Beyond the incredible music spinning 24/7, KALX has long been a hub for groundbreaking public affairs and arts programming. Unfortunately, many of those incredible broadcasts from decades past were nearly lost to time, sitting on vintage reel-to-reel tapes in our office cabinets, unplayable without the long-gone equipment required to read them.
That is officially changing. Thanks to an exciting new partnership with California Revealed, we are bringing many of these archival audio gems back to life and straight to your headphones!
The First Wave: Calliope (1980s–1990s)
Our initial digitized release features 23 episodes of Calliope, KALX’s premier literary arts show from the 1980s and ’90s. This collection includes rare, fascinating interviews with some of the era’s most influential contemporary authors, including Margaret Atwood, Walter Mosley, Andrei Codrescu, Robert Bly, Pagan Kennedy, and others.
How to Listen
These historic programs are available to stream free of charge right now. You can find them hosted on:
- The California Revealed digital archive
- Archive.org
A Huge Shoutout to Our Team
This preservation project wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication of KALX volunteer Steve Polta, who wrote the grant that secured this funding. Thank you, Steve!
The work doesn’t stop here, either. Steve is already crafting a second grant proposal in hopes of digitizing a selection of historic reels from Arts In Review, our highly celebrated, long-running program hosted by Gregory Scharpen.
Stay tuned, and happy listening!
