This Is Your Mixtape

Architect, body builder, and gay porn star Derek Bolt on Annie Lennox, John Mayer, Pink, Fall Out Boy, and Röyksopp ft. Robyn.

In this special episode, host Michael Collins takes you back to his preteen and early teen years, and talks about what it was like growing up a lonely closeted gay boy in rural Newfoundland, and how Tori Amos and the piano helped him make a sort of sense of it all.

Writer and educator Andrés N. Ordorica on Selena, Death Cab for Cutie, Beyoncé, Disclosure ft. Sam Smith, and Julia Michaels.

Canadian horror movie podcaster Sarah Chamberlain on Ursula the Sea Witch, Malice Mizer, Lamb of God, Bauhaus, and Rivers of Nihil.

Writer Ryan Vance on Talking Heads, Fiona Apple, Death Cab for Cutie, Final Fantasy/Owen Pallett, and tUnE-yArDs.

Sara (professional beer wrangler and host of the Xena: Warrior Princess podcast Warriors Bards 'n Brews) on The Rankin Family, Tori Amos, Sleater Kinney, Janelle Monáe, and Dessa.

Author Claire Biddles talks about A1, Manic Street Preachers, Rufus Wainwright, The 1975, and Troye Sivan.

Soprano Victoria Williams on Mint Condition, Alanis Morissette, Giacomo Puccini, The Clark Sisters, and Anita Baker.

Dan Kois, editor at Slate and author of several books, talks with Michael about R.E.M., Liz Phair, Yo La Tengo, Kacey Musgraves, and Lorde.

Composer Pete Gresser joins Michael to discuss songs by Yazoo, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Masanori Adachi and Taro Kudo, Björk, and Anaïs Mitchell.

This Is Your Mixtape takes a little holiday break from its usual format. Michael, your steadfast host, tells the story of Christmas when he was twelve through the lens of some carols that are important to him.

Melissa Beaupré, former academic, talks about Stompin’ Tom Connors, Nine Inch Nails, VNV Nation, Current 93, and A Tribe Called Red.

Novelist Brad Dunne talks about Red Hot Chili Peppers, NOFX, Joe Pass, The Beastie Boys, and Metallica.

Medievalist Lochin Brouillard on Peter Gabriel, Bruno Pelletier, Malajube, Kate Bush, and Iggy Pop.

Podcaster Adam Clarke on Akira Ifukube, John Carpenter, Devo, Stereolab, and Goblin.

Comics artist John Allison on Scritti Politti, Aimee Mann, The Beach Boys, The Microphones, and Tenement.

Michael’s friend Catherine on Depeche Mode, Frédéric Chopin, Jimi Hendrix, Fever Ray, and The Night Terrors.

Author Peter Coviello on the Jackson 5, the Mountain Goats, Sam Cooke, Los Campesinos!, and Sylvan Esso.

Angelo Muredda on The Cranberries, Radiohead, Joanna Newsom, Pixies, and Talking Heads.

Writer David Demchuk on The Carpenters, Thelma Houston, This Mortal Coil, Nina Simone, and Florence and the Machine.

Mikaela Dyke on Ray Charles, Céline Dion, Nirvana, Weezer, and Solange.

Anthony Oliveira on Jim Henson [as Ernie], Bonnie Tyler, Beck, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Estelle [as Garnet].

Vivian Withnail on Red Hot Chili Peppers, Howlin' Wolf, Dawes, Andrew Jackson Jihad, and Tom Lehrer.

Novelist Libby Cudmore on Men at Work, The Smiths, Tom Waits, Warren Zevon, and Steely Dan.

Austin Wong on Frankie Valli, New Order, Oasis, Lady Gaga, and Madonna.

Alison Dennis on the Drifters, Francis Poulenc, dios (malos), Janelle Monáe, and Counterfeit Madison.

Juanita Critch on Dick Nolan, Limp Bizkit, The Killers, Jimmy Buffett, and Kanye West.

Kari Bentley-Quinn on The Monkees, Tori Amos, Britney Spears, Joanna Newsom, and St. Vincent.

Beth Martin on Enya, Björk, Animal Collective, Philip Glass, and Anohni.

Drew Brown on The Irish Descendants, Rush, Vampire Weekend, Austra, and Sturgill Simpson.

Ned Raggett on Kermit the Frog, Madonna, The Veldt, Marc Almond, and Tracey Thorn.

Michael Lee Richardson on The Little Mermaid, the Spice Girls, Patrick Wolf, Girls Aloud, and Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj.

Paul Fowler on Willie Nelson and Ray Charles, Savage Garden, Metallica, Captain Beefheart, and The Mystery Lights.

Anna Wilson, medievalist and fan theorist, on Paul Simon, The Doors, Sufjan Stevens, Regina Spektor, and Hamilton.

Community organizer Nadia Halim on Pete Seeger, Duran Duran, Matthew Sweet, Andrew Bird, and Alvvays.

Musician and podcaster Chris Piuma on the Beatles, Ed’s Redeeming Qualities, John Cage, Celesteville, and Julius Eastman.

Your host, Michael Collins, gets interviewed! Michael talks about Ace of Base, Tori Amos, Massive Attack, Joanna Newsom, and Amanda Palmer.

Author, musician, and multimedia artist Gary Barwin [Yiddish for Pirates; Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted] on Vivaldi, Coltrane, Donkey Lopez, John Cage, and Ryan Barwin.

Journalist and pocaster Oriana Schwindt on the Spice Girls, Dispatch, Radical Face, Stephen Sondheim, and Billy Bragg and Wilco.

Sarah Walsh is a comedian, visual artist, and creator from Newfoundland who hosts The Odd Ends.

Chris Ross, EMT and chorister, on Donna Lewis, Hawksley Workman, Immaculate Machine, Jack Ü, and Robyn.

Lauren O’Neal and Niko Bakulich, hosts of the podcast Sunday School Dropouts, join Michael for a Valentine's Day special. They talk about their lives—and about King Brothers, Neutral Milk Hotel, St. Vincent, The Neighbourhood, and Niko's own music.

Marnie Breckenridge, operatic soprano, talks about her life—and Barbra Streisand, The Call, Annie Lennox, Richard Strauss, and Philip Glass.

Sam Branman, otherwise known as Ten Yards, is a fashion designer and occasional DJ living and working in Brooklyn. He discusses Malice Mizer, Sleater Kinney, The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, Bright Light Bright Light, and Carly Rae Jepsen.

’Tis the season for a Mixtape special! This time, hosts and friends of the Megaphonic podcast network gather together for a Holiday party! Michael asks five of them about a song they associate with this time of year. Enjoy, and have a happy holiday! See you next year!

Your host, Michael Collins, on the the song he chose to pose to for his bodybuilding competition.

Melissa Brizuela, food enthusiast and feeler of feelings, on Ewert and the Two Dragons, NEFE, Leif Vollebekk, Rachel Sermanni, and Ewert and the Two Dragons (again).

Paul Dean (writer, journalist, and co-founder of Shut Up & Sit Down) on The Pet Shop Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, Sandy Denny, and Jason Isbell.

Music writer Ian Mathers on R.E.M., Mogwai, Low, SubRosa, and Bella.