We Regret To Inform You: The Rejection Podcast

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, sweatpants and a glittery surfboard. Hope you’ll join us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our first ever “Minisode” – where we zoom in on individual moments or facets of rejection we've come across in our research. This week, we tell the story of Bill Hader’s Saturday Night Live anxiety and what happens when you come face to face with your biggest hater. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some companies actually advertise to their haters. Every advertiser gets negative comments on social media. Some brands shrink away – and some take those negative comments and spin them into marketing gold. In this episode of Under the Influence, Terry looks at Supercuts – who took negative comments about cheap haircuts and created a hilarious advertising campaign. Spirit Airlines gave haters a place to vent – then offered them 8,000 free airmiles. And drink maker Oatly actually dedicated a website to their haters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Masks prevent goalies from seeing the puck at their feet.” “Masks eliminate fear in goalies – the fear that drives them to play well.” “Masks make goalies complacent.” “A real man wouldn’t hide his face from his opponents.” Rejecting the Goalie Mask. Hope you’ll join us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The season five premiere of Yellowstone drew 16 million viewers. The series creator, writer and showrunner Taylor Sheridan recently signed a nearly $200M deal with Paramount to produce the hit show and its subsequent franchise. But rewind 10 years, Sheridan had $800 to his name. He had been trying to make it as an actor in Hollywood for the better part of two decades, before deciding to quit altogether and move to Wyoming. But just then, someone said, “Why don’t you write a pilot script?” It's good to be back. Hope you'll join us for Season 6. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We don't regret to inform you that Season Six of the Rejection Pod will begin in one week's time. Artists, athletes and...umbrellas? Join us for more inspiring stories of grit, determination and courage – with some signature twists and turns along the way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We regret to inform you that today marks the final episode of our fifth season. So, we thought we’d do a little call back to season one. This week, Sidney and Terry answer some of your questions. Like – why did we start this podcast? What’s our connection to each other outside the show? And is there a situation in which someone *should* give up? Thanks for tuning in all these years. We’ll meet you right back here soon for Season Six. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You may not know the name Eddy Goldfarb, but you know his work. Goldfarb is the inventor behind over 800 toys and games – including Kerplunk, the "Yakity-Yak" wind-up Chattering Teeth, the Bubble Gun and Stompers. His incredible career has spanned eight decades. But before selling his first toy, Goldfarb was rejected. Over and over again. Then he made one very bad business deal. It’s quite the story. Hope you’ll join us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, it’s pop rock debut rejections. We look at the stories of No Doubt – who rose to superstardom in the late ‘90s, and Chappell Roan – who was born in the late ‘90s. Both known for blending genres – both rejected by their own record labels – both persevered through it all. Hope you’ll join us. Ask Us Anything: Record a Question. Tweet or DM us. Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Part Two of our Rejecting Ellen DeGeneres episode, DeGeneres reads a shocking headline in the trades, Oprah Winfrey and Laura Dern take career hits, and DeGeneres learns to just keep swimming. Ask Us Anything: Record a Question. Tweet or DM us. Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ellen DeGeneres has 34 Emmy Awards and a Presidential Medal of Freedom to her name. Her talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, ran for nearly 20 years. But back in 1997, DeGeneres was starring in the sitcom Ellen, when she made a historic decision: to come out as gay. Making DeGeneres the first openly gay star of a television show. But what came next, not even her critics could have predicted. You might think you know this story, but take a listen. You may just learn something new. Hope you'll join us. Ask Us Anything: Record a Question. Tweet or DM us. Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we’re excited to share a brand-new podcast we think you'll enjoy. From our friends over at Canadaland, meet The Worst Podcast. Hosted by award-winning filmmaker (and noted curmudgeon) Alan Zweig, The Worst Podcast is Canadaland’s first celebrity interview pod. Zweig finds typical celebrity interviews surface-level and predictable, so he found a solution: conversations with notable guests about the worst things in life. Rejection, anyone? In this episode, Zweig sits down with Ron MacLean. Find The Worst Podcast wherever you’re listening right now. Ask Us Anything: Record a Question. Tweet or DM us. Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Wrinkle In Time has sold 16 million copies worldwide. Time Magazine named it one of the 100 best fantasy books ever written, and the 1962 bestseller is still in print today. But when established author Madeleine L’Engle first pitched the novel to publishers, she was told it was too…strange. 10 years of rejection. 30 rejection letters from editors. One great gesture of renunciation. This rejection story is out of this world. Ask Us Anything: Record a Question. Tweet or DM us. Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Still Alice the book, sold 1M copies worldwide – a national bestseller. Still Alice the movie, sold $45M worth of tickets at the box office – and won an Academy Award. But back when neuroscientist Lisa Genova first penned the novel, it was rejected by 100 book agents. She was told no one would read a book about Alzheimer’s Disease, that the subject matter was too depressing and that neuroscientists shouldn’t write fiction. Hope you’ll join us. Ask Us Anything: Record a Question. Tweet or DM us. Email us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cuban pitcher Yennier Cano was told he’d never make the Cuban National Series. Then when he tried to leave Cuba to play in the Majors, his government banned him from playing baseball. When he finally made it to America, Cano floundered in obscurity in the minors. Today he’s one of the best relievers in Major League Baseball. Hope you’ll join us. Tell us YOUR rejection story: Record your voice: https://speak-to.us/rejection Write to us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide – 50% of the world’s blindness is a result of cataracts. For 200 years, treatment of the condition involved removing the lens of the eye and substituting the function of that lens with a pair of thick glasses. But in 1949, Dr. Harold Ridley had another idea. What if he replaced the natural lens of the eye with an artificial one? Well, let’s just say the field of ophthalmology didn’t see the vision. Hope you’ll join us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Each week on this podcast, we tell the stories of famous names who overcame debilitating career rejection. We’ve talked through the careers of actors, artists, authors, athletes and even an astronaut. But rejection affects us all. So this season, we wanted to hear from you. We put out a call for your rejection stories. You sent us voicemails, emails, comments, posts and messages. Take a listen. Tell us YOUR rejection story, and you may be featured in an upcoming episode: Record your voice: https://speak-to.us/rejection Write to us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week it's our mid-season break, and that means an encore presentation of one of our most-loved episodes: Rejecting Pedro Pascal. Pedro Pascal is the man of the moment. In 2020 he was named one of Entertainment Weekly’s Entertainers of the Year, and in 2023 he became one of the highest-paid actors on television. But only 10 years ago, Pascal was struggling to make rent, rejected for parts and told he was aging out of Hollywood – quick. Until one afternoon, when he picked up a script for a 30-something bisexual Lothario from the 15th century... Tell us YOUR rejection story, and you may be featured in an upcoming episode: Record your voice: https://speak-to.us/rejection Write to us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Online graphic design platform Canva is worth $26 billion. 85% of Fortune 500 companies utilize Canva, and its users span 190 countries. But when Australian entrepreneur Melanie Perkins pitched Canva to investors, she got the following feedback: “Your headquarters are too far from Silicon Valley.” “You didn’t go to Harvard, Stanford or MIT.” “Your idea is too ambitious.” “Your idea isn’t ambitious enough.” And, “The market is too small.” 185 million monthly users later, Canva holds the title of world’s most valuable startup founded and led by a woman. Hope you'll join us. Tell us YOUR rejection story: Record your voice: https://speak-to.us/rejection Write to us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past five years – and 85 episodes – we’ve come across so many rejection stories that aren’t long enough to fill an entire episode. But that doesn’t mean they're any less filled with insight. Join us this week for a special “Short Stories” podcast – the inspiring pint-sized rejection stories of Melissa McCarthy and Jennifer Aniston. Before getting their big breaks on Gilmore Girls and Friends, both Melissa McCarthy and Jennifer Aniston were struggling actors in New York City. McCarthy landed auditions, but not parts. And eventually, she stopped landing auditions altogether. Meanwhile Aniston was landing parts – in low-budget sci-fi and horror comedies. Their careers were going nowhere and the rejection was crushing. Aniston’s father, Days of Our Lives actor John Aniston, begged her to quit the business. McCarthy set a do-or-die date for her 30th birthday. Tell us YOUR rejection story: Record your voice: https://speak-to.us/rejection Write to us: hello@apostrophepodcasts.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.