As a globally renowned television and radio personality, broadcaster, filmmaker and activist George Stroumboulopoulos believes retaining credibility in the creative process is an important tenet to live by. Throughout the past 30 years, he has forayed successfully into his vast endeavors in entertainment and beyond, transcending “pop-culturehood” by sustaining a household name armed with the man he knows most intimately — himself. After carving a reputation as a stellar interviewer through his several years cutting his teeth in Canadian radio, George was selected to host several shows on MuchMusic, Canada’s flagship music entertainment channel, including The Punk Show, The NewMusic, MuchLOUD and MuchNews. He also hosted the reality show The One: Making a Music Star on ABC. Cementing his supreme interview ability to complement his innate talent as a seasoned host, he then hosted his own primetime talk show, the eight-time Gemini Award winning George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (formerly The Hour) on Canada's national broadcaster, the CBC for 10 years. He came to Los Angeles to host Stroumboulopoulos on CNN, and then continued to anchor shows and specials in Canada including Hockey Night in Canada, Canada’s biggest television show. George’s punk rock philosophy is manifested through his significant, consistent philanthropic and charitable acts of advocacy. In addition to being Canada's first Goodwill Ambassador for the UN agency World Food Programme, he also started the George Stroumboulopoulos Music Therapy Scholarship helping fund education for music therapists. He also works closely with the organizations Innocence Canada, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, the Michael J. Fox Foundation and is on the board of Artists for Peace and Justice Canada. At present, he hosts his own Apple Music radio show, STROMBO, which is heard in 160+ countries and has over 70 million subscribers around the world; he is also the curator of Strombo's Lit for Apple Books.
George has an Honorary Doctorate of Laws at the University of Calgary and was one of the first three Canadians recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader. Canada's largest daily, The Toronto Star stated that George has built "one of the most prestigious broadcasting careers in our nation's history."
In our conversation, we discussed his definition of “punk;” his recent visit to Syria as part of the World Food Programme; his Western-Toronto upbringing which funneled the source of cultivating his immense engagement with each project he immerses himself into; maintaining his individuality and autonomy in the face of corporations; his alliance with Larry King; and selecting music for STROMBO.
Opening Credits: HoliznaCC0 - Punk I CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication; Dilating Times - Golden Girl I Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0); Closing Credits: Taylor Poe - Unknown Artist I Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)