Pacifica radio

by Matthew Lasar

In the public radio landscape, the Pacifica network stations stand out as innovators of diverse and controversial broadcasting. Pacifica's fifty years of struggle to define itself as against social and political conformity began with a group of young men and women who hoped to change the world with a credo of non-violence. Pacifica Radio traces the cultural and political currents that shaped the first listener-supported radio station, KPFA FM in Berkeley. Rooted in war-time pacifism and free-speech ideals, Pacifica flourished in the harsh climate of the Cold War. The visionary behind it was Lewis Hill, a conscientious objector who set out to build pacifist institutions that would promote dialogue between individuals and nations. Matthew Lasar's account of Pacifica's turbulent history opens with lively portraits of Hill and the group of brash and creative people from the pacifist community he mobilized in Berkeley, California, to establish the Pacifica Foundation. A radio station, their