First, to be totally clear: The CBC is a wonderful organization, better funded and in many ways more creative and adventurous than its U.S.-based equivalents, NPR (National Public Radio) and PRI (Public Radio International).
That said...sometimes, since moving up to Vancouver, I miss the NPR/PRI shows that I used to listen to. I miss the indie-hipster storytelling of This American Life, and the charming goofy panelists on Wait, Wait! Don't Tell Me! and Terry Gross's soothing and occasionally off-kilter interviews on Fresh Air.
For a while, I wandered unmoored in a brave new aural universe. Then, a few months ago, I discovered podcasts. Oh blessed podcasts, connecting me with the radio voices of my past! Now I subscribe to my old NPR shows--not to mention such CBC gems as Writers and Company and The Vinyl Cafe and listen to them whenever I want.
Then I discovered I could subscribe to podcast-only shows, like the kidlit-centered Just One More Book! and the universe expanded once more.
So these days, I don't turn on an actual radio much any more, except in the car. Instead, I've pretty much created my own radio station from podcasts. I miss the virtual-community feeling of tuning in at a certain time, and knowing I'm listening to a radio show at the same time as thousands of other people, but on the other hand I don't have to be sad any more that I'm missing Stuart Maclean's finest just because I'm on the reference desk Saturday mornings.
Plus, I have "Dave Cooks the Turkey" saved on my computer for posterity, just in case I ever get the urge to laugh so hard I fall over.
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