“There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part; you can’t even passively take part, and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop. And you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all.”
~Mario Savio, student leader of the 1960’s free speech movement at the University of California Berkeley in late 1964.

In 1964, at the University of California at Berkeley, the Free Speech Movement erupted. As fate might be, it all went down just blocks from Pacifica Radio’s flagship, 94.1 FM KPFA in Berkeley, and naturally Pacifica journalists caught the whole thing on magnetic audio tape, which has since been securely housed deep within the vault of Pacifica Radio Archives. These recordings remain highly revered, among some of the most historic and treasured audio footage in Pacifica’s collection.

Shortly after the movement waned in 1965, KPFA, using the actuality they had just recorded, produced a gripping and incredibly informative documentary on the protests entitled Is Freedom Academic? This week on From the Vault we’ll travel back in sound as we feature excerpts from this brilliant documentary, a radio piece that truly captures the many flavors of the Free Speech Movement like no other. We’ll also speak with Professor Robert Cohen, the co-editor of the 2002 book The Free Speech Movement, Reflections on Berkeley in the 1960s and author of a yet-to-be-released book on the political life of Mario Savio.

Archival recordings used in this week’s episode, The Free Speech Movement:

BB0503 Is Freedom Academic? MORE INFO

Other programs of interest:

BD0016.01 Sit-in Inside Sproul Hall MORE INFO

BB2365 Sproul Hall Sit-in Documentation ’68 MORE INFO

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.

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In the late 1980’s, when legendary Pacifca Radio producer David Isay was 22 years old, he found out his father was gay and had a lover. Shocked by the revelation, he set out to try and understand the secret life his father had been leading. With a grant from the Pacifica National Programming Fund, Isay interviewed veterans of the Stonewall uprising – the 1969 clash between gays and the police which violently began the gay rights movement. From this effort, the documentary Remembering Stonewall was born.

The documentary first aired on Pacifica Radio, and later on National Public Radio, becoming the first of many Isay-produced documentaries to air on multiple radio networks over the years. Remembering Stonewall is a beautiful, elegant, oral history of the people who spoke up and fought for their own rights as well as the rights of millions of other gays and lesbians across the country. For the first half of this week’s episode of From the Vault, we’ll hear this award-winning documentary in its entirety.

In the second half hour, we’ll hear the work of This Way Out: The International Lesbian and Gay Radio Magazine founder Greg Gordon. Gordon’s 1981 documentary A Gay Retrospective is a compelling collection of memories from people who lived through Stonewall, and an excellent example of the diverse audio Pacifica Radio Archives preserves and makes public. We’ll close out the hour with excerpts form an interview with Robbie Rosenberg, who produced the Emmy-winining film Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community.

Archival recordings used in this week’s episode, Stonewall:

IZ0389 Interview with Robbie Rosenberg on His Film, Before Stonewall MORE INFO

KZ1205 A Gay Retrospective MORE INFO

PZ0146 Remembering Stonewall: A Radio Documentary on the Birth of a Movement MORE INFO

SZ0680.13 This Way Out 06/22/1992 MORE INFO

PZ0258.01-05 Stonewall 25: A Live Celebration MORE INFO

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.

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The story of Winnie-the-Pooh is known – quite possibly – to everyone. The film versions of the story have been translated into nearly every language and the original books have sold – conservative estimates as of 1996 put sales over 70 million copies. And that does NOT include the four books published by Dutton press in the US and Canada, nor the foreign-language editions printed in more than 25 languages

In fact, the story is so successful that it can be argued A.A. Milne’s creation has kept the Walt Disney Company afloat during its harder times. Since Walt Disney acquired the film rights to the story in 1961, because his daughters liked Pooh so much, Pooh feature films, videos, teddy bears, and other merchandise have made incredible sums of money for Disney. It is estimated that Winnie-the-Pooh generates as much revenue as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto combined.

But the story, of course, is more than a money making machine. It is a timeless tale of childhood and our limitless imaginations. It is about friendship, loyalty, and doing Christopher Robin’s favorite thing, “Nothing.”

In this episode of From the Vault, we’ll hear traditional reading from the Pooh series, taken from the program Doing Nothing, produced by Elliot Gould in 1970 for Pacifica Station KPFK. We’ll also enjoy Frederick Crews reading from the The Pooh Perplex in 1964, a fictional work in every way, in the true spirit of Pooh. We’ll wrap up with a special original musical production by the Athenian School Drama Workshop, a high school production production (with all of the wit, glory, and mistakes that come with such productions) that truly exemplifies the childlike energy of Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo.

Archival recordings used in this week’s episode, Winnie-the-Pooh:

BB1947 Richard Wilbur MORE INFO

BB4560 Doing Nothing / Produced by Elliot Gould MORE INFO

BC0082 Winnie-the-Pooh: A Musical / A.A. Milne MORE INFO

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.

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“The Constitution is the bedrock of all our freedoms; guard and cherish it; keep honor and order in your own house; and the republic will endure.” ~President Gerald Ford (1913-2006)

On Tuesday, December 26, 2006 former President Gerald Ford passed away. This week, on From the Vault, we’ll look back on his life with an audio collage of materials broadcast throughout the last 50 years on Pacifica Radio. Featured audio includes Ford’s inauguration, the Nixon pardon speech, the 1974 documentary And Some Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them, and a series of editorials from deep within the vault by reporter Robert Krulwich in August and September of 1974.

Archival recordings used in this week’s episode, Gerald Ford:

BC2053 On the Nixon Pardon MORE INFO

BC1996 And Some Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them: Gerald Ford MORE INFO

BC1907 Gerald Ford: Inauguration & Policy Speech MORE INFO

IZ0222.01 Confirmation Hearings: Gerald Ford MORE INFO

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.

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