What if every show on CBC Radio had a live chat room?

Now they do.

I’ve been thinking a lot about radio and live chat ever since I started listening to shows on Dan Benjamin’s 5by5 network.

You see, many of the shows on 5by5 are recorded live. If you’re so inclined, you can tune into these shows and listen along in real time as they’re recorded. What’s more, 5by5 has an IRC channel, so in addition to live streaming audio, there’s often a chatroom full of people engaged a meta-discussion about the shows as they happen.

Naturally, I wondered if something similar was possible for CBC Radio.

So I coded up a little website.

Essentially, it’s CBC Radio + IRC.

Using information from the CBC’s official program guide, the site figures out which shows are currently on-air, then generates IRC channels so people who are listening to the same show can chat with each other.

It’s an experiment. But I’m curious to know what you think.