For this brainstorming activity, I decided to use GIMP to create a Wire 106 Radio “logo” (or “banner”) with a background of Baltimore cargo containers to accompany the ideas that came to me about what a Wire-themed show would include. For a show 20-30 minutes long, I came up with the following schedule, or list of discussion topics/segments:

0:00-5:00 – Introductions of speakers and a quick agenda of the show, as well as a reminder to live tweet your questions about the most recent episode of The Wire, interesting observations/ideas about the episode, favorite quotes from the episode, funny thoughts about the episode, or predictions about the next episode. Perhaps these tweets can be organized by hashtags such as #wire106questions, #wire106ideas, #wire106quotes, #wire106funny, and #wire106predictions.
5:00-8:00 – Quick recap what happening in the most recent episode/Time for listeners to start tweeting away!
8:00-14:00 – Answering tweeted questions about this episode of The Wire
14:00-15:00 – Read a tweeted quote
15:00-20:00 – Talk about some of the ideas/observations from the episode tweeted by listeners
20:00-21:00 – Read a tweeted quote
21:00-24:00 – Talk about some of the things you or listeners found funny within the episode
24:00-28:00 – Discuss predictions for next episode
28:00-30:00 – Outro/Reminder to tune into the next Wire 106 radio show

I also thought about including mini-game segments such as a “Guess who said the quote” contest where the first user to tweet the correct answer wins. Quotes tweeted by listeners can be used throughout the entire show, whether it be during the questions, observations, or funny thoughts segments. The goal with this radio show structure is to engage the listener in a Wire discussion and to encourage them to reflect on certain moments or aspects of the episode they found interesting.

I’m not sure if I speak for myself, but even if I watch an episode of a show very carefully, I will still miss something important and will still have questions to ask in the end! The questions segment of the show will be dedicated to clearing up any confusions with what is going on in the show, which is something I feel would be helpful to those listening.