Paul Brohaugh - Jan. 1, 2025
Paul picked the least likely time for anyone to be listening (Jan. 1, 6am) to try out some guitar tunes he had been playing recently in El Salvador - the first is from Salvadoran poet Oswaldo Escobar Velado, “Regalo Para el Niño,” made into a song by Yolocamba I Ta, and the second is from Nicaraguan troubadour Carlos Mejia Godoy - “Navidad en Libertad”
Pop Wagner - Dec. 11, 2024
Pop Wagner came back to the studio! This time he shared a few lively tunes, a poem about floating a horseshoe in coffee, and some stories about getting his acrylic nails installed at the beauty salon. He’s always up to something, find out more at popwagner.com
2024 Fall Pledge Drive
We have two special premiums this pledge drive: two bespoke small electronics kits! If you can build a lego set, you can build one of these. You don’t need to know how to write a line of code, you don’t even need to know what code is or does. You do need to know how to read and look at pictures. I guess if you can build a lego set OR you can read a Dr. Seuss book, you can build one of these:
Nonstop KFAI - You will set up a tiny little analog radio that's powered by a microcontroller. The radio module has a built in FM receiver and a 1/8" headphone jack output. You can listen to the radio without Wi-Fi when it's all assembled and powered on. It's kinda funny when you think about it - a computer powering an analog radio that doesn't need Wi-Fi. Whatever. The radio is set to one station (KFAI of course) and you cannot change that or the volume.
Hey Jay -You will make the light sing. You’re going to assemble a Hey Jay, a little device that I like to think of as a reverse light organ. Once it’s assembled and powered up, you can wave your hand close to the device and trigger the motion sensor. Then, the microcontroller takes a sample of the ambient light from the sensor, maps the measurements onto a digital synthesizer, and finally it outputs the music to an ⅛” headphone jack. Think of it like a sort of digital wind chime that plays when you strum the light.
Either kit is available to you if you pledge $90 to support KFAI. You can call 612-375-9030 or click the donate button on this page to donate on kfai.org.
The Ballad of Jessie Diggins Coming to Theodore Wirth Park in February 2024
Gonna sit here - on the hillside - till Jessie - comes by
I reckoned - we'd see her skiing - but we only - saw her fly
(as witnessed by KFAI's Paul Brohaugh, and recounted early Wednesday morning February 21 on Poetry, Science and Wrestling, with banjo)
Note: the original broadcast has been supplanted by Paul's "studio" recording of the same song. You can also find it on the internet's most popular video sharing service, complete with historic videos of Jessie Diggins, Bill Koch, and various members of Paul's family.
Pop Wagner - February 14, 2024
Pop Wagner popped into the station on Valentine's Day with a six-string guitar and a couple new CDs - you can hear him around town various places this winter, and listen here as he plays "Annabel", live on Poetry, Science and Wrestling
The Grateful Fed - January 31, 2024
Soup For You!, a "radical soup kitchen" in the basement of the church at 2511 E Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, was about to celebrate nine years of serving free and delicious soup for anyone every weekday between 12 and 1 -- Chef Judah and Soup For You's house band, the Grateful Fed, came over to KFAI's Poetry, Science and Wrestling on January 31, 2024, with a few songs and a conversation with Paul. Everyone's welcome for soup, and anyone is also welcome to donate at the Soup For You! website
Robin Kyle - January 31, 2024
Robin Kyle was set to play Tuesday nights (9:30) in February (2024) at the 331 in Northeast Minneapolis, trading songs and stories with other musical friends and family members - he stopped by Poetry, Science and Wrestling with a few tunes, and a conversation with Paul Brohaugh
The Roe Family Singers - January 29, 2024
Poetry, Science and Wrestling took a field trip to see The Roe Family Singers at their secret rehearsal location, preparing for a big show at the Parkway Theater, Thursday, February 1, 2024. They were set to release a new album, "Sisters and Brothers" -- Paul Brohaugh spoke with Quillan Roe about it, and listened in on a few tunes in the living room of two of the band's members
Larry Long and Fiddlin’ Pete Watercott - January 10, 2024
Warming up for their American Roots Revue at the Dakota (Jan 13, 2004), Larry Long and Fiddlin’ Pete Watercott graced the studios of Poetry, Science and Wrestling with some tunes and stories, including one about the time, decades ago, they fiddled their way out an “incident” in the freight yard of Missoula, Montana, and a song about a Minneapolis violin maker. What’s become an annual show at the Dakota will feature Barbara Cohen, Robert Robinson, Tonia Hughes Kendrick, Alana Dickenson-Gaabay Aniikwaad and a band led by Michael Bland and Billy Steele
John Gorka - November 15, 2024
John Gorka came to KFAI's P, S & W on an early Wednesday in November to talk with Paul Brohaugh, and play a few songs, including one he wrote (and once performed) for a herd of bison
Riley Skinner - Surrender
Even in my darkest moments, I hope you know, there is a spark here.
Riley Skinner’s new record Surrender encourages us to love ourselves for who we are and who we might become.
She describes this record that, “...embracing myself fully as a queer person has been an act of surrendering fully to who I am. It’s meant allowing myself to fall apart and feel out of control, but also to embrace that place of chaos and find some ease and joy there.”
Lyrically and sonically, she wanders on Surrender and is never lost, a journey for the sake of itself where the destination is exactly where you are right now, but you’re just facing the dawn of a new tomorrow. The record showcases her range as a songwriter, Skinner departs from the textures of her previous work and here she glides between moods sonically and lyrically. Slow, ethereal ballads hover just off the surface of a rugged earth before they drift away and reveal the grit and the groove. The moves feel subtle, intentional, and never out of place. She allows the listener access to the most intimate parts of herself. She tells the story of what was, is, and will become from where those three overlap. No moment exists in a vacuum, all is connected and illuminated by a simple spark of hope.
The band around Skinner builds the record a sturdy foundation. Colleen Burns and Shannon van der Reck fill out the rhythm section and seem expertly to hold back the weight of the world and keep the center clear for Riley to unspool on each track. The record features additional guitars from Cooper Stoulil, flute from Margo Ramsay, and pedal steel from Zack Warpinski. The band embeds a sort of sonic grit on Carnal Otherness and Friend. They bring power that’s never overpowering. Then, deftly switch gears on tracks like Surrender and Swallow Song, a song which opens to a minimalist, graceful vignette until it crescendos with flutes and chorus into a wall of sound and wonder and memory that crashes softly back onto its own shores. The band wanders with Riley, all comfortably restless and completely steady, never settling on a single sound but always choosing the right one.
I may not ever be in the right place at the right time, but I have something worth holding onto
01 - Dirty
Great song for when you can’t tell if your searching for yesterday or tomorrow, but know that it’s right around the corner anyways
05 - You Go a Long Way
Great song for when the heat of the day has been unbearable, for when you can finally slink out into the night and feel reborn in the cool silence
08 - Guarded
Great song for when you see yourself in the mirror and recognize the person you will become
** Some of the writing in this doesn’t belong to me - I lifted some lines from Riley’s record and if you want to figure out what came from the record well you better go listen to it cause you’re done reading this.
The OK Factor - October 10, 2023
The OK Factor, AKA Olivia and Karla, prepared for their fall 2023 midwest "Traditions" tour (and corresponding EP release, in collaboration with the Swedish band Jaerv) by visiting Poetry, Science and Wrestling - Paul Brohaugh got to ask them a little about their history, and future … fortunately, part of their answer was live music right in KFAI’s studio 4
Martin Devaney -September 20, 2023
Martin Devaney came in to P, S & W to chat with Paul Brohaugh about some upcoming appearances, and to play some new and old tunes
Pop Wagner - September 13, 2023
Pop Wagner stopped by Poetry, Science and Wrestling September 13 with a couple guitars and some recordings of various ensembles he leads around the Twin Cities - he was set to play at the White Squirrel Bar in St. Paul, the 331 Club in Minneapolis, and to go on the road to Wyoming for some music and cinch making classes.
MN Driftless Trout
Depending on how you want to look at it, there’s either a brand new species of trout or a very old species now swimming in the Driftless. This August, Minnesota’s DNR released a unique, native strain of brook trout into our streams.
See, a great deal of the trout species we find here were imported into our state from hatcheries out on the east coast. About 20 years ago, the DNR investigated our streams to find if any of our native species survived amidst the imports. Their scientists compared the genetics of fish from 74 streams against genetics of species they knew had been brought in from outside our biome. They discovered a remnant, native strain of brook trout still living in a few streams in the Southeastern corner of the state.
Over the next two decades, hatcheries build up populations of this special trout dubbed the MN Driftless. They persevered through a devastating setback in 2015, where a disease spread through the brooding population. Despite this, good work wins out, and now 14 of our waterways have happy little fingerlings frolicking away.
I’m excited to say we have with us today Melissa Wagner from the Minnesota DNR, the Lanesboro Area Fisheries Supervisor…
Leslie Rich - May 17, 2023
Leslie Rich come by Poetry, Science and Wrestling May 17th to share some songs and stories with KFAI listeners, in advance of his "Jumpstart" EP release at the Icehouse in Minneapolis - he spoke with Paul Brohaugh
Philip Shorey and Orchestra - February 8, 2023
Philip Shorey and three members of the Curse of the Vampire Orchestra came by KFAI's Poetry, Science and Wrestling to preview a silent movie, for radio - the orchestra is set to play three sets to accompany the Charlie Chaplin classic "The Kid" February 10 and 11, 2023, at the Skyway Theater in Minneapolis
Paul Brohaugh - December 28, 2022
Paul Brohaugh was a surprise guest on his own program recently, and he wanted to share the song he and his nephew Henry Brown have been working on!
Larry Long - November 9, 2022
Larry Long came by KFAI's Poetry, Science and Wrestling to talk with Paul about life, and the upcoming performance of the American Roots Revue (Nov 12, 2022, at the Dakota, in Minneapolis). . .and he brought his guitar!
Sumanth Gopinath of The Gated Community - November 2, 2022
Sumanth Gopinath of The Gated Community came to KFAI's studios November 2, 2022, to play a few tunes off their forthcoming release, The Honor and the Glory of The Gated Community, which fans could pick up at their concert November 3 at Minneapolis' Uptown VFW