KBCS Women’s History Month Programs
KBCS presents the following programs in our station schedule for Women’s History Month. Please tune in to hear these incredible programs celebrating, educating and inspiring listeners. There are many resources provided to KBCS broadcasts thanks to the support from listeners, like you! Please consider making a donation to KBCS at www.kbcs.fm/donate
Please check out the links to the programs to learn more about the stories, producers and studios providing these important programs. Please tune-in to some of our regularly scheduled programming representing women of today, sharing news, stories, struggles and celebrations!
WINGS: Women’s International News Gathering Service – Tuesdays at 5:30am just after This Way Out LGBTQ+ News at 5am
Rising Up with Sonali – Fridays 7am
Democracy Now – Daily (Mon to Fri) at 8am
Archive audio for most of the programs on KBCS can be found for a 2-week availability on the program pages at www.kbcs.fm/program
>>>> WEEK 1 <<<<
MONDAY March 3rd –
New Letters On Air
Women’s History Month continues as we go to the archives to revisit Black Women Writers in History, a program that examines important African-American writers such as Phyllis Wheatley, Rita Dove, Margaret Walker and Gwendolyn Brooks
Making contact: Black Women History
While Black women have played a critical role in the development of the nation, their stories have been mostly overlooked. In the new book, A Black Womens History of the United States, historians Diana Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross honor the many significant contributions of Black women who have worked tirelessly to build this country and fight for social justice in the face of racism and sexism.
FRIDAY March 7th – 11pm
AFROPOP – Cesari Evora
The beloved, Grammy Award winning singer Cesaria Evora from Cape Verde passed away in 2011 at the age of 70. We celebrate Cesaria’s life and art with an encore of our 1995 recording of her magnificent New York City debut at the Bottom Line. Cesaria, known as the “Queen of the morna” is backed by her classy group featuring piano, acoustic bass guitar, cavaquinho and lead acoustic guitar. As a special bonus, two accomplished protégés of Cesaria’s – Fantcha and Mayra Andrade – pay their tribute with stories and songs inspired by one of the most influential and successful artists of the modern African era.
>>>> WEEK 2 <<<<
MONDAY March 10th – 4am
WINGS: Suppressed History: https://wingsradio.org/wordpress/
WINGS contributor in Amsterdam Mindy Ran interviewed Max Dashu via zoom in March 2024, for Women’s History Month. Dashu explains how and why she started the Suppressed Histories Archive and explains some of the obstacles and complications in appropriately finding and interrogating the biases of various kind of sources. She notes how the technical demands and opportunities have arisen for the project over its 54 years, and her hopes for making the entire collection searchable and accessible.
What’s the Word: Women Warriors: https://www.mla.org/
From the Greek goddess Athena to the classic comic book character Zena and from Joan of Arc to GI Jane, history, mythology, and contemporary literature and film offer many images of women warriors. Susan Crane takes us back to the Middle Ages with a look at Joan of Arc and the transcripts of her trial for heresy; Shirley Geok-lin Lim talks about Maxine Hong Kingston’s book, The Woman Warrior; and Yvonne Tasker explores the portrayal of a female naval officer in Ridley Scott’s 1997 film, GI Jane.
FRIDAY March 14th – AfroPOP – Reconstructing Somalia
In this episode we take a rare look at Somalia’s formative, pre-civil war years (1960-90), which saw the birth of soomaalinimo – Somali patriotism. Our principal guide is Lidwien Kapteijns (Professor of History at Wellesley College) whose book Women’s Voices in a Man’s World focuses on popular songs of this hopeful era shaped the changing lives and status of women
>>>> WEEK 3 <<<<
MONDAY March 17th – 4am
AUDACIOUS – Female Base Jumper and South Pole Explorer
On this episode of Audacious, meet wingsuit BASE jumper, Ellen Brennen Frat, and the first women to ski solo to the South Pole, Liv Arnesen
FRIDAY March 21st – 11pm
AFROPop – Women’s History Month: Fairuz, A Woman for all Seasons
Fairuz is the most popular living singer throughout the Arabic-speaking world and an artist with no real counterpart in Europe or the Americas.
>>>> Week 4 <<<<
Monday March 24th
WINGS: Women’s Equality USA
WINGS contributor in Amsterdam Mindy Ran interviewed Max Dashu via zoom in March 2024, for Women’s History Month. Dashu explains how and why she started the Suppressed Histories Archive and explains some of the obstacles and complications in appropriately finding and interrogating the biases of various kind of sources. She notes how the technical demands and opportunities have arisen for the project over its 54 years, and her hopes for making the entire collection searchable and accessible.
Making contact: 70 Million – How Black Women Rightfully Taking Seats
Nearly one in two Black women in the US have a loved one who has been impacted by our prison system. Many become de facto civilian experts as a result. Some rise to lead as catalysts for change. And now, scores of Black women are joining the ranks”as officers of the court, police, and judges”to manage and advance a system that has had such an outsized impact on their lives. On today’s episode we look at the many ways Black women are leading the conversation around policy and reform within the criminal justice system.
FRIDAY March 28th – 11pm
AFROPop – Women’s History Month: Four Women of the West
In West Africa, women are on the cutting edge of musical and cultural progress. This program looks at four singer/composers with roots in tradition and unique ideas about how to keep them current in the fast-changing milieu of today’s African music.
Thank you

KBCS Women’s History Month 2025
Woman, Life, Freedom Uprising – One year later
Jina Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish, 22 year old woman, was killed in custody of Iran’s morality police on September 16th last year, sparking an uprising led by Iranian women, and supported by ethnic and minority groups.
As the anniversary of Amini’s death nears, Iranian American women in Washington state share their experiences in Iran before they moved here. They also share how the Woman, Life, Freedom Uprising has affected them.
Producer: Yuko Kodama
Photo: Feminists for Jina
Events in observance of one year anniversary of Jina Mahsa Amini’s death and beginning of Woman, Life Freedom uprising
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday
Peyvand and NPO is co-hosting a vigil and poetry event
Sunday, September 17th
University of Washington Campus Red Square – 6:30 to 8:00 pm
Afghanistan Women’s Professional Cycling Team Goes Against All Odds
October 7th, 2018, marks the end of the Tasveer South Asian Film Festival. One of the films playing is Afghan Cycles which follows a 5 year journey of a women’s professional cycling team in Afghanistan. Join us as KBCS’s Ruth Bly speaks with Film Director, Sarah Menzies about what the women face while cycling in their country.
Women Boxers
Now we meet some women who have a hard hitting way of combating gender norms. KBCS’s Anjali Skilton has the story about women who box.