It’s a bad day and we feel bad about it

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I am late to write this newsletter. I am writing this in a post-Roe world, which is, frankly, mind-boggling. 

In 2012, I remember being in my first apartment in Halifax, reading about Louisiana and wondering how it was possible that I was seeing access to abortion taken away in my lifetime. It’s the 21st century, after all — aren’t we supposed to have equal rights? 

Of course, nothing was as straightforward as I perceived it to be in my second year of university —  and that many of the rights I had taken for granted were hard won by those who came before me and were anything but guaranteed. 

I also didn’t realize that I was in a place with some of the worst access to abortion in Canada. As Jessica Leeder wrote in 2018 for the Globe and Mail about trying to have an abortion in Nova Scotia, it had been almost impossible to get an abortion before 8 weeks before 2017. Surgical abortions are only performed in hospitals, and they will only abort up to 15 weeks and 6 days. For a long time, that meant a pregnant person could only access abortion within a seven-week window* from their last period. 

*medical abortions are available to people who are nine weeks pregnant or less in Nova Scotia, but I can’t speak to how readily it’s prescribed for people less than eight weeks along. 

As Leeder mentioned in her story, Halifax is the largest city east of Montreal, and has six universities. It’s a great city to be a student, but not a great place to get an abortion — I remember people needing to fly to Toronto to terminate a pregnancy earlier than 8 weeks. And Nova Scotia still has better access to abortions than neighbouring Maritime provinces New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

When I was at the Review of Journalism in 2019, Linsey Tombler-Raschkowan wrote about her own experience having an abortion, and how more journalism about abortion should include personal narratives. “When [people] bring forward their own experience, it can change how abortion stigma looks,” Tombler-Raschkowan wrote. I’ve thought about this story so many times in the years since, and I was compelled to revisit it today.

Anyway, this is supposed to be a newsletter about podcasts, and I try my best to keep things light here, even when bad things are happening in the world. But today feels pretty bleak, and it’s hard to know what to do — but you can donate to abortion funds that help people access abortions.

If you liked Linsey’s piece, follow her on Twitter @LTombler 

Programming note: we’re taking next week off for the Friday stat holiday 

  • Our first book-related job of the day: Penguin Random House Canada is hiring an audiobook producer! Apply by June 26. 

  • Our second book-related job of the day: Metatron Press is hiring a part-time publishing assistant for a role that will run from September 2022 to June 2023. Candidates must be enrolled in a Canadian post-secondary institution. The pay is $30/hour at 8-9 hours/week, and you have until August 1 to apply. 

  • CBC Creator Network is hiring a full-time associate producer for a contract that will run until March 2023. Apply by EOD July 6.

  • CBC Music is hiring a full-time senior producer for a one-year contract. Apply by EOD July 10.

  • CBC Radio is hiring a full-time, permanent producer for the World at 6. Apply by EOD July 1.

  • CBC is hiring one permanent, full-time and one 6-month, temporary full-time producer for Marketplace. Apply by EOD July 1.

  • CBC is also hiring a senior producer for Marketplace on a one-year contract. Apply by EOD July 1.

  • CBC is hiring a full-time, permanent senior producer for the investigative unit. Apply by EOD July 1.

CBC is introducing a new program for Indigenous journalists, called Indigenous Pathways. It’s a full-time, paid, nine-month program for First Nations, Inuit and Métis candidates who are interested in developing their journalism skills, and no prior experience is required. 

The Toronto Star is accepting applications for their one-year journalism internship for early career journalists. Apply by 5 p.m. on June 30. 

The Toronto Star is also accepting applications for their radio room internship, which is a paid internship for current post-secondary students. 

For readers eligible to work in the U.S., Pineapple Street Studios is accepting applications for their production internship/apprenticeship, which pays $23/hour. Applications are due by 6 p.m. ET on July 8.

Can’t keep track of all your favourite podcast newsletters? Tink Media has created a database of all the podcast newsletters by day of the week! You’ll even see yours truly there. They’re also creating a database of newsletters that accept pitches for coverage — so if you have a podcast you want to get out there, do check out their resource.

It’s incredibly challenging to do a movie review podcast that works even if your audience hasn’t seen the movie you’re talking about — and yet, somehow, Danita Steinberg and Emily Gagne have managed to do it with their podcast, We Really Like Her. 

They’re on a hiatus at the moment, but their most recent season, Fondavision, which is, as the name suggests, an ode to the films of the iconic Jane Fonda, is a delight to listen to. Each episode looks at a different film, and they give enough information about the film and the context around it so that you can follow the criticism without spoiling the movie. They have great chemistry — it’s obvious they’re actually friends, and their takes are insightful, but generous. I finish each episode wanting to watch the movie they just talked about, even if they didn’t seem to love it. 

If you’re in Toronto, Gagne and Steinberg host a screening series by the same name at the Revue cinema, and they’re kicking off Sad Girl Summer with a screening of one of my favourite Toronto Sad Girl movies, Take This Waltz, on July 7. 

Amazing news. AMAZING news. Playing With Marbles, the brainy podcast hosted by our very own Katie Jensen, launched its second season on June 20! 

How much do you know about the difference between male and female brains? Probably, not a lot — scientists have been primarily using men for their research for a long time. Playing With Marbles follows one woman’s brain from birth to death – exploring questions like how does medication interact with the brain? Or hormones? This season focuses on the brain health of cis women – and as Max Collins pointed out, there’s not enough formal research being done about all women’s brains yet. Hopefully Playing with Marbles will have many more seasons that can do deep dives across the gender spectrum!

Thanks for the shout out! Our pals at editaudio mentioned Max Collins’ newsletter about not feeling up to churning out content specific to your lived experience during Pride Month in their newsletter.

We want to hear from you! What are you looking for in your podcast news? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at info@vocalfrystudios.com.

Thanks to Emily Latimer for editing this newsletter, and to Katie Jensen for designing it.

We’ll see you again on July 8. Until then, here’s an update from social producer Valerie Dittrich’s 2 cats hanging out on some shelves.

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