Feldman’s radio careerwas born right here in Milwaukee, when he wonone of WOKY’s guest DJ contests while he was still a student at Washington High School. “It was the rock station in Milwaukee at that time,” Feldman explains. “Iwrote this letter about how I studied elocution by putting pebbles in my mouthdown at Bradford Beach. I won and went on and got to play“Louie, Louie” and dedicated it to my high-school buddies. Life was good.”
After earning an Englishdegree at UW-Madison in 1970, Feldman began teaching at an alternative highschool. In 1978 he volunteered at the local community-sponsored radio station,WORT, filling in on Friday nights. Soon he had his own call-in show called“Thanks for Calling.” “People would call in with all kinds of problems,”Feldman says. “I’d have no answer for them, but I would say, ‘Thanks forcalling.’ That was pretty much the start of my legitimate career.”
Feldman then foundhimself at Dolly’s Fine Foods in Madison,hosting a music and talk show program from 6-9 a.m. called “The BreakfastSpecial,” after which he’d go teach at the alternative high school. After afailed attempt “driving cab,” Feldman got a couple of shows on Wisconsin PublicRadio (WPR), then another one down in Chicago.
When Director ofWisconsin Public Radio Jack Mitchell made the journey to Illinois to convince Feldman to come back toWPR in 1985, Feldman made a proposal that he thought no producer would possiblyagree to: a weekly live call-in show, complete with a band and an audience,designed for national release. To his surprise, he got the gig.
“Michael Feldman’sWhad’Ya Know” is a two-hour comedy show that features Feldman as host and JimPackard as announcer, along with the Whad’Ya Know Trio (musical coordinator andpianist John Thulin, Milwaukeean Jeff Hamann on bass, and Clyde Stubblefield ondrums). The show normally opens with “All the News That Isn’t,” Feldman’s listof fictional headlines taken from current events. Twice during the show, the“Whad’Ya Know” quiz is played, which is not really a serious test of knowledge,but rather an opportunity for Feldman to interact with members of the audienceand on-air callers. Rounding out the program’s regular features, “Town of theWeek” and “Thanks for the Memos,” is perhaps the show’s most popular segment,in which Feldman interviews a notable guest. When asked what his favoriteinterview has been, Feldman says, “There have been lots of them, but I alwaysthink of Kurt Vonnegut. He was great.”
“Michael Feldman’sWhad’Ya Know” is broadcast weekly each Saturday at 10 a.m. from Monona Terracein Madison, butthe radio show often goes on the road to perform at theaters throughout thecountry. The show airs each week on more than 260 Public Radio Internationalstations, reaching more than a million listeners throughout the country.
On Friday, Aug. 13,Feldman celebrates his 25th year hosting “Michael Feldman’s Whad’Ya Know”from the Wisconsin Union Theater. For more information, visit:www.notmuch.com.
