My Life in Radio

Fifty Years of Radio for the Community

My life in radio began in 1961 when during my first morning in California, I heard KPFA-FM, 94.1 Free Speech Radio (Pacifica Network) and immediately began producing drama and literature, children’s and public affairs programs. I currently produce the regularly scheduled programs “La Raza Chronicles” and “Open Book.”

At first my radio projects were an extension of my theatre interests, including long readings of entire books such as Gertrude Stein’s Alphabets and Buttons and My Life by Isadora Duncan. As the 1960’s and 1970’s heated up I expanded my radio work into political affairs covering topics such as the Vietnam War and the early revolutionary process in Cuba. This led me to help form a Latino Media collective, Comunicación Aztlán, which produced Latino programming in the early 70’s, focusing on the California farm worker movement, the Chilean socialist experiment and the ensuing CIA backed coup, prison reform, and the growing US Latino arts, culture and civil rights movements.

My earlier works are archived at the Pacifica Archives.  Over the years I have produced many series including “Freedom is a Constant Struggle: the Cultural Perspective” (seven years) and “Reflecciones de la raza” (three years), which are archived at freedomarchives.org.

Now, over 50 years later, I continue my radio work at KPFA co-producing the regularly scheduled programs “La Raza Chronicles,” a Latino magazine format show of music, interview, politics and poetry, as well as “Open Book: the Poet to Poet Series.”

Audio files of Nina’s radio programs

• Listen to “La Raza Chronicles”  programs.
• Listen to “Open Book, Poet to Poet”,
• Freedom Archives programs featuring Nina

MEDIA – For photos & interviews: Paul Richards (510) 967 5577; paulrichards@estuarypress.com

Send to Kindle