“ Welcome to Ctrl+Alt+Narrate , the show that explores the diverse journeys behind digital media creation. But what happens when the creators become the story? In this episode, host Alex flips the camera around to interview the brilliant team that brings the show to life: Sneesha, Alisha, and Victoria. Together, they dive deep into the production process of " Ctrl+Alt+Narrate ," covering everything from managing a massive post-production backlog to the learning curve of hosti

This episode has been three conversations in the making. It started in episode #273, when I spoke with Amanda Breeze of TRIPPER Magazine, who mentioned being inspired by George Wylesol’s grown-up choose-your-own-adventure book, 2120 . In episode #276, George joined me to talk about the book and how Internet culture and GeoCities websites shape his work. Then, in episode #280, I spoke with Jill Blackmore Evans, creator of GeoCities Memory , a personal and scholarly project arc

Happy Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina 2026! I’m here with Paul Twa, four years after he and I originally spoke about the games in Beijing in Episode 095: Olympic Design Systems with Paul Twa . He’s back, he’s full of insights, and just a wonderful, passionate resource about Olympic design joy! Paul Twa  is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Toronto. Born and raised in Edmonton, Paul graduated from the University of Alberta’s Bachelor of Design program. After t

Welcome back - I’m so glad you’re here. This is the third episode in a 3-part guest lecture series, speaking with a diverse range of design and typography pros from across North America!  This episode features the owner of foundry Type Du Nord , Libbie Bischoff.  Libbie Bischoff is a Minneapolis-based type designer and educator. She completed the Letterform Archive’s postgraduate program, Type West, in 2020. After graduating, she opened her own type foundry, Type Du Nord. Whi

Welcome back - I’m so glad you’re here. This is the second episode in a 3-part guest lecture series, speaking with a diverse range of design and typography pros from across North America!  This episode features a Creative Director dedicated to social change and inclusive city building, Jay Wall.  With over 15 years of experience at the intersection of graphic design and social change, Jay was the founder of design studio RallyRally. Now at O2 Planning and Design , Jay leads t

Welcome back - I’m so glad you’re here. This is the first episode in a 3-part guest lecture series, speaking with a diverse range of design and typography pros from across North America!  This episode features type designer and educator, Leo Vicenti . Leo is an Assistant Professor of Communication Design at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver whose research approaches indigenous language preservation, revitalization, and the return of these languages to everyda

It’s a big book day! Today I sit down with two authors with two new books on two interrelated topics. David Berry (H ow Artists Make Money & How Money Makes Artists ) and Raymond Biesinger ( 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off: An Informal Self-Defence Guide for Independent Creatives ) are here with me today. David Berry  profiled and critiqued the book, film, music and theatre scenes for a local alt-weekly, and then nationally for the National Post, and has contributed essay

Weeeeeeeee! In today’s episode we’re heading further down the rabbit hole—where one episode leads to the next, and new ideas lie around every corner.  In the two previous episodes in this series, I spoke with Amanda Breeze of TRIPPER Magazine ( #273 ) where she mentioned George Wylesol’s incredible grown-up choose-your-own-adventure book, taking inspiration for her own magazine’s navigational features.  So I reached out to George to learn more about his publishing and illust

Welcome Font Friends! Today we have the one and only Alanna Munro here! Alanna is a Certified Letter Nerd and the main human behind Arcane Type Foundry —a foundry offering both an enchanting library of typefaces and charming custom type design. Alanna’s letterforms have been described as having ‘happy curves,’ which means that no matter the style, a friendly disposition is always infused into the vector drawings. But don’t mistake friendliness for frivolity; she is also a hug

Calling all book lovers, both old and new! This episode is especially for you.  Today I’m joined by Andrew Huot, who is a book artist, bookbinder, printer, and conservator in Scarborough, ON. He operates Big River Bindery , a studio for bookmaking, letterpress printing, and book conservation. He holds a Masters in Book Arts from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and a Bachelor of Science in Printmaking from Portland State University. Andrew was the Conservator and Pr

It has become a Talk Paper Scissors  tradition to feature the incredible work of up-and-coming typeface designers in this space (check out Episode 026  with Veronika & Mary-Anne, Episode 113  with Nate & Sarah and Episode 146  with Nicole & Cameron, Episode 191  With Max & Cecilia, and Episode 258  with Paulina & Darrab). This work was born in the Advanced Typography course I teach at Toronto Metropolitan University. After reviewing many submissions, with work scaffolded thro

If you’re a frequent listener of this podcast, you may recall an episode released earlier this fall: Episode #273 - On a Trip with Amanda Breeze of TRIPPER Magazine . Without knowing it at the time, episode 273 marks the start of a little experiment—a journey down the rabbit hole. Each conversation in this series connects in unexpected ways; each new episode spurring a new line of inquiry, like a tunnel turning off in a different direction, each with an origin that’s traced b

Today’s guest and her team’s most recent book project is truly emotional and inspiring. As always, this episode is not sponsored, however I do want to disclose that I received an advance copy of the book and after experiencing it, I absolutely had to chat with our guest about the incredible technology, typography, and hope behind this project. In this conversation, you’ll hear from Rachel Arthur, Founder and Editor of boom saloon , “an independent publisher dedicated to democ

I read a book a few months ago called Making Time: A New Vision for Crafting a Life Beyond Productivity. It stirred something up inside of me in the best way possible. I felt like the author, Maria Bowler, was speaking directly to me.  So I reached out to Maria to see if she'd be interested in chatting about her book, and I was thrilled that she said yes. In this conversation, Maria and I dive deep into the world of problematic ideas around productivity, the ways in which the

A few months ago I received a lovely email from a listener. It was the kind of unexpected, heartfelt, and generous note that means the world when I spend hours making this podcast, talking into the void and not knowing how (and even if!) messages are being received. I’ve grabbed a few different bits from the email, but the email sounded something like this: I just wanted to reach out and say a huge THANK YOU for producing such a fantastic podcast!!!! I stumbled across it last

Welcome back everybody!  We’re 6+ weeks into the fall semester and I have the great pleasure of teaching my first podcasting course at Toronto Metropolitan University! The course is called MDM Podcast Lab: Design, Develop Distribute  with around 20 students actively working to create their own podcasts. It’s been so much fun to imagine what a more linear path to podcasting than my own experience would look like, and build a workshop-style course to help guide digital media st

We’ve come so far in this series and I’m thrilled that you’ve been along for the ride. I really, truly, unequivocally believe this...

I invite you to close your eyes.  Imagine yourself as a kid, a fresh box of crayons in one hand and a colouring book in the other. You...

Comparison is a tricky one. It can be an aspirational force or a source of anxiety, resentment, and fear. Social media has increased the...

Failure: friend or foe? One of my very favourite exercises I use to help others summon their creative confidence is a sensory exercise around failure and it’s the first step in decoupling our identity with the idea of failure.  My thinking is that if we can sense failure’s presence when we’re experiencing it, we can begin to recognize its pattern; that it’s a feeling that comes and goes, but ultimately doesn’t have to be entangled with our identity and that by the very nature