Rosa Parks interviewed on KPFA in 1958. A 1986 recording of Mr. Magic’s Rap Attack on WLBS in New York City. A clip of astronaut Jose Hernandez from the “Historias de Si Se Puede” series.
These are a few of the audio and radio archives recently shared by the Kitchen Sisters as part of their week-long #KeeperoftheDay series highlighting partners of the Radio Preservation Task Force. The week kicked off with a short piece from RPTF chair Josh Shepperd. You can hear Shepperd talk more about the task force on podcast #192, guesting with co-chair Neil Verma.
For those not in the know, the Kitchen Sisters have been carrying the torch for exploratory radio documentary since way before podcasting re-popularized the genre. They’ve also been strong advocates for archiving and preservation of sound history. Their podcast, “The Kitchen Sisters Present…,” highlights “[s]tories from the b-side of history. Lost recordings, hidden worlds, people possessed by a sound, a vision, a mission.” This includes artifacts like the ephemeral sounds of Burning Man and “Stubb’s Blues Cookbook Cassette.”
The Sisters also recently received a GRAMMY Preservation Grant to assist them in preserving and protecting their deep archive of interviews, stories and music.
If you wade into their deep pool of sounds you’ll inevitably take a full dive. The Kitchen Sisters must be on the radar of every radio lover.
