Grenoble Life on air with English Talk Radio
June 17th, 2009 | Published in Comment, Features | 6 Comments
Vivian Draper in the Radio Campus studio with Bertrand the technician
I had the great honour of being invited recently as a guest on Grenoble’s only English language radio show, ETR, presented by the wonderful Vivian Draper. English Talk Radio is very much Vivian’s baby – she scripts the show, chooses the guests, and it is recorded fairly spontaneously without a rehearsal, dressed or otherwise. Working with a technician, the show is made in one continuous take which Vivian conducts with the energy and vivacity of an orchestra conductor.
Considering the show includes a mix of telephone and studio guests and musical interludes, the potential for technical catastrophe is high but Vivian always somehow smoothly steers the ship in the right direction. Although the show is not live, what you hear is more or less what took place, bar some technical glitches that have been cleverly excised. The air of live spontaneity remains, however; as Vivian says, and I think you will agree, “mistakes are part of our charm.”
I was the in-studio guest when the show was recorded last Friday, which happened to be one of those unapologetically sticky Grenoble summer days. I had to hightail it from work where I had already taught four classes, and made it to the studio quietly sweating and trying to conceal my dehydration. As Vivian says “timing is everything. We have thirty minutes to fill, and thirty minutes is a long time in radio time. No silences allowed; radio time is valuable, so we have to watch the clock, watch the script, watch the technician, watch the guests”. As a guest – and thus one of Vivian’s many spinning plates – and seeing how she took on the burden of filling those elongated 30 minutes, somehow made me calm about my contribution. After all, all I had to do was talk about Grenoble Life.
The other guests were interviewed by telephone. Michael Streeter, editor of The French Paper, a new, nationwide broadsheet for France’s ex-pat population, talked about the launch of the first issue. Then Kristine Minski, ETR’s financial presenter, gave an astute breakdown of France’s economic health. Check out the MP3 of the show below to discover more.
Since having first made contact with Vivian concerning her interview for Grenoble life, I have had my radio tuned into 90.8FM Radio Campus and I have to say it is fantastically diverse. Principally a music station, at any time of day you can tune in and hear songs of different styles from different continents. English Talk Radio airs at 19:00 every Wednesday, with a repeat on Sundays at 12:30.
To learn more about Vivian, and English Talk Radio, read the interview with her here. You can listen to the show by clicking the play button below.
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June 19th, 2009 at 12:27 pm (#)
Hi James,
A wonderful post and interview too! Great to put a voice to grenoblelife and hear about this program before making the move.
Thank you
Shonah
June 19th, 2009 at 1:20 pm (#)
Glad you liked it Shonah,
We hope to do more link-ups with ETR in the future. Be sure to tune into Radio Campus when you arrive!
James
November 14th, 2009 at 11:17 am (#)
[...] English Talk Radio, presented by Vivian Draper, talks about films, restaurants, books, finances, travel, with a variety of special guests featured on each show. On this new show the guests are: Ariane Zenker of The Cake Shop (fancy cakes & accessories). Christina Menez talks about education in China. Amélia Feuer is a young opera singer from New York who is now living in Grenoble. Mary Zaccai of Grenoble Ecole de Management talks about what is done in the city to help the foreign students. Podcast etr (at) campusgrenoble.org ******************************************************************************************************** English Talk Radio l’émission en anglais pour les expatriés et les amoureux de la culture anglo-saxonne. Au sommaire de la nouvelle émission : Ariane Zenker du magasin The Cake Shop (fancy cakes & accessories). Christina Menez à propos de l’éducation en Chine. Amélia Feuer jeune chanteuse d’opéra new yorkaise qui vit désormait à Grenoble. Mary Zaccai de Grenoble Ecole de Management de à propos de l’accueil des étudiants étrangers à Grenoble. Diffusion les dimanche à 12H30 et mercredis à 19h sur Radio Campus Grenoble. 90.8 et en direct sur http://www.campusgrenoble.org Podcast etr (at) campusgrenoble.org [...]
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:37 pm (#)
[...] English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. We are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and also live on http://www.campusgrenoble.org – and streaming here on Grenoble Life. [...]
May 13th, 2010 at 11:18 am (#)
[...] English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. There are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on http://www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life. [...]
May 31st, 2010 at 9:35 am (#)
[...] English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. There are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on http://www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life. [...]