Times-Colonist recently ran an article on Jonathan Goldstein and the Genesis of Wiretap.
The article describes Goldstein’s arc as this:
- Attends university in Montreal.
- Pays the bills with his 10 year stint in telemarketing. (See: This American Life Episode “Plan B“)
- Got Ira Glass’ attention with a CBC Radio piece about his parents musical tastes.
- Was hired as a TAL producer in 2000. Learned the art of scoring.
- Produced a story with Joshua Karpati in 2002 which pretty much kicked off the whole Wiretap thing. (See: TAL Episode: “Recordings for Someone.”) For those of you who remember, this is the one with the voicemail message where the kid’s mother said that he and the Little Mermaid could go fuck themselves.
- Pitched Wiretap to CBC, who was reluctant at first but then OK’d a 10 show season in Summer 2004.
- “Now, some 100 shows later, nearly 350,000 tune into WireTap every week.”
The piece notes some of the reactions to the show, mostly people not knowing if its real or not and then calling and emailing and complaining, and then this:
For the most part, however, Goldstein doesn’t know what people think of WireTap. He works long hours, stitching together every second of every show, and rarely has opportunity to socialize or meet listeners.
They also reference episodes “The New Josh” and the Howard Chackowicz interview with Paul Tough from the episode “Canadian Content” :
But there’s a downside to broadcasting conversations that sound real: Some listeners think they are real. Howard Chackowicz, another contributor, recalls an episode in which he interviewed a writer.
He began with a ridiculous question – “When I write, my hand really aches a lot. Do you use an ergonomic pen?” – and things quickly went downhill from there.
“We got e-mails from people complaining that the standards of the CBC had degraded beyond repair,” says Chackowicz.
But most exciting is this:
Biblical tales still fascinate Goldstein. His new book, out next spring, contains his take on the lives of Old Testament figures. In the Bible, Jonathan Goldstein Edition, the narratives remain intact but are infused with jokes and a modern sensibility. “I try to imagine what it was like for them,” he says, “and then I impose my own neuroses on them.”
Oh man I’ve been searching for this nonexistent book for years. All I’ve ever found on Amazon.com was this II Macabees (Anchor Bible) by Jonathan A. Goldstein (our heroes’ middle initial is “S”). I hope it won’t be disappointing that I’ve heard a vast majority of the stories already on Wiretap and This American Life.
Anyway, I had more to this post but it was tragically lost due to technical difficulties. Read the article yourself for more info.
