Ottawhat? - An Ottawa podcast

This week, we spoke with Tavis Maplesden, stand-up comedian and all-around great guy. He helps run the Grindr Comedy show at the Daily Grind, as well as the Sunday Night Roast comedy show at Pour Boy every month. Find out if he’s any good at identifying comedians by their jokes (and Keegan’s impressions). Sponsor –… Continue reading Ottawhat 64 – Tavis Maplesden

Stephanie Ko was our guest this week on the show. She’s pursuing her Master’s in Public Health at Queens, and she has started a calligraphy and card-making business called Simply Steph Ko. Sponsor – This episode is brought to you in part by Audible.com. Visit audibletrial.com/ottawhat today and get a free audiobook and free 30-day trial, and… Continue reading Ottawhat 63 – Stephanie Ko

This week, the gang does some catching up with one of their own. One of Ottawhat’s hosts, Rob Attrell, works for the government, writes part time for MobileSyrup.com, and podcasts at least 2 hours a week. Learn a little about what Rob has been up to in the last year, how prep for his July… Continue reading Ottawhat 62 – Rob Attrell

We spoke to fire dancer and actor Zoe Georgaras this week on the show. We learned how she got introduced to fire dancing, how fire safety and good insurance are critical components of her craft, and heard about Zoe’s travels across Canada, and her experience performing with the Fire Liberation Front. You can see her… Continue reading Ottawhat 61 – Zoe Georgaras

On this episode, we sat down with Megan Honey, an up-and-coming standup comedian who will be competing this summer in a couple of comedy contests at Absolute Comedy and Yuk Yuks (links below). We learn a little about where she finds her material, discuss how female comics can be treated on and around the stage,… Continue reading Ottawhat 60 – Megan Honey

This week, we sat down with training librarian and new mom Jessica Dubois. She told us all about her experiences with part-time online learning, her experiences working as a student in the library at the Supreme Court, and how running a library gets pretty complicated when digital books are involved. Is Ottawhat? a comedy podcast?… Continue reading Ottawhat 59 – Jessica Dubois

In this episode, we chatted with Jacques Breau. Jacques is a woodworker at End Grain Woodworks and a vinyl collector, and you can find him all over Ottawa this summer on his trusty bike. We talked about getting into woodworking, some of his big projects, and why you might not always need to measure twice.… Continue reading Ottawhat 58 – Jacques Breau (End Grain Woodworks)

This episode features our conversation with Franco Varriano. He helps organize and run networking events for young entrepreneurs all over the city. He’s worked with a number of local startup businesses, and he hosts a podcast about interesting people and their successes called Hack to Start. Check out links to the monthly networking events he’s… Continue reading Ottawhat 57 – Franco Varriano (Startup Grind Ottawa/Hack to Start/etc.)

This week, we spoke to Evan and Shane from Alpaca Party Productions. They do a weekly podcast and a web series called A Mouthful of Shane. We talked about their experiences going through school in Ottawa and recorded a live episode of A Mouthful of Shane, which which you can now watch below! Sponsor –… Continue reading Ottawhat 56 – Evan Nip & Shane Hunter (Alpaca Party Productions)

In this episode, we spoke to culinary nutrition expert Jenni Beharry. She’s trained in human geography, television broadcasting, and nutrition, and she’s volunteered for Camp Quality for the last several years now. Learn about the health benefits of kombucha, why you should avoid the bear-shaped honey bottle unless you have a gaping wound, and why… Continue reading Ottawhat 55 – Jenni Beharry

In this episode, we met up with the founder of Brew Donkey, a beer delivery and local brewery tour company. We learned about why business school convinced Brad to quit his job, how he got his start in a food truck specializing in baked goods, and all about the trouble Brew Donkey have had this… Continue reading Ottawhat 54 – Brad Campeau (Brew Donkey)

This week on Ottawhat, we sat down with Alexis Scott. She’s one of the co-founders of Vacant House Theatre, a company that is putting on a production of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune starting tonight, May 21, in a basement apartment downtown! You can still get tickets here right now! We talked… Continue reading Ottawhat 53 – Alexis Scott (Vacant House Theatre)

This week’s episode features Keegan’s brother Branden On! He’s into all kinds of creative endeavours like acting, playing music, and drawing. We also heard some crazy stories about what it’s like growing up with Keegan, which we had always suspected would be pretty traumatic. We made it to a year! Go rate us on iTunes… Continue reading Ottawhat 52 – Branden On

On Ottawhat this week, we met former UFC fighter and Ottawa native Mark “Boots” Holst. He spoke to us about his experiences in the ring, teaching the new generation of fighters, and what it’s like to train with George St. Pierre. Sponsor – This episode is brought to you in part by Audible.com. Visit audible.ottawhatpodcast.com today and… Continue reading Ottawhat 51 – Mark Holst (Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts)

  In this episode, we spoke with Lilly Tran, a closed-captioner for adult films. We discussed some of the weird things Lilly’s heard around her relatively normal office, learned some interesting facts about possible e-cigarette legislation, and were enlightened on some of the downsides of modeling as a young female. Sponsor – This episode is… Continue reading Ottawhat 50 – Lilly Tran

  This week on the podcast, we spoke to Darren Shackleton, President of the Ottawa chapter of the Canadian Association of Food Service Professionals. We had a great conversation about professional development, the food service industry, and volunteer firefighting (which Darren also does). Sponsor – This episode is brought to you in part by Audible.com.… Continue reading Ottawhat 49 – Darren Shackleton (Canadian Association of Food Service Professionals)

In this episode, we sat down with Drew McFadyen from Grimprov Ottawa, a local long-form improvisational comedy troupe. We learned about the various ways improv can improve your life, what Dungeons and Dragons has in common with improv comedy, and this week’s speed round showed us just how quickly Drew can think on his feet.… Continue reading Ottawhat 48 – Drew McFadyen (Grimprov Ottawa)

In this episode, we talked to Justin Van Leeuwen, a local photographer who somehow manages to balance spending time with his kids and photographing some of the city’s most important people! Find out how Justin uses Twitter to find and connect with people near and far, and how evolving camera technology affects professional shutterbugs. Sponsor… Continue reading Ottawhat 47 – Justin Van Leeuwen (JVL Photography)

This week, we sat down with Natalie Stewart, an elementary school teacher and Camp Quality volunteer coordinator. She discussed her career as a teacher and some of the differences between teaching various grade levels. Natalie also told us all about the incredible Camp Quality, a one-week non-profit summer camp giving young cancer patients the opportunity… Continue reading Ottawhat 46 – Natalie Stewart (Camp Quality)

In this episode, we talked to Jantine Van Kregten, the incredibly knowledgable director of communications at Ottawa Tourism. We talked about attracting people to our great city by speed dating with journalists, some of the city’s plans for Canada’s 150th anniversary celebration in 2017, and our interesting relationship with the Dutch and their tulips. Sponsor… Continue reading Ottawhat 45 – Jantine Van Kregten (Ottawa Tourism)