{"version":"https:\/\/jsonfeed.org\/version\/1","title":"Programming Highlights","home_page_url":"https:\/\/www.kpfk.org\/blogs\/programming-highlights\/","feed_url":"https:\/\/www.kpfk.org\/blogs\/programming-highlights\/json","description":"Information about programs and specials","items":[{"id":"o237-863-6a03822be6802","url":"https:\/\/www.kpfk.org\/blogs\/programming-highlights\/post\/phil-and-teds-sexy-boomer-show-tuesday-may-12-at-200-pm-with-guest-dr-olga-popel-president-of-the-southern-california-holodomor-genocide-committee\/","title":"Phil and Ted's Sexy Boomer Show, Tuesday, May 12 at 2:00 pm with guest Dr. Olga Popel, President of the Southern California Holodomor Genocide Committee","date_published":"2026-05-12T19:40:00+00:00","summary":"Phil and Ted welcome Dr. Olga Popel, President of Southern California Holodomor Genocide Committee to discuss the current situation in Ukraine, including how the U.S. has turned away from Ukraine, and the thousands of Ukrainian children who have been taken by the Russians to Russia.","content_html":"

Phil and Ted's Sexy Boomer Show is a free-form, comedy\/talk live radio show heard in Los Angeles on KPFK and as a podcast. Co-hosted by long-time collaborators Phil Proctor and Ted Bonnitt, the show features special guests and Hollywood stars in fun and deep conversations.<\/p>\n\n

A voice for the fast-growing 50+ podcast audience while appealing to all ages, the show is produced by <\/span>Radio Pictures, Inc.<\/a>, a Hollywood-based creative production company. More at <\/span>sexyboomershow.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Phil Proctor<\/h3>\n\n

An accomplished humorist, author, and actor, best known as a founding member of the groundbreaking comedy group The Firesign Theatre.<\/p>\n\n

Ted Bonnitt<\/h3>\n\n

A writer, host, and producer of national entertainment podcasts, as well as radio, television, and film programming, including with members of The Firesign Theatre.<\/p>\n\n

Embed not found<\/p>\n\n

 <\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/237\/630da42cf02e6.jpg","author":{"name":"Donna Walker"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.kpfk.org\/_app_pages\/stations\/3455\/blogs\/posts\/84915"},{"id":"o237-863-69f9a13297cd4","url":"https:\/\/www.kpfk.org\/blogs\/programming-highlights\/post\/pacifica-performance-showcase-arts-in-review-friday-may-8-from-2-3-pm-with-guests-grace-yoo-flower-drum-song-christiane-noll-the-sound-of-music-and-manuel-oliver-guac\/","title":"Pacifica Performance Showcase\/Arts in Review, Friday, May 8 from 2-3 pm, with guests Grace Yoo (\"Flower Drum Song\"), Christiane Noll (The Sound of Music), Manuel Oliver (\"Guac\") and Diavolo, Architecture in Motion (\"Escape\")","date_published":"2026-05-05T07:50:00+00:00","summary":"Hosts Donna Walker and Julio Martinez combine forces for a special fund drive edition of \"Pacifica Performance Showcase\" and \"Arts in Review,\" welcoming Grace Yoo starring as \"Mei Li\" in East West Players production of \"Flower Drum Song\" adapted by David Henry Hwang, now playing at the Aratani Theatre in Little Tokyo; also Christiane Noll starring as the Mother Abbess in \"The Sound of Music\" opening on May 6 at the Pantages; Manuel Oliver, returning to the Kirk Douglas Theatre with his powerful one-man show, \"Guac\" in tribute to his son, a victim in the Parkland mass shooting; and Diavolo (Architecture in Motion) on their new dance production \"Escape.\" We'll be offering tickets as 'thank you' gifts. Tune in and pledge! ","content_html":"

PACIFICA PERFORMANCE SHOWCASE, arts & culture to enlighten, enliven and educate with host Donna Walker, covers the best in film, theatre, music, and the arts.<\/p>\n\n

Archives of this show can be heard here - https:\/\/archive.kpfk.org\/index_one.php?shokey=pperf<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Email: Donna_Walker@kpfk.org<\/p>\n\n

Facebook: Pacifica Performance Showcase<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/427\/5bbcee2968f35.jpg","author":{"name":"Donna Walker"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.kpfk.org\/_app_pages\/stations\/3455\/blogs\/posts\/84803"},{"id":"o237-863-69f901e02e3ae","url":"https:\/\/www.kpfk.org\/blogs\/programming-highlights\/post\/la-theatre-works-for-all-of-us-by-jeanne-sakata-starring-ed-asner-greg-watanabe-josh-stamberg\/","title":"LA Theatre Works, \"For All of Us,\" by Jeanne Sakata, starring Ed Asner, Greg Watanabe, Josh Stamberg","date_published":"2026-05-04T20:30:00+00:00","summary":"A team of lawyers uses a little-known legal writ to fight and overturn the conviction of Fred Korematsu, unjustly sentenced for resisting the WWII mass incarceration of all Japanese Americans on the West Coast. The play draws much inspiration from Enduring Conviction: Fred Korematsu and his Quest for Justice by Lorraine K. Bannai (University of Washington Press 2015) and Justice Delayed by Peter Irons (Wesleyan University Press 1989). Includes a conversation with playwright Jeanne Sakata and four of the attorneys from the Korematsu v. United States case: Lori Bannai, Peter Irons, Dale Minami and Don Tamaki. \"For Us All is\" sponsored by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded grant project of the California State Library.","content_html":"

Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood, in January 2021.
\n
\nDirected by Anna Lyse Erikson
\nProducing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg
\nEdward Asner as John J. McCloy
\nBrooke Ishibashi as Karen Korematsu, Clerk
\nTess Lina as Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, Times Analyst, Clerk
\nMike McShane as Lt. General John L. DeWitt, CBS News Anchor, ABC News Anchor, NBC Reporter
\nDerek Mio as Dale Minami
\nJoy Osmanski as Lorraine (Lori) Bannai, Maya
\nJeanne Sakata as Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga
\nAndré Sogliuzzo as Edward Ennis, Victor Stone, NY Times Reporter
\nJosh Stamberg as Peter Irons
\nGreg Watanabe as Fred Korematsu, Eric Yamamoto
\nPaul Yen as Don Tamaki
\nSenior Producer: Anna Lyse Erikson
\nPrepared for audio by Mark Holden and mixed by Charles Carroll for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood
\nRecording Engineer, Sound Designer, Editor: Neil Wogensen
\nSenior Radio Producer: Ronn Lipkin
\nFoley Artist: Jeff Gardner<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/d2sal5lpzsf102.cloudfront.net\/96309\/public\/public\/system\/posters\/1485965\/standard\/For-Us-All-Cover-R1V1_3000x3000_1706792340.jpg","author":{"name":"Donna Walker"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.kpfk.org\/_app_pages\/stations\/3455\/blogs\/posts\/84801"},{"id":"o237-863-69f8f0dd4c146","url":"https:\/\/www.kpfk.org\/blogs\/programming-highlights\/post\/phil-and-teds-sexy-boomer-show-tuesday-may-5-at-200-pm-with-guest-author-ethan-elkind-railtown-the-fight-for-the-los-angeles-metro-rail-and-the-future-of-the-city\/","title":"Phil and Ted's Sexy Boomer Show, Tuesday, May 5 at 2:00 pm, with guest author Ethan Elkind (\"Railtown: The Fight for the Los Angeles Metro Rail and the Future of the City\")","date_published":"2026-05-04T19:20:00+00:00","summary":"\r\nOur guest, Ethan Elkind, is the author of \u201cRailtown: The Fight for the Los Angeles Metro Rail and the Future of the City.\u201d Phil and Ted discuss how Los Angeles, a metropolis built for the automobile, is traffic-jammed, suffers the country\u2019s worst air pollution, and is now reinventing itself with urban rail and developing compact neighborhoods adjacent to transit that are profoundly changing the city. ","content_html":"

"Phil and Ted’s Sexy Boomer Show" is a free-form, comedy\/talk podcast co-hosted by long-time collaborators and Pacifica Radio veterans, Phil Proctor and Ted Bonnitt, and featuring special guests and Hollywood stars in fun and deep conversations.
\n
\nPhil Proctor is an accomplished humorist, author, actor, and best known as a founding member of the groundbreaking comedy group, The Firesign Theatre which got its start on KPFK.
\n
\nTed Bonnitt is a writer, host and producer of national entertainment podcasts, radio, television and film programming, including with members of the Firesign Theatre. Ted hosted the "The Bernie Fleshkin Show" on WBAI for 10 years.<\/p>\n\n

Previous episodes can be heard here: <\/strong><\/em>https:\/\/sexyboomershow.<\/a>com<\/p>\n\n

Facebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SexyBoomerShow<\/a><\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/237\/630da42cf02e6.jpg","author":{"name":"Donna Walker"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.kpfk.org\/_app_pages\/stations\/3455\/blogs\/posts\/84800"},{"id":"o237-863-696401b329b24","url":"https:\/\/www.kpfk.org\/blogs\/programming-highlights\/post\/remembering-bob-weir\/","title":"Remembering Bob Weir (1947\u20132026)","date_published":"2026-01-10T08:00:00+00:00","summary":"Bob Weir, founding member of the Grateful Dead and a towering figure in American music, passed away on January 10, 2026. Arnella Barbara, host of Dark Star, Dead & Music on KPFK, shares a personal tribute reflecting on his life, his music, and what his passing means to Deadheads and listeners everywhere.","content_html":"

\ud83c\udf39\u26a1\ufe0f For Bob \u26a1\ufe0f\ud83c\udf39<\/h1>\n\n

The music has shifted.<\/p>\n\n

The air itself feels altered.<\/p>\n\n

Beloved Bob Weir has left this physical plane, and the long strange trip will never feel the same again. Something essential — something living and breathing — has slipped beyond our reach, and we are standing here together, stunned, heartbroken, and forever changed.<\/p>\n\n

Bob was not just a musician.<\/p>\n\n

He was a frequency.<\/p>\n\n

A compass in the dark.<\/p>\n\n

A living bridge between chaos and communion.<\/p>\n\n

The Grateful Dead was never only a band — it was a universe, a language, a way of surviving this world with your soul intact. And Bob Weir was one of its great storytellers, guiding us through winding roads where answers dissolved and truth lived in the asking.<\/p>\n\n

Every chord he played felt like an invitation:<\/p>\n\n

to wander,<\/p>\n\n

to wonder,<\/p>\n\n

to feel deeply,<\/p>\n\n

to belong.<\/p>\n\n

I was meant to have Bob on my show this spring.<\/p>\n\n

We spoke with his PR team just weeks ago.<\/p>\n\n

The thought that he was still out there — still moving, still creating, still shining — makes this loss cut impossibly deep. Plans were forming. Stories were waiting. And now, all that remains is gratitude tangled with grief.<\/p>\n\n

From me — the Dark Star Gurl, host of Dark Star, Dead and Music — and from Deadheads everywhere:<\/p>\n\n

We are shattered.<\/p>\n\n

We are grieving.<\/p>\n\n

And we know, in our bones, that we will never fully recover from this.<\/p>\n\n

Bob’s music didn’t just accompany our lives — it held us.<\/p>\n\n

It carried us through heartbreak, addiction, joy, rebellion, awakening.<\/p>\n\n

It taught us how to stay soft in a hard world, how to keep dancing even when the night felt endless.<\/p>\n\n

This is not just the loss of a man.<\/p>\n\n

This is the loss of a living current of American soul.<\/p>\n\n

A light that shaped generations.<\/p>\n\n

A voice that told us we weren’t alone.<\/p>\n\n

So tonight, let us all light a candle.<\/p>\n\n

Watch the flame dance.<\/p>\n\n

Let the smoke drift upward so Bob can see how deeply he is loved.<\/p>\n\n

Tonight, the road stretches on without you, Bob —<\/p>\n\n

but your songs are still moving through us.<\/p>\n\n

Your spirit still hums in the static.<\/p>\n\n

Your love still binds this family together.<\/p>\n\n

We will keep listening.<\/p>\n\n

We will keep dancing.<\/p>\n\n

We will keep carrying the music forward — brokenhearted, but grateful beyond words.<\/p>\n\n

Thank you for the road.<\/p>\n\n

Thank you for the courage.<\/p>\n\n

Thank you for the eternal invitation to belong.<\/p>\n\n

This world will never be the same without you.<\/p>\n\n

And because of you, neither will we.<\/p>\n\n

Forever Grateful.<\/p>\n\n

Forever Dead.<\/p>\n\n

Forever Bob. \ud83c\udf39\u26a1<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/237\/696400767bd73.jpg","author":{"name":"Arnella Barbara"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.kpfk.org\/_app_pages\/stations\/3455\/blogs\/posts\/83234"}]}