Joshua Iserhoff describes his radio show, “The Joshua Show”, as a blend of “Larry King stirred in Oprah, dipped in Amanpour, sprinkled with Seacrest and finally kissed by Ellen”, all in Cree.
Three months ago, Iserhoff took to the James Bay Cree Communications Society airwaves and discovered the new monthly talk-show host position is like a glove that fits so well that he never wants to take it off.
According to Iserhoff, the response to the show that has only aired three times has been tremendous and his fan base ranges from young children to Elders.
“A lot of kids have come up to me and said they want to do one of my shows. Nicholas Wapachee from Nemaska was so thrilled about it that he might co-host my next show on July 29.
“Some young people are excited because they are saying to themselves, ‘If Josh can do it, I can do it’. But, they don’t know that I’m 32 – they think I am their age,” said Iserhoff with a warm laugh.
The response Iserhoff has been getting is like adding oil on his fire because one thing he wanted to do with the show was inspire people with fresh, current, informative, educational and uplifting programming.
Like a daytime talk show, Iserhoff covers fashion, arts, entertainment, political views, spirituality and a wide variety of cultural topics. His reason for exploring art and culture more intensively is to counteract the NHL mania within the Cree nation as he feels there is so much more out there than hockey.
“We need someone to show the nation that media and arts are just as fun and stir up people’s minds. This is part of my show’s mission,” said Iserhoff.
With so many youth already approaching him about the show and expressing the desire to have their own one day, Iserhoff hopes to awaken an artistic spirit and an interest in media within his fan base.
With arts on the brain, Iserhoff already has a laundry list of artists he wants to interview with his greatest aspiration being Buffy St-Marie.
“One of them, though he doesn’t know it yet, is Roger Orr because he has a great story and a new album out. I could play his songs on the radio and I would love to interview him because he has been sober for 12 years now. I want to learn more about his music and how he sees himself as a person,” said Iserhoff.
Iserhoff doesn’t want to limit his guests to Canadian Aboriginals since he would also like to interview people from around the globe.
Loving all aspects of his new position, Iserhoff would like to see the show go from being a monthly gig to something daily and he would also like to get it syndicated. In June, he had the opportunity to broadcast his program from the Cree Nation Youth Symposium in Val-d’Or in front of a live audience. Because of the tremendous energy he felt from the crowd, Iserhoff would love to do the show with an audience as often as possible.
He is also looking to expand his content to everything from important health issues within the Cree nation to celebrities in the news to draw parallels with his own audience. Iserhoff said Lindsay Lohan’s current debacle could be a topic as she’s now having to go to jail and a rehab centre due to her problems with drugs and alcohol, and her drunk-driving offense. Because there are individuals within the Cree nation who have committed similar offenses, Iserhoff said he would not be afraid to openly talk about these issues.
In an attempt to appeal to everyone in the Cree nation, Iserhoff even has a children’s segment on the program called Jo Jo’s Corner, named for his dog. Speaking in a high-pitched voice, Iserhoff devotes this time to giving health and safety tips to kids and apparently they are responding. One school teacher told him that her students ran to the radio when they heard the tiny voice because they were so engaged by it.
Though the Joshua Show only airs once a month, Iserhoff hopes he can get more airtime soon so that he can broadcast from each of the Cree communities during a two-week period. As the show is still a pilot project, only time will tell how quickly his star will rise.
