DC Public Library Radio

Winners from a poetry slam held earlier in the month at Busboys & Poets will read original poetry written about inequality, civil rights and more. This project is part of a collaboration between the DC Public Library, the Maryland Institute College of Arts and the Poor People's Campaign. 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement and we, collaboratively, are still working on these issues.

Tayla Burney, journalist in DC, tells us her summer reads and we talk all things DC

Noel Lopez, cultural anthropologist for the National Parks Service, shares with DC Public Library some of the history he has come across around the Summer in the Parks series of outdoor concerts beginning 50 years ago in 1968. Amanda Mackaye, organizer of the Fort Reno concert series, will share with us what it's like to reach the 50th anniversary of this series, and how Fort Reno ties into the broader stories of cultural programming in DC's public spaces.

Hailu Mergia was a famous recording and performing musician in Ethiopia in the 1960s and 1970s. He moved to the DC-area in the 1980s and became a cab driver. Today, Mergia lives in Fort Washington, MD, still drives a cab (the Dulles route), and records and releases traditional and original music. We discuss his life then and now, and play selections form his recordings, past and present.

Dr. Sandra Butler-Truesdale, Chairperson of The DC Legendary Musicians, and host of "Don't Forget the Blues" on WPFW FM 89.3 every Wednesday at noon EST, sits with us to talk about her work, DC history, and shares stories about the many lengendary musicicans that live in DC.

We speak in-studio with Maurice Jackson, Associate Professor of African American Studies at Georgetown University, who recently served as co-editor (with Blair Ruble) and contributor to DC Jazz: Stories of Jazz Music in Washington, DC. Lauren Sinclair, a call-in guest, and faculty member at American University in the School of Professional and Extended Studies, provides her insights serving as one of the contributors to the collection.

Are you ready to learn about the ancient study of numbers, why it works and how it can help you better understand who you really are and why you are here? Our guest today , Cheryl Neil Humphreys, will take us through a journey as we explore the numbers 1to 9, master numbers, and the 4 main numbers you need to know about you.

Matt Dowling and Ben Schurr have played in several noteable DC bands including Deleted Scenes, Paperhaus, and Br'er, and released their first album in March, as Swoll. Matt and Ben share details of the recording process, their collaboration, and we listen to a few live tracks, too.

Derek Gray, Archivist at DC Public Library Special Collections Department, talks to us about the library’s Go-Go Archive.