Interview with Marian van der Zon
Podcasts, Portrait
I 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.
- Show ID and intro
- Audio clip from Radio Barrie Lake
- Interview with Marian van der Zon
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!
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.
One of my favourite lessons taught by
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.
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.
It’s amazing who you can meet in a park during your child’s soccer game. I was introduced to Stephen Gritt on one such occasion last summer by someone who knew that Stephen would make a great guest for Electric Sky. They were right.
During the annual Great Glebe Garage Sale (a huge community garage sale in Ottawa), my family stumbed on Jennifer Barnaby, a Cordon Bleu Chef who was serving baked goods she’d made while her husband, Jim, brewed up espresso and handled the transactions. Every single cent collected from the sales went directly to charity. They didn’t even recover their expenses.
I’ve wanted to produce a documentary on honesty for almost three years. In preparation, I gathered some street audio on honesty and dishonesty, definitions of the ideas and self-analysis (unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced some of this audio). I also conducted an incredibly insightful interview with 




