NICK MANNA + JAY FRANCO + THE ROADHAMMERS

ANTIDIVA: CAROLE POPE + MICHELLE MAMA

On the Saturday July 18, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we spend the hour with with director Michelle Mama, and the subject of her new film, music icon, provocateur, queer trailblazer and Rough Trade singer Carole Pope. The documentary is “Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions,” a new, raw, rollicking look at the underground scene of the 1970s that spawned the band and how Carole Pope’s incendiary lyrics and magnetic presence shattered expectations of what a woman could be onstage. Today we’ll talk about the movie, which will be hitting select Canadian theatres this summer and premiere on the Documentary Channel, Sunday, July 19, and on CBC Gem Friday, July 24. We’ll explore Carole Pope’s edgy artistry and find out why she doesn’t have to try and bring a dangerous feel to her work these days… here’s a hint, it never went away.

LINUS O'BRIEN + PATRICK RADDEN KEEF

On the Saturday July 11, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Linus O’Brien, director of “Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror,” a documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of “The Rocky Horror Show” and its creator, and Linus’s father, Richard O’Brien. The documentary, which is available now on Digital HD including Apple TV and Prime Video, tracks Rocky Horror’s humble beginnings as a 1973 London fringe theatre play, its subsequent flop on Broadway, its adaptation into the 1975 feature film, and its eventual resurrection via the midnight movie circuit. With interviews with creator Richard O'Brien and original cast members like Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick, alongside commentary from high-profile celebrity fans like Jack Black and Trixie Mattel, it is the most complete look at the Rocky Horror phenomenon to date. Then, we’ll meet longtime staff writer at The New Yorker, Patrick Radden Keefe. He’s earned a reputation for transforming complex, high-stakes stories of power, secrecy, crime, and corruption into gripping, cinematic page-turners that read like thrillers while maintaining rigorous factual depth. Today we’ll talk about his new book, “London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth,” the gripping true story of 19-year-old Zac Brettler, who in November 2019 jumped (or fell) to his death from a luxury Thames-side apartment directly across from MI6 headquarters.

TOM DOYLE + C.C. HUMPHREYS

On the Saturday June 20, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Tom Doyle, a veteran music journalist and contributor to Mojo and Q, with books on Paul McCartney in the 1970s, Elton John, and Kate Bush. Today we talk about his latest book, “Ringo: A Fab Life.” It’s a look Starr’s career far beyond the rose-tinted ’60s, through the various addictions and career left turns in the ’70s and ’80s, before reaching the ’90s, his legacy and reputation intact. Then, playwright, actor and the internationally bestselling Canadian author of more than twenty novels, C.C. Humphreys drops by. Today we talk about his latest work of historical fiction, “The Double Life of Eve Sinclair,” a story of a female spy who must push herself to her very limits to save herself and everything she holds dear.

MARK O'BRIEN + KEVIN HARDCASTLE

On the Saturday June 13, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet award-winning actor, writer, and director Mark O’Brien. You know him as Des Courtney on Republic of Doyle and ambitious Deputy District Attorney Thomas Milligan on HBO’s Perry Mason. On the big screen he’s delivered standout performances in films like Arrival, Ready or Not, Marriage Story, and Goalie — for which he won a Canadian Screen Award. More recently, he’s been behind the camera with his acclaimed directorial debut The Righteous, and now his chilling new supernatural horror film The Voices of Our Mother, which he wrote, directed, and stars in. Then, we’ll meet Kevin Hardcastle, an award-winning Canadian author whose debut short story collection Debris won the Trillium Book Award and ReLit Award, while his first novel In the Cage established him as a powerful voice in contemporary fiction.  In his highly anticipated new novel County Road Six, Hardcastle delivers a taut, propulsive family drama about four O’Hare sisters forced to confront their violent father’s legacy and a long-buried secret on a decaying farmstead in rural Ontario.

KEVIN GILLIS + LINDSAY MERBAUM

On the Saturday June 6, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet singer-songwriter, TV host, producer, director and composer Kevin Gillis, creator of the beloved and legendary animated show “The Raccoons.” He is ushering in a new era for the beloved franchise as its iconic music is released digitally for the first time. Last month, the original version of the beloved theme song “Run With Us,” performed by Lisa Lougheed, arrived on streaming services for the first time ever. This leads into the release this month of “Evergreen Nights,” the first full album in the collection, featuring newly remastered originals with fresh interpretations from contemporary artists as part of a larger, multi-phase expansion. “Evergreen Nights” is available now wherever you legally buy, download and stream music. Then, we’ll meet queer feminist author and high priestess of home mixology Lindsay Merbaum. She is an author and mixologist specializing in custom and themed drink recipes like the themed drinks she creates for her books! Today we talk ablout her new book, “Vampires at Sea,” which is a kind of an Anne Rice / Love Boat romp featuring two ageless vampires on a cruise.