Live Wire with Elena
By Hyrum Blanchard
Our very own Elena Passarello first began working with Live Wire in March of 2018, after her interview as a guest on the show went so well that they asked her to be a permanent addition. Since then, she and Luke Burbank have interviewed hundreds of inspiring, insightful, and hilarious authors, comedians, musicians, and actors for Portland’s favorite weekly radio show.
Live Wire began in 2003 as a live show only, quickly building a following and emerging on Portland’s OPB radio station within a year. For over twenty years, Live Wire has operated on both mediums, expanding its broadcast presence while continuing to benefit from the energy of a live crowd. Today, over 300,000 weekly listeners from across the country tune into Live Wire in person, on the radio, or on their podcast streaming services of choice.
There’s something in Live Wire for everyone: laughs, world-renown guests, live music, and unforgettable, progressive conversations. But if there’s one thing that all listeners enjoy, it’s exposure to new ideas. Passarello explained, “Hopefully these conversations lead us to secondary sources that enrich our understanding of the world as a complicated place with interesting people in it.” The show is a repository of great minds. It’s hard to step away from an episode of Live Wire without immediately checking out a book from the library, adding a show to your watchlist, or listening to a new album.
Passarello described Live Wire’s audience as: “People who want to learn about new artists, new thinkers.” That goal of bringing creators and listeners together is central to Live Wire’s approach. As their mission statement asserts: “Live Wire cultivates joy, discovery, and connection by amplifying unexpected and riveting voices to a national audience.” Live Wire
brings academics and cutting-edge creatives to the stage for accessible, sometimes irreverent, life-changing conversations.
While the most frequent guests on the show are poets and nonfiction writers, all sorts of creative people appear to talk about their craft. Among the phenomenal people interviewed by Live Wire are household names such as Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson, BoJack Horseman’s Paul F. Thompkins, and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana; behind-the-scenes and up-and-coming creatives including actors and writers Naomi Ekperigin, Alex Falcone, and Atsuko Okatsuka; and an almost endless list of renowned thinkers including George Saunders, Eileen Myles, and friend of the show Hanif Abdurraqib. With so many brilliant guests to hear from, there’s no way to go wrong when picking a Live Wire episode. As Passarello said, “You never know exactly who’s going to fascinate you.”
In a world of clickbait headlines with little substance and copy-paste author interviews, Live Wire stands out in part because of Passarello and Burbank’s unusually deep engagement with their guests’ work. When asked how Live Wire differs from similar shows, Passarello remarked, “The guests are often very surprised that we’ve both read their books—like, very surprised.”
When you listen to an episode of Live Wire, this genuine investment and attention to detail is clear. Passarello and Burbank address their guests like old friends, replacing small talk and lengthy introductions with incisive, thoughtful questions. Because of this, their guests are open, reflective, at ease. Listening to an episode of Live Wire, you get the sense that you’re in on something special, a conversation around a campfire or a table at brunch.
For her own part, Passarello has found that working with Live Wire has led her to conversations, books, and writers that she otherwise may not have discovered. When asked how working with the show has influenced her creative work, Passarello said that interviewing other
authors has given her insight into her own process. “I am currently asking every author about the time when they felt like they couldn’t finish their book,” Passarello joked, adding, “I don’t often feel super lonely as a writer . . . but there is something helpful about getting to check in with writers and hear how they’re doing.” At its core, that’s what the show does: checks in with creators, asks them how they’re doing.
Of Luke Burbank, the show’s host, Passarello said: “I’ll sit next to him and there will be a Portland non-profit manager as the first guest, Mr. Peanutbutter—Paul F. Thompkins—is the second guest, and the third guest is a somewhat inarticulate musician who has a beautiful album, I can watch him calibrate his questions and his approach, and he’s so empathetic.” Paired with Passarello’s energy and quick wit, there’s a chemistry to each episode that pulls you in. Maybe that’s the secret to Live Wire’s magic: Passarello and Burbank care so much about their guests and the conversations they’re having that it’s impossible not to get sucked in too.
You can find episodes of Live Wire on your streaming service of choice, on their website, or by tuning into KOAC-FM - 105.9 - Corvallis. With episodes peaking at just under an hour, you’ll be amazed how far a show can take you in such a short time.
In an exciting bit of breaking news, Passarello shared that she is working on a brand-new spin-off podcast called Open Book with Elena Passarello, set to release in June. Keeping with Live Wire’s powerful lineup of guests, the podcast will consist of shorter form (~20 minute) episodes of Passarello interviewing writers about their reading habits. Along with book recommendations and exclusive conversations, the show will ask authors questions including, “what’s the ‘little black dress’ book that you can give to anybody,” and “what’s your controversial book take?”
So far, Passarello has recorded interviews with fiction writer Karen Russell, journalist and writer Omar El Akkad, music critic Ann Powers, journalist and essayist Scaachi Koul, and essayist Aubrey Gordon. Tune into Live Wire and the forthcoming Open Book with Elena Passarello wherever you get your podcasts.
Elena’s “starter pack” for checking out Live Wire:
· Here's a pandemic recording that is just bonkers. Luke tries to give himself a haircut over Zoom while a Portland salon owner coaches him. I might have never laughed so hard. And the song is good, too!: https://www.livewireradio.org/episodes/408
· There's this guy named Mo-show the cat rapper who they booked just for me. He did a rap about the evils of declawing. Our exec producer sent me a comment from LW's Insta of me watching him from the stage, and the comment was like "look how much that white lady is enjoying herself" https://www.livewireradio.org/episodes/613
· I liked this one, which turned me onto both Olive Klug and the amazing "Articles of Interest" fashion podcast: https://www.livewireradio.org/episodes/599
· And ya can't go wrong with George Saunders: https://www.livewireradio.org/episodes/572
· Wouldn't say this is a Top5-er, but here's my interview from back in 2017: https://www.livewireradio.org/episodes/352