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Interview with Marian van der Zon
Podcasts, Portrait

Sunday, June 13, 2010 - 6:00 pm
 
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Islands of Resistance coverI grew up with a romantic view of radio pirates; ordinary people using public airwaves to build communities from locations offshore, from basement studios and from mobile transmitters in the backs of vans. As passionate as I am about radio, I never knew pirate radio had a Canadian scene.

Then I found out my good friend Bob Goyetche was a host on CNOT (a Montreal-based pirate radio station) in the early 90s. And then I met Marian van der Zon at the Radio Without Boundaries conference in Toronto last year. At the time, she was editing a book about the Canadian pirate radio scene. That book, Islands of Resistance: Pirate Radio in Canada, is now available.

John Meadows interviewed Bob Goyetche about his experiences in pirate radio and has published the discussion on his On the Log Podcast. Click here to listen to Rebel Radio.

Also, check out this story about an Ottawa boy who set up his own pirate radio station this past winter. And I thought the younger generation didn’t care about radio anymore!

Interview with Andrea Ross
Electric Sky, Podcasts, Portrait

Sunday, May 2, 2010 - 6:53 pm
 
icon for podpress  Interview with Andrea Ross [10:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’ve often heard people say they’re fighting or they’ve beaten cancer. It was a shift in my thinking when, after being diagnosed with breast cancer, my wife talked about healing and being a survivor.

Six months, three surgeries and six rounds of chemotherapy later, I understand.

You can follow Andrea’s incredibly inspiring online breast cancer journal at WeCanRebuildHer.com. The site features regular blog posts from everyone in our family as well as audio podcasts that document various stages of our journey, and videos that celebrate life and fun during a stressful time.

Andrea and I also collaborated on the children’s book podcast JustOneMoreBook.com, now on hiatus.

Hey! Electric Sky is five years old!!!

Interview with Dewitt Jones
Podcasts, Portrait

Monday, August 24, 2009 - 10:34 am
 
icon for podpress  Interview with Dewitt Jones [9:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

One of my favourite lessons taught by Dewitt Jones is to study your tools and how to use them so you can capture the extraordinary no matter which tool happens to be in your hand at the time.  Dewitt knows this well.  His extraordinary photographs have graced pages and covers of National Geographic magazine for seventeen years.

I had the privilege to meet and speak with Dewitt at a small private event designed to create a space for conversation.  The conversations hinged on creativity, curiosity and the extraordinary.

Interview with Hugh Brewster
Podcasts, Portrait

Sunday, August 16, 2009 - 9:45 pm
 
icon for podpress  Interview with Hugh Brewster [10:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A new all-ages book by historian and author, Hugh Brewster, explores the valour and determination of the Canadian forces as one problem after another stacked against them for the raid on German forces at Dieppe.  His book includes details on the planning and execution of the raid, as well as the incredible stories of survival of Canadian soldiers that became German prisoners — several of whom escaped through (patiently) hand dug tunnels.

Relevant books by Hugh Brewster:

Listen to more with Hugh Brewster on JustOneMoreBook.com.

Photo of Hugh Brewster from HughBrewster.com.

The Leadership Summit 2009: Leaders and Followers
Podcasts, Portrait

Sunday, August 9, 2009 - 9:55 pm
 
icon for podpress  Leaders and Followers [9:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We tend to be myopic when we face challenges — it’s much more comfortable to focus inwards.  Leaders are no exception.  So, when leaders talk about thinking out of the box, they should be first in line.

This concept has been embraced by Bill Hybels who founded The Leadership Summit fifteen years ago.  While the event has faith-based overtones, the concepts that are discussed are relevant to leaders of any community.  In fact, this year’s program included Chip and Dan HeathDavid Gergen, Bono and Tony Blair.

  • Show ID and Intro
  • Taber Bucknell
  • James Drew
  • Gina
  • Pastor Dave Kornelsen
  • Julie Osborne
  • …and several anonymous contributors

Relevant links:

Special thanks to Lois Warren for all of her logistical help.

Bye, bye amazon.com
General, Posts

Sunday, April 12, 2009 - 11:45 pm

In response to Amazon’s decision (something they’ve called a “glitch” in their swift and misguided damage control campaign) to remove books about gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transsexual lifestyles from their ranking system (both adult and children’s literature), I have joined a growing number of people who have removed all of the links to books and other merchandise sold by amazon.com from their sites.

You will no longer find links to amazon.com on this site.  I encourage you to make your online purchases from an online retailer of your choice.  For books, I recommend both Powell’s Books and Chapters.

Commentary on the Remembrance Day episode
General, Posts

Monday, August 11, 2008 - 12:26 am

I’ve published commentary on the Remembrance Day episode on my blog site, markblevis.com. In the commentrary I talk being fearless in gathering ’streeters’, scraping ceremonial coverage from the radio, getting permission to use music by Bryan Adams and The Duhks, and making audio elements fit together tightly like an elaborate puzzle.

Relevant links:

Commentary on episodes
General, Posts

Thursday, August 7, 2008 - 12:06 pm

During the month of August, I will be recording commentary on a small selection of my own podcast productions that are near and dear to me for any of many reasons. These recordings will be published on my blog site, markblevis.com. The first of my Producer’s Commentary series was published earlier this week.

If you have a particular Electric Sky episode you’d like hear my commentary on (e.g. guest and question selection, recording process, editing decisions, production techniques, etc…), send an email (electricskypodcast@gmail.com) or call the Electric Sky Podcast listener hotline (+1.206.350.6487) and tell me which one you’d like to hear.