It has been 26 years since Nicholas Gould hosted his last Issues and Opinions radio show for ICRT a recording studio on Roosevelt Road. He remembers the familiar ‘whoosh’ as the door to the soundproof room closes and recognizes the carpet, but the recording equipment is gone, with half of the space being used for storage.
Gould is filled with nostalgia as he greets his guests, two financial writers who are here to discuss Taiwan’s post-COVID-19 economy for his new podcast, Taiwan Matters. Gould had been thinking of revisiting his old career for a while, but being allowed access to his old studio was an unexpected bonus.
The lack of audio gear no longer matters.
Photo courtesy of Nicholas Gould
“All I need is in a little bag,” Gould quips.
“It was kind of a trip because I hadn’t [conducted an interview] in so long,” Gould adds. “But here I am, doing exactly the same thing. I’m not the same person anymore, yet it felt so natural, so familiar. It was like picking up the beat right where I left off.”
Gould has released three episodes of Taiwan Matters, the latest a discussion with Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) and Taiwan AI Labs founder Ethan Tu (杜奕瑾) on how the nation has used technology to combat COVID-19.
Photo courtesy of Nicholas Gould
Dubbed the “bad boy of broadcasting” by Taiwan Today in a 1992 article, Gould was the first reporter to cover local news for ICRT through Issues and Opinions, which ran for 480 episodes between 1985 to 1994. Before him, the station translated Chinese news articles and read wire stories.
Martial law was still in effect, but Gould delved into controversial issues such as Taiwanese independence, AIDS, child abuse and, in 1986, arranged the first on-air meeting between a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) official and a member of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP): then-KMT deputy secretary general and later president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and outspoken writer and politician Antonio Chiang (江春男).
Issues and Opinions came at a pivotal time in Taiwan’s history as it transitioned from a one-party authoritarian state to a true democracy.
Photo courtesy of Nicholas Gould
“It was important for the international community living here to experience and understand what was going on, and [for there to be] a way for Taiwanese intellectuals and others to have a dialogue, which they couldn’t in any other media at that time,” Gould says.
Gould admits that he had more leeway by being on an English station, but there was still censorship — both state and station imposed — over sensitive matters.
When former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) died in 1988, Gould rushed to the Presidential Office and got a quote from Ma. It was a major scoop for ICRT as no other media attempted to get a direct response.
Photo courtesy of Nicholas Gould
The biggest controversy of his career came the next year over the eventual deportation of Irish priest Neil Magill, who was involved in local labor movements and supported the political opposition. Gould was suspended for a month without pay for failing to clear sensitive issues with management before airing the segment.
By 1994, Gould felt that the show had “run its course.” He served as the station’s marketing director before leaving to ride the dot-com bubble.
But, he says, he missed interviewing. Gould has had the habit of listening to podcasts over the past few years, and kept thinking, “I can do this. I should do this.”
Gould owned a production company that was last year planning a magic-themed exhibition when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, grinding all activity to a halt.
He eventually decided to do a show that follows the roundtable format of Issues and Opinions.
“What also motivated me was that it was a critical time for people to know about Taiwan,” Gould says. “There was a genuine interest, and I thought it was important for the world to know what Taiwan is doing.”
There was a learning curve for the new technology, but the basics of journalism remain the same.
Gould says his interview style hasn’t changed much.
“It was a little nerve wracking, but [interviewing] is like riding a bicycle. I feel like there was a place for ‘old school journalism’ and my style. I hope some people will see it as somewhat retro.”
Soon after the launch of Taiwan Matters, Gould happened to drive by his old studio. On a whim, he went upstairs and found that the space was still intact, albeit dark and dilapidated.
The door was open, and he walked in and startled the landlord’s son, who was using the space as an office.
“He called his dad, and we made an arrangement where I can use it when I need it,” Gould says. His second episode on Taiwan’s post-COVID economy was recorded there.
The days of Issues and Opinions long passed, he says, but the podcast medium allows him to reach people outside of Taiwan. So far, about 30 percent of his audience is foreign, and his goal to let more people know about Taiwan remains the same.
“Taiwan’s story is not over yet,” he says.
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