The fortyish & unfiltered Podcast
Season 1
North of 60: The Show That Told the Truth Early
CanCon Deep Dives
Degrassi: Growing Up, Saying It Out Loud
by Matthew Morin
This episode started with a social media post — the kind that stops you mid-scroll because it’s casual, comfortable, and quietly racist. Not shouted. Not dramatic. Just said like everyone would agree. And somehow, that moment dragged North of 60 back into my head. So we talk about it. Not as nostalgia. Not as a TV recap. But as a show that asked Canadians to sit with discomfort long before we had the language for it. A series that remembered what came before, let stories carry weight, and treated Indigenous lives as complex, human, and central — not background noise. We get into the characters, the long story arcs, the filming locations, and why so many of the issues the show tackled decades ago are still sitting right in front of us today. Racism. Policing. Addiction. Leadership. Memory. This is Fortyish & Unfiltered: a podcast about anything and everything that pops into my head, fueled by strong coffee, bad timing, and the realization that some shows weren’t ahead of their time — we just haven’t caught up yet. Unpolished. Unapologetic. Very Canadian.
This week on Fortyish & Unfiltered, we’re going deep into Canadian music — not the quota version, the memory version. From Barenaked Ladies and Alanis Morissette to The Tragically Hip, Sarah McLachlan, Bif Naked, and Jann Arden, this episode isn’t about rankings or charts. It’s about the songs that showed up quietly in our lives and somehow stayed. We talk hits, regional roots, live shows that felt personal, artists who made a whole country feel seen, and why Canadian music hits differently — a little softer, a little stranger, and a lot more honest. There are shoutouts to newer Canadian artists, a few late-night realizations, and proof that numbers fade but feelings don’t. No debates. No gatekeeping. Just stories, songs, and that unmistakable Canadian ache. Unpolished. Unfiltered. Very Canadian. 🍁🎙️
In Episode Two of Fortyish & Unfiltered, Matthew takes a coffee-fueled walk through the history of Degrassi, from its quiet beginnings to the moments that changed Canadian television. From Spike’s pregnancy and Erica Farrell’s abortion to Claude Tanner’s suicide, Wheels’ unraveling, and School’s Out, this episode explores how Degrassi trusted young people with the truth — and why that still matters. Honest, reflective, and unapologetically Canadian. ☕🇨🇦 Email the show: fortyishandunfiltered@gmail.com
In the first episode of Fortyish & Unfiltered, Matthew reflects on growing up in a small Northern Ontario town and making the leap to life in Toronto at forty-something. Through late-night coffee, personal stories, and dry, self-aware humour, he talks about nostalgia, anonymity, city chaos, and what it means to finally feel at home in a place where no one knows who you’re “supposed” to be. It’s an unpolished, thoughtful introduction to the show—full of Toronto moments, quiet realizations, and honest opinions formed the long way around. If something resonates, or you’ve got thoughts to share, you can reach the show at fortyishandunfiltered@gmail.com.