CBC Radio 3 - Programming

Programming

Each host appears in between five to eight program blocks during the week, which may be either live, prerecorded or a repeat of an earlier broadcast. The network also has three program blocks on weekends set aside for guest hosts, who may be musicians or broadcasters not regularly associated with the network. During the overnight hours, an unhosted music mix airs. The podcast, The R3-30 and the CBC Radio One program Fuse have also aired on the network.

During hosted blocks, content may include band interviews, recorded music, live in-studio performances or remote broadcasts from concert venues. In addition to extended band interviews, the network also airs a number of shorter interstitial one to three-minute features profiling bands and musicians through humour:

• The Canadian Dictionary, where a musician provides a definition of a Canadian colloquialism,
• 90-Second Egg, a series of questions about a musician's favourite things,
• Stand By Your Van, where a musician relates a story of something funny or strange that happened to them on tour,
• Occupational Hazard, where a musician talks about the worst job they ever had,
• Ask Shane, advice from musician and "amateur rocktologist" Shane Nelken of The Awkward Stage,
• So Sue Me, in which two songs are compared to detect intentional or unintentional plagiarism,
• Dudes Where's My Tour Diary?, an audio tour diary filed by Calgary band The Dudes,
• Tour Diary, where artists tell what is happening on tour, the artists are interviewed by Lisa Christiansen,
• Gearheads, where a musician talks about their instruments or other musical gear,
• Then and Now, two songs from a band's discography, one early and one recent, are contrasted to show how the band has evolved and changed,
• Lisa Retort, where Lisa Christiansen rants on an issue or two that is currently on the news, such as Britney Spears shaving her head,
• Indieland Who's Who, a humorous profile of a musician in the style of Canadian television's Hinterland Who's Who commercials (e.g. the wild danbejar)
• The French Connection, where Lauren Burrows and Bande à part host Alexandre Courteau discuss an up-and-coming Québécois music act that has not been featured on CBC Radio 3 before. Courteau also teaches Burrows a new French word or phrase in each interview.
• Yes, No, Maybe, similar to the 90-second egg, musicians are given rapid-fire questions to which they can only answer "Yes" "No" or "Maybe".
• City of the Week, a short informational profile of a Canadian city, followed by music from three or four local artists who may or may not have previously been played on Radio 3.
• 3 to 1 Ratio, where host Lisa Christiansian talks to CBC Radio One journalist Matthew Lazin-Ryder for critical analysis of Canadian indie music.

The network also broadcasts the annual Polaris Music Prize gala, as well as live concert showcases from festivals such as SXSW, Canadian Music Week, NXNE and the Halifax Pop Explosion.

In February 2009, CBC Radio 3 participated with Exclaim! and aux.tv to launch X3, a new collaborative cross-promotional platform which sees all three outlets air feature content spotlighting a particular "Artist of the Month". X3 artists of the month have included K'naan, Malajube, Thunderheist, Japandroids, Apostle of Hustle, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Owen Pallett, and Jenn Grant.