Hard Knock Radio – August 25, 2025
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.
Hard Knock Radio
4:00 PM PACIFIC TIME: MONDAYS - FRIDAYS
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting. Hosts Davey D and Anita Johnson give voice to issues ignored by the mainstream while planting seeds for social change.
Progressive Victories and America’s War on the Poor
On today’s program, Thandisiwe Chimurenga hosts a conversation with Dylan Rodríguez, scholar, teacher, and longtime organizer. Rodríguez has been a professor at the University of California, Riverside since 2001, where he teaches in the Department of Black Study. His work interrogates state violence, policing, and the carceral system while amplifying collective strategies of resistance and … Continued
ACLUs Emerson Sykes on Book Bans, Free Speech, and Government Overreach (Encore)
Fighting Back Against Censorship On this episode of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sits down with Emerson Sykes, senior staff attorney at the ACLU, to unpack the growing wave of book bans and attacks on free speech sweeping across the U.S. The conversation spotlights the federal governments removal of nearly 600 books”includingCant Stop Wont … Continued
Fresh for School and Free Them All: CURYJ’s Town Nights & Mumia Abu-Jamal Speaks
On today’s show, we begin with Frankie Ramos, Director of Campaigns and Organizing at CURYJ (Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice), joined by Mike Muscadine, Community Peace Manager. They share details about this Saturday’s Town Nights event, themed “Fresh for School.” The gathering continues CURYJ’s work to build safety through community, not punishment, with resources, … Continued
Katrina 20 Years Later: The Storm, the State, and the Struggle
On today’s show, author and activist Kalonji Changa fills in for Davey D to speak with poet, activist, and New Orleans native Sunni Patterson, reflecting on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. On August 29, 2005, Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, causing catastrophic flooding, widespread destruction, and claiming the lives of over 1,800 people. The … Continued
Silencing Solidarity: California’s Battle Over AB 715
On today’s show, we turn our attention to Gaza, where the humanitarian crisis has reached catastrophic levels. The United Nations has declared a stage 5 famine, and leading human rights organizations, along with genocide scholars, have nearly unanimously recognized Israel’s assault on Palestinians as genocide. Here in California, state lawmakers are advancing AB 715 — … Continued
Kamau Franklin on Cop City, Black Misleadership, and the Fight for Real Power (Encore)
On this edition ofHard Knock Radio, host Davey D sits down withKamauFranklin”organizer, lawyer, and co-editor ofNo Cop City, No Cop World: Lessons from the Movement”for a deep and revealing conversation about the grassroots struggle in Atlanta and what it means for movements across the country. Franklin lays out the origins of the Stop Cop City … Continued
Hard Knock Radio ” Charles Barron on NYCs Political Shift
On this episode of Hard Knock Radio, Kalonji Changa speaks with veteran Black Panther and longtime New York politician Charles Barron. The conversation digs deep into the failures of the Black political establishment, the dangers of transactional politics, and the need for progressive candidates to engage meaningfully with Black communities. With more than two decades … Continued
Tribute to Dwayne Wiggins: Mike D Reflects on the Legacy, Music, and Oakland Roots of a Bay Area Giant
Remembering the Unofficial Mayor of Oakland In a heartfelt tribute, Hard Knock Radio host Davey D sat down with renowned producer and former Tony! Toni! Ton! band member Mike D to honor the late Dwayne Wiggins”musician, mentor, and cultural anchor. Described as the unofficial mayor of Oakland, Wiggins left a deep imprint on the local … Continued
Wu-Tang’s Mathematics Breaks It Down: From DJing to Drum Patterns to the Black Mind Unchained
Wu-Tang’s Mathematics Breaks It Down: From DJing to Drum Patterns to the Black Mind Unchained In this lively and in-depth Hard Knock Radio conversation, host Davey D sits down with DJ and producer Allah Mathematics of the Wu-Tang Clan to discuss legacy, innovation, and the discipline behind his latest solo album Black Sampson and the Bastard Swordsman. From Southside Queens to Wu-Tang Lore Mathematics traces … Continued