Talking About Radio with John Leslie

John Leslie

Talking about Radio with the greatest broadcast professionals everywhere. If you would like to be a guest on Talking About Radio to share your favorite stories, send an email to [email protected].

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197 Episodes

Some radio stories you just can't make up. They were not funny at the time, but they are now. Here are two of my favorites from six decades of broadcasting
6/6/2026
23:45
Send us Fan MailWe all have great stories to tell. If I ever write a book here are two of the stories that will be in it. Listen now to 22 minutes of radio mayhem. One when I was brand new to the business and the other when I was near the peak of my career.https://talkingaboutradiowithjohnleslie.buzzsprout.comA product of John Leslie's World Radio Inc.
CBS Radio news is a thing of the past. 30 year correspondent and space reporter Peter King talks about his time with the world's most respected Radio News Network
5/18/2026
58:19
Send us Fan MailCBS Radio News is no more! It ended abruptly for 700 affiliates in May of 2026. CBS Radio Correspondent Peter King ends a 30 year association with the 99 year old institution of CBS Radio News. Amonng reporting and anchoring duties, Peter was the space reporter for the network for 3 decades. Peter joins host John Lelsie in this episode of Talking About Radio to talk about his remarkable Network radio career.You can reach Peter King by email at pkingnews62@gmail.,comA product of John Leslie's World Radio Inc.
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Talking to Ronald McDonald got me into a lot of trouble.
4/2/2026
17:32
Send us Fan MailFive words! That’s all it took for the stuff to hit the fan and collapse one of the biggest media promotional agreements in modern history. And, I was the one poor soul who inadvertently short circuited the whole mega deal. Here is an 18 minute podcast with all of the gruesome details.A product of John Leslie's World Radio Inc.
Who was left standing when the smoke cleared? Taking Kansas City by storm, but was it enough to grab the radio morning show ratings. Here is the story about giving it my best shot and how well it worked.
3/28/2026
43:16
Send us Fan MailThe brightest promotional ideas. The best execution. The local, national and international media attention. It's all part of this amazing morning show barrage of spotlight promotions in one of Mid America's largest markets. How did it all work? What was the payoff. Who was left standing when the smoke cleared?https://talkingaboutradiowithjohnleslie.buzzsprout.com/A product of John Leslie's World Radio Inc.
I used my secret formula. This is the next installment of getting and keeping ratings. In 1976, I took the Great Country KSO morning ratings from 9 to 27 in my first book. Here's the story in a 43 minute episode
10/28/2025
43:22
Send us Fan MailI was "on the air" at WFBL in Syracuse in 1976 when Stoner Broadcasting System hired me to host the morning show on their flagship station in Des Moines, Great Country KSO.I arrived one week before the fall sweeps began. The show went fom a 9 share to a 27 share in that book. Here is the continuation of my audio commentary on I managed to get at keep high morning show numbers year after year. https://talkingaboutradiowithjohnleslie.buzzsprout.comA product of John Leslie's World Radio Inc.
Just like arriving in the "Big Time." At least that’s the way it sounded when we put a top shelf staff together in Syracuse, New York. My podcast, Talking About Radio" continues now.
10/13/2025
37:57
Send us Fan MailI had never worked with such a talented staff. The station was filled with magic when our new team of talent arrived in 1974. This is a continuation of my audio book memoirs on how I was able to muster double digit ratings year after year for nearly 5 decade.My year at WFBL in Syracuse introduced me to a stable of the nations top talent. What I learned from them has stayed with me til this day 51 years later.A product of John Leslie's World Radio Inc.
How did I get a 38 share 12+ in my very first ratings book ever? This is episode one of my six part audio narrative about how I was able to get and maintain double digit ratings for 25 years.
9/19/2025
33:50
Send us Fan MailEpisode one is a 34 minute look at my very earliest days as a morning show host. My friends and family have encouraged me for years to write abook about my morning show adventures. I would rather do it in the form that I know best, an audiobook as a podcast. There will be six episodes in the series This is the first one and it dates back to the early 70s in Binghamton, New York. I really didn’t want to do a morning show. But it was a blessing. . A product of John Leslie's World Radio Inc.
Part 2. Being a foreign correspondent sometimes brings with it life threatening surprises that fall outside the framework of the original assignment. Here is an example!
8/28/2025
33:12
Send us Fan MailThere was plenty of opportunity to find myself in awkward, creepy and sometimes life threatening situations during my decade of being a foreign correspondent for Stoner Broadcasting System. Bizarre events seemed to be my constant companion while on my assignment behind the iron curtain in the former USSR. This is part two of my adventures in Siberia and Armenia. You will enjoy this 34 minute narrative of my life and times as a foreign correspondent.http://talkingaboutradio.buzzsprout.comA product of John Leslie's World Radio Inc.
Being a foreign correspondent isn't exactly what I signed up for, but I got the assignment. Here is part one. A 20 minute episode of a special edition of Talking About Radio With John Leslie. It's about life on the road as a foreign correspondent.
8/20/2025
22:22
Send us Fan MailBeing a foreign correspondent on the other side of the world brings with it excitement, danger and intrigue, specially if you had never done it before. This is 20 minute episode is part one of a multi part special edition of Talking About Radio with John Leslie. This assignment took me as far away from home as one can possibly get. https://talkingaboutradio.buzzsprout.comA product of John Leslie's World Radio Inc.
This is an epic retrospective of a radio broadcast assignment that took me deep behind the Iron Curtain. This is the complete story of an historic chapter in the thawing of the cold war, using the power of radio.
8/8/2025
1:52:18
Send us Fan MailFor the first time, the entire story of this historic radio broadcast event is told in Audio Book fashion. Production of this epic retrospective required 39 separate creative sessions, 39 separate editing sessions, 39 separate rehearsal sessions, 45 separate recording sessions and 39 separate productions sessions.No other radio broadcaster on the planet owns this story. It is one of a kind. This special edition podcast of Talking About Radio is 1 hour and 52 minutes in length. It is a must listen all the way through to the end. Wether you listen in one sitting or break it up into several sessions, it is a remarkable story that can be told by only one person, John Leslie, host of the podcast. It is a must listen all the way through to the end.This story is now told in its entirety, with every detail, to be archived for present and future communicators and interested citizens, to hear and learn. A product of John Leslie's World Radio Inc.

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Talking About Radio with John Leslie

John Leslie

197 Episodes

Some radio stories you just can't make up. They were not funny at the time, but they are now. Here are two of my favorites from six decades of broadcasting

CBS Radio news is a thing of the past. 30 year correspondent and space reporter Peter King talks about his time with the world's most respected Radio News Network

Talking to Ronald McDonald got me into a lot of trouble.

Who was left standing when the smoke cleared? Taking Kansas City by storm, but was it enough to grab the radio morning show ratings. Here is the story about giving it my best shot and how well it worked.

I used my secret formula. This is the next installment of getting and keeping ratings. In 1976, I took the Great Country KSO morning ratings from 9 to 27 in my first book. Here's the story in a 43 minute episode

Just like arriving in the "Big Time." At least that’s the way it sounded when we put a top shelf staff together in Syracuse, New York. My podcast, Talking About Radio" continues now.

How did I get a 38 share 12+ in my very first ratings book ever? This is episode one of my six part audio narrative about how I was able to get and maintain double digit ratings for 25 years.

Part 2. Being a foreign correspondent sometimes brings with it life threatening surprises that fall outside the framework of the original assignment. Here is an example!

Being a foreign correspondent isn't exactly what I signed up for, but I got the assignment. Here is part one. A 20 minute episode of a special edition of Talking About Radio With John Leslie. It's about life on the road as a foreign correspondent.

This is an epic retrospective of a radio broadcast assignment that took me deep behind the Iron Curtain. This is the complete story of an historic chapter in the thawing of the cold war, using the power of radio.