Since acquiring its FM license in 1982, CiTR has broadcast innumerable programs working to highlight local arts and affairs and tell underrepresented stories. Throughout the first half of 2019, CiTR will continue this mission through another medium—podcasting. In the footsteps of Seeking Office—a podcast focusing on Vancouver’s 2018 municipal election—come three new podcasts: Noise Complaint, Conversations, and Consider the Alternative.

Noise Complaint, the first of the three podcasts, features interviews and performances with various musicians and bands recorded in the CiTR Lounge. Akin to NPR’s Tiny Desk or BBC Radio’s Live Lounge, Noise Complaint not only offers listeners intimate and exclusive live sets, but also the opportunity to understand the people and stories behind the music through in-depth interviews conducted by CiTR’s Music Director and host of Chaotic Music Meetings, Myles Black. Appearing on the podcasts are artists such as Kamikaze Nurse, Prxncxss Apprntly, Cathy Schultes, and many more. The first episode of Noise Complaint — featuring localrapper, Hope — was released on January 18 alongside a launch party at the Avant-Garden with performances by Hope, Maneater and Nasti Weather. New episodes of Noise Complaint release on Fridays throughout February and March.

Following Noise Complaint is Conversations, a panel discussion show tackling local, underrepresented issues led by CiTR’s spoken word collectives. For context, CiTR operates seven spoken word collectives — each with its own theme — that provides on-air opportunities for members without the commitment of producing and hosting a show alone. Each collective produces a weekly or biweekly radio show, such as the Music Collective’s Word on the Street, the Gender Empowerment Collective’s Intersections, the News Collective’s Democracy Watch or the Indigenous Collective’s Unceded Airwaves, to name a few. Each episode of Conversations is hosted by a collective and will explore an issue relevant to its theme. One episode of Conversations features the Gender Empowerment Collective’s panel on racial and gender diversity in Vancouver politics. Another episode features the Accessibility Collective’s panel on the use of language surrounding disability. Conversations is set to premiere March 29 and will run for seven episodes.

The third podcast series from CiTR is Consider the Alternative, another podcast focused on matters related to local democracy. While Conversations will explore similar topics through panel discussions, Consider the Alternative will use place-based sound recordings and character portraits to explore local stories through a creative lens. Per the show’s official description, “Episodes will centre around various Vancouver and Lower Mainland current affairs stories and their relationship with one of three tenants of our local democracy: activism, journalism, and government.” The series is comprised of two parts, or short serialized episodes, both narrative and non-narrative, fiction and nonfiction. Consider the Alternative premieres May 17.

With these three original podcasts, listeners will be able to experience a robust sample of some of CiTR’s best content and keep up with a number of musicians and stories that are defining Vancouver. Noise Complaint, Conversations, and Consider the Alternative will release throughout the first half of 2019 and will be available on iTunes and citr.ca.