things. That's the deal.

You chose a career in the public eye and this is part of the machinery. It is part of it. And as a VJ, I always thought, let's dance. Like, let's dance. Let's figure it out. I'll work with you. Well, you were very good. You were very good.

There is an era where I drop out, but I was still watching much music when you showed up. Oh, wow. Yeah, I was hung in there. Did you overlap with Ed the Sock? My brain can't do it. I did. I did. Yes.

And Ed, also known as Steve Kersner. Right. We had a few years overlap, and then he was doing his own show. But I also grew up watching Ed the Sock. So a lot of these VJs that I got to work with, I was a fan of. And I think... Strombo, Ed the Sock, please. We were all fans, right?

Fans of music, fans of MuchMusic, and in often cases, depending on the era, fans of each other, too. Okay, I need to get you out of MuchMusic. I need to cover a few hot spots super quick to get you to Twitter, but I also need to give you some gifts. I've got my eye on the clock, but here are the gifts. Jennifer

Hallett, finally, making her Toronto mic debut. I have a wireless speaker from manaris that's a bluetooth speaker ed keenan swears by that speaker that's his go-to speaker that is a great gift thank you but you have to listen to season five of yes we are open which is an award-winning podcast from manaris and al grego went out east he went to the maritimes and newfoundland i believe which is not part of the maritimes, as you know, Jennifer. And that's Atlantic Canada.

And he interviewed small business owners. And there are some inspiring stories in season five. So queue up season five of Guess We Are Open while you're subscribing to podcasts. Subscribe to the Advantage Investor podcast from Raymond James Canada. Whether you already work with a trusted financial advisor or currently manage your own investment plans, the advantaged investor provides the engaging wealth management information you value as you pursue your most important goals. I have a measuring tape for you. That's from Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921. You can hear me. I'm playing with them. Like, whoa, hey, hey.

Yeah, enjoy. Enjoy responsibly, is what I say with that measuring tape. Thank you, Ridley Funeral Home. And the good stuff here, of course, is the beer and the lasagna. So I have in my freezer a lasagna for you. That's from Palma Pasta. They're in Mississauga and Oakville. They've got four locations. They're hosting us for TMLX

14 on December 9th at noon. That's Palma's Kitchen, where we're all going to collect all FOTMs. Jennifer, of course, you're invited. They'll feed us for free and Great Lakes Brewery will make sure we have

a complimentary can of fresh craft beer. You've got some fresh craft beer going. Great Lakes is the best craft beer in the province and it's all all drink. So you can see what all the fuss is about.

So you've got some good gifts. Last but not least, you know, we talked about Sony. They had the Walkman and the Discman, and they kind of got caught, I think, on the MP3 player. And if you have an old Walkman or Discman or MP3 player that doesn't work, don't throw it in the garbage, Jennifer, because the chemicals end up in our landfill. There are accredited places,

EPRA is accredited places, where they will properly and safely recycle old electronics. You can find a place near you at, of course, it's at recyclemyelectronics.ca. So you go there, find out where to drop it off. And last but not least, it's October. Halloween is coming.

Pumpkins After Dark is an award-winning event in Milton, Ontario. If you go to pumpkinsafterdark.com right now, you can save 15% with the promo code TOMIKE15. T-O-M-I-K-E-1-5. Save 15% on your tickets. Get your tickets now. They'll sell out. It's an amazing event.

Milton, Ontario, running through Halloween. Why do you leave much music, Jennifer Hollett? Do you remember? I do. I do. So much was really changing in the early 2000s. And I have always been drawn to music because of what music is about, the world. Growing up, while I loved pop music, I was also getting into hip hop,

which was exploding and punk rock. And that was about politics and things that were wrong. And there's a lot of education in music. So I loved interviewing artists about what they were trying to say and how their art is reflecting the world around us. Right.

So when it started moving the culture at large to celebrity gossip and it being more about, you know, what people were wearing and who they were dating. So this is why, again, I'm less interested in who folks are dating unless their music is about it. Beyonce.

Right. Then I want to know who's the, who's this song about or Chris Martin. Who's this, who's this song about? Let's talk about it Beyonce right then I want to know who's the who's this song about or Chris Martin who's this who's this song about let's talk about it so there was a move and and also too I was I was ready to do more so I would say top highlights for me for my time at Much Music going to Afghanistan in 2002 to do a documentary about life for women and youth in Afghanistan, that really changed things for me. It opened my eyes to global issues, international women's rights. I also covered politics and elections for Much Music.

That inspired my interests in federal politics. And I wanted to do more of that. So when I left MuchMusic, I had a great run, and I took some time to travel, and I spent time in East Africa, volunteering with Care Canada, and then came back and produced some videos and toured high schools talking about international development and specifically issues like HIV and AIDS, living in a refugee camp and gender-based violence. So I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now without everything I had an opportunity to do at Much Music. I'm very thankful. It was a dream job in every sense, in every sense of the world.

Well, I've heard similar sentiments about why they left much from Bill Wilichka. He tells a story about having an interview with David Bowie and then some producer wondering if there's like an appetite for things or an audience for that. And he realized, oh, like it's no longer necessarily all about the music because this is David Bowie in a sit down.

And Strombo talks about like he was on he was being a VJ and there was a mud wrestling you saw this in the dog, but the mud wrestling competition to see who is the bigger Britney Spears fan. And I think that's when he realized it's time to move on. This isn't the old much music anymore. And they dropped the word music from the show. Anyway, it was much at that point.

So time for you to move on. You did some amazing work. I'm glad you touched on the work you did for Care Canada. And I'm glad you talked about journalists for human rights. And maybe you didn't mention them by name, but yes. But I'm curious about the SuperPAC app real quick here before. So you went to Harvard, first of all. So you have a big brain on you, right?

They don't just let any schlub into Harvard, do they? Well, thank you. And I will say when I got in, I remember being in Harvard Yard thinking, is a claw from the sky gonna come down and remove me because this just feels too good to be to be true and what was also really cool is part of how I got in you know aside from my grades and references was that I was a much music VJ that that's part of my story and part of what I brought to Harvard Kennedy School. So yeah, that was an incredible experience. And what was the SuperPAC app?

Yeah. So what happened is while I was at Harvard, you can take classes at MIT or Tufts. There are so many great universities in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. So I wanted to take something at MIT's Media Lab, and there was a class called Social Television. And I thought, hmm, you know, my background in television and with social media exploding. So I took this class, and in the class, in a small project, came up with the idea of an app. And at the time, it was just an idea. We didn't really have to make it or see really even if it was possible. But an app and and at the time was just an idea we we didn't really have to make it or see really even if it was possible but an app that you could hold up to election ads in the 2012 u.s election and similar to shazam it would be able to tell you like this is paid for by which super pack or

which party paid for that yeah yeah and how much money and what they're saying, is it even true? Good idea. And then we realized we were onto something. So it went from a small project to our final project. And then we were like, Oh, we should probably do this.

We think this election needs that. So with my co-founder, Dan Siegel and I, we got funding from the Knight Foundation and we turned it into a, a real thing. And it was all my interests, right? So inspired by a music app, politics, and coming out of a class. That was a lot of fun.

And now here I am at the Walrus where fact-checking is close to what we do. That was part of this app, right? Yeah. You could actually get a fact-check on how truthful these claims in the ad are. And at the time, super PACs had exploded there were a lot of concerns from people supporting the democrats the republicans about campaign finance and its role in that election and and also like how do you even know what what's true what to believe this was pre-trump so a lot a lot has changed but that that was the big concern and campaign finance

should always be a concern in any election anywhere around the world in terms of who gets to run for office and how much money is behind these key messages that ultimately decide our day-to-day lives good for you i like the cut of your jib jennifer love it okay so we're gonna again we're cooking with gas here but i want only a question from uh a listener t dot resident would jennifer consider running for city council or any other political seat again so we'll start with t dot resident and then we'll touch on previous uh elections you participated in as a uh kind of a star candidate because you're a much music superstar so would you consider running for public office again this is probably are you ready to announce your campaign the opposite so this is probably the top faq i'm asked and ultimately it's a

compliment because people still think of me and there are people who are encouraging me because they'd like to see me in politics and and i really appreciate that but i ran federally in 2015 and then i left my job at twitter in 2018 to run for a new ward because the changing population in in toronto uh only to experience city council being cut in half in the middle of the election and i was without a job i was without a race and the only thing i walked away with was a supreme court case which we lost by why by one vote so all to say that was a very hard experience and you never know but right now i'm i'm very happy and thankful for my leadership role at the walrus so you never know but i have i have no immediate

plans okay you're still very good time is on your side as a mick once saying okay so uh just to touch on something you mentioned there so it was 2013, you wanted to be the new Democratic, the NDP candidate for Toronto Centre. And Linda McQuaid got the nomination. That's 2013. 2015, you did run as the NDP candidate for it to become MP for University Rosedale. And future Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland of the Liberal Party beat you. That's right. So Toronto Centre basically became University of Rosedale. Again, Toronto's population continues to grow. So there was a new writing. And I remember knocking on doors and people saying, I don't live in University of Rosedale. It's like, yeah, things are changing.

They're moving the boundaries. For some people, it was Trini Spadina. Some people, it was Toronto Centre. And yeah, it was a very high-profile race because we were in the university part of University of Rosedale. I think Christy and I did, in the end, 17 debates. That's crazy. Yeah.

Ultimately, though, despite the fact that University of Rosedale has a provincial NDP MPP, the NDP was wiped out in Toronto. There was that liberal wave. Yeah, that was quite the Justin Trudeau wave there. Very much so. I'm not sure there's a candidate

alive that would have beat Christy Freeland in that election. Not in that election, but I always remind folks, because I'm really proud of the campaign that we built, leading up, it was a very long campaign, because if you recall, then Prime Minister Stephen Harper was thinking, ah, let's stretch out this campaign, right?

Let's stretch it out. But actually, that strategy worked against him. But leading up, I was leading all the local polls, but it really changed in those final weeks. And ultimately, the Liberals ran the best campaign. Right.

Okay. And then you did consider running as a Toronto City Councillor in 2018. But then, of course... I did. I actually was running. I was campaigning.

Just to remind people, shout out to Ed Keenan. There's a great Toronto... We talked about the integrity report yesterday in great detail. Keenan's very good at this. So that was yesterday's episode. But Doug Ford, there was going to be 47 seats and then Doug Ford cut it. So there's 25 seats.

And then I guess after that announcement, you dropped out. Yeah. So what happened is for those of us who had entered the race, I had entered the race, we were running in a ward, some of us in new wards. I live downtown where there are a lot of people, a lot of condos, vertical living, so I was in one of these new wards. And then council was cut in half. was cut in half and even for people who support a smaller city council i think everyone agreed to do that in the middle of an election is just unfair and confusing of course to all especially the voters so i was looking to run in the race i signed up for but it went back and forth in the courts and there was so much confusion not only for candidates, but we were knocking on doors and people were like, well, what's happening?

And in the end, it ended up being a smaller race. And I supported Kristen Wong Tam and stepped out of it because it ended up being a completely different race that I didn't sign up for. that I didn't sign up for. And ultimately we are still at a loss in Toronto because we don't have the proper representation that all the other cities and towns in Ontario have. But I think partially. We're going to need more time for this conversation. We'll just say this and it is a larger conversation, but I think because a lot of people and maybe rightfully so hate Toronto and

hate politicians. I think people have moved on, but pay very close attention. and hate politicians. I think people have moved on, but pay very close attention anytime there is an attack on representation, voting, elections. This stuff matters.

Well said. Okay, we're going to finish with Twitter and then the walrus here. So there's your final chapter. Twitter, I'm already that crying emoji with all the tears coming down. Twitter, X. We don't use the X word here.

An X on X. Okay, noted. You were, as you referenced earlier in the chat, you were head of news and government for Twitter in Canada. I've been to that office many times, King and Strong. I think for sure I've seen you there. I think, hello, I would wave. I don't know if she knows who I am, but hello, there's Jennifer Hollis.

I wave back, someone's waving at me. Future FOTM. I know of you though, because you are good friends with Cam Gordon. Do you know how many times he's been on the show? Is it triple digits? He's been on the show 100 times. Wow.

And you were here once. So you got some catching up to do, Jennifer Holland. Okay, noted, noted. No, he's a beloved. He's in the FOTM Hall of Fame. That's your goal in life. Okay, yes, goal in life. Established. We actually need some women in the FOTM Hall of Fame you know you get that's your goal in life okay yes goal in life established we actually need some women in the FOTM Hall of Fame it's a bit of a sausage fest and I'm not proud of that fact so yeah podcast you know it tends to happen yeah

I talk too much about like talk to me about Rusty and for some reason I don't know it I gotta work on that but I'm glad you are here how'd you get the gig at Twitter tell me a little bit about what it was like at Twitter Canada and then yes I do want some tears to be shed I want to work on that. But I'm glad you are here. How'd you get the gig at Twitter? Tell me a little bit about what it was like at Twitter Canada. And then, yes, I do want some tears to be shed. I want to know about... I mean, I had this chat with Cam recently, and sometimes it's hard to get juice out of that lemon. But he kind of sees it coming with new ownership. And then, well, now there is no such position at Twitter Canada.

But you talk. enough of my voice. So I love Twitter. I am addicted to Twitter. I wish I could leave ex-Twitter, but I can't. It's just, if you think about my interests, news, politics, pop culture, connecting, communication,

I mean, that's what Twitter does best. I'm on all the major social media platforms, but in terms of what's happening in the moment and what people are saying, it's on Twitter. Often imitated, never duplicated. There's nothing like Twitter. And again, I don't want to be addicted to it. I'd rather be off it.

But if you're in the business of conversation and storytelling, you need to be in that mix. You need to be where the flow of information is. So with my background of news, of politics and creating SuperPAC app, I thought, oh, wow, I'm uniquely positioned for this role of working with news and government at Twitter. So I applied. I applied for the job, and I was thrilled to be offered it because it was all my worlds coming together. Often, young journalism school students will say to me, wow, your career is so interesting. You've done so many things. And I think partially because media has changed so much and I've always been open to what was new.

And like even right now with generative AI, I have concerns, but I also want to figure out what it is and maybe how we can best use it and where it makes sense and where it doesn't. Rather than I think some people come from traditional media are like, oh, God, another thing. And, you know, this isn't as good as what we do. So yeah, I was just so excited to apply for that role and then to get to do it. In terms of what's happening right now, every day there is a new death on X, the artist formerly known as Twitter.

So a couple of days ago, the display of news articles has changed. And that's a real problem because there's so much dis and misinformation on twitter and across social media and growing polarization between people so my hope for social media is that we can actually come together and learn from each other and be in conversation with people outside of our bubble but that's not what's happening right now and it's important to know the source of a headline the source of a tweet and now you can't really tell what the headline is it's very small in terms there's no headline all i see is a domain name yes a little white font and we'll

donate so you got the photo attached to the post or the article there's a photo and then the bottom left corner in white small white font is the domain Yeah, if you even notice that at all. So if you recall, Twitter introduced a feature that if you retweeted the tweet without clicking through to the story, it would say you're retweeting this and you haven't read the story and you can decide

if you're going to still retweet or not. It's not even called a retweet anymore, right? It's a post. Yeah, yeah. Or it's a share, I think. Yeah. But so why? I don't know.

And any party... Do you want to take a stab at what is Elon Musk's endgame here? Do you have a hypothesis? Like, is he trying to, ahead of an election, is he trying to diminish this platform that could be used for disseminating information, like so that mistruths can spread more rapidly throughout the populace?

This is the question and I don't think it's running a successful business because he doesn't understand the business Twitter at all. I say that as someone who worked at Twitter and understands the challenges. I think it is influence and remaining one

of the main characters on the internet. Here's a big question for you because I asked myself this question. I know my answer. I'm dying to know your answer. If Elon Musk, if he announces tomorrow that it will cost you one US dollar a calendar year to stay on Twitter, are you still on that platform?

One dollar? Like the fact it could be one penny actually. So the principle of the question is like if he asked for any amount of dollars, any amount of money to stay on Twitter, do you peace out or do you hang in there? So I'm taking a deep breath here. Because I've thought about this on my bike rides.

It's sort of almost like a moral question at this point. But what is your answer, Jennifer Hollett? It is a question. I mean, for me, the similar question was he, and I hear this has changed, but he, Twitter, was replying to questions from the media with a poop emoji. Yeah, no, it's an auto email if the media,

because that would be Cam's job, right? I hear they're not doing that anymore. Oh, is that right? I don't know. We have to test it. But that's also an issue for me as someone who's worked as a journalist, who leads a media organization.

Why am I on the platform if that's how they see and treat the media? A dollar, though, I might just, again, because of what it offers. But a monthly fee, it's, yeah. We'll see. I'm addicted. I'm addicted. I joked with Camordon that he was replaced by a shit emoji essentially is what elon did it's not a joke i mean that is that is what happened

right i know it was not a joke that's why it's so frightening and scary and interesting but you did uh leave twitter before the uh because you would have you would have been part of that wave that got cam and many others but you left left before that. So why did you leave? Did you leave before Elon bought? Yes, you did, right? Yeah, so I left to run for office. I left to run for city council. And it was tough because I was enjoying my job.

And actually, I was hoping for a leave, but Twitter wasn't able to grant me that. So I just took the risk. And I thought this is a kind of once in a lifetime opportunity. You really got screwed on that deal. I know, it didn't work out. But you know, life is a game of chutes a lifetime opportunity. You really got screwed on that deal. I know, it didn't work out. But, you know, life is a game of chutes and ladders. So it was, woo!

And, but ultimately it led me to where I am now. Where are you now, Jennifer Hollett? Yeah, so I'm the executive director of The Walrus. And we're celebrating our 20th anniversary this year. We're probably best known for our print magazine. We're celebrating our 20th anniversary this year. We're probably best known for our print magazine. But part of why I was hired was to make sure that people can discover and connect and read with the Walrus wherever they're looking for stories. So we're actually the most popular on web, thewalrus.ca.

People read us on Apple News, social media, podcasts. And yeah, what a time to be working in media. and yeah, what a time to be working in media. In a post-truth world of fake news and misinformation, fact-checked journalism has never been more important. The Walrus prides itself on its stellar fact-checking standards, which is based on the guidelines and structures created by heads of research Alison Baker and Vivian Fairbank. Yeah, yeah.

I didn't write that. I stole it from the Walrus website. Well, so then it's factual. And I mean, our team of fact checkers, they even fact check the fiction. They fact check the length

of a tic-tac. And we do this because it's extremely important that Canadians can trust the stories that they're reading and feel confident in letting those stories inform their opinion, sharing those stories with their friends and family, and trying to make sense of this world that we're living in. But yeah, we're out there where there is a lot of dis- and misinformation

and a lot of confusion right now with like what, what actually the truth truth is. So in many ways, I think we're in a, a post trust world because you've seen the decline in trust, not only in media, but in government and corporations.

And it's fair for someone to say, who do I trust? Absolutely. It's a recently, I guess earlier this week, I announced Sam Roberts is going to visit the basement. I love Sam Roberts. going to visit the basement. Oh, wow. I love Sam Roberts. Very excited about this.

And then someone pointed out the very first Toro cover was of Sam Roberts. And then this got a discussion. Mark Weisblatt was involved, a whole bunch of people. 20 years on, Toro versus the Walrus. I had a little chat with Ed Keenan about this yesterday. But the Walrus still going strong. You've got a great position there.

And long may the walrus run. I think it's important. Thank you. And I'm very glad you're there. And I think if I check the time, this was an hour. Hey, thank you. It's been a lot of fun. And it was long overdue.

So thank you, Mike. And thanks to everyone who's listening. And thank you, Jennifer Hollett. No relation to Michael Hollett, but thank you for dropping by. This was a great, great, great thrill for me to finally get Jennifer Hollett

on Toronto Mic. But we got to work on Amanda Walsh. That's good. You have to introduce me to Amanda. Absolutely. I would Zoom with her. Absolutely. Happy to.

I Zoomed with Catherine McClanahan. So once in a while, if you have a geographical issue, I will do the remote. So shout out to Randy Backman. And that, see there's my shtick I do. I do,

I do a big, I noticed you really went in for the big breath there. I had to go in my diaphragm. Yeah, you did that. Well, that's Stu Stone's fault. And Stu Stone, high school buddies

with Cam Gordon. So it all comes full circle here. And that brings us to the end of our 1,339th show. You can follow me on the platform formerly known as Twitter, but also on Blue Sky, because I need a plan B, Jennifer. I'm at Toronto Mike. Jennifer is at, is it, it's at Jennifer Hollett, right? That's right.

That's good to get that name. Again, it's not a common last name. Jennifer, very common. Hollett, not? That's right. That's good. Again, it's not a common last name. Jennifer, very common. Hollett, not so much. Right. Okay. And much love to all. Much, much love. You know, David Kine sent me a couple of boxes of just old, like there's a

photo over there. Like a whole bunch of stuff came from FOTM David Kine's from the old building that he just kept for all these years then he said who wants this stuff and he sent it to toronto mike so there you go but you're at jennifer hollett like you said much love to all those who make toronto mike possible that's great lakes brewery palma pasta or pasta depending which country you're in i'm learning raymond james canada

manaris recycle my electronics pumpkins after dark get your tickets now it's october everybody Raymond James Canada, Moneris, Recycle My Electronics, Pumpkins After Dark, get your tickets now. It's October, everybody. T.O. Mike 1.5 saves you 15%. And Ridley Funeral Home, see you all. Well, actually, Monday is the next episode of Toronto Mike,

and it will feature a conversation with Randy Backman. See you all then. See you all then.