Introducing WINGS, Amplifying Women’s Voices on KBCS 91.3 FM

At KBCS 91.3 FM, we believe storytelling has the power to inspire change and unite communities. That’s why we proudly bring you 91.3 KBCS WINGS News—the Women’s International News Gathering Service. This program amplifies women’s voices worldwide, ensuring they are heard. Since 1986, WINGS has trailblazed community radio, delivering vital stories and perspectives often overlooked by mainstream media.

91.3 KBCS WINGS News is more than just a radio show; it’s a platform where women’s voices take center stage. It tackles topics ranging from grassroots activism to global movements, shedding light on crucial issues like gender equality, human rights, health, the environment, and social justice—all viewed through the empowering lens of women’s experiences.

For over three decades, WINGS has led the global women’s movement with in-depth reporting and insightful commentary that matters. The show features inspiring interviews with women leaders, activists, scholars, and everyday heroes who are driving change in their communities.

At KBCS, we commit to offering programming that informs, inspires, and empowers. However, we need your support to continue. By donating to KBCS, you help keep essential programs like WINGS thriving. Your contribution ensures these powerful stories reach our community and beyond.

So, we urge you to join us in amplifying women’s voices. Tune in to WINGS, spread the word, and consider making a donation to KBCS. Together, we can ensure that women’s voices worldwide continue to be heard and make a lasting impact.

“Between the Lines” on KBCS, Where Current Trends Meet In-Depth Analysis

Every Thursday morning at 5:30 AM, 91.3 KBCS Bellevue News “Between the Lines” takes you deeper into the stories that matter most. From the complexities of global politics to the latest buzz in local news, this show provides an insightful look at the world through a progressive lens. Click the promotion below and join us.

With the presidential race heating up, 91.3 KBCS Bellevue News “Between the Lines” offers detailed discussions on figures like Vice President Kamala Harris and Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz or Former President Donald Trump and Vice Presidential Candidate JD Vance, analyzing their impact on current political narratives and what it means for the future of governance in America. You’ll also hear about how companies like Amazon impact jobs, the economy, and our communities. For sports fans, we discuss how the Seattle Seahawks influence the culture and spirit of the Pacific Northwest. We’ll also take you to the Hawaiian Islands to look at the unique challenges and opportunities they’re facing. Plus, we talk about how authors like Ann Couture use literature to help us see the world in new ways. “Between the Lines” helps you understand the real stories behind the headlines and what they mean for everyone.

Support the voices that matter on KBCS! Your donation helps us continue to bring you diverse perspectives, in-depth discussions, and quality programming that informs and inspires. Whether it’s shows like “Between the Lines,” “Alternative Radio,” or “Travel with Rick Steves,” your contribution keeps independent media thriving. Every dollar makes a difference and funds from vehicle donations are invested into quality programming that serves the community who values truth, diversity, and thoughtful conversation. Help us keep KBCS impactful and click the button below.

The Women’s Liberation Movement in Seattle

The Seattle area has a particularly distinctive feminist history. Dr. Barbara Winslow, Professor emerita at Brooklyn College, Founder of the Shirley Chisholm Project and author of Shirley Chisholm: Catalyst for Change came out with the book Revolutionary Feminists: The Women’s Liberation Movement in Seattle last year. She describes why Seattle’s feminist activism is unique and highlights some key moments, including a story Fannie Lou Hamer shared in Seattle about her own experience with reproductive rights.

Producer: Yuko Kodama

Photo: Portion of book cover – Revolutionary Feminists: The Women’s Liberation Movement in Seattle

Vashon Green School

Here’s a highlight of Vashon Green School, a K-5 school, founded by educator, activist, photojournalist and farmer, Dana Schuerholz on Vashon Island’s seedbees farm.  

Producer: Yuko Kodama

Photos: Yuko Kodama

Seattle’s Gang of Four – An Interracial Coalition

The ‘Gang of Four’ or ‘Four Amigos’ is a group of four Seattle activists from Indigenous, Black, Asian, and Latinx communities.  They organized and advocated for the needs of people of color from the late 60s and 70’s onward.

Councilmember Larry Gossett is the last surviving member of the Gang of Four. Councilmember Gossett is a former Seattle Chapter Black Panther Party member, Co-founder of the University of Washington, Seattle Black Student Union, the former Executive Director of the Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP), and Co-Founder of the Third World Coalition He also founded the Minority Executive Directors Coalition (MEDC) alongside the Gang of Four.  He celebrated his 79th birthday this month.  In this interview with Councilmember Gossett from December, 2021, he reflects on the powerful and lasting work of the interracial coalition. 

Producer: Yuko Kodama

Photo: Gang of Four Book Cover “Gang of Four,” by Bob Santos and Gary Iwamoto

Families in Solidarity with Palestine

In Gaza, Israeli attacks have killed 8,000 women and children (70% of fatalities). Today, the two largest hospitals in Gaza have stopped functioning as they’ve run out of fuel and are surrounded by Israeli forces.

Meanwhile, yesterday, 300-400 hundred people gathered in Seattle’s Columbia Park for a Ceasefire march around the block and rally for families and children. Participants sang songs, painted murals and prayer flags for Palestine, and wrote postcards addressed to state elected officials to demand a ceasefire.

Listen to some sounds and voices from the event. You may hear the rain in some of the clips.

A longer highlight of this event will broadcast tomorrow on KBCS during the Grit at 7 am.

Producer: Yuko Kodama 

Photos: Yuko Kodama

second row – Miwa Nietering (age 6), Nazia Siddiqi

third row – Rose Waterstone and Cypress Waterstone (age 10)

fourth row – Loren, Zachary, Theo, Tony and Didi; mural of handprints

sixth row – the march was around the block

seventh row – Macy Ratliffe “Don’t let the world forget about us. Free Palestine”

eighth row – table to write post cards to Washington state elected officials

ninth row – artwork by Ruth Wilson Gilmore

tenth row – art tent to contribute to the mural and to create prayer flags

Activist, Linda Sarsour Speaks Against Islamophobia and White Supremacy

Linda Sarsour, noted Palestinian-American civil rights leader and Executive Director of MPower Change spoke at Seattle’s Rainier Arts Center  on Islamophobia and White Supremacy in January, 2023.

The event was hosted by Valley and Mountain Fellowship’s Center for Faith, Art, and Justice in partnership with the United Church of Christ’s Join the Movement Toward Racial Justice. The event was part of the Set Us Free from Fear: Faith, White Supremacy, and Politics series. The series invited scholars, clergy, and activists working at the intersection of race and faith to share their wisdom to our broader communities.

Sarsour was co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March, the 2017 Day Without a  Woman, and the 2019 Women’s March. She is also a former executive director of the Arab American Association of New York.  She is the author of We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love and Resistance, published in March, 2020.

Producers: Valley and Mountain Fellowship, United Church in Christ’s Join the Movement toward Racial Justice

Photo Linda Sarsour and Women’s Media Center

What Distinguishes Sephardic Jewish Communities?

The new graphic novel, We Are Not Strangers, is a story about the relationship of a Japanese American family and a Sephardic Jewish family leading up to and after WWII. 

The book’s author, Josh Tuininga, Densho Founder, Tom Ikeda and Dr. Devin Naar, University of Washington, Associate Professor of History & Jewish Studies will speak about the parallels and relationships between these communities on Monday, October 23rd at Third Place Books.

Dr. Devin Naar speaks about the characteristic culture of the Sephardic Jewish  group, largely from Mediterranean regions in the Jewish diaspora , in comparison to the Ashkenazi Jewish groups from Central and Eastern Europe.

Producers: Lucy Braginski and Yuko Kodama

Photo: Naar standing beside fragments from the Jewish cemetery of Salonica built into the old city walls (2014) | Photo by Argilo Mitilinou

On the Block

On the Block is an event to celebrate local artists in visual art, music, street-wear and food every second Sunday of the month through October.  KBCS’s Yuko Kodama spoke with Julie Chang Schulman, Co-founder of Forever Safe Spaces, and is one of the Co-organizers of a coalition of artists who present the event held in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood on 11th Ave and between East Pike and East Pine from 11 am to 7 pm. 

 Chang Schulman describes the foundations and mission of the event and coalition.

Producer: Yuko Kodama

Gratitude Gatherings

Gratitude gatherings are held for urban trees in the Seattle area. It’s to honor these elder plants, and to resist the aggressive removal of urban trees for building development.

KBCS’s Martha Baskin has this story. 

Producers: Martha Baskin and David Guenther at Jackstraw Productions

Photo: Meegan McKiernan and Martha Baskin