Recently, I was invited to be a part of last weekend’s episode of the CBC radio show, Quirks and Quarks. The episode explored the ways that scientists spent their summers. It was my first recorded interview, and I was thrilled to be asked to participate.
I was also extremely nervous. Fortunately both the producer, Mark Crawley, and the host, Bob McDonald, were kind, patient, and easy to talk to. I spoke to Mark first. He emailed me when I was still in Majuro and we agreed we would chat over the phone when I got back to Vancouver. We talked for about half an hour, and then Mark asked me if I would be interested in coming on the show (yes, please).
About a week later, I found myself waiting in the lobby at CBC’s office in Vancouver. I was taken to a studio space, where I donned headphones, was instructed how far to sit away from the microphone, and then put in touch with Bob, who’s based out of Victoria. The conversation felt natural from the start, and I quickly forgot to feel nervous about how many people would hear it (according to their website, about 800,000 people listen to the broadcast, and thousands more listen online or in podcast form – yikes!). I’ve heard from a lot of people around Canada and the world who enjoyed learning about my summer, and I’m extremely flattered. I’m also very grateful to have had this opportunity.
If you’d like to listen yourself, the interview is available online here. You can also listen to the entire episode here.
Sara E. Cannon, PhD 