WRFI Community Radio News

• The Undiscovered Country: Ketu Oladuwa

  Host Michael Rhynes continues to explore the role of poetry and literature in the lives of people affected by the carceral state.In this episode, we hear Michael's interview with Ketu Oladuwa an octogenarian poet who was wrongfully locked up for 5 years on death row in the 1960s.This program is funded by a ⁠2025 Humanities New York⁠ grant and by WRFI's listeners. It's produced in collaboration with ⁠Civic Ensemble⁠, ⁠Prisoner Express⁠, and the ⁠Cornell Prison Education Program. 

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• CREATIVES: Glenda Drew & Jesse Drew on Open Country

  WRFI talks to filmmakers Glenda Drew and Jesse Drew on their documentary 'Open Country'.Join WRFI for a screening of 'Open Country' on Monday July 14th at 6:30pm, with a Q&A with Glenda & Jesse following the screening.ABOUT THE INTERVIEWEESGlenda Drew is an interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker whose work lies at the intersection of visual culture and social change, with a strong emphasis on working-class narratives. Her multifaceted practice — spanning film, video, motion graphics, photography, interactivity, and audience participation — centers on subjects such as country musicians, waitresses, feminists, and precarious workers. Influenced by her formative years with Paper Tiger Television in San Francisco, drew embraces a DIY aesthetic and media-critical approach aimed at accessibility and social critique. She is an active member of the Class Conscious Photographers and Artnauts collectives. Through her work, drew continues to explore the power of media to question, connect, and catalyze change. She is currently professor of Design at UC Davis, where she teaches screen-based interactive design.Jesse Drew's research and practice centers on alternative and community media and their strategic use in building movements for democracy and justice, particularly among the global working class. An active audio-visual artist, his interactive, cinema, photography and installation work has been featured in showcases and galleries internationally. His writings have appeared in numerous publications, journals and anthologies, including Resisting the Virtual Life (City Lights Press), At a Distance (MIT Press), Collectivism After Modernism (University of Minnesota), and West of Eden (PM Press). His book, A Social History of Contemporary Democratic Media is published by Routledge. He is currently professor of Cinema and Digital Media at UC Davis, where he teaches media archaeology, radio production, documentary studies, electronics for artists, and community media. Before coming to UC Davis he headed the Center for Digital Media and was Associate Dean at the San Francisco Art Institute.Aired Wednesday, July 9, 2025 on WRFI.

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• CREATIVES: ‘The Firesign Theatre’ with Jeremy Braddock

  WRFI talks to author and Cornell Associate Professor of Literature, Jeremy Braddock, about the history and culture of the 60’s-70’s era (and beyond) surrealist comedy troupe Firesign Theater. Jeremy recently published the book “Firesign: The Electromagnetic History of Everything as Told on Nine Comedy Albums” (University of California Press). Jeremy discusses Firesign Theater with Peter B (of WRFI’s Burning Airlines) about the background, methods, and connections to the troupe. Topics includes their use of the audio technology of the time, responses to historical events, and long standing cultural impact. Classic albums such as Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers and I Think We Are All Bozos On This Bus are explored.This interview with Jeremy Braddock aired on May 18th 2025, hosted by WRFI DJ Peter B..

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• Ithaca Pride Celebrating Queer Joy & Queer Power with 2025 Festival, June 13-15

  The Ithaca Pride Alliance (IPA) was formed in 2024 to serve as the first official group of organizers for LGBTQ+ focused events in Tompkins County. Andrew Scheldorf, local drag performer and current Chair of the IPA Board talked with WRFI in advance of their second annual "Pride in the Park" festival, which will take place Sunday June 15th in DeWitt Park. Supporting events and programming celebrating queer joy and LGBTQ+ community will occur across the community throughout the month of June.This interview with Andrew Scheldorf hosted by Executive Director Ben Coakley aired on WRFI on Wednesday June 11th.

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• CREATIVES: Kent Nerburn on "Neither Wolf Nor Dog"

  The Gayogo̲hó:nǫˀ Learning Project is inviting the community to a FREE screening of the acclaimed film "Neither Wolf Nor Dog" on Sunday, June 1st, 2025, at 2:30 PM at Cinemapolis in Ithaca.The film is based on the award-winning novel by Kent Nerburn, "Neither Wolf Nor Dog", and offers a rare exploration of a complex relationship between a 95 year-old Lakota elder and the white writer he’s invited to help him write a book about his people.Hear Nerburn’s interview with WRFI’s Felix Teitelbaum Thursday May 22 and Thursday May 29 at 5pm on WRFI.Kent will be joined by Jim Wikel of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation in Oklahoma, via Zoom for a post-screening talkback.

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