WDET 101.9 FM is launching a new podcast, Ann Delisi’s Essential Conversations. Hosted by Detroit storyteller Ann Delisi, this interview series recognizes the creative spirit of local and national celebrities. It will be available beginning Saturday, Feb. 23, on WDET.org and most popular podcast download sites.
In each episode, Delisi sits down with local and nationally recognized professionals in the fields of music, news and the arts for insightful conversations exploring their work and inspiration. The interviews are packed with never-before-told anecdotes from names like Blue Note president, producer and musician Don Was; Motown legend Barrett Strong; humorist Mo Rocca, MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer; and former Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza.
“Ann Delisi is the best interviewer I’ve ever encountered,” Was said. “She has a profound insight into the creative process and asks smart questions that inspire her subjects to give meaningful answers. Artists always look forward to speaking with her, and listeners relish the exquisite quality of her work.”
Essential Conversations is part of a yearlong initiative that also includes on-air features and live events. Podcast episodes will be released throughout 2019 and 2020 in groups of four. The first group includes conversations with Rocca, Kramer, Souza and jazz musicians Esperanza Spalding and Teri Lyne Carrington. Group two is scheduled to launch in March and will include Was, Strong, music producer Denaun Porter and songwriter Allee Willis.
“Essential Conversations allows me to share the intimacy of my one-on-one conversations with listeners, exploring the artist’s life, their work and what drives their creative spirit,” Delisi said.
The launch of the podcast series coincides with the 10th anniversary of Ann Delisi’s Essential Music, which airs Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. on WDET.
Between radio and TV, Delisi has been on the air for three decades. She started as an intern at WDET while attending Wayne State University. Delisi produced and hosted programs on multiple radio stations in Detroit including adult alternative 93.9 FM The River, alternative rock station WPLT, WJR-AM and classical station WRCJ 90.9 FM. She hosted the Emmy award-winning Backstage Pass, a program on Detroit Public Television, for five years in the 1990s. She also worked as the head of video production for Kingberry Productions. Delisi returned to WDET in February 2009.
About WDET 101.9 FM
From our Midtown Detroit location on the campus of Wayne State University, WDET 101.9 FM, Detroit’s Public Radio Station, delivers a unique mix of news, conversation, special programs and music programming. Our powerful 48,000-watt broadcast signal reaches a 70-mile radius across all of Southeast Michigan, Northwest Ohio and Southwest Ontario. It expands nationally through our live stream, website, mobile app and podcasts. WDET 101.9 FM is a community service of Wayne State University.