"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.

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“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. 

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“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.

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“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.

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Season 7 of Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe started last week, did you catch the first episode? We’ll be with you every Friday until the summer. Whoo!

And for those of you who have asked: Our friends at the Apostrophe Podcast Network are now offering a subscriber option. Subscribers listen to the pod ad-free – zero ads across the entire catalogue. Every week subscribers get the show early, PLUS a whole bunch of other goodies too… Click here to learn more about how to subscribe. There's already an early access episode waiting for you!

If you are happy with the podcast just the way it is? All good! No need for you to do anything. Nothing is changing unless you want it to. 

Subscribe here.

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

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“It was the greatest skate of her life.”

Happy New Year! Welcome back to Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe! Light a fire, get a bowl of soup, and a cozy blanket and settle in, because we’re celebrating the season today on the show. We’ve got a story exchange for you, plus an essay Stuart wrote for the radio show about walking on ice. And we have a Dave and Morley story for you about their trip to Europe to skate on the canals. 

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“Did you take the turkey out of the freezer?”

For our last episode of the season – and our last before the Holidays – two Christmas classics! Plus, a beautiful, seasonal listener story from the Vinyl Cafe Story Exchange. For many of you, these Stuart McLean stories need no introduction, so grab a cup of egg nog, put your feet up and enjoy. Merry Christmas!

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“First fires…. and then floods”

On this week’s episode, two hilarious Stuart McLean stories about being out and about, Christmas visiting. Our first story is one that many of you may not have heard before, about Dave and Morley’s visit to the home of Stephanie’s boyfriend,Tommy. Tommy's parents are facing their own challenges with cooking the turkey. Jess shares a backstory about some of the characters in that story.

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“Eustache was bracing himself for a long and lonely Christmas”

It’s December so we’re going the full festive from now until Christmas! This week, two classic Dave & Morley stories of seasonal shenanigans, plus a story exchange about a very special Christmas Eve. 

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“Christmas in Dave’s record store is just plain fun”

On today’s episode, Jess talks about the challenges of trying to create Christmas magic when you’re not necessarily feeling it yourself. That’s a bit of the back story behind Stuart’s writing of “Dave Plays Santa” - we’ll play that story for you. And we’ve got another back story connected to “Dave Plays Santa”, which links to our second story this week.

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“Dave stared at the duck in disbelief. The duck stared back at him.”

This week, we’re back talking about birds again, with two of Stuart McLean's hilarious stories about Dave and… poultry. Yes, this week’s theme is quite specific! Our first story is one you may not have heard before: Dave decides to try his hand at small-scale poultry farming…

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