| March 12, 2016

Greg Kelly, Executive Producer of Ideas on CBC Radio One

Greg Kelly, Executive Producer of Ideas on CBC Radio One

BY: as told by Greg Kelly / written by Catherine Nygren

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In undergrad, I studied literature and history and found the interdisciplinary material freeing. After my Masters, I decided to study at Oxford—getting an academic career was a real possibility, and I wanted to continue my research.

At Oxford, I found great mentors and colleagues. Some of my fellow students, however, were slowly emptied of purpose by their education. Meanwhile, others left the program and were greatly successful in non-academic jobs! As I neared the end of my degree, I watched some of my friends drift through academia, and I became increasingly uncomfortable with having my value tied to an academic job.

I finished my degree, but turned down a postdoc: academia no longer felt like the right path. With no wish to regurgitate French theory for a living, I returned to Toronto and started looking for other opportunities.

During a stint editing Harlequin romances, I overheard a discussion about the process of making a radio show. I had done some radio work in high school, and radio seemed exciting and full of potential. I ended up in contact with a CBC producer, and she asked me to pitch an idea —a situation and activity that was fulfilling and a fit for my interests and experience.

Today, as Executive Producer of Ideas on CBC Radio One, I regularly use the skills I practiced during my PhD. I’m still developing deep understandings of questions and constructing narratives, but now I’m helping listeners see and understand material which is not always discussed or obvious. I love radio and its potential to transform ideas into sound that travels around the globe, bringing pleasure and ideas to an audience as they discover parts of the story and connect the dots.

To make radio like Ideas, you must be both the expert and the non-expert listener.

 

 

In undergrad, I studied literature and history and found the interdisciplinary material freeing. After my Masters, I decided to study at Oxford—getting an academic career was a real possibility, and I wanted to continue my research.

At Oxford, I found great mentors and colleagues. Some of my fellow students, however, were slowly emptied of purpose by their education. Meanwhile, others left the program and were greatly successful in non-academic jobs! As I neared the end of my degree, I watched some of my friends drift through academia, and I became increasingly uncomfortable with having my value tied to an academic job.

I finished my degree, but turned down a postdoc: academia no longer felt like the right path. With no wish to regurgitate French theory for a living, I returned to Toronto and started looking for other opportunities.

During a stint editing Harlequin romances, I overheard a discussion about the process of making a radio show. I had done some radio work in high school, and radio seemed exciting and full of potential. I ended up in contact with a CBC producer, and she asked me to pitch an idea —a situation and activity that was fulfilling and a fit for my interests and experience.

Today, as Executive Producer of Ideas on CBC Radio One, I regularly use the skills I practiced during my PhD. I’m still developing deep understandings of questions and constructing narratives, but now I’m helping listeners see and understand material which is not always discussed or obvious. I love radio and its potential to transform ideas into sound that travels around the globe, bringing pleasure and ideas to an audience as they discover parts of the story and connect the dots.

To make radio like Ideas, you must be both the expert and the non-expert listener.

 

 

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