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A radio show, podcast, and radical media hub showcasing culture workers reshaping Chicago for the more equitable and creative. Listen to longform humanizing conversations with artists, organizers, performers, comedians, scholars, and more who are reimagining Chicago and beyond toward liberation. Hosted by Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger.
Safia Elhillo is a badass and poet of Sudanese origin who manages the space between her words with fearless grace. She's in town for Halal if You Hear Me, a special event for Louder Than A Bomb that shares its name with the anthology of which she is co-editor with AirGo alum Fati Asghar. If you have any questions about Ja Rule and Ashanti, she is your go-to person. Her first book, The January Children, is available now. Recorded live 3/9/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: If (Instrumental) - @Oddiseemusic
Charles Preston is an organizer and radical spacemaker. A central figure in CSU's fight for survival, which AirGo alum Dave Ellis broke down on Episode 73, Charles is also the creator of Church on the 9, a popup cypher and community-building event on 79th Street here in Chicago. He talks spacemaking, organizing, and mental/emotional health with the AirGo crew. Recorded live 3/2/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: God Bless The Native Americans - @rich-daily Walk On By (feat. @kendricklamar) - Thundercat
In the frantic recallibration of what is, what isn't, and what might be since January 20th, our definitions of journalism, the press, media, and the truth are all in flux as real threats solidify and old tensions reemerge. How do we humanize our journalism and root it in the information different communities want and need? Ellen Mayer is the Engagement Consultant at Hearken, an "audience-driven tech platform and editorial framework that enables journalists to partner with the public throughout the reporting process," and a smart-ass person with a bunch of ideas about how we can engage with each other to report the information we need. Recorded live at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Colors - @soundbyezra
Amika Tendaji is a mother, a longtime Chicago youth and community organizer, a co-founder of Ujimaa Medics (UMedics) a collective focused on health justice and self-determination for Black people and a lead organizer of BLMChicago. She is also a poet, photographer, artful dodger, orca lover, storyteller, base builder, amateur comedian and a flamethrower extraordinaire. Recorded live 2/16/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Confused - @deelilly Casket Pretty - @noname
bLAck pARty, also known off the mic and boards as Malik Flint, is an old friend and raw music-maker whose most recent project, Mango, is available everywhere now. A Little Rock native, he moved out to LA a couple years ago when he began to work with Wolf & Rothstein, Childish Gambino's management company. We break down some big ideas, how he got to this moment, and even a few UFO sightings. Recorded 2/5/17 in Los Angeles, CA Music from this week's show: Summerlove - @blackxparty Theory - @NWard3000 Bloom - @blackxparty
DJ Oreo is like the mayor of Chicago's cool kids, if the mayor was a backflipper who DJs around the world rather than a neoliberal despot intent on lining his buddies' pockets. The current DJ for beaded wonder Lil' Yachty, Oreo has been at the Chicago's hip hop and footworking scenes for years. He's the founder of Oreofest, an irregular and surreal pop-up hip hop festival in the city. Recorded live 2/3/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: I Can Feel It - DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn DJ Rashad (Never Letting Go) - Roman Flowers
Xavier Ramey walks through the different worlds of Chicago with a grace, humor, and devotion rarely experienced. A North Lawndale native, he currently works at UChicago teaching students how to build organizations, structures, and companies that work to address harm and inequality. A Louder Than A Bomb kid turned commodities trader turned mentor and activist, Xavier is a core member of the #LetUsBreathe Collective and is a photographer. He also makes more corny jokes than Daniel does–it's documented. Recorded live 1/26/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Sirens - @AdrianYounge
Leor Galil's work is some of the most thoughtful and writing about the city's creative renaissance. The music writer for the Chicago Reader, Leor grounds his features in the stories, neighborhoods, and sounds of the city with an open ear and a dedication to honest relationship with his subject. He also hosts the new Red Bull Music Academy radio show The Deepest Dish, which has already featured quite a few AirGo alumni. Recorded live 1/19/2017 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: HiiiPower - @kendricklamar Evening's Kiss - @willisearlbeal
We've all heard "conscious" rappers preach their asses off in a song that nobody wants to hear–the onslaught of big words and holier-than-thou declarations can be exhausting. David Ellis' autotuned bars reverberate with a catchiness that help his thoughtful, loving ideas shine through clearly and without pretense. The other half of duo FYI (Fuck Yo Institution) with AirGo alum Ric Wilson, he's also an organizer and activist across the city, especially involved in the fight to save Chicago State University. Recorded live 1/12/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Kinda A Big Deal (feat. Kanye West) - The Clipse BLK Crack - @DavidEllis00 Budget or Else - @DavidEllis00 Liberation - @DavidEllis00
Lester Rey is a singer and musician whose unflinching and infectious creations remold and reimagine in the spirit of boogaloo, overlapping the edges and sounds from Puerto Rico, across Latin America, and his home city of Chicago. His most recent project, entitled PROMESA, is a fierce and loving reflection based off the passage of the PROMESA Act, passed this past summer, which placed governance of the island under the control of a Congressionally-appoint board and continues the colonial violence enacted by the U.S. on Puerto Rico. Catch Lester performing 1/14, presented by AMFM and The Dojo: https://www.facebook.com/events/1239081902847780/ Music from this week's show: Got Myself a Good Man - Pucho and his Latin Soul Brothers Promesa - @lesterreymusic Coqui - @lesterreymusic
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