We Regret To Inform You: The Rejection Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Driver is a two-time Academy Award nominated actor known for his roles in films like Marriage Story, BlacKkKlansman and the Star Wars franchise as Kylo Ren. But before landing his breakout role on HBO’s Girls, Driver was rejected from Juilliard, turned his Lincoln Town Car around before he reached Los Angeles and was medically discharged from the Marines prior to deployment. Broke and struggling to find his way, Driver made a bold decision: to apply to Juilliard again.

Welcome to Season Five of The Rejection Podcast. It’s good to be back.

Tell us YOUR rejection story:

Record your voice: https://speak-to.us/rejection

Write to us: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We Regret To Inform You returns to a podcast app near you in one week's time. We've got some inspiring stories to share with you this year – here's a sneak peek at what's to come.

PS:

Tell us YOUR rejection story:

Record your voice: https://speak-to.us/rejection

Write to us: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We regret to inform you, this week marks the final episode of our 2023 season. And, as it’s the 20th of December, we thought it only fitting to tell a holiday-themed story. Elves love to tell stories. I bet you didn’t know that about elves…

Elf is a beloved and timeless Christmas classic. Starring Will Ferrell, the film brought in over $200M at the box office, and 20 years later remains a holiday staple for many. But back in the year 2000, the script was rejected by production companies, studios, directors and actors, championed only by two producers with no producing experience. Then when it finally did land a studio, executives nearly left Elf on the shelf. Join us, won’t you, as we pass through the seven levels of the Candy Cane Forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, then through the Lincoln Tunnel for "Rejecting Elf."

Have a safe and happy holiday. We'll meet you back here for more stories of rejection and triumph in the spring.

Tell us YOUR rejection story:

Record your voice: https://speak-to.us/rejection

Write to us: [email protected]

Get to know Apostrophe:

Instagram

X

YouTube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, we told the story of EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson. Hudson put the O in EGOT when she won the Oscar for her role as Effie White in Dreamgirls. It’s said Dreamgirls is based on the story of The Supremes – Deena as Diana Ross, Effie as Florence Ballard. And in researching that episode, we discovered it wasn’t just Jennifer Hudson who had a rejection story – The Supremes had a fascinating journey of their own. So, join us this week as we discover how the glamour girls of Motown went from the “No-Hit Supremes” to the female group with the most #1 songs in history on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tell us YOUR rejection story:

Record your voice: https://speak-to.us/rejection

Write to us: [email protected]

Get to know Apostrophe:

Instagram

X

YouTube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Like Rita Moreno last week, Jennifer Hudson is an EGOT winner. She’s won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony – not to mention a Golden Globe. But before earning THE major award in every major entertainment category, Hudson was eliminated from American Idol – twice. Rejected after her first Hollywood audition, she had fallen off the radar. That is, until she got an unusual phone call from her cousin.

Tell us YOUR rejection story:

Record your voice: https://speak-to.us/rejection

Write to us: [email protected]

Get to know Apostrophe:

Instagram

X

YouTube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rita Moreno is a member of the coveted and exclusive EGOT club. Meaning, throughout her career, she’s won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. And not only that, Moreno is the first and only Latina EGOT winner in history. But before earning her Academy Award for West Side Story, Moreno was dropped by MGM. She spent years typecast – or simply not cast – because of her ethnicity. Join us this week as we tell Moreno’s incredible story – from being discarded by Hollywood to earning the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Tell us YOUR rejection story:

Record your voice: https://speak-to.us/rejection

Write to us: [email protected]

Get to know Apostrophe:

Instagram

X

YouTube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we thought we’d do something a little different. The Apostrophe Podcast Network has several shows on its roster. Four, to be exact. And one of those shows just crossed 1M listens in its very first season. Introducing Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe.

Backstage welcomes listeners into the warm and comforting world of the Vinyl Cafe. Each episode features stories about Canada’s favourite fictional family – Dave, Morley and the kids – narrated by the late, great Stuart McLean. And, for the first time ever, listen in on hilarious backstories from the popular show with long-time Vinyl Cafe producer Jess Milton.

It's some of our country's best storytelling, and it's a show we're proud share with you.

Hope you’ll join us each week at the world’s smallest record store. You can find more episodes here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know in the late 1800s, doctors didn’t wash their hands between procedures? When Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis – an obstetrician in Vienna – realized women in his hospital were dying at staggering rates, he implemented staff-wide mandatory hand washing. Maternal death rates dropped by 90%. But doctors weren’t happy. Semmelweis was called "crazy," told his idea was superstitious, not scientific.

75 years later, Dr. Robert Goddard – an American professor of physics – published a report via the Smithsonian theorizing that, one day, a rocket could reach the moon. A New York Times editorial was published the very next morning slamming Dr. Goddard – writing that the professor lacked the knowledge ladled out daily in high schools.

Join us this week for an unusual one: Rejecting two pioneers in science – the fathers of hand washing and rocketry – Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis and Dr. Robert Goddard.

Tell us YOUR rejection story:

Record your voice: https://speak-to.us/rejection

Write to us: [email protected]

Get to know Apostrophe:

Instagram

X

YouTube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.