CBC's fake news program, This is That, tries to fool live audience
Producer/hosts Peter Oldring and Pat Kelly share their favourite calls from fooled listeners
CBC Radio listeners who enjoy a good laugh might be familiar with the program This is That.
The CBC Radio One show sounds an awful lot like a current affairs radio show, but with stories that are just too good to be true — because they're not. Everything is completely fabricated.
Peter Oldring and Pat Kelly produce and host This Is That, and they will be performing at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver for a live taping on the afternoon of Feb. 27.
And if you're a regular listener of the program, you probably get a kick out of the enraged listeners who sometimes call in and say how stupid their stories are.
Oldring and Kelly are fans of those people too, and On The Coast asked them for their top three contributions from those who think they're listening to a genuine current affairs radio show.
- Government to spend millions baby proofing House of Commons
- Canada's 'David Bowie' now a Zamboni driver in Moose Jaw
- Canadians react to new Hollywood movie claiming Neil Young was born in California
Where did the feedback come from?
One memorable caller came in early. On the first episode of This is That, Oldring and Kelly included feedback from listeners — but they hadn't had a show to generate feedback. So they made up the callers themselves.
"This guy called us out and said, 'Well, if it's your first episode, how do you have all this feedback?'" Kelly said. "And that became the feedback for our second episode."
The Panther's Whip
This is That did a segment about one of Canada's most famous authors and his work, The Panther's Whip. Of course, no such book exists.
"Somebody called in, completely furious, because he went to the world's biggest bookstore, in Toronto, demanded a copy of The Panther's Whip, and they said they'd never heard of the book, never heard of the author," Oldring said.
"And he was furious that he was unable, at the world's biggest bookstore, to find this guy, who we said was Canada's finest author."
Dedicated trucker
Not all callers are fooled by stories. One regular caller — who never made it to air — was a trucker, who Kelly said, would give thoughtful, considerate, constructive feedback on every single sketch on This is That.
"He would leave, like, 10-minute messages, analyzing every bit that we did," Kelly said. "That man is now our director."
To hear the full story, click the audio labelled: CBC Radio's fake news program, This is That, performing live in Vancouver
With files from Liam Britten