The Kitchen Sisters Present… Stories from the b-side of history. Lost recordings, hidden worlds, people possessed by a sound, a vision, a... more
In 2004, we opened up a phone line on NPR asking people to tell us about their Hidden Kitchens— secret,... more
In 1981 The Kitchen Sisters interviewed Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston for a story about life on the homefront during World War... more
Tom Luddy was a quiet titan of cinema. He presided over the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley for some 10... more
For almost a dozen years, 34 Black women gathered monthly around a big dining room table in an orange house... more
Lured in by a blackboard sign on the street in Davia’s neighborhood announcing “Spotlight on Black Entrepreneurs,” we enter the... more
Lady Gaga, Marion Anderson, Beyoncé, Frank Sinatra, Pete Seeger, Maya Angelou — musicians and poets have been powerful headliners at... more
Edna Lewis was a legendary American chef, a pioneer of Southern cooking and the author of four books, including The... more
On the occasion of her 80th birthday in 2000, The Kitchen Sisters, along with food writer Peggy Knickerbocker, visited the... more
A pioneer in her field, Catherine Bauer Wurster was advisor to five presidents on urban planning and housing and was... more
Pushed to the side and rarely credited for her architectural work at Davis Brody, Phyllis Birkby became a significant figure... more
It is Tuesday, November 5, 2024, the day when millions of Americans go to the polls to vote for who... more
July 17, 2024, Washington, D.C. Some 200 young people from across the nation aged 14-19 — aspiring poets, storytellers, MC's,... more
Today, The Kitchen Sisters Present: “Tupperware” — an homage and a eulogy. It was 1980. Nikki and I had just met.... more
As elections loom, we need to get involved, step up to the civic plate, take part in discourse. And that’s... more
There was a moment at the 2024 Democratic National Convention when Oprah took the stage — and the crowd went... more
On the night of Summer Solstice 1986, Larry Harvey and Jerry James built and burned an eight-foot wooden figure on... more
In honor of the Paris Olympics and the astounding contribution of the French to culture and art of the world,... more
San Francisco officially declared July 15th Linda Ronstadt Day. In her honor, The Kitchen Sisters Present this story about her... more
Route 66—The Main Street of America— the first continuously paved highway linking east and west was the most traveled and... more
In 1977, a cavernous, rarely used sculpture gallery in the Brooklyn Museum was filled with drafting tables, their tops tilted... more
As this year's hurricane season ramps up, we go to New Orleans for a kind of biblical reckoning. A story... more
On February 16, 2024 Russian dissident Alexei Navalny died under unexplained circumstances in a penal colony in the Russian Arctic... more
On April 12, 2024, Eleanor Coppola, artist, filmmaker, mother and wife of director Francis Ford Coppola, died at her home... more
Over the years, The Kitchen Sisters have zeroed in on Memphis, Tennessee in a big way. The inspiration for that... more
In 1898, the United States Department of Agriculture created a special department of men, called “Agriculture Explorers,” to travel the... more
Niloufer Ichaporia King lives in a house with three kitchens. She prowls through six farmer’s markets a week in search... more
Little known stories of pioneering architects — Julia Morgan, the first accredited female architect in California, who designed Hearst Castle... more
A look at the President’s kitchen and some of the first cooks to feed the Founding Fathers—Hercules and James Hemings—the... more
Jelly Roll Morton talks of being a “Spy Boy” in the Mardi Gras Indian parades of his youth. Bo Dollis,... more
Sarah “Sally” Pillsbury and Jean B. Fletcher were both architects who married architects. The two women and their husbands were... more
For five years Davia’s father, Lenny Nelson, asked her to go to Rattlesden, England, to visit the Air Force base where he was stationed... more
Deep in the hidden archives of Harvard’s Houghton Library are the butter stained recipes of Emily Dickinson. Who knew? Emily Dickinson was... more
Lou Reed, musician, rock icon, poet, leader of the legendary Velvet Underground, was obsessed with tai chi — the practice,... more
Late autumn is Kimjang season in the Republic of Korea when families and communities come together to make and share... more
Anna Wagner Keichline (1889–1943) was the first registered woman architect in Pennsylvania and was among the first registered women architects... more
In this episode, we borrow a cup of sound from the podcast, What You’re Eating, a production of FoodPrint.org, hosted... more
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 90 colleges have merged or closed permanently. One of these schools, Lincoln... more
Filmmaker Wim Wenders premiered two new films at Cannes this year — Anselm, a 3-D, cutting edge documentary about the... more
When Lena Richard cooked her first chicken on television, she beat Julia Child to the screen by over a decade. At a... more
We delve into the story of the founding of the Hiphop Archive and Research Institute at Harvard by Dr. Marcyliena... more
It was top secret. But everyone in Santa Fe knew there was something going on up on the hill in... more
In 1981, The Kitchen Sisters interviewed filmmaker Jon Else about his Academy Award nominated documentary, The Day After Trinity, a... more
Behind the scenes at the International Congress of Youth Voices when 131 youth activists,13 to 26 years old, from 37... more
Born in 1895 in Lynchburg, VA, Amaza Lee Meredith was an African American architect, artist and educator who taught at... more
In 1983 Prince hired LA sound technician Susan Rogers, one of the few women in the industry, to move to... more
Chris was a man possessed. “El Fanatico,” Ry Cooder called him. A song catcher, dedicated to recording the traditional, regional,... more
Ada Louise Huxtable, who “invented” the profession of architecture critic, wrote countless articles for two great daily newspapers and had... more
Cab drivers, children’s jump rope rhymes, folk songs, dialects, controversial TV ads, interviews with blacklisted artists and writers during the McCarthy... more
For some eight years now thirty-four Black women have gathered monthly around a big dining room table in the orange... more
Many know Ray Eames as the small, dirndled woman behind her more famous husband, Charles Eames. But Ray was the... more
In 1935, W. E. B. Du Bois, scholar, public intellectual, and social and political activist, published his magnum opus: Black... more
In the early 1980s, Black students and the African American community at American University had been demonstrating for more access... more
Criticisms of fast food often focus on the industrialized system that produces the burgers, buns and fries, or the food’s... more
In 2015 we presented this story about Curtis Carroll, the Stock Market Wizard of San Quentin. Everyone in San Quentin... more
Since the devastating 2019 fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the ringing of the cathedral’s bells has ceased. Sound artist,... more
Over 7000 hours of interviews, oral histories, songs, field recordings, along with photographs, notebooks, journals, and research material created by... more
Edmond Richardson is an audio producer for Uncuffed, a KALW podcast produced by people in prison. Recently, Edmond and his... more
Each fall, the Ojibwe tribes of northern Minnesota harvest wild rice by hand. It’s a long process that begins with... more
We trace the history of country music in Kenya, dating back to the 1920s and 30s when local populations first... more
As elections loom, we need to get involved, step up to the civic plate, take part in discourse. And that’s... more
The legendary Linda Ronstadt has a new book out. Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands — a... more
The story of The Real Ambassadors, a jazz musical created by Dave Brubeck and Iola Brubeck for Louis Armstrong in... more
In the early morning hours of August 16, 2020, 12,000 lightning strikes exploded across northern California, igniting more than 585... more
In August, 2021, a group of young Afghan women journalists, musicians and activists fled their country in fear for their lives... more
A blind oud player from humble beginnings, Sheikh Imam’s destiny changed drastically when he met a dissident poet called Ahmed... more
Originally a Filipino restaurant and music club, The Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco’s North Beach transformed into a mecca for... more
The story of a group of young Afghan women journalists, musicians and activists, how they fled their country in fear for... more
Long before there was Coachella, Outside Lands Festival, and the popular music gatherings of today, the Monterey Pop Festival was... more
The Egg Wars—a hidden Gold Rush kitchen—when food was scarce and men died for eggs. We travel out to the forbidding... more
As an architect, Florence Knoll was the force behind the seamless integration of furniture, space, textile, art, graphic design into... more
Late last year Hillary Rodham Clinton and best-selling Canadian mystery writer, Louise Penny, came out with a ripping geo-political thriller... more
Helen Fong, one of the few women practicing architecture in the US in the 1950s, is best known for her... more
Norma Sklarek (1926-2012) had many “firsts”. She was often credited at the start of her career as the first Black... more
Coal + Ice, a powerful global exhibition of photographs, videos, and immersive imagery that focuses on the climate crisis and... more
Natalie de Blois loved systems – understanding how things worked. For her, it wasn’t just pretty buildings, she challenged the... more
We first caught sight of him in a convenience store buying Marlboros and a Coke for the road. He was... more
Cheap rotisserie chicken sold everywhere in markets and grocery outlets. Why is that chicken so cheap? How was it raised... more
In the early 20th century, the largest employer of Black men in the United States was the Pullman Car Company,... more
The Wooster Group, perched on a street corner in Soho in downtown New York, at the forefront of experimental theater... more
On Sunday, December 19, 2021, The Cleveland Clinic and five other major health care institutions in Northeastern Ohio took out... more
She rose every day at dusk and rehearsed, performed, ate and drank until dawn. Then slept all day, woke up and began... more
Hidden Kitchens, the duPont-Columbia and James Beard Award winning radio series on NPR’s Morning Edition, explores the world of unexpected, below the... more
One hundred-twenty-five years after he was arrested for sitting down in a whites-only train car, Homer Plessy may be pardoned... more
Arctic Ice, Extreme Weather, the Reckoning at Standing Rock—a journey into the deep rich world of photographer Camille Seaman. Born to... more
Julia Morgan, the first woman architect to be licensed in California, designed over 700 buildings in California including Hearst Castle... more
The Braveheart Women’s Society, a group of Yankton Sioux grandmothers and tribal elders, have re-established an almost forgotten coming of... more
Betty Reid Soskin, the nation's oldest serving Park Ranger, works at the Rosie the Riveter Home Front World War II... more
An intimate and historic documentary commemorating the life and history of The World Trade Center and its surrounding neighborhood, through... more
In the early morning hours of August 16, 2020, 12,000 lightning strikes exploded across northern California, igniting more than 585... more
John Steinbeck called it the “Mother Road.” Songwriter Bobby Troup described it as the route to get your kicks on.... more
Today we’re thinking about Pack Creek Ranch in southern Utah and an incredible archive of material, gathered by river guide... more
In 1985, Gert McMullin was one of the first San Franciscans to put a stitch on the AIDS Quilt, the... more
Fifty years ago, a group of some of the top musicians from the United States — Ike and Tina Turner,... more
We’re excited about The Genius Generation, a new podcast hosted by Danni Washington, and we want you to get in... more
“A blue note in a minor key—America has its secret sonic weapon—Jazz.” That was the headline in 1955 when the United... more
Lured in by a blackboard sign on the street in Davia’s neighborhood announcing “Spotlight on Black Entrepreneurs,” we enter the... more
Francis Ford Coppola talks about homelessness, life, friendship, neighborhood history, and his ideas about the future as he tells the... more
The women who were murdered in Atlanta were Korean, not Vietnamese. They were doing massage, not manicures. But they faced... more
The impact of Shonen Knife, the 1980s all-girl punk band from Osaka—a story of cultural exchange through the cassette tape. Shonen... more
It’s February 23, 2021— and we’ve just received word that our dear friend and North Beach neighbor, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, has passed... more
“A blue note in a minor key—America has its secret sonic weapon—Jazz.” That was the headline in 1955 when the United States sent... more