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This isn’t nostalgia.
This is a reset.
Boomers Revolt is where reinvention gets real in conversations with people who refuse to age quietly, shrink politely, or disappear gracefully. Because here’s the truth no one’s saying out loud: getting older isn’t the end of the story… it’s the plot twist.
Hosted by Cheryl Becir, this series dives into bold, lived experiences at the intersection of identity, relevance, visibility, and unfinished becoming. It’s about chasing what actually matters and finally being honest about what that is.
Each episode taps into a cultural pulse point inspired by iconic songs that help us explore the emotional undercurrent of what it means to: start over (again), question everything (again), and show up fully… with zero apologies. Boomers Revolt digs into real stories of rebellion, reinvention, resilience and talks about what it actually means to grow older in a world obsessed with staying young. Boomers Revolt isn’t about slowing down, it is about knowing exactly when to turn it up.
Reinvention is the new rebellion.
About your host - meet Cheryl Becir:
She is 69. Curious as hell and not done yet.
After decades leading Not-for-profit organizations - challenging systems, and driving meaningful change, Cheryl “retired”… and lasted about five minutes. Now? She’s asking even better questions. With sharp insight, lived experience, and a refusal to play small, Cheryl creates space for conversations that are honest, layered, and deeply human.
This isn’t a retirement project. This is the next chapter, on her own terms.
Website:https://theboomersrevolt.ca
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theboomersrevolt
Email: theboomersrevolt@gmail.com
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When Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote, can't get no satisfaction, they weren't just cranking out one of the greatest hits of all time. They were calling BS on easy answers, on polite obedience, and on the idea that you should just take what you're given with a smile.
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That restless energy and that feeling that something didn't quite add up became fuel. And it was a fuel that challenged authority, it poked comfort in the ribs, and demanded something much more honest. So let's fast forward a few decades. That dissatisfaction hasn't gone anywhere. It's just grown up. What once sounded like rebellion,
Now sounds like insight and clarity earned the hard way. Welcome to Boomer's Revolt. This is the podcast for the generation that refuses to age quietly, politely, or in anyone else's timeline.
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I'm Cheryl Bichir. I'm 69, curious as hell and not done yet. After decades leading not-for-profit organizations and hopefully driving some real change, I retired and that lasted about five minutes. I've spent a lifetime asking hard questions of organizations, communities and some remarkable people. So this isn't a retirement project. It's my next chapter on my own terms.
In each episode, we dig into real stories of rebellion, reinvention, and resilience, and what it actually means to grow older in a world obsessed with staying young. From the voices who shape the culture to everyday disruptors or shit-disturbers, as we boomers like to say, this is where experience will meet attitude, and why you need both. This show isn't about wanting more. It's about wanting
what's real. It's about refusing the idea that at a certain age we should settle in, quiet down, and be grateful enough to stop asking questions. But I feel getting older doesn't mean fading out. It means knowing exactly when and how to turn up the volume. This is why I have started today with Terry David Mulligan.
a name most of us boomers and non-boomers may know.
Terry David Mulligan grew up in Kamloops. It was his small town beginning that shaped his work ethic and his curiosity behind one of Canada's most enduring media careers. Terry rose to national prominence during the early days of MuchMusic, where he became one of Canada's most recognizable VJs. He helped define the voice of Canadian pop culture. His work has consistently focused on artist stories,
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rather than grabbing celebrity headlines. And this has earned him credibility across generations of musicians. He also stepped into acting with roles in acclaimed productions like Da Vinci's Inquest and The Accused with Jodie Foster. And if that wasn't enough, today he continues to host CKUA Radio Network's beloved program, named none other than Mulligan Stew.
showcasing music and musicians with the same passion that first drew him to broadcasting. TDM has remained relevant by doing what he's always done best, listening closely, asking better questions, and evolving without losing his voice. However, at the center of it all is his decades-long marriage to Meg and four great kids. And at 83, he's still rocking it.
So Terry, let's jump right in and tell us something that we don't know about you. RCMP, four years, 60 to 64. I joined in Kamloops. I trained in Regina. I was frozen when the train stopped at about three or four o'clock in the morning at Bay's Depot, Regina. The corporal or the constable that was standing there in a buffalo robe, half of them was covered in snow.
The other half was not. And he looked like he'd froze. And he shook everything off and said, come with me. And I thought, what the hell have I done? But anyway, I was now a Mountie in Alberta. And then from Mountie to your first love, music. So on that note, you feel most comfortable in front of a mic or in front of a camera. I feel more comfortable asking the question.
What happens to you when you're in front of a mic or a camera? You're on this side. You're on my side. don't think about the mic or the camera. Actually, that's not true. Technically, for cameras, you have to be aware of your movements, blocking people, blocking things, talking about things that you know they can't see, the audience can't see. And that's why much music was so great. I bet. The deal was...
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If I talked about a band playing over there, the camera went to the band over there and then came back to me. And I talked the whole time. And I learned that there was very few networks or stations that had any sort of jam with the camera. It was all locked down. I have a Jimi Hendrix interview. Oh. Done in the Coliseum, I the Peony. Oh, good Lord. But it's a horrible shoot. It's a terrible camera shoot. They just locked it down, didn't care. It's just nothing. There was nothing to it.
Anyway, I mean, those were the days for sure. And much music changed the entire scene. Everything changed. Canadian music, too. I heard an interview that you did where you said, hey, you call yourself Canada's national music station, but we don't know who you are out west. So that was a phone call that I actually made to Moses Niger directly. And as Meg held her head.
like our life was about to disappear. I said to him, you call yourself the nation's music station, but you're not in Vancouver and we're kicking your ass at the Juno. So you might want to think about that and I'd like to be your Vancouver guy. He said, okay. So with thousands of hours behind a microphone or in front of a camera, what's the secret to a good conversation or to a good interview? You have to listen. You have to listen because sometimes the answer supplies
the best question in the world. Why? Why did you do that? If you're not listening, you can't ask that question. If you're listening, you can ask the question. it grew because I've been editing my own interviews. When I don't ask that question, I literally throw things at myself. Listen to the answer. There'll be a why in there somewhere. And it just slides by and you'll never... Why did you do that? Why did you make that decision? What caused you to ruin your career, sort of thing?
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Listening like that doesn't just shape the questions, it shapes the life. And when the noise finally quiets down, sometimes satisfaction shows up somewhere completely different. And then we find that place that calms us. What is that place for you? I have a beautiful, beautiful Victoria Klinker rowboat.
with its 12 foot scooped oars. it's just like, it just go forever. On a lake, it goes forever. And the thing about it is that fly is back there and is going through the water. And one of those trout is going to want to have a look at it. And then the best thing is going to the other end of the lake when you know there's a wind coming up and letting the wind blow you back. You can read a book. If you read a book, you'll catch a fish.
It sounds like that's one of your favorite places. My dad was a great fly fisher and we spent many a summer at Tonkwa. Oh yeah, of course. course. Yeah, Tonkwa and Jones and then they eventually moved to Kelowna to get in some more things. Tonkwa is the lake. Tonkwa is where they held the world fly fishing championships. You need big trout for that. I love Tonkwa and I grew up, I took my kids to Tonkwa and
It's just a very, very, very special place. isn't that? Well, my dad says, I bought a camper. We're going to Tonkwa. And I have to say, it was not what I was expecting. No. But he had a great time. And we went there every summer for gosh knows. When you're out there at sunrise without an audience microphone or camera, who is Terry? Terry is the guy that's responsible for the oars and the
the lake and the rowing. I'm thoughtful. you would anybody who gets out there and brings their business with you has completely missed the boat. You go out there to forget all of this, all of it, and just being at one with the water, the wind, the lakes, the trout, deciding which ones to keep, which ones not to. Are you usually by yourself? yeah. Who wants to get up at five in the morning?
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For someone who has spent a lifetime moving, this might be the only place you ever really stopped. You spoke about fishing with your dad. Is that who you see in your reflection? I am my mother. The sense of humor, work drive, the commonality with people, bumping into people and getting to know them. And very few people, only my sister and I now can talk about my mom.
choice. She was a nurse. They went through the war together. She raised us while my father was crossing the Atlantic many times. And I was just her. I'm her. And she was gorgeous. She was a wonderful human being. And we lost her too early. Sadly, that's too often the case. Yeah. What do remember about your dad? He was quite a guy. He was a
a hockey player and a lacrosse player in Manitoba. And he got so good that the salmon bellies came looking for him and they moved out to the coast. he took up nursing. He could handle himself and he knew that some of the hospitals in the area needed tough guys to protect the nurses. that's where my mom, who was a nurse, and they got married.
And he's quite a guy. was quite a guy. But as he grew older, he was just tougher. He was the guy I didn't want to be. That's guy I left behind. were tough as, you know, bark at people. He lost his soft edge. mentioned earlier you had a special connection with your mom. the best. The best. I am so in love with my mom. So in love. I've got pictures all over the place of her and I talk to her all the time. All the time. All the time.
She was just a glorious person and I really loved her. And I am her. This person who was talking to you is very much my mom. Very much. And how lucky was I? Huge. Today. To this day. We go through so many changes in our lives. And when the industry changes, right under your feet,
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What does that do to your sense of identity? Well, first of all, you know what does? It lets you know who your friends are. You know who your friends Your friends will gather to you. Friends call themselves friends. They'll think about themselves and drift off in other directions, which is why I still to this day, when I hear someone's in trouble, got some sad news, you go to them. Just tell them that there's people out there who care. And it took me forever to learn that. Forever.
It's so true in times of good and in times of bad, isn't it? yeah. Anybody can be a friend when times are good. Listen, come on, you can pat people on the back. Everybody is a friend in times of good. a up. It's when they need a hand up. That's when you to help them out. Yeah, that's something that we really need in this day and age today, isn't it? More than ever. every time we turn on our phones, there's news of something that's going to cause a joy or pain. I know, I know. We want to keep that humanity.
So you've spent your life interviewing artists. What did you learn about staying real, getting to this point in an industry that's based on image? Staying authentic? Image and ego. Ego, you know. I mean, you have to have ego to do what I do. Constantly talking into a microphone and expressing yourself and assuming that people want to hear it. So your own worst enemy, you have to really watch what you say, how you say it.
Especially on live radio, that's really tough. I bet. And so, I've been fired a couple of times. I've gotten through that. I've always had two or three gigs going on at the same time. Even when I was doing much music, I was doing radio. And then when radio just got just icky, I walked away from it and started to act.
and get into it. And so I always had something to fall back on. I learned from that firing never to be beholden to one person at one time. Have two or three gigs going on. So when that one falls away, you bring up two more. got some kind of diversify yourself and make it happen. It's called preservation, sustainability. Absolutely. What's the most electrifying room you've been in or interview you've done? how much time do you have?
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Well, gosh, Jimi Hendrix, when you were doing that show. Electifying rooms like the last Waltz was an electrifying room. That was something really truly special, historical, and knew it. Robbie had invited me and I went down really not knowing the whole scope of it. But when they sang Helpless, there is a town in North Ontario.
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Neil Young sang helpless with the band and all the Canadian, Joni was doing the vocals backstage. All those Canadians singing at the center of the core of this great event in San Francisco. That to me, I thought... That was it. That's pretty cool. Pretty cool. You were thinking, that's why I do what I do.
You remember those things you do. Yeah, they stick with you no matter what.
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you
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Was there an interview that you did that where you thought and you kind of alluded to it with MuchMusic how that changed media. But when did you realize the medium was changing in radio broadcasting? Well, you're bang on with MuchMusic because everything changed, everything. How you talk to a camera, how you talk to a microphone, how you just be yourself. That's tricky part.
Anybody can be a character. can create characters, you know. But if you just want to be yourself, you have to expose, you have to be open, you have to believe in what your heart is telling you and your heart's going to say. It just, that completely changed the whole game. I don't know that it changed radio so much, but I do know that when Moses Neimer, and I only had three conversations with him in 15 years, we weren't pals.
Moses said, there's a radio network in Alberta called CKUA. I think they're really fantastic. Would you go and do a story on them? I said, sure. So got up there and then when I was there for the day doing interviews, and the more music I heard coming, the more I was listening to the speakers as I was walking the halls. I realized that this was the station I heard when I was a Mountie in Alberta. They play everything, everything without apology, each.
person sitting in the chair who was there for an hour or two is a specialist at what they play. So you can go from country to jazz to blues to rock to folk to world music, indigenous in the course of a day. I just said to them as I was leaving, if we can find out a way for me to do a show in Vancouver and get it to you weekly, can we do something? And they said, what are you going to play? And I said, well, rock and roll. And I convinced them.
And I had to do the first shows on cassette. 30 years since Moses sent me there, and I said, can we do this? And they said, sure. And I signed on. 30 years. and I realized I'd found exactly what I heard in my head. 30 years. I'm thinking maybe satisfaction isn't about stopping. Maybe it's about landing somewhere that really fits. I mean, you don't stay where you are.
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without reinventing yourself and still being relevant. So what was the moment that you thought, I'm gonna move on from much music? Their audience was getting younger and younger, and I was getting older and older. I was the oldest guy on staff, I think. And I had a great run and I was very happy doing it. And then I moved on. I seriously got interested in my radio work and the interviews. I started to do interviews.
again and I had always done interviews but I loved the challenge of it and I had heard so many bad interviews, all horrible interviews, painful interviews on radio and television that I said somebody has to do this better, maybe me. Duh. There you go and you did. So if you had to choose, looking along the timeline of your life, RCMP and then we know we went much music, acting, wine, what would you choose?
Where did you feel most like home? Well, the funny thing is I felt very home acting. I loved acting. I loved Vino's. I hosted their show called Movie Television and we would go on film sets and shoot the making of a television series or a film. The best thing was about that was between shoots and they had to set up and light and move trucks and drink, they had time to talk. You had an hour.
if you wanted to talk to the actor before they got up and went out to work again. It was as opposed to a junket. I did 15 years of junkets. You finally get three minutes with Madonna, two minutes with Paul Simon. You can ask a question, maybe get an answer, maybe get an answer. To have an hour to actually be able to talk to people like this, that's the deal. That's the deal. We're doing movies different? yes, very much so.
Yeah, they were because you had to wait maybe three hours to actually work. And when you worked, you worked extremely hard for 45 minutes and then go and sit down and had lunch. You have to keep yourself sharp. You have to keep your mind in why you're there and what you're doing. And don't screw it up when you get there. Do you have a favorite moment from your days in movies? In movies?
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Well, yes, yes, Jodie Foster and I, in the movie that she won an Oscar for, it's called The Accused, she accused three guys in a bar of raping her. She shot the scene on the Friday in a bar that was demolished.
Monday, I walked into the front of that bar with her. I was a detective. I was walking her back in. And she was literally vibrating, was seething with anger. She could, I leaned against her shoulder just to calm her down. And, but I should have left her alone because that's what it called for. And she carried the anger of the Friday night shoot into the Monday morning.
walking in the bar chute. And I learned many lessons from hanging around her. Because that was an, I'll never forget that scene, being featured in that scene and actually having my name on a marquee somewhere. Unbelievable. And every time I saw her afterwards when I was doing interviews on other projects, she would go back into character and she'd say, Detective Duncan, how you doing? That's great. She'd go back and she'd start to do the lines from the script.
Anyway, remarkable actress. I had a great time. Isn't that something? Because really that, I mean, that's the beauty of what we're doing now. It's the beauty of why I love this show is because we get to talk to real people about real things happening in real time. know, Cheryl, I knew you were interested in talking about this job that I do, but jobs that I do, and all of them complement one and the other. That's the best thing about it.
I can stop doing my show for CKUA, talk to you, do something else, and then go back to it, right? I don't have to be hermetically sealed. I love that. I love that. And I love the way you put that. I'm also 83, and you start to think about, how long do you want to do this? Well, I'll do this as long as they'll have me, because I have found heaven on earth at CKUA, because I get to play whatever I want to play.
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want to step back for a moment and talk about how you reinvented yourself yet again in your career. You became a respected wine authority and entrepreneur with Tasting Room Radio. And you became a trusted voice in the wine industry, which is proof that reinvention isn't just a phase, it's a practice. How did that happen? I was fishing up the coast in the Queen Charlotte's with Jason Priestley.
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And we were out there for two days catching or releasing fish. And all he talked about was wine. That's all he talked about. And then there was a lull and he said, do you still get those records delivered to your front door when the labels want you to play the music? I said, yes. He said, imagine if we did a wine show and the wine would arrive at the door every day and you get to taste it. And we sat there for about 10 minutes and I went, OK, let's do that. So we started a show called Hollywood and Vines.
We shot for seven years to get three years of television done. And it was seen all over the world, 190 countries. And that started Jason is actually really knows his wines. And we're in the Cowichan Valley now. We're surrounded by maybe 15 small wineries in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. But their time's coming because this is the perfect place to be growing certain wines.
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Living in wine country is just one of the many decisions you've made with Meg over the years. And you've been married for decades, so what's the secret?
I told her that the question was coming. She laughed. She laughed for about a quarter mile and she just said, you can't explain it. She's had to put up with me. my God. She's had to put up with me. I can be, I have learned to be better, much better, much better because the thought of actually not having her by my side,
caused me to stop and rethink everything. As a matter of fact, when I wrote my book, that's when I also got into the apologizing to people that I had worked with over the years. And I knew I'd been stupid and I knew I'd been egotistical. And I went back and apologized. It was a good exercise for me. With Meg, I actually admit when I'm wrong and she's right and I congratulate her on it I learn from it.
So that really is the truth to staying married that people don't talk about. No, they don't. About the part where you have to say, I'm sorry, goes a long way. No other words needed. And a hug. And a hug. And a hug. Yeah. You're not really known as a warm and fuzzy guy.
Has that ever cost you? that, and you kind of alluded to that. Of course it has. I had to go back and apologize because I knew I'd been just a dick. And if I could just go back and so say I'm sorry. So I've been writing those notes, maybe the last 10, 15 years. And to anybody who has that opinion, I apologize. I do stand my ground. will not be, I cannot be bulldozed by some people's opinion.
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because that's an opinion, it's not a conversation. But I've learned to find a 50-50 ground where I get to say what I say, they can say what they say, but when I'm post-hard, I come back hard. That's all. That's just the way it is. It's a work ethic. I mean, you still want to speak your truth, but You're the one living your life, yeah. Exactly that. Yeah, I mean, you're the one that's in it, in it to spin it, if you will.
And especially nowadays, it seems like we've lost that a little bit. We used to be able to say opinions and what we thought about things, what we thought about issues and politics. And now we don't have those discussions. now, well, now we have these things and that becomes the other voice in the room. And when you start there with your coffee in the morning, you've got opinions, all of this is slathered in it. You're bathing in it. I just decide to not go near it.
I asked Meg at the end of the day what happened and she'll tell me. Now it's becoming harder to identify opinion from fact on social media. know, like where are we getting the truth?
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After all the years of reinvention and staying relevant, what are you most proud of? Sustainability, sustained day in, day out, a workload, caring. I'm like, I'm doing more work than I have ever done before. And Meg says, why are you working so hard? Because I can, because I want to, because it keeps the brain going. It keeps me alive, frankly. Because I've run across people that I went to school with, and they're a
They're great gray versions of themselves. I'm trying not to be gray. I just want to be brown or purple or something, but not gray. That's me in a nutshell, you know?
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What would you tell your younger self right now? I mean, besides, we kind of touched on it, you know, be kind or gentler. That's a tough, that is a tough question because it would be stand your ground, give room for the other opinion, give room for the other conversation. Don't take any shit unless you've earned it and take care of your family. As I was, listen, when I was doing movie television, I would get on a plane Friday morning.
I'd go to either Chicago, Los Angeles or New York. I would land in time to get to a hotel, check in, straight to a bus and watch two movies on a Friday night. And then the next day we'd see two feature films on the Friday night, do the interviews with the stars the Saturday and then Saturday night go out and see two or three more films and do the interviews on Sunday and go home.
So that was about my kids, that for my kids, they never saw me on the weekends. And I've I'm trying to apologize ever since. It was a great life, fantastic life. But I didn't, I didn't see the soccer games, I didn't see the baseball games really bothered me something fierce. So that's something you tell yourself, tell your young self, family, family, family, family first. Yeah, finding a balance is one of the biggest challenges, I think.
we face when having a career and having a family. So what's the question that you always wish somebody would have asked you? Why?
That's the question. That is the best question of all. And why do you use your whole name? Because that's what I wanted to use. When I said, well, said, CKRD, first radio station, I said, I'm going to call myself Terry David Mulligan. He said, you can't? No, no. No, no. No, no. It should be Hank something. I said, no, no. My name is Terry David Mulligan. That's it. I'm pretty proud of that. OK. They thought I was crazy.
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And it worked. Sort of. If you say it a million times, sooner or later it clicks. It has a good ring to it. Before we wrap up, one more thing. What's next for Terry David Mulligan? Are there more books? Are there more movies? No, no, no. You know what? No, I think there's less books. I think there's less shows. There's less this, there's less that. Because at some point you have to go fishing.
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So across shifting platforms and a changing media landscape and how audiences now consume media, Terry David Mulligan has remained relevant by doing what he's always done best. Listening closely, asking better questions, and evolving without losing his voice. For most of his life, Terry's kept moving. From one uniform to another, from one stage to the next, always listening.
for what came after. And maybe that's what I can't get no satisfaction really means. It's not frustration, but refusal. A refusal to settle. A refusal to stop asking better questions. And maybe the answer doesn't come when the noise gets louder, but maybe it comes when you finally find that special place that lets you be still.
That's where satisfaction lives. Not in arriving, but in choosing why you keep going. This is Boomer's Revolt. I'm Cheryl Bichir. Thanks for listening.
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