Capital Radio 2-23-26: From Jesse to Donna
The words of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, in introducing the 1972 WattStax Festival in Los Angeles, in which he proclaimed “I am somebody!” continue to reverberate today. We play them…
Capital Radio 2-16-26: Presidents, Year of Horse
There are Monday Holidays, and then there are days when so many events need to be jammed together, it's like a month of Mondays. Today’s Capital Radio noted President’s Day,…
Capital Radio 2-9-26: Valentine’s Day Approaches
Valentine’s Day approaches, heralded by a bouquet of familiar songs this week. Before that, we paid tribute to a couple of notable bassists who died in recent weeks — Fred…
Capital Radio 2-2-26: Groundhog Says No ICE
Groundhog’s Day brought several songs about the rodent in the spotlight, bringing bad weather news. But our distain for ICE was reflected by several new songs about the deadly surge…
Capital Radio 1-26-26: Snow Songs Accumulate
The biggest snowfall in a decade required a couple dozen songs about the white winter covering that caused a pause in travel, work and school for millions. There were a…
Capital Radio 1-19-26: Martin Luther King Day
Honoring Martin Luther King Day may be more important than ever in a political culture anxious to erase his legacy. So half the show (starting with part two, above) saluted…
Capital Radio 1-12-26: Saga of Good vs. ICE
The death of Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir Saturday at 78 led the show with some of his best known songs. (I wrote a separate piece about Weir on Substack…
Capital Radio 1-5-26: Songs of the Invasion
The weekend’s imperialist invasion of Venezuela by the United States colored a lot of the show, with songs from The Clash and Jesse Wells to Elvis Costello and Neil Young,…
Capital Radio 12-29-25: Those We Lost This Year
After only a cursory nod to the impending New Year, with just three songs about the end of the year, the last Capital Radio of the year turned its attention…
Capital Radio 12-22-25: Xmas’s Friendly Beasts
Yes, Virginia, there were Christmas songs on today’s Capital Radio, but those that had to do with friendly beasts — the animals in the manger, those powering the Santa sleigh…