After a great deal of consideration, Grateful Dread Public Radio is stepping away a bit from our nearly 20 years of offering multigenre “kind” music. As a result, our format is going to 24/7 progressive news/talk.
There are a number of reasons for this:
First and foremost, a new FM radio station is coming to Nashville: Workers Dignity’s WDYO 104.1. We are so thrilled that a terrestrial station is coming along to provide real musical diversity for the people of Music City. There will be talk programming on the new station, but the vast majority of it, I’m told, will be music. Frankly, we would like to clear that lane for WDYO, because we fully support what they’re doing — I mean, how cool is radio that represents the real people, low wage workers? — and we plan to be involved there as well.
Secondly, by going fully news/talk, we can bring more voices, more ideas, and more urgency to the issues discussed and illuminated on our netwaves. The world is going to hell in a handbasket, and GDPR wants to be a place where diverse sounds and ideas reign amid the mainstream twaddle.
And we have new voices! In addition to David Pakman, Mimi Geerges, David Barsamian, Cindy Sheehan and the Democracy Now! and Free Speech Radio News teams that have served as flagship talkers on GDPR, we are bringing legendary progressive voices Thom Hartmann and Brad Friedman of BradBlog into the fold. Alongside Between the Lines, This Way Out!, Interfaith Voices, the Russ Belville Show, Drug Truth Network’s Century of Lies and Cultural Baggage, and Liberal Fix Radio, we are adding a host of programs including Global Research News Hour, With Good Reason, BackStory, and much more. A big part of our audience will cheer at this news: John Doe Radio is back! And if you love arts shows like WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour, Grateful Dead Hour, and Songs and Stories, no worries: They will stay put (with new times), and you can get to know the wonderful Upstart Radio Theatre.
Soon we will kick off new versions of Grateful Dread Public Radio’s Green Tea Morning: I’ll bring you Green Tea AM and Green Tea PM, hour-long morning and evening looks at progressive issues along with Nashville news and events information.
Check out new program schedule to see all the offerings, old and new. Then, tune in and turn on, tell your friends, and become a member!
