DUP leader Gavin Robinson wrote to the SDLP asking for its positions on Northern Ireland as he was developing his political thinking as a young teenager.
The East Belfast MP, suggesting he was open to following different political paths, said he received a letter back signed by then party leader John Hume.
Mr Robinson, speaking during a more than 40 minute chat on the Give My Head podcast, also revealed the approach of some broadcasters to politics and politicians.
“Whenever Nolan Show, or somebody wants you on, they want you on for controversy. Sometimes they will phone up and say what’s your position on this and (reply) ‘nah that’s the same as theirs’ so they don’t ask you to come on,” Mr Robinson told the podcast hosted by Tim McGarry, Michael McDowell and Damon Quinn.
In a wide ranging conversation, Mr Robinson spoke of his early days as a clown and magician, being heckled by punks at the unveiling of a blue plaque in honour of Terri Hooley, a cigar given to him by Martin McGuinness and, more seriously, his and party’s position on education.
His political awakening happened as the Good Friday Agreement was being negotiated and then signed in Easter, 1998. The DUP was the only major political party to oppose it.
However, the then 13-year-old, on a visit to New York to see his uncle, began to be politically motivated.
“It was Easter 1998 and I was in this amazing metropolis of New York, high rise buildings, yellow taxis, everything was class and a world away from Northern Ireland. Then Belfast came on the news and that just sparked an interest,” he said.
“It is a bit nerdy I suppose but when I came back I wanted to find out a bit more about it…I could not work out why home was news.
“When I came back, I wrote off to all the parties to find out what their position were. I had my letters back from John Hume and from Ian Paisley and from David Trimble at the time, from Bob McCartney and all the rest.”
Mr Robinson made clear he did not write to Sinn Féin.
“I was 13, I could only afford so many stamps,” he joked, adding he did get a letter back from SDLP, signed by Mr Hume.
A lawyer by training, he turned to full time politics after being co-opted on to Belfast City Council aged 25.
He was asked about changing the historically “dour” image of the DUP and, more broadly, how the general public might not see the more human side of politicians.
“Sometimes when you are talking politics it is a serious business. You know you are talking about serious issues and if you think about the politics of where we have come from as a society then it does engage serious issues around morality and ethics and law and justice and peace,” Mr Robinson said.
“So it is not always a geg. It is hard sometimes to demonstrate to people that you actually are a human being too.
“So you have always have that fine balance.”
He then referenced The Nolan Show, and others, wanting controversy and those situations where he is not asked to be involved in a discussion.
“So things are confrontational, things are combative, things are serious at times, so if you can demonstrate you can live a little as well that’s a good thing,” he added.
In response to the claim The Nolan Show wants controversy when deciding who to invite on the programme, the BBC said “it’s important for senior politicians to be on the BBC’s airwaves – explaining their work and policies, answering questions about them and engaging in conversation with others”.
The broadcaster added: “We know that some issues are complex and that they can involve strongly held differences of opinion. All of these are things that we seek to reflect and explore and with BBC audiences in mind.”