Written by Neil Horsky, this column was originally published in the October 2015 issue of the Boston Compass

Art by Amber Frame, “Radical Radio Waves Beam Over Boston Inspiring the Weary Workers to Fight for Their Cause”

In October 2004 radio host Linda Pinkow aired the first episode of What’s Left on WMBR, 88.1 FM. Now marking its 10-year anniversary broadcasting from MIT, What’s Left offers listeners a mix of live interviews, news clips, music, poetry, humor and other forms of culture, all from a Left political perspective.

Her guests include political activists promoting upcoming events, writers and scholars with newly released publications on social issues, and others for whom a chance to share underrepresented political viewpoints on public airwaves is empowering to their person and their cause.

Pinkow often chooses locally relevant subjects for her episodes in response to current events, or sometimes focuses on an issue simply because it is not covered elsewhere. She culls clips and quotes from across the Web to enrich the discourse, and draws upon the vast music library at WMBR to open the hearts of her listeners. In an interview with Linda she elaborates on the importance of the arts in her program and in politics:

“Social movements are hard. Fighting against the system can be painful – with no money, little support, feeling isolated. The arts bring joy to the movement.”

“Social change requires new ways of being in the world, new culture, and the arts can encapsulate these new ways of being into forms that inspire our imagination, without the didacticism that often plagues the Left.”

In an age of increasingly corporate-controlled airwaves, WMBR and What’s Left provide a vital public non-commercial outlet for cultural exchange and political dissent. Hear it live from 6-7pm every Friday.