Anyone ever listen to a CBC radio show called “Definitely not the Opera”? I got into it a few years ago, more or less by accident, after becoming bored with This American Life re-runs. I get the podcast downloaded every week to my little box.
This particular one caught my ear because it has “Fight Club” author Chuck Palahniuk and DOA front-man Joey “Shithead” Keithley as well as “For Better or For Worse” cartoonist Lynn Johnston all talkign about how they deal with anger in a productive, constructive way.
I found this to be one of the better ones i’ve heard in a while. Quality Radio from those bland little ####### up north.
there’s a section in the middle with this lady who does vocal work with groups of people that is really fun…
Go with the crowd (07/11/09)
Have you ever done something that you wouldn’t normally do? When we’re young we blame it on peer pressure but as we grow we blame it on the crowd! Sook-Yin Lee experiments with the power of a crowd and finds out what happens when you try to control a crowd and lose. She also will talk with musical guest Matt Mays about what it’s like to play to a crowd of one!
A well-known activist—an anarchic, revolutionary activist—is accused of spying on other activists for the FBI. The strangest thing about the rumor is, it’s true. How Brandon Darby transformed from cop-hater to federal witness. Plus, a story by Etgar Keret, about a boy who betrays his people with a pair of shoes.
Prologue.
Ira talks with reporter My Thuan Tran of The Los Angeles Times about how San Jose City Councilwoman Madison Nguyen went from being the “golden child” of the Vietnamese community to someone who faced weekly protests and a hunger striker. Turns out red-baiting is alive and well in the Vietnamese-American community. We also hear from Nguyen and from reporter Thanh Tan of Idaho Public Television about a similar case that involved her dad, Duc Tan. (6 minutes)
Act One. Code Red.
The story from the prologue continues. (7 minutes)
Act Two. My Way or the FBI Way.
Brandon Darby was a radical activist and one of the founders of the incredibly effective relief organization Common Ground. Michael May reports on how Darby changed from a revolutionary who wanted the overthrow of the U.S. government into an informant working with the FBI against his former radical allies. (17 minutes)
Four Canadian soldiers ship out to Afghanistan. They are immediately sent deep into the heart of the conflict: Kandahar Province, where the Taliban insurgency is fiercest. Afghanada gives us a grunts’-eye-view of the conflict. Every day, these Canadian soldiers on the ground confront the chaos and violence of life “outside the wire”. They don’t have the big picture; they’re not interested in the policy. They’re just trying to help the people, protect each other…and survive.
Afghanada’s sound is edgy and gritty, the impact immediate, pushing the listener into an auditory journey that is impossible to escape. It is a reflection of the very real situation Canadian soldiers are facing every day in Afghanistan.
The award winning series, now in it’s fourth season, has garnered critical and public praise and is proving hugely popular with listeners.
I really love a good radio show, and this one is done VERY well.
I especially like this piece near the end from emily gould:
To share… or not to share? That’s the decision everyone who keeps a blog, has a Facebook profile, or “tweets” has to make.We’ll hear what super-blogger Emily Gould learned about “oversharing” - and what advice she has about spilling details online.
