Every other Tuesday night at 8 pm, the BFF.fm studio becomes The Plotting Room, DJ World War Mairi’s eclectic show that takes you through historical episodes and genres from around the world. The premise behind The Plotting Room is enthralling; part deep-dive into history, part fun improv show. Some episodes find Mairi exploring a fictional country and its culture with her friends stepping in as “experts.” Add her carefully encoded messages conveyed through  deeply researched playlists, and The Plotting Room becomes an unmissable experience.

The show has this absurdist humor that’s so funny,  you almost forget it’s somehow all improvised. While the music played on the show itself adds dimension to Mairi’s real and imagined worlds, the highlight is the wildly entertaining conversations.

You find yourself immersed in the history and culture of real and invented countries and their artists, In one recent episode, experimental pop and psychedelic rock cascade into three uninterrupted minutes of a metal pipe falling sound effect set to hip-hop beats and fading vocals about the different sexes in the animal kingdom. It shouldn’t work. Yet, very easily, it’s the funniest two hours of radio that flies by and has you grinning ear-to-ear.

While new to the webwaves, it genuinely feels like a radio show you could (and should!) binge listen to, as Mairi builds up the lore of her delightfully surreal parallel world. There’s so much to love from the eclectic playlists riddled with bangers that are guaranteed to get stuck in your head for the rest of the week, but also the little bits and segues that are simply just the best pieces of improv that leave you excited for more.

You can tune into The Plotting Room biweekly on Tuesdays at 8:00 PM!

Q: Where did the idea for The Plotting Room come from?

A: The idea came from trying to think of a specific show name, because when I used to do college radio, it was very restricted. We didn’t even really have show names, just DJ names, and the show names were curated by the hour. My hour was called The Afternoon Delay, but I shared it with a bunch of other DJs. My last DJ name was Helter Skelter, because I liked to play harder stuff, but also an eclectic mix. I never really do the same thing over and over again.

When I was trying to come up with a show name, I started thinking about my weird niche interests. I’ve always been really into history, sometimes weird naval or military history. I kind of make fun of war, but I also talk about it a lot. It’s one of the biggest themes in history, and it connects to everything. I also toured a bunker recently and learned what a plotting room actually is. It’s a room with a big map table where people track ships and send information to a switchboard room. It’s connected to the radio too, so it felt perfect.

Q: In your head, is the show more about music history or history in general?

A: It’s history in general, but I also like talking about music history. I do like playing things that are associated with certain time periods and talking about what was going on then. If there’s a really interesting history behind a band, I like talking about that too. Like the industrial rock set I did last week. There’s interesting stuff with the switch from 80s synth pop into more hardcore 90s metal and grunge. It’s this weird niche of really crude music, and I like talking about the historical context around it.

But yeah, I also thought it could be a funny curated bit. Like being in a plotting room or a bunker, talking about music, getting messages, and talking with random people. It sounded cool, but it also felt like a good outlet to share weird historical facts and do genre deep dives.

Q: Do you usually plan topics ahead of time, or is it more last-minute?

A: Sometimes I plan, but a lot of the time it’s last-minute. When I did the show about the Uganda record label, like with that music festival, I found it because the night before, I had watched this Ugandan action movie. It’s Uganda’s only action movie film production, Who Killed Captain Alex. You can watch it on YouTube, and there’s a video joker over it who comments on everything, which is really funny.

There’s a scene where a music video is playing on a TV before a fake newscast, and that made me think about how I’d been getting into weird world music niches. I started looking into Ugandan music, especially electronic music, and I found this entire record label with a huge list of artists, all on Bandcamp. I was able to craft the show in about an hour.

Q: Do you ever wish you had more time to research?

A: Yeah, definitely. If I were to do a full deep dive and talk about everything in depth, I would need more than an hour, and I’d probably need a few days of research. For that Uganda show, I kind of wish I’d spent more time researching because I ended up mostly reading blurbs from the sources I found. There were interesting facts, but I wasn’t super in the know. That’s one consequence of doing a show like this. The research takes time.

Q: Do you script your shows before going on air?

A: Not really. For that particular show, I did write a tiny blurb because there was a lot of information, and I didn’t want to lose my place. Sometimes I’ll stop, speak, stop again. Having a little structure helps when there’s a lot to get through. But otherwise it’s unscripted. It’s mostly just me riffing.

Q: Do you do anything to hype yourself up before a show?

A: I don’t really do anything specific. Sometimes I just go into it and wing it. I’ve only done a few shows so far. For the speaking-on-air part, I’ve been doing that for a long time, so it’s not a huge deal. To get excited about the show itself, I’ll listen to the music over and over again and think about how I want to introduce it. That gets me excited about sharing it with people. If I’ve told people what the topic is and they say they’re going to tune in, then I’m like, okay, I’m doing this for you guys. You’re going to hear what I just found.

Q: How does this compare to your experience with college radio?

A: College radio got really tiring because it was the same formula every week. You couldn’t really do special formats. If I wanted to do an industrial rock special, I’d have to request a separate time slot. Now that I can pick whatever I want to do, I’m way more excited about going in. It’s not like, “I have to go to my show this week.” It’s more like, “I get to do this.”

Q: Are you interested in bringing guests or doing interviews?

A: Yeah, I want to do more guests. It helps me step outside my own show and get to know new people and new things. It’s nerve-wracking, especially if it’s people in the music or art community, but I really want to do that. Right now, I’m interviewing people I know and doing bits on air, which I really like. I was inspired by a friend who does a show at USF called The Truth. Each episode is like a fake spiritual journey, and she brings on guests who play characters. It’s improv, and it’s really funny, and I want to experiment with that kind of thing.

Q: How do you use social media for the show?

A: I mostly post on my main Instagram. I’ll share the link, the time, and the theme. When I did the Uganda record label show, I posted beforehand and then shared the playlist afterward because people wanted to see the songs. I don’t really like social media, but I try to use it as a tool for my art and music. My Instagram is @worldwarmire.

Q: Why did you want to join BFF.fm?

A: When I moved here, I felt really purposeless. I had just graduated, didn’t have a job yet, and I wanted to join a collective that felt like home. I found BFF.fm through friends and Instagram, started looking through the website, and saw all the events. It felt like a cool community to be part of. I applied in August and heard back in about three weeks, which I didn’t realize was lucky.

Q: How has your experience at BFF.fm been so far?

A: It’s been really welcoming. I was nervous at first because I’m new to the city, but I went to the holiday party and met people, and realized everyone here is really cool. I want to get more involved with band interviews, writing, and events. Graphics are something I already do for work, so I don’t want to burn out on that. I want to use this as an outlet to meet people and get involved with the city.

Q: How has community radio changed how you think about music?

A: Community radio feels very different from college radio. College radio felt curated, formulaic, and almost commercial. Community radio feels more like a collective. Everyone is doing it for the love of music and the Bay Area community. It takes more effort to meet people, but that makes it more special. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and ages, and you can really feel the passion. I love it so much. The station has been really welcoming.

Tune into The Plotting Room biweekly on Tuesdays at 8:00 PM!