Seen and Heard in Edmonton

Meet Taylor Chadwick and Brian Bergum, two-thirds of the core team that brings you What It Is, a podcast that has become a vital and highly entertaining archive of Edmonton’s arts scene.

What It Is was born out of creative friends riffing and realizing their intelligent silliness was so good that other people should hear it, too. (Well, that’s my interpretation of the origin story, which you’ll hear in the episode.) It started as a mix of character-driven bits and interviews, modeled on Comedy Bang Bang, but with time it has become more interview-based, though the occasional character may wander in to create minor havoc.

Taylor, Brian and co-founder Chris Cook release an episode every two weeks, with more frequent releases during big deals like the Fringe, and breaks after such sprints. They have an impressive setup that allows them to capture good sound wherever they are. They survey their audience, and have altered their approach accordingly. Some things won’t change, though. The episodes are long, and are likely to stay that way. But as Taylor says, it’s the sort of thing you can dip in and out of. And you might find yourself so drawn in that the hour (or so) flies by. Here’s our conversation:

You can also listen on SoundCloud, in iTunes, or on Stitcher.

Taylor made a lot of great recommendations:

• Jenna Marynowski’s After the House Lights
• The Pulp Press
• Brian Bergum’s Bi Weekly Unoriginal
• 30 Minute Week with Dan Taylor and Ben Proulx
• Quik and Slow Comedy Show with Nick McQuik and Aaron Maslow
• The Devil’s Advocate with David Rae
• Northern Content Network
• Whatever This Is with Kyle Marshall and Grant Tingley
• The back catalogue of Ben Gelinas at the Edmonton Journal
• Oilers Nation

You can subscribe to the What It Is podcast in iTunes, and you can also follow it on Twitter and Facebook.

And here’s more on the podcasting meetup that Taylor mentions.

This episode is brought to you by CKUA, Alberta’s original radio. CKUA is now in the middle of its fall fundraising drive, and you’ll hear content director David Ward talk about why it’s so fun and how it bonds the community.

The fundraising drive ends on Oct 25. You can donate online, and if you give, you’ll be eligible for great prizes.

Musical credits: Beethoven’s Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1, played by Daniel Veesey, from freemusicarchive.com.