Hard Talk

BC's most outspoken broadcaster and writer is back with a collection of all-new essays that are sure to provoke, enrage and entertain. Rafe tackles controversial issues such as the Liberal Party sponsorship scandal, the election of a new Pope and the Anglican Church's debate on same-sex marriage. He suggests that pedophiles should be found Not Guilty when tried for sexual assault of a minor . . . and makes a good argument. He looks back on September 11, 2001 and his years at CKNW. He examines the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform and Canada's changing relationship with the United States. Throughout, his sense of humour and critical insight will produce a wide range of responses from "I can't believe he said that!" to "no one's ever put it so clearly before."
In Hard Talk you'll find out why Rafe refuses to fish anymore; what happened when he had to interview a director he'd never heard of named Michael Moore; why he thinks baseball is the greatest sport, ahead of soccer and even (gasp!) hockey; why Canada may not be a democracy after all; and what really pisses him off.

Rafe Mair has been a dominant voice in the arena of Canadian broadcasting and print journalism for a quarter of a century, having won the 1994 Michener Media Award for public benefit, the Hutchison Award for Lifetime Achievement in BC Journalism, in addition to the Broadcast Hall of Fame. His previous books include The Last Cast; Canada: Is Anyone Listening?; Rants, Raves and Recollections and Still Ranting. Rafe currently writes a column for The Tyee and Opinion 250: The Voice of the North. On November 7, 2005, Rafe was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He lives in Lions Bay, BC, with his wife Wendy and his chocolate lab Chauncey.