Women's Liberation Radio News

Lee Lakeman, a founding member of the Vancouver Rape Relief Center and women's rights activist since 1978, discusses the organization's history and ongoing efforts against gender-based violence. Laurel McBride shares insights into the shelter's operations and the importance of advocacy. Spoken-word artist Dominique Christina captivates with "The Period Poem," addressing societal stigma around menstruation. Together, they emphasize resilience in feminist activism and explore the critical need for community support and solidarity among women.

Welcome back sisters to another hour of women’s liberation music on WLRN! I’m Phoenixx and it is the end of January 2019. Someone said the other day that it felt like the 74th of January! In some ways the month has felt interminable--like it’s just not passing quickly enough. And that it’s just been two Januarys of insanity, violence, hate and abuse and still no impeachment!!!! Luckily, we still have these airwaves of radical women’s liberation feminist thought, action and music as refuge for us refugees fleeing from the continual onslaught of misogyny and male supremacy. A few months ago I put out a call for current women’s music that take on real issues relevant to us as radical feminists and Lesbians. Songs that include such themes like sexism, male supremacy/violence, female revolution, the war on women and girls. Recently I was gifted the album Cronesong released in June 2018 by The River Hags: Lizzie Yee-Haw, Sally Starflower, Lili Yee and Melanie Gorguny! I first encountered the river hags at Ohio Lesbian Music Festival last September. What caught my attention was a comment they made on stage about their anti-pornography position! Later I met one of them handing out anti-pornography stickers! What a sigh of relief to know there were performers at that festival who openly took that political stance and spoke about it. They earned my immediate respect. This next hour I feature their radical feminist americana/folk music with teeth. Enjoy! Please support these wimmin artists; download their Cronesong album: www.riverhags.bandcamp.com Song list: background music: To Soestre VOX 11 River Hags' song in the following order: Burn it Down NAMALT Motherland Amazing Amazons Bring Them HOme Two Sets of Rules Outsiders Flight of the Goddess Let 'Em Fly Yes, We Can Burn it Down (again) Reading of Mary Oliver's poem "A Thousand Mornings" from collection with the same name

These songs are meant to carry us down and into our cores. Many of them are from a Tuvan throat singer Sainkho Namtchylak who was born in far south Siberia. According to patriarchal tradition as reported by patriarchal research, women in Tuva were forbidden to throat sing because it was believed the female voices could hurt male relatives or could cause childbirth problems(no comment necessary). In spite of the taboos, Sainkho’s grandmother taught her much of her traditional repertoire from which Sainkho has produced many albums. There is only one all-female folk ensemble who performs Tuvan throat singing: Tyva Kyzy directed by Choduraa Tumat. Unfortunately, I was not able to access their music. Also included in this hour is a sister duo called Ibeyi whose music I heard on the website for one of the first returning gatherings this Summer on MichFest’s land. Ibeyi is a French (with Cuban, Venezuelan and Tunisian origins) musical duo consisting of twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz. The duo sings in English, French, Spanish and Yoruba, a Nigerian language spoken in West Africa by their ancestors before being taken to Cuba as slaves in the 1700s. Ibeyi means ‘twins’ in Yoruba language. Finally, I’ve included a song by Saodaj’ suggested by a listener! Thank you! I love their sound. The group is from La Reunion Island; they create their own interpretation of Maloya, the typical musical genre of this French island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Maloya is sung in Creole, and is born out of the rhythms brought by the Malagasy and Eastern African slaves. I hope you enjoy this weaving of melodic and deeply entrancing female vocals. Introduction background: Naked Spirit Sainkho Namtchylak BaDJirgal's Wish Sainkho Namtchylak Inuit Wedding Sainkho Namtchylak Midnight Blue Sainkho Namtchylak From Me to You Sainkho Namtchylak Long Way Home Sainkho Namtchylak Valley of Shadows Sainkho Namtchylak Siber-Shaman Sainkho Namtchylak To the Master Hunashtar--Ool Sainkho Namtchylak Dance of the Eagle Sainkho Namtchylak Ritual Virtuality Sainkho Namtchylak Oya Ibeyi River Ibeyi Pokor Ler SaodaJ Lihkahusat/Entranced Mari Boine

In this interview, WLRN member Robin speaks with Meghan Murphy about her start in radio, her path to Feminist Current, and her recent experiences with online censorship and harassment. Meghan Murphy is a radical feminist writer and journalist who was recently banned from Twitter for posting public information about a man in the news. On January 10th, 2019, Meghan will be appearing at he Vancouver Public Library for a discussion on the effect of gender ideology on women’s and girls’ civil rights. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.

Happy New Year! Sisters, let us start the year right. Let's hit the ground running. Let's speak out and stand up. Women will NOT be silenced. Join the revolution, and take a listen to our freshest edition on the misogynist censorship of women. Our 33rd show begins with an introduction by our newest member, Robin. Then Damayanti's world headlines are followed by "Your Revolution" by Sarah Jones. Julia speaks with Natasha Chart, board member of Women's Liberation Front, about the Wordpress blog Gender Identity Watch. After that interview, Jennifer Lopez's song "Let's Get Loud" segues into Robin's interview with Meghan Murphy, a feminist writer who was banned from Twitter for using male pronouns in reference to a male pedophile. Finally Sekhmet reads the collectively-written commentary to round out the hour. Thank you to all of our fabulous listeners for all your support. We love hearing from you, so let us know what you think. Reach out, and speak up!

Way to the Well Keruna Aye Kerunene Keruna Zamuci se Bozja Majka (Serbian) Kitka Collage of Koleda Carols (Bulgarian) Kitka A gute vokh (Yiddish) Kitka This week I'll continue to read from Sally Miller Gearhart's classic feminist novel The Wanderground: Stories of the Hill Women while interspersing chapter readings with music from Keruna and Kitka. Hope you are moved to a deep and powerful remembering of your power as women unto yourselves.

This podcast explores the importance of solidarity and sisterhood in the face of violence against women. It discusses the Montreal Massacre, anti-prostitution activism, transgender identity, and the rescue of Venezuelan women from prostitution. It also emphasizes the significance of sisterhood and solidarity in feminist activism and the need to build a genuine community. The podcast concludes with announcements and a call for listener sponsors and volunteers.

Crackpot Crone: an Outrageous, Be-Laughing woman; one whose laughter melts down the plastic passions and unpots the potted ones. Syn-Crone-icities n: "coincidences" experienced and recognized by Crones as Strangely significant. Examples: too numerous to be Nagnoted here. Crones reading this (book) are invited to draw from their own experiences to illustrate this definition. Please join me for an hour of HAG music and short readings from Mary Daly's WICKEDARY to Summon all Re-volting Hags on the planet! Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock, you have dislodged a boulder, you will be crushed. -South African Women's Freedom Song, Aug. 9, 1956 Old Woman Linda Shear Trollabundin Eivor Manaus Tellu Tass'on Nain(Here's a Woman) Hedningarna Ancestor Albannach Rosna Livada Laboratorium Piesni Ninety Linda Shear Savage Daughter* Wyndreth Bergensdottir Gy Neski'yn Chant of the Ancients Carolyn Hillyer A Song We All Knew How To Sing Carolyn Hillyer Kadjo Nani Carolyn Hillyer Ancestor's Song Kellianna *Note: as a white woman, I am often uncomfortable using this song because of the historically racist use of the word *savage*. It has been used in harmful/hateful/disparaging ways by white people against people of color (ie anyone not of white European ancestry). I also recognize that the singer/songwriter is reclaiming the word 'savage' to mean a quality of great value. I offer the song in that light, in that spirit, of summoning Wildness that is free from convention. At the same time, I am keenly aware of the inherent white privilege of getting to decide what the word means and when, given all the historic times it was decided by other white people to mean something awful to justify rape, violence and murder.

In this extended interview, April talks with Danielle and Eileen of the Vancouver Lesbian Collective about their experiences at the 2018 Vancouver Dyke March and the climate for lesbians in an (ironically) increasingly sexist and lesbophobic queer culture.

Welcome back, sisters, to another hour of women's liberation music. This week I've gathered songs from my library that lend themselves to uplift. You know when you watch birds take flight and they catch the draft that pulls them effortlessly higher? Or if you watch pelicans over the waves in their V formation, how they lift up together, seemingly as one with the air currents? That's the effect I went seeking in this tapestry of songs this week. Not giving you a list to peruse ahead of time; just tune in and see where the V formation takes you. :-) I promise it will be entertaining and fun, uplifting. Hope you enjoy!