Due to budget cuts, CBC's Radio Canada International has ceased broadcasting on shortwave; it is now Internet-only and therefore blocked by authoritarian regimes around the world. Mark Montgomery is somewhat emotional about being the last voice on the air
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 on Jun 25, 2012 - 35 comments

The Great Crepitation Contest of 1946 [mp3 at bottom] lingers on in the memories of record collectors, radio historians, and a generation of post-war vulgarians from Dr. Demento to Howard Stern. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's vivid recording of the contest (conceived at a company stag party) inspired legions of LP cover artists: an early public airing was encased in a sleeve designed by one of the earliest proponents of the illustrated album cover. Later editions were adorned with shockingly detailed renditions of the Great Contest, created by a variety of anonymous geniuses. (Speaking of art, it was also a rumored favorite of Salvador Dali). Though it has inspired various lurid myths, we've learned a little bit about the deepest roots of the contest right here on Metafilter. [more inside]
posted by bubukaba on Apr 24, 2012 - 14 comments

Canadian horror flick Pontypool (trailer) is a modern zombie tale quite unlike any other. Loosely based on a dense, complicated novel by Tony Burgess and inspired by Orson Welles' War of the Worlds, it tells the story of Grant Mazzy, a grumbling yet likable radio host (played by veteran character actor Stephen McHattie) whose penchant for philosophical ramblings gets him booted from Toronto to the sleepy winter pastures of Pontypool, Ontario. One bleak morning, as the outspoken Mazzy chafes against no-nonsense producer Sydney Briar, disturbing news begins rolling in of a series of bizarre and violent incidents sweeping the town. Trapped in their church basement broadcasting booth, Mazzy, Briar, and intern Laurel-Ann Drummond struggle to understand the odd nature of the crisis and warn the wider world before it's too late. But this is no ordinary virus, and they find their efforts may be causing far more harm than good. You can watch the film on YouTube horror channel Dead By Dawn (1 2 3 4 5 6 7), but if you're pressed for time you can also experience it in its more logical form: as a one-hour BBC radio drama voiced by the original cast. And after the credits, make sure not to miss the film's playful non-sequitur coda.
posted by Rhaomi on Feb 25, 2011 - 49 comments

Twenty-five years after hitting the airwaves, the Dire Straits hit "Money For Nothing" has been banned from Canadian radio. The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council decision is here.
posted by avocet on Jan 12, 2011 - 232 comments

On December 24^th, 1979, radio personality Alan Maitland started a tradition on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's program As It Happens. That Christmas Eve, Maitland read a Frederick Forsyth story that featured the unlikely meeting of a Vampire and a Mosquito. His telling has been re-aired every year since. [more inside]
posted by Decimask on Dec 25, 2009 - 7 comments

Feel like listening to a concert tonight? Something classical? Or maybe folk is a bit more your style? World? Jazz? Nearly every day, two or three more live concert recordings are added to CBC Radio2's 'Concerts on Demand' library, with nearly 900 concerts now in the list. Each concert is given just as presented live, and you can either stream the whole thing, or choose track by track. Timings are given for all the music, and photo galleries and full descriptions and credits round it all off. All in all, it's a fabulous presentation, and there is more music here than you will ever be able to keep up with!
posted by woodblock100 on Feb 10, 2009 - 22 comments

Drew Marshall hosts Canada's "most listened to" spiritual radio program. As a former pastor who is fed up with phony church culture, he does an interesting job of critiquing North American Christianity from the inside. This fair-minded interview with Richard James, the high priest of the Wiccan Church of Canada, is worth a listen, as is the longest interview ever recorded with the late James Brown. Those unfamiliar with Marshall can get a feel for his style by watching his interview on 100 Huntley Street, a Canadian Christian talk show. It aired only once and was then pulled due to the ensuing controversy.
posted by Pater Aletheias on Feb 20, 2007 - 23 comments

Buried in code within a CBC press release regarding the revamp of CBC Radio is the death of the late-night radio show called Brave New Waves. Long rumoured, deeply cherished, widely chronicled, rerunned since May 2006, gone this March.
posted by myopicman on Feb 1, 2007 - 48 comments

The Contrarians is a CBC radio program about the things you can't say. Stream it live Tuesday mornings at 9:30 or Wednesday nights. Past topics include feminism, peace keeping, hip-hop and (caution: irony) copyright reform .
posted by Capn on Aug 9, 2006 - 17 comments

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is pumping out a pile of podcasts that have covered the importance of offensive comics to Art Spiegelman, 600 bands over 54 shows, Captain America versus the American government, Amy Sedaris and geekdom, the journey of young immigrants, French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut and Harper's publisher John MacArthur discussing Europe and America perspectives since 9/11, the after life, sex with monkeys, what radio producers do, the french word "corps", Bonnie Fuller's "The Joys of Much Too Much: Go For the Big Life — The Great Career, The Perfect Guy, and Everything Else You've Ever Wanted (Even If You're Afraid You Don't Have What It Takes)", Veteran Washington reporter Helen Thomas and some other bits & bobs [Breakdown inside]
posted by boost ventilator on Jun 5, 2006 - 25 comments

Ships are so cool, except when they collide with bridges and catch on fire. [flash] You can also listen to some snappy dialogue from the USS Enterprise. [Warning: The laws in some countries may not permit you to listen these sound clips]. This, and other goodies (including hi-res downloads) from the Solent.
posted by tellurian on May 2, 2006 - 14 comments

Hanging up the microphone for a cause He was a Fleet Street sportswriter and a boxer. His "Action Line" show had Winnipeggers talking for 27 years. Since moving to the West Coast with the purpose of retiring, Peter Warren has kept busy with a national talk radio show where his brusque replies to insipid callers have made him infamous. But after this weekend, he leaves it all behind to focus on investigative work, including a dossier of 14 murder cases.
posted by evilcolonel on Mar 1, 2006 - 3 comments

Once upon a time, in the early eighties, one of the northern CBC Radio stations was vacated due to a strike. Vacated, except for one Inuit janitor and his friends...
posted by myopicman on May 3, 2005 - 14 comments

Dropping an F-bomb on the radio, and in Canada you apologize. In the States, having this happen on your station would cost you many dollars.
posted by evilcolonel on Feb 18, 2005 - 36 comments

"You'd better listen to what you've been told / You better listen to the radio." Just when you thought Internet radio was dead, Canada's national radio broadcaster is providing an alternative: an Internet Radio Magazine . Their weekly cultural offering presents arts, entertainment, and news -- complete with an eclectic, ear-pleasing soundtrack. You'll come for the clever use of the medium and good content, but you'll stay because there's nowhere else on the Web where you'll find the Joel Plaskett Emergency and the Weakerthans in regular rotation. This isn't your father's public broadcaster.
posted by mrmcsurly on Nov 29, 2002 - 12 comments

Strike Blog! When Société Radio-Canada/Canadian Broadcasting Corporation journalist Jean-Hugues Roy was locked out by management with 1400 of his colleagues, he didn't just head for the picket line; he started his own blog (in French) to present the workers' side of the conflict. Interestingly, this isn't the first time SRC/CBC journalists have taken their argument to the web; Radio Canada International (the international section of the SRC/CBC) workers have been fighting their management for years, and last year set up a web site of their own to get the word out to interested listeners. They've also been locked out as part of the dispute, and have gone with their strengths and started an online strike radio station.
posted by geneablogy on Apr 18, 2002 - 5 comments

Peter Gzowski, Canadian broadcaster, died a couple of days ago. Listen to an old interview with Stuart McLean on CBC Radio RealAudio at noon EST from Toronto, 1pm from Winnipeg, 2pm from Calgary or 3pm from Vancouver. Gzowski and McLean are the voice of the Canadian spirit.
posted by Geo on Jan 27, 2002 - 9 comments

Outfront is 15 minutes of radio, on daily, which reflects Canada through the eyes and minds of its freelance community. There's no host on this show … it's all about Canadians telling their own stories in their own unique ways. transom.org is another website that archives short pieces by unknowns. see also: radiodiaries.org, soundportraits.org, dc productions... do you know other sites that showcase interesting radio pieces?
posted by palegirl on Apr 19, 2001 - 2 comments

"A pizza is something, a traditional thing. I am a pizza lover. And I like to eat a real pizza." As It Happens, everybody's (second) favorite CBC show is playing classic bits from 5, 15 and 25 years and letting listeners vote on which ones get rebroadcast. In this 1996 excerpt (.ra), Michael Enright interviews Eugenio Ghezzi about pizza. Gradevole! Quintessential Italian charm; you can't help but love him.
posted by sylloge on Jan 23, 2001 - 7 comments