For the first time ever, we're offering a subscriber-only bonus option – for all devices, on all major podcast apps. Introducing Apostrophe All Ears.

You get: ad-free listening, early access, bonus episodes, Q&As PLUS access to all other Apostrophe shows (Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly, Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe, The Beatlology Interviews) – with extended episodes, virtual events, merch discounts & more.

Our favourite feature is that you also get access to all of our hosts. Chat with us. Ask us anything. We're All Ears.

First subscribers get a special founder's discount. Hope you'll join us.

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We regret to inform you, this week marks the final episode of our 2025 season. So, we thought we'd bring you one of our most-loved episodes. Certainly our most loved holiday episode – Rejecting Elf.

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 tradition 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 a 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. 

Thank you for joining us this season. We'll meet you back here in a couple short months for Season 7 – and in the meantime, we have some fun Minis coming your way.

From all of us at Apostrophe, Merry Christmas. Have a safe and happy holiday.

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In Part Two of our Rejecting Willie O'Ree episode, another unexpected invitation lands on the pioneer's doorstep. History is made – then forgotten – and Willie welcomes a third act he never saw coming.

The major source for this episode is Willie: The Game-Changing Story of the NHL's First Black Player by Willie O’Ree and Michael McKinley. 

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Willie O’Ree made history in 1958, when the Boston Bruin became the first Black player in the NHL. It is a heroic story of strength, courage and resilience. Hope you’ll join us.

The major source for this episode is Willie: The Game-Changing Story of the NHL's First Black Player by Willie O’Ree and Michael McKinley. 

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Welcome to another Minisode. This week, we travel to 30 Rock and take a look at courage through the eyes of hopeful [comma] sweaty young comedians.

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Vera Wang is synonymous with bridal. The designer's eponymous brand brings in a whopping $700M a year. But before launching her own company in 1990, Vera was rejected for editor-in-chief at Vogue. And before that, she didn’t make the cut for the U.S. Olympic figure skating team. Two major setbacks that left her thinking – now what? Then her dad proposed a crazy idea.

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On “The Beatlology Interviews,” Biographer David Sheff talks to Terry about the rejection and resilience of Yoko Ono.

Listen to more Beatlology Interviews in the Under the Influence feed.

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Welcome to another “Minisode” – where we zoom in on individual moments or facets of rejection we’ve come across in our research. This week, let us introduce you to Yankees superfan Gwen Goldman, as we reopen a rejection letter dated June 23, 1961.

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The novel Slow Horses by Mick Herron tells the story of a team of disgraced MI5 agents assigned to a bureaucratic dumping ground known as Slough House. They’re, by all accounts, failures – demoted from top tier intelligence to basement busy work. That is, until a kidnapping case lands squarely on their dusty desks – thrusting the slow horses into fast paced espionage.

The irony? That book was rejected. For seven years. Then it was pitched as a television series – and rejected by multiple networks. 

To quote Slough House loser-in-chief Jackson Lamb: “They’re losers. But they’re my losers.”

Hope you’ll join us.

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In Part Two of our Rejecting Dawn Staley episode, Staley is informed of her shortcomings, it’s play abroad or die trying – and a dusty VCR tape changes her life.

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Dawn Staley graduated high school National Player of the Year. She went on to become a two-time National College Player of the Year. She is a five-time WNBA All-Star, a three-time Olympic gold medallist and was the United States flag bearer at the 2004 Games. As a coach, she has won three NCAA titles, four National Coach of the Year titles, and the hall-of-famer coached Team USA to Olympic gold in 2020. Yet, Dawn Staley was told basketball was for boys. 

Hope you’ll join us.

The major source behind this episode is: "Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother, and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three" by Dawn Staley.

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