A Visit to “Busted Halo”

So, as I mentioned earlier today, I was invited to be a guest this afternoon on the “Busted Halo” radio show, on the Catholic Channel at Sirius XM Radio.  I’ve done the show a couple times before, and also paid a visit to the Sirius studios to chat with another staple of the channel, “The Catholic Guy” with Lino Rulli.  What’s it like?

Well, first you arrive at this big shiny office tower, the McGraw Hill Building, in Rockefeller Center.  For a moment or two, you can’t help but feel like Don Draper.

You go through security (including a bag check, just like at the airport) and they look at your photo ID and give you a little name tag. A security guy ushers you to the bank of elevators that rush you up to the 36th floor.

You sit in the waiting area for a few minutes, watching a giant TV screen that says “Welcome, Cher.” (I didn’t have the heart to tell them I’m not Cher.)

At the appointed time, the producer comes out to greet you and takes you down a long hall to the Catholic Channel studio. Fr. Dave Dwyer, who is actually Steve Carrell, gives you a warm greeting. You slip into the chair, and clamp on the headphones, and you’re off to the races.

Fr. Dave is pretty congenial and animated. But I couldn’t escape the feeling that he was disappointed that I wasn’t Cher. His face betrays a certain unhappiness, don’t you think? Or maybe that’s his lunch?

Of course, he doesn’t do three hours of radio every day alone. He has a smart, savvy young staff, including this guy, Joe, who did a very clever rap based on Pope Francis’s latest tweet.

My segment lasted about 15 minutes. We talked about the pope (“I’m a fan boy,” I admitted) and blogging and tweeting and Old Media vs. New Media. Fr. Dave is always good company and understands that the secret of interviewing is knowing how to listen. I hope he’ll have me back again.

Even if I’m not Cher.