WRFI Specials and Series

New episode of Creatives on WRFI, Youth Radio Project volunteers Eli and Will have a conversation with Brendan Canty, long time drummer of fiercely independent post-hardcore band Fugazi.

Along with Ian McKaye, Guy Piciatto, and Joe Lally, Brendan and Fugazi helped define the sound of indie rock in the 1990’s. After releasing six albums and relentlessly touring (all the while, doing everything in their power to not ever charge more than $5 to see them live), Fugazi went on indefinite hiatus in 2003. Brendan has continued performing and is currently part of the jazz fusion band, The Messthetics, along with Fugazi bandmate Joe Lally.

This CREATIVES interview with Brendan Canty hosted by the Youth Radio Project aired on Wednesday November 5 at 5pm and Sunday November 9 2025 at 3pm. Tune in to WRFI Community Radio at 88.1 FM Ithaca, 89.7 FM Southern Finger Lakes, or stream from anywhere at WRFI.org/listen

PART II

Tune in for 'The Media Democracy Blues' hosted by Roger Smith during Crazy Words, Crazy Tune on WRFI Community Radio.

This special two-hour interview with the eloquent media scholar and historian Victor Pickard originally aired on Friday, October 3, from 12-2pm in the regular time slot of “⁠Crazy Words, Crazy Tune⁠.”

⁠Victor Pickard⁠ teaches mass communication and political economy at the Annenberg School at U Penn. His first major book, ⁠America’s Battle for Media Democracy⁠ (2015), concentrates on the key decisions made in the 1940s that set in stone the foundations of the commercial, corporate-dominated media system that continues to bedevil us today. Pickard is also the current board chair of the media policy reform group Free Press, which was co-founded by his mentor, Robert W. McChesney. ⁠America’s Battle for Media Democracy⁠ makes a great bookend to ⁠McChesney’s first book⁠, which covers the spirited radio reform movement of the 1920s and ‘30s that tried and failed to secure a non-commercial space for labor and civic groups on the airwaves.

Because the ⁠Crazy Words, Crazy Tune⁠ weekly show is devoted to the popular culture of that period of history—and because the politics of media has been a lifelong obsession of show host Roger Smith, he was especially excited and proud to interview Victor and delve into this narrative as well as its present-day ramifications.

PART I

Tune in for 'The Media Democracy Blues' hosted by Roger Smith during Crazy Words, Crazy Tune on WRFI Community Radio.

This special two-hour interview with the eloquent media scholar and historian Victor Pickard originally aired on Friday, October 3, from 12-2pm in the regular time slot of “Crazy Words, Crazy Tune.”

Victor Pickard teaches mass communication and political economy at the Annenberg School at U Penn. His first major book, America’s Battle for Media Democracy (2015), concentrates on the key decisions made in the 1940s that set in stone the foundations of the commercial, corporate-dominated media system that continues to bedevil us today. Pickard is also the current board chair of the media policy reform group Free Press, which was co-founded by his mentor, Robert W. McChesney. America’s Battle for Media Democracy makes a great bookend to McChesney’s first book, which covers the spirited radio reform movement of the 1920s and ‘30s that tried and failed to secure a non-commercial space for labor and civic groups on the airwaves.

Because the Crazy Words, Crazy Tune weekly show is devoted to the popular culture of that period of history—and because the politics of media has been a lifelong obsession of show host Roger Smith, he was especially excited and proud to interview Victor and delve into this narrative as well as its present-day ramifications.

Tune in for '20 Years after Katrina: New Orleans Second Line Music Before and After the Storm: Field Recordings and Interview with Musicologist Nelson Eubanks' hosted with Jacob.

ABOUT NELSON EUBANKS

Born in New York City, Nelson Eubanks grew up in New York and New Jersey. He received a B.A. from Columbia University in 1994, an M.A. in creative writing from the university of San Francisco in 1998 and an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University in 2003. Eubanks published his first book 'The First Thing Smoking' in 2003, he is a 2023 recipient of the Jazz Road Creative Residencies Grant and founder of Melodius Thunk Productions.

Melodious Thunk began before Hurricane Katrina as a community project in the Crescent City by a small group of New Orleans artists hoping to record the Sunday 2nd Line Parades. Over the years we’ve grown as we’ve ventured round the world into other sonic communities filled with like minded folks enamored by the exhilarating sounds of music in the street. We go out and find the music alive in its element in the streets of the musician’s homes where folks feel comfortable enough to do what they wanna, let go, sing along, have a time. Then we ask the musicians about their sound so they can tell us in their own words what makes their rhythms so magnificent. Our mission is to be a bridge between the music of the street and your eyes and ears by fully documenting both rising artists and master musicians playing authentic, unfiltered rhythms in juke joints, at music festivals, in their homes, their corners, their bars, on their porches and then too, the very much under-documented great moving parades and processions of our time.

This CREATIVES interview with Nelson Eubanks hosted with Jacob aired onWednesday September 3 at 5pm. Tune in at 88.1 Ithaca, 89.7 Southern Finger Lakes, or stream from anywhere at WRFI.org/listen

PART II: How Deep Is the Ocean: Larry Schnell on A Sailor’s Song FEATURED ON WRFI

WRFI’s Roger Kimmel Smith interviews author and professor ⁠⁠Larry Schnell⁠⁠ about his book ⁠⁠A Sailor's Song: Lost Love Letters of World War II⁠⁠, on a special edition of “⁠⁠Crazy Words, Crazy Tune⁠⁠.” The newly released book portrays the U.S. Coast Guard U.S.S. General A.W. Greely, the war’s most musical ship, as it transports troops to and from the war in Asia. This two-hour broadcast features Smith’s extended interview with Schnell, along with 1940s music, news clips, and other historic audio with narration.

The roles played by music and musicians during wartime is the central theme of this radio documentary, which aired August 8, 2025, in observance of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, toward the end of World War II.

⁠⁠Larry Schnell⁠⁠’s father, Arthur Schnell, was a Coast Guard Musician Third Class who described his wartime experiences in letters to his wife, Flo Schnell, a civilian musician and music teacher. Before shipping out aboard the Greely in 1945, he served at the Manhattan Beach Coast Guard Training Station in Brooklyn, New York. Arthur Schnell played trombone in the Manhattan Beach Coast Guard Band, alongside a dozen or so other musicians profiled in ⁠⁠A Sailor’s Song⁠⁠. The group made several recordings which were released at the time on V-Discs. These performances are in the public domain and, as Roger discovered while doing research for the interview, remain available today through the ⁠⁠Internet Archive⁠⁠. Author Schnell was thus able to listen for the first time to the music his father and comrades had made—and WRFI listeners will have this opportunity as well.

This audio documentary with Larry Schnell aired on August 8th 2025 from 12-2pm EST, hosted by WRFI DJ Roger Smith during his regular '⁠⁠Crazy Words, Crazy Tune⁠⁠' Friday show.

PART I: How Deep Is the Ocean: Larry Schnell on A Sailor’s Song FEATURED ON WRFI

WRFI’s Roger Kimmel Smith interviews author and professor ⁠Larry Schnell⁠ about his book ⁠A Sailor's Song: Lost Love Letters of World War II⁠, on a special edition of “⁠Crazy Words, Crazy Tune⁠.” The newly released book portrays the U.S. Coast Guard U.S.S. General A.W. Greely, the war’s most musical ship, as it transports troops to and from the war in Asia. This two-hour broadcast features Smith’s extended interview with Schnell, along with 1940s music, news clips, and other historic audio with narration.

The roles played by music and musicians during wartime is the central theme of this radio documentary, which aired August 8, 2025, in observance of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, toward the end of World War II.

⁠Larry Schnell⁠’s father, Arthur Schnell, was a Coast Guard Musician Third Class who described his wartime experiences in letters to his wife, Flo Schnell, a civilian musician and music teacher. Before shipping out aboard the Greely in 1945, he served at the Manhattan Beach Coast Guard Training Station in Brooklyn, New York. Arthur Schnell played trombone in the Manhattan Beach Coast Guard Band, alongside a dozen or so other musicians profiled in ⁠A Sailor’s Song⁠. The group made several recordings which were released at the time on V-Discs. These performances are in the public domain and, as Roger discovered while doing research for the interview, remain available today through the ⁠Internet Archive⁠. Author Schnell was thus able to listen for the first time to the music his father and comrades had made—and WRFI listeners will have this opportunity as well.

This audio documentary with Larry Schnell aired on August 8th 2025 from 12-2pm EST, hosted by WRFI DJ Roger Smith during his regular '⁠Crazy Words, Crazy Tune⁠' Friday show.

Host Michael Rhynes continues to explore the role of poetry and literature in the lives of people affected by the carceral state.

In this episode, we hear Michael's interview with Ketu Oladuwa an octogenarian poet who was wrongfully locked up for 5 years on death row in the 1960s.

This program is funded by a 2025 Humanities New York grant and by WRFI's listeners. It's produced in collaboration with Civic Ensemble, Prisoner Express, and the Cornell Prison Education Program. 

WRFI talks to author and Cornell Associate Professor of Literature, Jeremy Braddock, about the history and culture of the 60’s-70’s era (and beyond) surrealist comedy troupe Firesign Theater. Jeremy recently published the book “Firesign: The Electromagnetic History of Everything as Told on Nine Comedy Albums” (University of California Press). Jeremy discusses Firesign Theater with Peter B (of WRFI’s Burning Airlines) about the background, methods, and connections to the troupe. Topics includes their use of the audio technology of the time, responses to historical events, and long standing cultural impact. Classic albums such as Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers and I Think We Are All Bozos On This Bus are explored.

This interview with Jeremy Braddock aired on May 18th 2025, hosted by WRFI DJ Peter B..

Dusty Visions of Threading the Needle interviews Post Punk legend Chandra Oppenheim and bandmates live in studio.