Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe

In this bonus episode you’ll hear my conversation with Roger Woodward, the boy who went over the Falls. You loved hearing his remarkable story in our Niagara Falls episode (back in October 2023) and wanted to hear more. Roger and I had a great time catching up and I learned so much more about that momentous day.  Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bun...

“She was a woodland bird, in the middle of the city, way off course, and she had landed at his feeder.” Stuart McLean tells two Dave and Morley stories that explore the idea of home in its various forms: in Burd, a tiny feathered friend gets blown off course and finds its way to Dave and Morley’s garden where it decides to stop a while. And in Tree of Heaven a seedling takes root – in Dave’s car…...

“This waterslide was the waterslide to end all waterslides”   School’s – almost – out for summer! For our final episode of this season we've got the podcast equivalent of a banger end-of-year pool party. Get ready to jump in!  Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & mor...

"This is the first summer Sam has been in Big Narrows without Dave and Morley..." We are so ready for summer here! Are you? So on today’s podcast we’re talking summer adventures, start to finish, with two great summer stories by Stuart McLean. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs &a...

We're a few weeks early, I know, but this week on the podcast we’re celebrating Dads! We’ve got two hilarious stories about Dave’s parenting adventures. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here:  apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

What song would you want played at your funeral? Dave starts thinking about that in our first story and ends by taking funeral preparation to a whole new level! Our second story is also about death. But don’t worry, it’s a funny one too. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & mo...

“It has been many long years since he sunk his teeth into anything.” On this week’s episode, two stories about everyone’s favourite Vinyl Cafe neighbour: Eugene! And Jess notices some similarities from closer to home.   Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subs...

“I swear I smelled his breath.” We’ve got another Postcard from Canada for you today. It’s about the town of Mabou, Cape Breton, but it’s also about the art of fly fishing. And we’ve got a Dave & Morley story for you: Dave and friends enter a fishing derby and catch way more than they expected! Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies...

“Everyone in town heard the lightning hit.” We’re talking about gathering places on this week’s episode; those vital places that serve our communities in so many ways. We start with a piece Stuart wrote about the Parliament buildings (a follow up to the Amazing Spaces episode from last season). Then a moving listener story about a town hall, and a story about the town hall in Dave’s hometown....

“And then one night … there were shooting stars.”   Today on the pod, two stories set in Dave’s hometown of Big Narrows, Nova Scotia, stories where the grandparents step in to help, and to work their quiet magic. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe h...

“It’s not clear who thought up the defibrillator” On today’s episode, we’re talking about community. We’ll play one of Stuart’s opening scripts, about an inspiring community project that we learned about on our travels with the Vinyl Cafe: The Smiths Falls Station Theatre. Plus, a Dave and Morley story about a more unusual type of community venture. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the po...

"Galway began flushing the toilet again in the autumn…" For all you cat lovers out there, today is your day. Today on the show we’re all about our feline friends, with two hilarious stories about the cats in Dave & Morley’s neighbourhood. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-out...

“It would work so much better if we could plug the toaster in at the table” Two of your most-requested Vinyl Cafe stories on this week’s show. Some vintage Stuart McLean, at your service!   Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here:  apostrophe.superc...

You asked, we listened! So, this week on the pod, we’ve got two more of Stuart’s love letters to this country, what we call his Postcards from Canada. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here:  apostrophe.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...

"He looked like a kid on a roller coaster. But not one of the happy ones.” On today’s episode, two stories about transportation—and what happens when it takes on a life of its own (with a little help from Dave of course…) Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe he...

“Bonjour,” he said. “Je m’appelle Dave.” Stuart loved Quebec and was proud to have grown up there. That influence is apparent in so many of his stories. We’ll play one of them today. Plus one of his Postcards from Canada, from Montreal. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & mor...

“It was a magnificent tree.” We’re thinking about our connection to the natural world on this week’s pod. We’ve got an essay from Stuart McLean about a Winnipeg tree that galvanized a community, and a story about a woodsman from Dave’s childhood in Cape Breton. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, list...

“It was Sam’s first year in high school. And it was not going well.” On today’s episode: two of Stuart McLean's hilarious Dave & Morley stories about the wonderful world of work. And Jess talks about her work on the Vinyl Cafe. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Su...

“That afternoon, in his first true act of citizenship, Dave wore five lacy bras across the border.” This week is all about the relationship between Canada and the U.S. We’ve got a Dave & Morley story about crossing the border, plus Stuart’s essay from the Haskell Free Library and Opera house, that straddles the Canada U.S. border. An essay that has particular poignance today. Ad-free listening...

“There is nothing like a wedding to addle people’s minds.” Today on the pod we’re celebrating one of Stuart’s favourite stores: The good old hardware store. We’ve got two Dave & Morley stories to illustrate the point. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe he...

“He wanted to be alone so he could try the beef-flavoured toothpaste” On this week’s episode: two fan favourites: stories about some of the sweetest characters in the Vinyl Cafe universe – the animals! Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies – like virtual parties, Q&As, listener shout-outs & more. Subscribe here:  apostrophe...

"It began simply enough. It began with a phone call." Stuart loved talking on the phone: much of his work revolved around phone calls. Jess talks about some of the memorable phone calls you may have heard on the Vinyl Cafe radio show over the years, plus we’ve got an essay Stuart wrote about his journalistic practice and a Dave and Morley story. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free...

“What’s in a name? When it’s yours – a lot, apparently.” We’re talking about Canadian humour today on the podcast. We're following a thread back to Stephen Leacock and the ways in which he influenced Stuart McLean's writing. We have a Dave & Morley story for you, plus a postcard from Leacock’s hometown, which includes memories of Stuart's friend, the late CBC Radio host Peter Gzowski.&nbs...

“Dave’s relationship with hospitals over the years has not been without problems.” The two Stuart McLean stories on today’s episode are connected in a very cool way. Both contain secret shout outs to people Stuart loved. Jess tells the backstory behind the little easter eggs like this that Stuart occasionally hid. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the pod ad-free and early, PLUS a whole bunch o...

“They tried to stop us, says the old man. But we kept playing.” We’re talking about winter sports on this week’s episode. We’ve got two stories about hockey – a Dave & Morley story and a listener story exchange. Plus, a back story from Jess about her personal connection to sportswriting and how that informed Stuart’s research for his hockey story. Ad-free listening is here! Listen to the...