Before either “Live Wire Radio” hosts Luke Burbank or Elena Passarello took the stage for an evening of literature, music, and comedy, its audience of passionate fans was abuzz. The energy was hardly contained within the compact walls of The James Theater as patrons gleefully discussed which of the featured authors’ books they had read. 

The show, which ran for nearly two hours on April 6, featured guest appearances from essayist Morgan Parker, author Carmen Maria Machado, and poet Simon Shieh. Described as a capstone literary event, the show punctuated a busy weekend of literary events as part of Iowa City’s annual Mission Creek Festival. 

As one of the headline events of the final night of Mission Creek, the radio show presented an eclectic mix of arts. “Live Wire” began with a brutally honest introduction from Burbank as he joked that Iowa is one of the only states in the country that doesn’t air the Oregon-based show on public radio. 

Despite the audience’s unfamiliarity with the show’s structure, everyone eagerly clapped and laughed along. Three microphones dotted the seats to capture the sound of reactions, which perhaps, subconsciously or not, led to an enthusiastic response from audience members thrilled to be recorded. 

As Burbank regaled his experience watching the Hawkeyes defeat UConn in the NCAA Final Four women’s basketball game, it was clear the crowd was riding the high of victory as well. 

“Live Wire” had surprising roots in Iowa City, though. Co-host Elena Passarello is an Iowa Writer’s Workshop graduate; her Iowa-influenced literary expertise was put to good use in the evening’s first interview with author Carmen Maria Machado. 

“This is a city of literature, you guys know what to expect when you hear the words ‘in conversation,’” Burbank joked. 

Machado shared her new essay collection, “Critical Hits: Writers Playing Video Games,” which explores numerous perspectives on the world of gaming from both experienced gamers to those outside of the community. 

The artistic merit of video games has been debated for decades, but Machado described the escapism of the medium and even the benefit of building a digital identity for those who feel they can’t express theirs in the real world. 

Before the video game talk ended, though, Burbank surprised the crowd with a game that fully displayed the dynamic aspect of the radio show. The hosts played a series of “game over” sound effects from different video games for Machado to identify, which kept the show fresh. 

Interludes like this kept the show moving at such a pace that the audience never knew what to expect next. The live music from House Band members Ethan Fox Tucker on guitar, A Walker Spring on drums, and Ayal Alves on keys accompanied many of the night’s segments and consistently had patrons grooving in their seats. They weren’t the only musical act, however. 

Before her headlining act at the Englert, folk-rocker S.G Goodman stopped by the “Live Wire” taping to perform her hit songs “Space and Time” and “Teeth Marks”.  

Goodman’s soulful sound set the tone for the next conversation with poet Simon Shieh. Both Burbank and Shieh got emotional discussing Shieh’s intimate poem collection “Master”. 

Detailing his life moving from New York to Beijing as a teen and his brief career in professional martial arts, Shieh’s segment was an impactful and gripping discussion that saw total engagement from the crowd. 

“I bought Simon [Shieh]’s poetry book at another event at The Chauncey earlier, so I wanted to come,” said attendee and University of Iowa fourth-year student Emma Stanton. 

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To close the show, Burbank welcomed essayist and poet Morgan Parker to discuss her book “You Get What You Pay For”. The hosts flexed their comedic muscles with Parker who kept up and delivered a laugh-out-loud conversation. 

Spanning topics like relationships, the nuance of race, and inappropriate therapists, Parker provided a varied discussion that perfectly concluded the evening. 

“Live Wire Radio” drew crowds of diehard fans of the guests, and curious literary fans alike. 

“Parker is stunning, her poetry is stunning, her essays are stunning,” said attendee Jacqueline Wahl. “As you can tell from the show, she’s hilarious too.”