Cultural

Abhinandan 75
Debu Chaudhuri
2CDs Abhinandan in Hindi means congratulations. Sitar maestro Debu Chaudhuri, celebrating his 75th birthday at Kamani Hall in Delhi. Before a packed auditorium he performs ragas, Kalyani Bilawal, Yaman, Miyan ki Malhar and Bisweshwari. Debuji is a disciple of the legendary sitar maestro Mushtaq Ali Khan. He is accompanied on tabla by the virtuoso Sandeep […]
Angel and Isabel Parra in concert
Angel and Isabel Parra
2 CDs The great Chilean folksingers sing some of Latin America’s most popular and important folk songs. They are the children of the legendary singer/songwriter Violetta Parra. Angel Parra died in 2017. Recorded at the University of Colorado.
Artists in a Time of War
Howard Zinn
The role of artists, writers, poets, actors, and musicians have an enormous impact on society. Because of the special place they occupy in people’s hearts and minds their influence is central. Artists shine light into the dark crevices of the human psyche. They question, nudge and agitate. Bonnie Raitt, Michael Franti, Arthur Miller, Alice Walker, […]
Bob Dylan: Chimes of Freedom
Mike Marqusee
Bob Dylan is indisputably one of the major musicians of our time. He is a complicated and paradoxical figure that defies categorization. Although his work has undergone some ironic transmutations over the years, his musical development has often been a response to his rebellious and restless nature and refusal to be typecast. Like Picasso and […]
Childhood Memories, Poetry & Palestine
June Jordan
June Jordan talks about her early life and influences growing up in New York, the daughter of immigrant parents. Her mother was from Panama and her father from Jamaica. She made money as a kid writing poetry. “I was a little hustler,” she admits. About politics she says, “There are a lot of Stalinists out […]
Cuban and Brazilian Music
John Galm
Featuring Professor of Music at CU Boulder John Galm in performance and interview. Mr. Galm is an ethnomusicologist who specializes in, and teaches, percussion instruments and music history, including those of Latin America. Recorded at KGNU. Interviewed by David Barsamian.
Culture & Imperialism
Edward Said
Imperial power is constructed on a bedrock not only of force but of culture as well. Culture provides the crucial underpinning, justification and validation of empire. Its crudest manifestation is perhaps Kipling’s “White man’s burden.” A more refined version is the French “mission civilisatrice,” civilizing mission. Imperialism is often thought of as a European phenomenon […]
Egypt: Culture and History
Fred Denny
Pharaohs, the Sphinx, Cleopatra and the pyramids are the popular images Egypt evokes. Few countries have a more storied past. Called “The Gift of the Nile” it has played a pivotal role in the cultural, religious, economic and political life of the Middle East. This program explores aspects of the country’s long history from Coptic […]
Empire and Literature
Edward Said
From Sand Creek & Other Poems
Simon Ortiz
This is a deeply evocative program. Simon Ortiz has a captivating voice and a subtle artistic sensitivity. He talks about his background and influences that have informed his worldview, poetry and prose. He reads from his classic work “From Sand Creek,” which depicts the 1864 massacre in Colorado of defenseless Arapahoe and Cheyenne by the […]
Ghazal: Urdu Poetry
Hafeez Ahmed Khan
Recorded at a mehfil, a house concert where everyone takes their shoes off and sits on pillows and carpets. The informal atmosphere is quite different from a concert hall. In this recording, Hafeez Ahmed Khan sings classic ghazals, Urdu love poems. This mehfil features the poetry of some of Urdu’s greatest poets including Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Jigar, and Josh. […]
Greatest Ghazals – Live!
Begum Akhtar
3 CDs. Begum Akhtar recorded at Aiwan-e-Ghalib in Delhi singing her heart and soul out in a 1973 concert less than a year before she died. Excellent tabla and sarangi accompaniment. Musicians are unknown alas. I have finally digitized the tapes that the Kashmiri poet Agha Shahid Ali (1949-2001) gave me years and years ago. […]

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