This morning, I was on WVIE AM 1370 (formerly WCBM) to talk about oysters. Specifically, to discuss a story I wrote nearly a month ago about a group of oystermen that were forming their own association. Their goal is largely to bring back the repletion program, a state program for which they pay with their oyster surcharge that is supposed to move seed and shell around the bay to help the long-struggling industry.

It was pretty fun. They even promoted the blog when I asked them to! I've been on the radio a few times before, mostly on WTOP, and I have definitely gotten better at it (I think the first time or two was a disaster of "ums" and "wells" and throat clearings.)

 I'm certainly not the pro that Candy Thomson is, who sounds on the radio like she's sitting next to you, clear as a bell, making complete sense. And I'm not nearly as good as Mr. Pelton, who used to be on the radio all the time when he covered City Hall. (More than once, I had the experience of turning my ignition and hearing his voice. Now that so many Sun colleagues have landed at NPR, that happens a lot. Suddenly, it's like, 'how did David Folkenflik get in my car? Oh, right, it's just the radio.')

Anyway, I tried to convey the complexities of the repletion program issue, that watermen liked it because it created oysters but scientists didn't because it spread disease. It was nice because the host actually gave me time to talk, but came in with follow-ups quickly enough that I didn't have the time to ramble (often my inclination.)

At the end though, the host said something like, "Well, I hope they bring back this successful program, because there's nothing better than eating oysters, and I like them best from our bay."

They promised to send me the link, so when they do I will post it. I hope I didn't embarrass myself...