After several months of meeting with a wide array of people both within and outside of WBAI, I’m pleased to say that another round of programming schedule shifts are upon us. My long-term goals of building consistency and making sense of the overall program grid, instituting a live morning call-in show a-la the once very popular TalkBack, and developing a solid music strip in the later evening hours are slowly coming to fruition.
Starting now, in April, we’ll begin to see some notable changes in the sound of our mornings with the Mondayand Tuesday Talkback slots: on Monday, veteran civil rights activist Ron Daniels, aka “the professor” and founder of the Institute for the Black World in the 21st Century, will take over the airwaves from 10:00am to 12noon with “Vantage Point,” while on Tuesdays at that time slot, attorney, author and activist Gloria J. Brown Marshall will do the same, with a critical look at our judicial system from a very personal perspective. Both new hosts will join the daily Talkback line-up that already includes John McDonagh and Malachy McCourt on Wednesdays (Talk-Mac), and John Kane on Thursdays (Let’s Talk), and of course, your listener calls!
What does this mean for the popular Peter Bochan, host of All Mixed Up and the nationally-recognized, award winning specials “Shortcuts?” No worries: All Mixed Up will now be heard on Monday nights from 10:00 to 12midnight, kicking off the weeklong WBAI Evening Music Strip which already includes World of Jazz with Dwight Brewster on Tuesdays, and Underground Railroad with J Smooth on Fridays. Joining this diverse musical line-up will be Rebel Díaz on Wednesday nights, who’ll bring an edgy, Afro-Latino hip-hop feel to the WBAI airwaves starting on April 8th.
Meanwhile, on Thursdays, we’ll present a new idea we’re calling “Musical Chairs,” a rotating space for music specials by a wide array of in-house and invited guest hosts from outside. For example, be sure to tune in on Thursday, April 16th for a Special look at Black Radio and the Music Industry, hosted and produced by legendary radio personality Bob Law, the producer of Night-Talk. Our hope is that with this new musical line-up, we’ll be able to showcase a wide range of artists and musicians that make up the NYC music scene, and will allow us to do live events in the very near future. Stay tuned.
For those up at 5am on Sunday we have added Josh Korda, who hosts Live With Dharma Punx. If you aren't up that early you can listen to the show and all WBAI shows on our newly designed, user friendly Archives. Well known to meditators in NYC for years, Josh talks about "integrating our views and beliefs into an authentic spiritual practice. To be authentic we need to be willing to express our dissatisfaction with society's oppressive systems and capitalist propaganda, responding in our own way, even if that means being different from those who came before us."
There are other shows which will be moved around in the coming weeks, resulting in some new, exciting additions to the program line-up, including the Reverend Billy Gospel Show, where he and his world famous choir will present an audio version of the living room/talk show religious programming of the 70's and 80's, just a bit different, politically. Reverend Billy will be making his WBAI debut on Wednesday, April 15th from 2:00 to 3:00pm, as part of the afternoon arts strip. It should be interesting!
As a result of the changes in the schedule, a number of programs are being displaced, at least temporarily. We are well aware that change is always difficult, and not everyone is going to be satisfied with the fact that some of one’s favorite shows are no longer on the air, or not so easy to find on the new grid. But in the coming weeks and months, we will be working out ways to reconfigure some of these programs, perhaps find new timeslots for them, and also develop innovative ways to get them to you in other platforms using podcasts and other on-demand tools, including our much improved archives.
There’s a lot more coming, including more additions to the new Morning Show and the Behind the News line-up. As is typical of community radio, this is a work in progress. Your input and suggestions are always welcome. So feel free to make contact.
And keep on supporting your radio station, WBAI!
Looking forward, always,
MAMA
Mario A. Murillo, Interim Program Director