The road to success is littered with speed bumps. Every celebrated actor, writer, musician, artist, inventor and entrepreneur has faced debilitating career rejection on their journey to the top. We tell their fascinating stories and break down exactly how they achieved their remarkable goals. Because hidden inside each rejection is a unique insight – and we’re here to find it. At its heart, this pod is about persistence and inspiration. From the creators of Under The Influence , this show is brought to you by the Apostrophe Podcast Company and powered by Acast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Veep, Martin Short & Building Bridges: Ask Us Anything
22 min
It's been a minute since we've done a Q&A episode. Join us, won't you, as we answer your thoughtful Qs and let you know what's in store this summer. Tell us your rejection story: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca. Leave us a voicemail. "Let Me Down: Reflections on Abuse and Love" by Callie-Rae O'Reilly, available now for pre-order . Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We DON'T regret to inform you that our show will be airing on the CBC again this summer. Find us on CBC Radio One & SiriusXM ch.169 for 10 weeks, beginning July 8th: Wednesdays at 11:30am (CBC & Sirius) Thursdays at 2:30am (CBC – yawn) Thursdays at 7:30am (Sirius) Sundays at 12:30pm (Sirius) Or stream us any time on the CBC Listen app. It's a CBC summer. Hope you'll join us. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rejecting NBA Pioneers
29 min
This week, we tell the stories of three pioneers in the NBA – Chuck Cooper, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton & Earl Lloyd. Three Black men that broke basketball’s colour barrier. Three incredible human beings whose stories we hope you remember. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rejecting Radio? Innovations in Radio from Under the Influence
29 min
Rejection + creativity = air quality. Who knew. This week, we bring you something a little different. From the Apostrophe Podcast Network, enjoy "Air Quality: Innovations in Radio" from Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Minisode: Mantras – Ben Affleck & Matt Damon
10 min
Sid here. This week we bring you another Minisode in our Mantras series – but this one is a little unusual. If you've listened to our Matt Damon & Ben Affleck episode, I wonder if you clocked the mantra moment. Hope you'll join us. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rejecting Matt Damon & Ben Affleck
45 min
The total box office earnings for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck round out to a cool $10B. They’re A-list actors, Oscar-winners, writers, directors, production company founders. But back in the mid-90s, the best friends were rejected – for movies, for television shows, for commercials. Then one day Matt Damon took a playwriting course at Harvard. What happened next, is a rejection story all of its own. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Beaches. A neighbourhood of Toronto. A band originating from that neighbourhood. The starting point on a long road of rejection, rebuilding, pivoting and triumph. It’s a homegrown story this week. Hope you’ll join us. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
With a special intro from our series director Callie, give our Alanis episode another listen – through a new lens. Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill is one of the biggest debut albums of all time – selling 33M copies worldwide and earning Morissette the Grammy for Album of the Year. But you oughta know that just one year prior, Morissette was rejected by every major label, on a plane back home to Ottawa and “deeply depressed.” What changed everything? A spaghetti dinner, a pair of sweatpants and a glittery surfboard. Hope you'll join us. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, we bring you a Short Stories episode. It’s been a minute since we’ve done a two-er. Behold, the stories of two 2019 Oscar nominees – 'The Wife' and 'The Favourite.' Both written by women, both produced by women, both starring women, both rejected for a combined 34 years. Hope you’ll join us. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week we bring you a Mini courtesy of TikTok and a young graphic design student named Ellie – who's in crisis mode. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In Part 2 of our George R.R. Martin episode, those who can do, teach. Martin enters the Twilight Zone before rolling the dice on a Game of Thrones. Hope you'll join us. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
George R.R. Martin is the architect behind the greatest fantasy series of all time. Game of Thrones has 59 Emmys, with 159 Emmy nominations – making it the most nominated dramatic television series of all time. Martin’s book series “A Song of Ice and Fire” has reportedly sold nearly 100 million copies. And yet, back in the 1970s, Martin was living at his parents' house in New Jersey, covering local baseball part-time and getting rejected by sci-fi publications. Then he had a thought – should he abandon writing altogether and become a realtor? Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We're back! Welcome to Season 7 of The Rejection Podcast. Joan Jett carries two titles – the Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll and the Godmother of Punk. She's also the first woman rocker to ever start her own record label. Jett is an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with a dozen albums to her name. But back when she enrolled in her first guitar lesson, the teen was told rock and roll was NOT for girls. And that was only the beginning. Jett faced sexism, violence and 23 label rejections. Hope you’ll join us. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We don't regret to inform you that Season Seven of the Rejection Pod will begin in one week's time. Authors, rockers and...trees? Join us for more inspiring stories of grit, determination and courage – with some signature twists and turns along the way. See you March 11th. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, with a special intro from our chief sound engineer Geoff Devine, we bring you part two of our Hayley Wickenheiser Olympic encore. Let’s pick up where we left off, shall we? The results of the 1998 Canadian Olympic hockey games are brought to parliament. Pro teams come calling, then name-calling, then calling again. And Wickenheiser takes a shot at spinning her rejections into gold. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The 2026 Winter Olympics have officially begun. In celebration we look back on a team favourite two-parter – the story of Hayley Wickenheiser. She’s the longest-serving member of Canada’s national team with seven World Championships and four Olympic gold medals to her name. Many consider her the GOAT. But before becoming Canada’s women's all-time leader in international goals, assists and points, Wickenheiser was told hockey was for boys. She was rejected for teams, bullied on the ice and kicked off teams solely on the basis of sex. Hope you’ll join us – and let’s go Canada! Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hi from our hiatus. This week, we bring you a Minisode about the incomparable Diana Nyad – and the mantra she repeated to herself. For 52h, 54m. On her record-setting swim from Cuba to Florida. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
For the first time ever, we're offering a subscriber-only bonus option – for all devices, on all major podcast apps. Introducing Apostrophe All Ears. You get: ad-free listening, early access, bonus episodes, Q&As PLUS access to all other Apostrophe shows (Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly, Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe, The Beatlology Interviews) – with extended episodes, virtual events, merch discounts & more. Our favourite feature is that you also get access to all of our hosts. Chat with us. Ask us anything. We're All Ears. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We regret to inform you, this week marks the final episode of our 2025 season. So, we thought we'd bring you one of our most-loved episodes. Certainly our most loved holiday episode – Rejecting Elf. Elf is a beloved and timeless Christmas classic. Starring Will Ferrell, the film brought in over $200M at the box office, and 20 years later remains a holiday tradition for many. But back in the year 2000, the script was rejected by production companies, studios, directors and actors, championed only by two producers with no producing experience. Then when it finally did land a studio, executives nearly left Elf on a shelf. Join us, won’t you, as we pass through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, then through the Lincoln Tunnel for Rejecting Elf. Thank you for joining us this season. We'll meet you back here in a couple short months for Season 7 – and in the meantime, we have some fun Minis coming your way. From all of us at Apostrophe, Merry Christmas. Have a safe and happy holiday. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In Part Two of our Rejecting Willie O'Ree episode, another unexpected invitation lands on the pioneer's doorstep. History is made – then forgotten – and Willie welcomes a third act he never saw coming. The major source for this episode is Willie: The Game-Changing Story of the NHL's First Black Player by Willie O’Ree and Michael McKinley. Ask us Anything: Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Write to us on socials: @apostrophepod Leave us a voicemail We don’t regret to inform you – you can now listen ad-free! Plus bonus episodes, chats with Sidney, Terry, Allison & more. Subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
