Listen To Some Great Wire Taps

CBC Radio has a lot of good shows, however, few of them are as original, witty and touching as Wire Tap. Wire Tap is written and performed by Jonathan Goldstein. The only thing I know about Jonathan Goldstein anyone can know by reading his short bio on cbc.ca. But if he’s anything like his radio personality, he has a lot of friends, he’s neurotic and a little bit like Woody Allen, but a bit more hip.

Every week, Jonathan talks to a few of his friends over the telephone, or he tells stories, or he lets his friends tell stories. Sometimes he calls them, sometimes they call him. What do they talk about? Anything, and everything – on a recent episode, a friend of his tried out his new ventriloquist act with a slightly demonic puppet. Sometimes the tone of the show is more bittersweet, as Jonathan and his father try to overcome their differences and accept each other for who they are. On another episode Jonathan dreams that he’s at a party with Dylan Thomas, and Thomas is real drunk, and Jonathan can’t think of anything important to say to the great plastered poet, so suddenly he shouts out – ‘rage, rage against the dying of the light!’ – and then he feels like a fool.

If my explanation of his show leaves you wondering why the heck you should give it a listen, trust me, while my description may be lacking, his show isn’t. Every week is different, and every week is so interesting it isn’t like any other radio on Canadian airwaves.

So if you think that CBC Radio is nothing but news reports and interviews with or about Leonard Cohen, well, you’re mostly right, but Wire Tap provides a brilliant counterpoint to the usual CBC line-up. This summer, CBC is airing ten of the best episodes.

Wire Tap currently airs at 1 pm on Sundays. It is half an hour long. l

llewopemeargewopemearg