Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Hello, my name is Jan Arden, and if you're just joining us, you are going to enter into a world of things that you probably don't think you needed to know, but yet are going to find out. Welcome to the Jan Arden Podcast. I'm here with Caitlin Green. Adam Karsh is there turning all the knobs and buttons and making sure that you guys can hear us.
I feel like I haven't really talked to you guys in a long time. And I know that we just spoke last week. But because we had a few things pre-taped, we actually haven't spoken in person. So this is a very special morning. The birds are singing. It's frosty. I can see my breath when I go out onto the deck naked in the morning to feed the birds. Yeah.
Can you imagine? A bird. Hi, it's me. I just, I have no clothes on, but I'm here to give you your black. A bird just comes over and lands on your boob. Oh, and ties a ribbon in my hair.
I'm good. I feel a little tired. And I know I'm going to be the most boring person in the world and say this big cliche, but it's the time change and it gets dark earlier. And I really notice it in November leading up to the shortest day of the year in December. I feel it. I feel like it zaps me of all my energy and desire to leave the house. I'm with you.
I, um, I'm going to agree. The darkness is fooling with our circadian rhythms. It is. What are they circadian? You're close.
I also find that we're eating dinner earlier because it gets darker earlier. Yeah. We're eating, like my girls come home from school and it's like, I'm hungry for dinner. I'm like, it's 4.30. Yeah. It doesn't matter. That's when I eat all the time. I was going to say, that's my dream. If that's the one thing that comes out of the time change is that we're eating dinner at 5.30, fine with me. That's my fantasy land. I'm okay with early dinners too. You know, there's so many things going on in the world that
Or affected by COVID in general and then add the whole time change thing. I'm the person that doesn't change their clocks ever. So whenever we spring forward or fall back, I do not run around my house and change the clocks. I just wait six months until we go back to what it is. So I was really relieved in my car the other day to go, wow.
I don't have to figure out how to change the clock in my car. It finally went back to the time that I needed it to go to. She's on Jan time. So...
That's always good because that's a confusing six months for me. Honestly, I also, this weird thing happened in Toronto when the time change flipped over was that a bunch of people who have Bell phones, their clock adjusted a week early. So when the UK flipped their clocks back, all of the Canadian phones that used Bell or certain customers, their clocks flipped back
A week early.
And so I'm in my Uber on my way into the morning show. And all of a sudden, I'm like, this can't be right. It can't be this time of day. Like, I thought I was heading in at around 4.50. And I was like, 3.50? What is going on? I'm not going to work an hour early. My Uber driver, same thing happened on his phone. And so many people in Toronto were all dealing with losing an hour of their life a week early. Everyone thought they were getting to the airport too early, getting to work too early. And I was like, you know, there's something to be said for analog. Because all it was was a system error. And then no one knew what time it was anymore. Right.
Right. Oh, my God. Well, it really will screw you up. The thing that I always marvel at is how planes kind of keep it straight because the whole world isn't on daylight savings. So if you're flying, I'm always very confused as to
You know, the flight's at 7.17 a.m. Where is it in the rest of the world? And how do you adjust the arrival times? Like, there's people much smarter than I will ever be that adjust the world time clock accordingly. Because even within Canada, we have provinces that don't adhere to daylight savings. And then add Newfoundland and Labrador into the mix, and you have a half hour added on to whatever time that is. Like, listen. The P.
companies the provinces that have opted out of daily i know that's how they feel the provinces that have opted out of this they were the smart ones i know we have an mp here in ontario who has put forth this motion to end daylight savings time i completely agree with this and i know it has a lot of support behind it it's just if we we need montreal and we need new york to get on board and if all three cities can align then we're going to do it and i'm
See you later. I don't want the clocks to change ever again. I'm down with that. Well, going into our first quandary of the day, there are labor shortages everywhere. Retail are suffering. Obviously, the hospitality, I want to call it the hostility industry. The hospitality industry is suffering with huge losses.
gaps. Even the ski hills are, they say, 50% of the staff that they need to run ski hills, the lifts, the restaurants, the ticketing, the rentals, all of it. They're short half of the people. And normally there's abundance of people that come from all over the world to work in Banff every winter, to work in Jasper, to work the ski hills. And
They're just not there. The traveling has made it really difficult. So obviously, the people that are working right now can get away with a lot of demands. And they are getting a lot of demands. And I had to laugh because we've all made mistakes at work that could have cost us our job. And I want to talk to you about that a little bit of...
If there's something that you've ever done, Caitlin, that you could have lost your job over that maybe in this climate now would not cause you to lose your job because we are living in different times.
Yeah, I didn't lose my job back in the day when I was working at a production company. And I maybe could have been fired for this. But I was shipping a bunch of stuff to a set that we were shooting a commercial for. And it was, I forget where it was, but it was supposed to be ground shipped, which is far more cost effective. And it was like a ton of office chairs.
And I don't know what was happening or why I was even allowed. I don't even know why this was an option, but I secretly chose to ship them all by air. It's way more money.
And I think that the mistake cost like maybe 18 grand, like a lot of money. Like it would be enough that they would be like, do we still want this person working here? How much of their salary is this? Is this a good idea? Is she competent at all? And I caught the error. And a friend of mine who was a manager at the company buried the cost.
in a bunch of the places in the budget in other places. Like just spread it out over a bunch of different
I mean, that's... It was great. I mean, he was really cool. And so I kind of went to him to be like, help, what do I do? Who do I tell? How should I handle this? And he was like, hmm. He was like, you know, there's a pretty overinflated budget on this project in general. So I bet you, even when we actualize it, we're still going to come in under budget. So I'll just hide a bunch of this. I was like, what? Well, they say one in five people have made a critical error at work. They could have been fired for it. But most...
People didn't lose their job over it. I can't imagine being the a-hole boss that actually, you know, fires somebody over a mistake. It's one thing to be malicious, but I would think that what they're talking about sort of in the study is that people made an error, much like you did, Caitlin. I had a fellow work for me years ago, and we always order merch for the tours. And, you know, it's the usual suspects, T-shirts, ball caps, blah, blah, blah.
Well, one year we decided to order jackets, like kind of fancy jackets. And back in the day in the 90s, an $80 price point was like astral. Yeah.
To ask people to be at a concert that they've had to drive to, park, have dinner. Okay, so 80 bucks. Anyway, this fellow had worked with me for quite a long time. And for some reason, he ordered like 200 of these jackets. And we were going to do like 40 jackets.
Because we figured maybe there's 40 really super fans out there that will order. Further to that, here's where it really gets funny. They were all XXL. So that would be 16 grand. So if you're one of the... Yeah. Well, we carried on. Because we got them probably for...
$40? $39? Still. That's a lot. Anyway, for all you folks out there that have an XXL tour jacket from 1997, I wonder how it's going. But people were baffled. So by the sizes, I had a really clever merch guy at the time that just said, let's just say that we've sold out of all the other sizes wherever we go.
We sold out of all the sizes. This is what we have. These were giant jackets. I almost needed to fire myself. But anyway, he was devastated and he just never, never got over it. Like it really affected him.
him going forward. Anyway. That's a little stroke of marketing genius on the part of your merch guy who says that we're just sold out of all the other sizes. Because in my head, I'm like, oh, just say that it's a Jan tablecloth. Reposition it. But X, X, X.
They were massive. Oh my gosh. That reminds me, you know how this is kind of, well, sort of in the vein of like marketing genius. So we're coming up on, you know, like Black Friday sales season, all that. You know how Louis Vuitton handles their sales? Because they never really have a sale. So this version of a sale for Louis Vuitton is that they just whisper to all their best customers that their prices are about to go up.
And then everyone races. So when you see like lines outside, you're like, oh, there must be a sale. It's like, no, these are the in the know Louis addicts who are aware of the fact that they're about to raise their prices. So they rush in to buy them while their purses are still, you know, $2,000 instead of 10. I wonder if that kind of branding, like the big houses, the big fashion houses will ever fall out of favor. I guess they won't like Chanel and Louis and,
Burberry and listen to me. I don't even know what they are. Is Burberry a thing or is it a bubble bath? I don't know. But all those people that Gucci, you know, to have a pair of like Leah, who I work with, I love. Hi, Leah. I love you. Who works with me on the Jan Show just loves a Gucci sneaker. And I think they're like $795. I wouldn't be interested in that. Please, winners, I love you. Sponsor us.
You know, I went to Vespucci. Shout out to Vespucci. They have one in Toronto, one in Calgary. And it's really upscale consignment. And I found a pair of Nike sneakers that were $33. I have them on my feet right now. You're listening to the Jan Arden Podcast. We'll be right back. Is it too late now to say sorry? Cause I'm more than just your... Is it too late now to say sorry? And I let you down. Is it too late to say sorry now?
Hello, it's Jan. We're back with the Jan Harden podcast and show. I'm with Caitlin Green. Adam's with us. We've been talking about things that people do with their jobs that could certainly cause them to be let go. The 90s and the 2000s were interesting times. I think because there was people lined up to replace you in your job that it was probably sort of easier to let people go. But in the climate we're in now, which we touched upon...
it's a little harder to let people go. I think you have to do something pretty extreme in order to be fired from a job these days, especially in retail and the hospitality industry. I don't know. I've heard so many nightmare stories about guys that used to valet cars and they would literally take them for like, it was like a bad movie, like these spins around town and
peel out like if they had a really nice car to valet. My friend was a valet in Jasper at a hotel in the 90s and this was in the winter and he said they would just freaking take them into like whatever little piece of asphalt they could find and spin around and and they would look for change and they would steal stuff out of the cars and take good CDs. They're like these people wouldn't even miss it. I'm like you are insane and she said we were
While this guy was like, they were always drinking. Oh my gosh. I believe all of this. It's weird, but I assume the worst of people. And so I always figure that when you give someone the keys to your car, like who knows what's happening to it? I would hope that not anything terrible, but yeah, it wouldn't surprise me. But this is now you could get away with it yet again because of the great, they're calling it the great resignation because everyone's leaving their jobs and quitting. So now in the great resignation, you better hope that you hand your keys to the right valet because they could be doing untoward things in that car and they're not going to get fired.
I'm picturing the scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you know, when they leave their Ferrari in the parking garage. Yeah. Yeah. Well, there's another aspect to this, too, because of all the zooming and the stuff that we've done. There's been countless faux pas made with not muting phone calls or not muting zooms that you think that no one can hear you or see you. 13% of people...
surveyed said this you're not listening to family feud by the way forgotten to mute themselves and said something inappropriate at a work call eight percent have failed to hang up this is one of my greatest fears you guys of hanging up a call with someone that i'm not happy with and talking so now i'll be sitting with a friend they're like is your phone off check your phone have you really clicked off
I have been at both ends of those calls. I have been at the receiving end. Oh, no. Yeah, not hanging up on me. And actually, this was also the 90s. And cell phones were not the greatest. I remember being on a flip phone. And how can you not hang up a flip phone? Yeah, that's pretty intuitive. It's fairly obvious. I was listening to this call. It was muffled, but I caught bits and pieces of, you know...
what a loser I was basically. Yeah. That's heartbreaking. It was, it was someone I dated in LA. So maybe that tells you something. So yeah. Um,
13%? That seems like a lot of people. I actually, in my mind, had thought maybe it would be higher because I know how kind of like technically inept your average person is that I could see this happening. And it is also the greatest, greatest fear of anyone who works in radio that you're going to leave your mic on. So you're going to be finished with a break and you're going to leave your mic on. And, you know, maybe you just had a terrible caller on the air or maybe something just happened or who knows. Right.
Exactly. God, she was an idiot. All that stuff. That could happen, right? Or that someone's going to swear. I know I have a friend and they worked in US radio and they said that a top tier morning show host lost their job because the effing producer on the show left their mic on.
And they swore off the, they swore a bunch when the, they thought the mic was on or off, sorry. And they lost their job over it. And it's an honest mistake. I mean, I think it's, that to me seemed very uptight. It must have been a fairly buttoned down station to do that because I guess enough listeners were offended.
They're not a delay? No, not at all. No, you cannot swear. And you are very aware of when you have guests in that they have to be compliant with that also. Because you're on live radio. I've been warned of that. You know, Jan, can you make sure to tell her that she can't say swear? I always feel bad, but I guess I had quite the reputation for a number of years that...
I could drop a bomb at any time and kind of, but I have never sworn in the radio. I don't want to offend anybody. I really don't. No, I mean, if you work in it, your brain switches into radio mode. And I will say that overall, I think I swear a bit less as a result of working in radio for as long as I have. But we had, do you know the actor who plays Victor Newman or played Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless? Yes. Yes.
I've heard crazy stories about him. He is amazing. He was an amazing guest and he came on the show and he said, we were just talking about do people ever recognize you? Because I honestly couldn't tell you the actor's name. I only know him as Victor Newman. I think the line has been blurred between him as a real person and as that character long ago. So we were asking him about the crazy things that happened. Do people ever just come up to you on the street?
and he said, oh yeah, he's a great storyteller. And he goes right into this voice. He says, I'm walking in somewhere. I think he said he was in either it was LA or Atlanta, and somebody walked past him on the street, did a double take, and said, you're mother effing Victor Newman. And he said it full tilt on the air, loudly and in that person's accent. I remember that. Eric Braden, by the way. Eric Braden. Oh, that's the one. Yep. So Eric Braden came on and dropped the
King Daddy Topper of all swear words on the air. And I just about lost it. And he didn't mean to. You could see he went, because you could feel the whole room shift. We're like, oh my God, we're going to be pulled off the air. Our program director is just like pacing in the hall afterwards. It was just, you are mortified. There's nothing you can do. It was an honest mistake. I've never sworn on the air. But as a producer, I have on a few occasions put the wrong edit of a song in a show.
And that didn't go over well. Yeah. Well, we're talking about making mistakes in the workplace. Along the lines of phones not being hung up, like back in the day, in my day, the version of this, which was not Zoom or Riverside or, you know, cell phones, it was the person standing right behind you in the high school where you're like, Sheila is the biggest.
Tingle waffle in the world. And the eyes are getting bigger looking at you and you're like, she's right behind me, isn't she? So that version. But then there's this too, and I have done this so many times. I've hit reply all and sent an email to people I do not want to see. I've done just some terrible, some terrible things.
email reply stuff that should never have happened in a million years. One in particular, and this is my bad, it was the songwriter. And he wanted me to like co-write with him sometime. And
This is making me sound awful, but I'm going to tell you the story anyway. He just was dropping every name in the book and things that he's done. And I'm the greatest of all time. And you'll see by my, you know, resume of the stuff that I have been involved with. And I was just, so I'm writing back to my office and I'm like, there's no effing way I want anything to do with this guy.
a narcissist. Every song he's listing is like the worst corniest song in the history of the world. And I hit it and it went to him and he sent back to me within seconds. Like I knew what I had done and I thought there's no way out of this. He goes duly noted. No. Oh my God. You read him to him. I can't believe this. This is amazing. Yeah.
It went to him, my office and my officers responding like, I guess we don't need to respond any further. I, to think about it, even telling this right now makes me physically sick. My palms are sweating. Like hearing you tell this story about you, I'm experiencing such secondhand anxiety. Oh, there's a lump in my throat right now for you. Oh man. Well, RIP to that man, RIP to him.
Thank you. You're welcome. But yeah, email is precarious. You're listening to the Jan Arden podcast. We have the most special, beautiful, wonderful, fantastic, intelligent, very jealous. She's in a relationship with another human being, actually, and will be getting married. And I'll tell you more about it. We're going to be back with Meredith Shaw right after this break. You're listening to the Jan Arden podcast.
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We are the champions.
I'll go with you. Awesome. Palm Springs is so easy. Maybe a joint venture, Jan. It's two and a half hours from Calgary. It is such a super easy jaunt. What do you mean? Oh, yeah, that's right. Like for you and Caitlin and Adam, you guys can zip down to Florida because that really is the two hour, 45 minute jaunt. Yeah, Jan, we can, but do we want to? That's the...
We can. Listen, I would go to Florida. I'd say no to Florida. So Caitlin and Adam and I have been talking about...
just those embarrassing situations when you don't mute yourself on zoom calls, you are, you know, still talking and the, you haven't hung up the phone. And just before you popped in, I was talking about replying to an email that I got about a song writer that wanted to write with me. And he sent me a list of stuff he'd done. And they were all horrible songs that I felt were not
great songs and he was just a real he was very narcissistic and very sure of himself and confident which is all great things this is me sounding like a doorknob right now so I hit reply and I replied back to him what I was writing to my office which was like don't want anything to do with this narcissist bye-bye I wouldn't write with him if it was the last thing in the world and it went to him and within five seconds I got a that said duly noted
And I'm still recovering. And that was in the 90s. So it was over 20 years ago. So have you ever found yourself in situations where you've been at the receiving end of that? Or if you've sent a reply, do you have one of those moments?
horrible experiences that you'd like to share? No, no. Yeah, no, I absolutely do. But, but what's funny about what you just said is the fact that it was in the nineties. Do you think if it happened today, he might've screenshot it and like tweeted it out and it would have become a whole thing. And,
And Jan Arden could be canceled or something. You know what I mean? Oh, we think she's so nice. Like that's the problem with how everything works right now. I've not heard from him in 23 years, but God, I hope it doesn't resurface. I hope he doesn't hear this and decide that it's now a good idea to cancel. This could be very controversial. I could be on the most important episode ever. Yeah. Yeah. But it has happened to me. It has. I've been that guy I've received. Yeah.
And it just feels, do we swear on this podcast or no? You can say damn it and don't. That's it. That's not what I want to say. I didn't want to say it felt like darn it. I didn't want to say that. But I'll do it. It felt like darn it. It just didn't feel good. It just did not feel good. And it almost, I felt guilty. Like I almost felt badly for him, which is so messed up.
But I almost felt badly for him being like, if I reply back to him, I'll call to attention what he just did. Maybe I should just let him think he sent it to whoever he sent it to. It was just about, I do some voice work for a bunch of stations that I used to try to get my own songs on. And apparently he didn't like my songs, but he thinks I sound okay as the voice of his station. So it was sort of like a diss and a compliment all at once, I guess. Mary?
A wonderful singer, by the way, she's got an effing darn it. Great voice. Thank you. Thank you. And you are. Yeah. My whole stomach just dropped. Like my whole stomach goes into my throat. Whenever you talk about music with me, I just, I can't really compute it all, but thank you so much. Do you know like creative people create and music is so much a part of your story and
And it has lifted you over many an obstacle in your life, Meredith Shaw. And I think it continues to be such a huge part of your heart, your soul, how you make your way through your life. And it's something you're never going to get away from. So don't ever think that you are. And there's no time limitations on these things. And I think what we're also finding out as women, as we get older, and I'll include Adam in this, of course, and men as well,
But women in particular, I think, get to certain ages where they're like, oh, I'm too old to do this now. Or that was in the past. It's never ever at a point, any kind of job that you want to do, but certainly the arts, where you need to bow out. You don't. This is when you kind of push those sleeves up and go forward. So don't you think you're going to escape that little...
Well, I certainly hope not. I don't quite know how it might weave its way back in, but I certainly am looking for ways. So I appreciate those words more than you know, Jan Arden. And speaking of creative things, I want to just waste no time and talk about what you have been creating because I'm seeing one on top of your beautiful headdress.
No, but I think in time for the holidays, we're all looking for ways to support creators, to support small business, to support and to do something different. You know, gift giving is...
Listen, I still love a gift card. Don't get me wrong. Anyone that wants to send a $20 gift card to Tim Hortons, I'm available. But Meredith, you make something beautiful and something that's just different and cool. And tell me about what you've been doing. Well, I mean, it all started last year. I really wanted, as I do sort of in my fashion life, I was working with a lot of brands and I really wanted to focus on working with Canadian brands, with female-led brands, with ethical and sustainable brands.
And I wanted to get a little creative. And so I partnered with a company called Femfair, who are all of those things and more. And we make this thing called a mare band, which is a headband that is Meredith approved and designed. And it's full of sparkle and it's comfortable. And it just sort of puts the cherry on top of anything you're wearing, even if it's sweatpants or your bathrobe or whatever you're doing. And last year, since so much of holiday was on screen, it's sort of
You elevated your holiday look with just something super easy. It's a fun thing. I thank you for bringing it up. And I'm so proud of the people that are making it right here in Canada. And I do it to support a charity that I love called Girls Inc. They create smart, strong, bold girls. So...
When people are spending their money, you know, the stuff that goes to me goes to them. So it's just a, it's a creative venture that, that works. Where can people find the Meriband? You can get it at femfair.ca. If you just go to my Instagram, I got links all over the place for you, but yeah, thank you. Tell me about Girl Inc. a little bit more. That sounds...
Like something that you and I could have used at 13 years old. Oh my gosh, big time. They, I mean, they're a North American organization that has local chapters. They almost remind me of, you know, a Girl Guide or a Brownie type of experience. It's really fun.
girl focused programming for after school. If, you know, families are struggling, it's programming to create financial literacy to, you know, do body image work. I did a lot of stuff with them when I was a singer and we would do songwriting workshops and
all kinds of stuff so they just the girls they create they really focus on that 9 10 11 12 like where girls start to kind of veer off of just being free and get stuck in sort of what they should be or what people want them to be and they get smaller and quieter and all that stuff girls inc steps in to just blow them up and i love what they do so much
How do you think social media has affected that age group? Oh, gosh. I mean, I see it. I'm a bonus mom to an 11-year-old girl, and I see it. I've known her since she was seven, six, seven. And so to sort of see...
It take hold a little bit and be kind of eyewitness to that process, because I think people you hear that you're like, oh, social media is this big cloud of stuff that you don't really know how to solve or how to should you abstain from it. But then you kind of lose touch with everyone. Like, how do you manage that?
And I think you really start to see the importance of figuring out how you want to participate in it when you start looking at how it affects kids. Because I just don't think we see it in ourselves as much, but I think we are as equally affected. But I think you start to really see it and start to really see how those filters are tough. You know, they're tough to continually see all of those filters.
images reflected back with no pores and different noses. And it's just, it's a very freaky experience. Well, we're going to talk more to you about body image, about body positivity, about the holidays that are coming up, about food. I want to talk to you about hitting a snooze button. I want to get your take on what a snooze button does and how it affects your life. I'm with the beautiful, intelligent,
va-va-va-voom talented Meredith Shaw. And we're going to be right back. You're listening to the Jan Arden Podcast. Hey, welcome back. Meredith Shaw is with us today. Caitlin Green, Adam Karsh. Meredith, do you think that your social media behavior and how you navigate social media
is do you ever think about it in terms of how you're going to affect your stepdaughter, her friends, young viewers, people looking at how you are making your way through because you are a person who promotes self, self-awareness, self-love, body positivity. I mean, all of those things that you embrace so boldly also comes with a bit of a caveat because
of the beauty fashion aspect to your social media. So where, where do you, how do you figure that out? Where do you draw those lines and how do you make sure that those messages stay true to what you want to do and want to say? Yeah. The toughest part for me about my Instagram is the stuff aspect. I talk a lot about stuff and things and, and,
Sometimes I fear it's too much commodification of life. Like I don't really believe we, you know, need all of these things.
My bent with sharing it is just because usually they're solving an issue that I have found that generally other people are struggling with. And so if I find a great pair of tights that as a plus size woman, I can hike up in my boobs and they stay up and it's not a problem. I'm going to share that brand and tag them and all the things.
And again, like a femme fair, if they're smaller businesses, if they're BIPOC businesses, if they're businesses that, you know, are promoting sustainable, ethical fashion, like I'm focused on that. But it doesn't come without its degree of, is this...
Just trying to be honest and authentic because it's very hard in the moment to be that way all the time because clearly it's performative. So there's some aspect of it that even if you're sharing something vulnerable, I mean, you are talking about it, recording it and sharing it. So there's some sort of premeditation about how that comes out. So I think the easiest thing for me and how I keep myself in check is just
Is it funny? Is it helpful? Is it hot? You know, what is it? And if it fits within what I'm trying to create, which is just an example of a curvy woman living life. And so please also create.
If you need permission to do the same, here it is. That's kind of where I land. But the stuff with, you know, being a bonus mom and the kids, I'm super careful about that because I'm just really conscious that, you know, they've got an incredible mother and I don't want to be in on that more than I should be. So I'm very conscious of that.
being a public person within a blended family dynamic and how that lands for her mom, as opposed to at this point, how that lands for her. It's a lot to consider. I mean, you're, you're taking in so many different angles to how you curate your social media and
I know that it's always about balance. I mean, I am that person that can flip through anybody's Instagram page and I kind of see it for what it is. And I think we do understand that. I think we can spot authenticity. I think we can spot people who, oh my God, it took them 400 attempts to get this photograph of how their bum is shining in this light beach and that they're holding a drink and
You know, that they caught the dolphin jumping in the background just perfectly right. Yeah. And with them, it's like, what is that doing for you, Jan Arden, seeing that? I always think about that. Like, what is this photo doing for the person consuming it? Are they going to just think, good for Meredith, good for her? Like, what a nice life? I'm not interested in that. I'm not interested in you scrolling and being like, oh, what a nice life Meredith has. No, I don't want that.
I don't want that boast moment. It has to be because if I do have the perfect dolphin in the background, maybe it's Rod and maybe it's making you laugh. And maybe I tagged the swimsuit because it's cute as heck and it's available up to a four X. That's what I'm interested in. Well, I mean, that comes across a million fold and the, the stuff that you've done, the work with your podcast, um,
the, the, the body positivity. I mean, my, my grandmother used to say, well, I'd rather be a plus than a minus. And, you know, maybe we, maybe we need to start talking about, you know, small sizes. She's, she's,
A minus size. Yeah. Do you have anything in a minus size? It kind of puts a whole new slant on that. But I think we're all making our way on this little blue ball through the cosmos. And it's hard enough as it is. And we're piloting these bodies that, you know, sometimes they cheer us on and sometimes they let us down. And sometimes they're our enemies. Sometimes they're our friends. But I think your work has been exceptional. You inspire me all the time, Meredith.
Well, thank you. It's really important what you're doing and how you approach it. And I love your guests. Thank you. They're the best. The, you know...
Of telling these stories that are really important so that younger people or older people or 70 year olds that have disliked themselves for 50 years and hear you talk about yourself and talk about others and share these stories that make them go, this stops now.
Yeah, that's the hope. That's the hope. I think when we bring, you know, really dynamic, interesting, curved voices together, all of these conversations are so meaningful to me and then hopefully to other people because you start to really see yourself as not other and not alone in that experience because so many times when we have those experiences, especially growing up,
You know, I was the biggest friend in my girl group. Like I was the bigger friend. And then I have conversations with three other women who were the bigger friend and we get to talk about dating and how tough it was and then how fun it was and all that stuff. And it just, I think it, it, it, it demystifies it. It takes the earnestness out of it. It's just fun conversation about hard stuff, which I know is a weird thing, but I know, you know, no one gets that more than you, Jan. And,
And you had a quote for me that I just, is one of my all-time favorites of a body image. You were talking about, you know, a time in your career when Insensitive was out and, you know, you're being courted by labels all over the world. And it was like, you are 20 pounds away from Celine Dion status or something. 30, okay. And you said, I'm not really interested in gaining any weight. And I died. I was like...
Oh my God, this is the best I've ever, like I'm seeing you in boardrooms, like I'm just picturing this, like I'm not interested in gaining any weight. I'm like, I could not love this woman more. I just couldn't. It's the best flip on a concept. And in that moment, because there was humor, I felt prouder of who I was. And so I feel like humor and involved in that conversation
is so key absolutely my my mother meredith said that did she this guy he he he was the president of the label down the label that i'm still on in the states and he said you're 30 pounds away from superstardom in this country and i didn't know what to say i phoned my mother in the hotel room and it was collect call it was back in the day where i had to make a collect call and i said this is what he said she goes well why didn't you tell him you didn't want to gain any more weight oh
And so it was my mother who was my champion. I have been a million. Love her. But thank you for that, Meredith. So I'm glad that my mother's wisdom was, you know, found its way to your heart. Before we say goodbye to you, tell me a little bit about what you and Rodney have planned for the holidays. Well, Rod is vegan. He is now. Yes, Jan. So keep it locked on his Insta. Can I sleep with him too?
Bye. Thanks for the podcast. It was great to be here. You know, I, Hey, have you been naughty or nice this year? What, what is under your tree? Could get very interesting.
He is. So we're, we're, he's all over the kitchen in a whole new way. Holiday traditions in a whole new way. I mean, he made something called a rod nog the other day, vegan egg nog. You know, he's using aquafaba to mimic the egg. He's all over your whole life, Jen. I'm so excited. I mean, I was, I love, tell him I loved him before, but my love for him and for you grew exponentially just now.
I can't wait to see your social media through the holidays. I want to tell you, keep doing what you're doing. Keep being creative. Keep using that beautiful voice of yours, both musically and just inspiring human beings in general. You are amazing.
so supportive. You've always been nothing but kind to me. And I just, seeing you in the building, seeing you on Maryland or the social, you fricking steal every scene you're in. So remind me to never be on the same show as you because
No one will be looking at me and I know. Oh, come on. Thank you. Let's get together. Let's get some rod. Yes. I'll a hundred percent. I mean, my whole family's in Calgary. So next time I'll bring the rod nog. Anyway. Love you. Meredith Shaw. Love you. Jan Arden. Hi, Caitlin. Thank you, Adam. And you're listening to the Jan Arden podcast. We will see you soon. Totally.
This podcast is distributed by the Women in Media Podcast Network. Find out more at womeninmedia.network.