[8] Tenenbaum had worked on rock concerts with Bill Graham Presents,[9] and for four years had helped produce West Coast Live for NPR in San Francisco.

The two women started a production company called Moxiefish, and put together a demo of Live Wire in September 2003, which they shopped to Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB).

[5][13] Hameister was working as an advertising copy writer, and she had helped to produce the sketch comedy show The State which aired on MTV in the early 1990s.

[4] Live Wire consulted with Bill Oakley, known for his writing credits on the television shows The Simpsons and Portlandia.

[15] Major underwriters for the show include the Fully (ergonomic chairs and desks), Alaska Airlines, and Whole Foods Market.

[11] In 2008 for Portland's Wordstock festival, Live Wire hosted cartoonist/author Lynda Barry, cartoonist Alison Bechdel, indie rockers the Long Winters from Seattle, singer/songwriter Jonathan Coulton, musician McKinley of the band Dirty Martini, writer and performance artist Sandra Tsing Loh, radio journalist/producer Jay Allison, author/actor John Hodgman, and poetry slam champion Anis Mojgani.

[19] Other guests have included political satirist and radio show producer Lizz Winstead, journalist Tom Bissell, writer David Oliver Relin, Burgerville CEO Jeff Harvey, rock band the Moondoggies, singer/songwriter Bobby Bare Jr., actor Daniel Stern, puppeteer Michael Curry, cartoonist John Callahan, rock band the Dandy Warhols, singer/songwriter Storm Large, punk blues band Hillstomp,[12] and Peter Sagal host of the NPR and WBEZ Chicago news quiz Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me.