0:08 – In honor of our 70th birthday, we share origin stories, best personal moments, and most powerful experiences as radio broadcasters with KPFA. From covering the invasion or the Iraq war, to the protests after Oscar Grant was killed, to how many times Brian has been arrested, it’s an hour of memories and memorializing being with KPFA Radio. Hosted by Cat Brooks, Brian Edwards-Tiekert, and Mitch Jeserich.
1:08 – 70 years ago today, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, a volunteer accountant named Gertrude Chiarito flipped a switch in a hastily-constructed radio studio in downtown Berkeley, and a man who had spent much of World War II interned for his political beliefs introduced the world to its first listener-supported radio station. 70 years later, and a few blocks away from that original studio, Lew Hill’s ambitious idea has grown from an idea to a media network that spans the country – and we’re going to spend most of this hour talking about how that happened. Our guest is Matthew Lasar, social historian who teaches at UC Santa Cruz, writes about media and politics for many venues, and has authored two histories of this radio station, and the network it gave birth to, including Pacifica Radio: the Rise of an Alternative Radio Network.