Leanne Toshiko Simpson is looking at romantic comedy through a new lens. The fourth-generation Japanese Canadian writer has just released her debut novel, “Never Been Better,” which tells a love story set at a psychiatric facility. Leanne lives with bipolar disorder and has spent time in a psych ward herself. She joins Tom to tell us why she wanted to use the rom-com format to talk about mental illness.
Charlotte Day Wilson: Cyan Blue, choosing music over hockey, and Patti Smith
Ari Kinarthy: On scoring his own legacy
Emily Henry: Bringing the romance novel into the age of dating apps and TikTok
Christian Sparkes: The King Tide and the darker side of Newfoundland and Labrador
Laura Ramoso: On going viral for doing impressions of her parents
Hangama Amiri: Using textiles to stitch together her memories of home
Richard Thomas: To Kill a Mockingbird and playing John-Boy on The Waltons
Justin Peck: Adapting Sufjan Stevens’s album Illinois into a Broadway musical
St. Vincent: All Born Screaming, oversharing, and working with Dave Grohl
Caitlin Cronenberg: Her eco-catastrophe film, photography, and her famous last name
Maya Rudolph: Loot, SNL, Bridesmaids, and her cool parents
Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee: Jackie Shane’s fascinating story
Jimbo: Clowning, Drag Race, and winning for weirdos around the world
Sophie Nélisse: Irena’s Vow and what training as a gymnast gives her as an actor
Nikki Giovanni: Poetry, the birth of hip-hop, and why she genuinely wants to go to Mars
Zarrar Kahn: How his debut film depicts the horror of living in a patriarchal society
Jay Baruchel: Existential dread, optimism, and why he stayed in Canada
Alexandre Hamel: Why he’s out to prove that ice skating is an art
Noah Kahan: Stick Season, authenticity, TikTok, and lying to therapists
Quick Q: Cadence Weapon on his new album Rollercoaster
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