This week on From the Vault, we will listen to more from our 1968 Revolution Rewind Preservation and Access Initiative and the volatile confrontations at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. As the stage is set and the nation looks toward the Democrats convening in Denver and the Republicans gathering in St. Paul, the activist, police, politicians, organizers, and journalists here and abroad are taking note of the relevance of the DNC events of 1968. This week, the New York Times reported on the Denver police bracing for the convention protesters and the judge who faced the ACLU and a coalition of protest groups led by “Recreate 68″ seeking a ruling on easing the strict security provisions. The Black Star News ran a new interview with Black Panther Party founder Bobby Seale about 1968 an the ensuing Chicago 8 trial. And the Pacifica Radio Archives is getting noticed, too.

Columnist Christopher Batement wrote in his piece, “Reliving the 1968 Democratic National Convention” highlighting the preservation project that allowed him to hear the “remarkable immediacy” in which Pacifica brought the events to the listener. Although you may have heard excerpts of this program on Pacifica Radio as recently as a few weeks ago, here we present it for the first time in many years in its entirety. Introducing the award-winning documentary, A Night in Chicago is Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

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Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

This week, From the Vault continues with Part 2 of a special conventions documentary…

“This documentary sets a new high water mark for the preservation of informative insights. Like Pacifica’s history, it shines on the front line of freedom.”
~Molefi Kete Asante - Author of Erasing Racism and The Survival of the American Nation

The various political parties of the American political system are rallying this summer to officially announce their nominee for President of the United States. This week on From the Vault, we present Part Two of an award-winning 2004 documentary A Passel of Pomp and a Circus of Circumstance, produced by the Pacifica Radio Archives, that explores the history of the national political party conventions, and the mission dynamics that set Pacifica Radio’s coverage apart from mainstream media — coverage that remains today an inspiration for independent, progressive journalists everywhere.

Listening to A Passel of Pomp and a Circus of Circumstance, you will travel from the formal speeches of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, to the battles inside and outside the Chicago 1968 convention and the radical sounds of Rage Against the Machine in the streets of Los Angeles in 2000. Every historic recording is quintessential Pacifica; highlights are drawn from both Republican and Democratic conventions over the years, as well as the Mississippi Freedom Party convention in the 60’s, the Shadow Convention of 2000, and the 2004 Boston Social Forum. This special production showcases Pacifica Radio’s innovative reporting at its most daring.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

LISTEN to this episode.

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

“This documentary sets a new high water mark for the preservation of informative insights. Like Pacifica’s history, it shines on the front line of freedom.”
~Molefi Kete Asante - Author of Erasing Racism and The Survival of the American Nation

The various political parties of the American political system are rallying this summer to officially announce their nominee for President of the United States. This week on From the Vault, we present Part One of an award-winning 2004 documentary A Passel of Pomp and a Circus of Circumstance, produced by the Pacifica Radio Archives, that explores the history of the national political party conventions, and the mission dynamics that set Pacifica Radio’s coverage apart from mainstream media — coverage that remains today an inspiration for independent, progressive journalists everywhere.

Listening to A Passel of Pomp and a Circus of Circumstance, you will travel from the formal speeches of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, to the battles inside and outside the Chicago 1968 convention and the radical sounds of Rage Against the Machine in the streets of Los Angeles in 2000. Every historic recording is quintessential Pacifica; highlights are drawn from both Republican and Democratic conventions over the years, as well as the Mississippi Freedom Party convention in the 60’s, and the Shadow Convention of 2000. This special production showcases Pacifica Radio’s innovative reporting at its most daring.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

LISTEN to this episode.

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”
~Jim Morrison (1943-1971)

This week we’ll get a little better acquainted with the short life of rock star, poet, and icon Jim Morrison with the help of a beautiful radio documentary called Artist in Hell, produced by Clare Spark in 1971. Of course, it would be easy to focus on Morrison’s wild antics and excess, as that kind of behavior always leaves a high water mark on someone’s life for the ages to see, but instead, we’ll hear his closest friends describe the life of a tortured genius, a man with not nearly enough names for all of the colors he wished to paint. The Doors band members Robbie Krieger and Ray Manzarek speak candidly about their close friend, as do producer Paul Rothchild; while David Birnie, Digby Deal, Harvey Purr and others read from Morrison’s poetry and his Lord’s Notes On Vision.

In the second half of From the Vault, we’ll hear The Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek speaking at The Midnight Special Bookstore in Santa Monica on September 12, 1998. Manzarek speaks on The Doors and Morrison, reading selections of Morrison’s poetry, and sharing his insights and recollections on the transformation of four normal guys who met in Venice, hung out on the beach, and became one of the most legendary rock-n-roll bands the genre has yet seen.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

LISTEN to this episode.

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

This week on From the Vault, we celebrate the 90th birthday (July 18th) of Nelson Mandela by paying tribute to three prominent South African leaders.

Rhodesia came into existence as a colonial slave state, established during the halcyon days of the British Raj. A quick glance at a modern world map, however, attests that the powerful colony would eventually assert the right of self-rule… that from the belly of Rhodesia, the independent nation of South Africa would be born.

National independence, however, is not synonymous with freedom. Was it possible that the oppressed could set a new standard for freedom-fighters the world over? In the face of modern technological warfare, could they succeed? And if so, how without the gutters of Johannesburg running red with blood?

Stephen Biko, a soon-to-be martyred activist, Desmond Tutu- a catholic priest from a township parish, and Nelson Mandela, and imprisoned social activist, would inform history of a new process of emancipation. Together they would prevail upon the state and the world to recognize humanism as the true basis for national sovereignty, and demonstrate a method whereby, for the first time in history, the slaves would free their masters.

This week, From the Vault explores the stories of three heroic South African leaders, woven together by the songs of Mama Africa, Miriam Makeba, and the recollections of Pacifica’s own Eva Georgia and Bridgette Ramasodi, women who grew up in South Africa under Apartheid.

From the Vault brings you the inspiring story of South Africa’s struggle for freedom and social justice - South Africa: A Lesson of Freedom

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

LISTEN to this episode.

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

“The day I graduated from high scool I was asked what I wanted to be and I said a clown… I was saying a great truth because I think there is a lot of the clown in me… to laugh at yourself is a great thing.”
~Henry Miller (1891-1980)

Henry Miller is best known for his novels Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, as well his controversial reputation for writing about sexual experiences in explicit detail. But perhaps few would ever consider this great American author’s creativity to be rooted in humor… recently remastered recordings from deep within our vault may change that perception.

Here at Pacifica Radio Archives, we are fortunate to have numerous documentaries on Henry Miller, each with extensive interviews with and recordings of Miller speaking with friends and reading from his work. What emerges from this historic audio is a surprising portrait of an incredibly funny man with living in the company great friends, abound with tales of adventure and wild drunken nights. In the episode of From the Vault, we’ll get to Henry Miller on a very personal level through intimate conversations with the author himself.

In the second half of From the Vault, we turn to an interview with Henry Miller conducted in 1956 by Ben Grauer. The interview covers everything from Miller’s happiest memories to why he admired French prostitutes so much. Throughout the interview, we’ll also hear excerpts from a variety of Miller’s works. This is Henry Miller as true as can be!

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

LISTEN to this episode.

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

This week, Pacifica Radio Archives and From the Vault celebrate the life of groundbreaking comedian and 1st Amendment-champion George Carlin, who passed away on June 22, 2008

“And bastard you can say, and hell, and damn, so I have to figure out which ones you couldn’t ever — and it came down to seven, but the list is open to amendment, and in fact, has been changed; by now, a lot of people have pointed things out to me, and I noticed some myself. The original seven words were: [expletives omitted]. Those are the ones that will curve your spine, grow hair on your hands, and maybe even bring us- God help us- peace without honor and a bourbon.”
~George Carlin (1937-2008) performing his “Filthy Words” routine in 1973.

At 2:00 pm on Tuesday, October 30, 1973, WBAI 99.5 FM host Paul Gorman broadcast, unedited, George Carlin’s “Filthy Words” monologue, and Pacifica Radio listeners in New York City were treated that autumn day to a bold and controversial test of the First Amendment. Rich- very rich- with expletives, that first unedited public broadcast of “Filthy Words” would be become the genesis for one of the most important landmark Supreme Court decisions on free speech in the last 30 years. The fallout from that historic broadcast, as documented and preserved in the vault of the Pacifica Radio Archives, provides the inspiration for this week’s episode of From the Vault.

F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, or the ‘Carlin Case’ as it is now commonly called, was really born from the action of a lone radio listener who filed a complaint with FCC some weeks after the original “Filthy Words” broadcast in 1973 on WBAI. After a volley of threats from the FCC, Pacifica Foundation (which owns and operates WBAI) dug in its heels and fought back, in the name of protecting its Mission and the interests of free speech in the United States. After an initial court victory by Pacifica, the FCC appealed to the Supreme Court, which in 1978 rejected Pacifica’s arguments and effectively established itself as a moral authority on what’s decent and what’s not.

In the first half hour, we’ll dig through the vault and explore our wonderful collection of ‘Carlin Case’ interviews, produced for WBAI in 1978 by Joe Cuomo and Mickey Waldman. The interviews are with host Paul Gorman, former FCC Commissioners, a lawyer for the National Association of Broadcasters, and a minister. Then, we’ll hear a reading of the letter that started it all, followed by a healthy dose of Carlin’s “Filthy Words” (edited for language, of course!).

In the second half hour we will hear from George Carlin himself, in excerpts from two wonderful interviews he gave - one in 1970 before his “Filthy Words” routine was broadcast on WBAI, and the other conducted by Larry Bensky at KPFA in June 1997, nearly 30 years later. Together, they provide an interesting time-lapse perspective of one of the more controversial and brilliant comedians to ever entertain America.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

LISTEN to this episode.

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

Our exploration of historic recordings featuring great film talents of Hollywood continues on this week’s episode of From the Vault — this time, we’ll hear from Alfred Hitchcock, Dame Edith Evans, Anthony Harvey, Seymore Cassell, and Alan Arkin.

The man who became known as the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, filmed many of his masterpieces just down the street from Pacifica Radio Archives’ vault, at Universal Studios. Archives’ collaborator and BBC journalist Joanne Griffith speaks with Hitchcock biographer Patrick McGilligan, who describes Hitchcock’s genesis in the film industry and places Hitchcock’s artistic contributions in historical perspective. Then, KPFA programmer Colin Edwards takes us back to 1957, as he sits with Hitchcock at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. At the time of the interview, Hitchcock had just completed filming of perhaps one of the greatest mystery movies ever made, Vertigo.

We then present 1968 recordings with actors Alan Arkin during the run of his Academy Award nominated performance in The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, the exquisite Dame Edith Evans on her film The Whisperers, and Seymore Cassell on his Academy Award nominated performance in the John Cassavetes film Faces. Finally we’ll hear from director Anthony Harvey and actress June Merrow about their work on the Oscar winning film The Lion in Winter.

We hope you enjoy this week’s episode of From the Vault, featuring amazing sound from the glorious yesteryears of Hollywood, courtesy of Pacifica Radio Archives.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

LISTEN to this episode.

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

This week on From the Vault, we decided to explore the art of cinema from the perspective of the Pacifica Radio Archives; as we began research for this program some time ago, we intended to explore the thoughts of every film director recorded within our collection; of course, we found some of the most important film directors of the 20th century – greats like David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, Mel Brooks, Francis Ford Coppola, and Robert Altman to name a few. But, the more we listened, the more we kept returning to one interview in particular… in 1960 legendary Pacifica reporter Dale Minor recorded a very animated, opinionated and charming Jean Renoir, reflecting on his films as he perhaps approached the twilight of his career. Renoir, who was a son of master impressionist Pierre-August Renoir, was relatively unknown in the United States, yet undeniably influenced the art of film with such iconic pictures such as Grand Illusion (1933), Rules of the Game (1939), Diary of Chambermaid (1946), and The River (1951). After this interview, which is considered to be one of the treasures in our collection, Renoir went on to direct only two more films before his death in 1979.

This week, we also debut our newest Revolution Rewind Moment featuring the greatest film critic of all time, Pacifica’s Pauline Kael.

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

LISTEN to this episode.

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

Hey, Curtis Metcalf here — we’re gonna have some fun on this edition of From the Vault… When I began volunteering at the Pacifica Radio Archives in 2002, I saw an opportunity to contribute to Pacifica by helping make important programs from Pacifica’s rich broadcast history available to a wide audience. In that first year I discovered a shelf of old recordings from the San Diego Folk Festival that caught my attention– it just so happens that I have a personal interest in many types of folk music, including country blues, 1950’s country western, African and reggae. When I took a closer look at the musicians performing at the San Diego Folk festival I noticed some amazing names like Rose Maddox, Patsy Montana, Lydia Mendoza,and The Balfa Brothers — all names that made me want to take these programs off the shelves and have a good listen. And when I listened, I just knew that I had to share…

This week, I’m happy to present some of the songs that would amaze me if I heard them on the radio today… so please - sit back and enjoy this priceless collection of live recordings from thirty years past, courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives.

(Originally broadcast on June 22, 2007.)

From the Vault is proudly presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

LISTEN to this episode.

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.