Sonic Café that’s Mr. Roboto, the iconic techno-rock hit by Styx from 1983, so thanks for dropping by our quirky, little cyber café. I’m your host Scott Clark, and this is episode 483. This time the Sonic Café dives headfirst into the metallic heart of the machine uprising, with a show we’re calling, Invasion of the Robots. We’ve uploaded a high-voltage music mix spanning 45 years of the digital revolution. Listen for electronic new wave from Gary Numan, futuristic indie rock from The Flaming Lips, St. Vicent’s satirical take on digital culture, plus Arcade Fire, Icehouse with Electric Blue, Big Data, Nine Inch Nails and more, tech-infused tracks. Wedged in between we’ll slip in comedy shorts featuring hilarious warnings about our future dominated by the machines. We’ve wired it all together in one seamless stream of laughs, beats and digital dread. So strap in for a high voltage journey into our circuit-blazing digital future, as the Sonic Café presents, Invasion of the Robots, from our little Pacific Northwest radio café, where even the coffee maker seems just a bit to self-aware. From 2001 this is Arling & Cameron with the Dirty Robot, and as always, we’re the Sonic Café.

Our guest in this program was Dr. William Fry, a psychiatrist who has done extensive research in the field of humor. We discussed the psychology and genetics of humor. Much of Dr. Fry’s research has concentrated on Cocoa, the gorilla, and we discussed that as well. This program was originally broadcast in March of 1992, when Radio Curious was called Government, Politics and Ideas. Originally Broadcast: March 2, 1992

"Bitter Cane," a must-see documentary, is streaming now on Criterion.com Kim Ives, who directed the film along with Ben Dupuy, was interviewed on The Taylor Report.

A weekly 30 minute review of international news and opinion, recorded from a shortwave radio and the internet. With times, frequencies, and websites for listening at home. 3 files- Highest quality broadcast, regular broadcast, and slow-modem streaming. France 24, NHK Japan, Germany, and Cuba.

Looking forward to seeing you LIVE under the big tent for Pat Chessell, The Barra MacNeils, Whiskey Dicks and more. It's ScotFestBC, Town Centre Park in Coquitlam, June 19th and 20th. This hour, music from across the Celtic diaspora including Canada's best, even some Kreole to spice up the mix. Patricia Fraser hosts Celt In A Twist Radio!

With a great chart comes great responsibility. We skim off and countdown the top ten from our new monthly Top 30. Get yours straight to your inbox @ worldbeatinternational.com. Plus, fresh spins right out of the wrapper from Ghanaian trumpeter Berima Amo, Albertan songwriter, now broadcaster Kue Varo and tropical futurism from Colombia's Rizomagic. The best beats come home to World Beat Canada Radio!

Nora Barrows-Friedman brings us a recap of Palestinian news from May 7th to the 14th, 2026.

It's a early 1960s teenage angst/drama filled show this week as we profile a few hit wonder who liked sailor boys back then...groovy 70s hits made the cheezy way and why you shouldn't talk to a life guard....cause a particular teen wants to... it was a different era.

Johnny reads an article from the Grapevine magazine and Denise and Johnny share their thoughts

Iran War Week 11: Media Ignores Israel’s Attacks on Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza; Trump’s Social Security Administration Downsizing Demolishes Customer Service; Opposition to Resource Hungry Artificial Intelligence Data Centers Spreads Across the U.S. Like Wildfire.

On the anniversary of his passing, in May, 2025, we present an hour-long conversation with Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong'o about the first volume of his memoirs, “Dreams in a Time of War." A rare and moving insight into all that went into shaping one of the most beloved progressive writers in the world today, a testament to the power of storytelling and dreams in human life and the striving to birth a new and better world. Plus a brief musical tribute to the great jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln.

If you haven’t yet personally witnessed the very odd feeling of driving up to a four-way stop sign only to realize that the vehicle across the street from you has no driver behind the wheel, chances are you will soon enough. Like it or not, autonomous vehicles are coming, and this week on Sea Change Radio we are speaking with Samuel Abuelsamid, an expert on self-driving technology. We take a look back at the evolution of autonomous vehicles, examine the purported “full self-driving mode” offered by Tesla, and discuss some of the sustainability issues surrounding this technology.

This episode The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: An Afternoon with Rashid Khalidi. Professor Khalidi is a Palestinian-American historian of the Middle East, and the Edward Said Professor Emeritus of Modern Arab Studies at Colombia University. The event was recorded on March 29, 2026 at the First Unitarian Congregational Society of Brooklyn. and was co-sponsored by First Unitarian Brooklyn’s chapter of Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, New York City DSA Anti-war Working Group, and Brooklyn for Peace. The talk is a conversation between Professor Khalidi and Reverend Meagan [MEE-gan] Henry from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock, followed by a Q&A session.

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit Show - A musical mid-life crisis -- a late-night search for meaning and happiness airs on WRIR LP Monday nights from 9 PM to 11 PM. Stream the show @ www.wrir.org

Willie Jolley is a man on a mission! He is a Hall of Fame speaker, singer, best-selling author, and popular media personality. In January 2023, he received the Joseph R. Biden Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. In July 2023, he was the recipient of The National Speakers Association’s highest and most cherished award, The Cavett. His new book “Rich is Good Wealthy is Better” seeks to bring the historically disenfranchised into conversations about wealth building and understanding generational economics.

As Trump War on Iran enters 11th Week, US Media Ignores Israel's Ongoing Attacks on Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza; Trump, Musk, DOGE Downsizing of Social Security Administration Demolishes Agency Customer Service; 36 Mental Health Professionals Call for Trump's Immediate, Lawful Removal from Office; New Documentary Film Captures ICE Violent Targeting of Workers, and Impact on their Families

NewsWrap: Botswana amends penal code removing anti-LGBTQ+ provisions which previously criminalized same-sex relationships, United States Trump Administration release 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy defining major terror groups including “violent secular political groups” with ideologies that are “anti-American, radically pro-transgender,” Zambian RightsCon is abruptly cancelled with officials claiming the event does not align with the country’s “national values,” Pennsylvania legislators amend Pennsylvania Human Relations Act prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, Isaac Ranson, a transgender man, joins Minnesota Aurora FC soccer team as the first openly trans player, but must play with women’s team because of his gender assigned at birth— and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by John Dyer the 5th and RET (News Writers Ebony Joseph and Jeb Backe, News Producer Brian DeShazor). Author Armistead Maupin reads from Tales of the City from September 10, 1990 on This Way Out in the Rainbow Rewind. In part two of her series on the global rise of anti-LGBTQ laws, This Way Out’s Ebony Joseph explores how criminalization and political hostility are creating a growing public health crisis for queer communities worldwide. Advocates say laws targeting LGBTQ people not only fuel stigma and violence, but also discourage people from seeking HIV prevention, mental health care, and other essential services. The report highlights countries where fear of arrest or public exposure keeps people from accessing clinics, while anti-LGBTQ rhetoric increasingly spreads from government policy into everyday life. The story also examines the impact of the Trump administration’s cuts to U.S. foreign aid programs, including the dismantling of USAID and restrictions on funding tied to “gender ideology.” Former USAID officials and global health advocates warn that the loss of support for LGBTQ-focused HIV outreach programs could have devastating consequences, especially in countries where queer people already face criminalization. Despite growing hostility, organizers and activists continue building local networks of care and resistance, insisting that queer and trans lives deserve dignity, safety, and access to healthcare.

Golden oldies (60s, 70s, 80s, 90s)

If the right to vote is taken as a measure of a vibrant democracy, the United States came off to a bad start. Dr. Michael Parenti says that the most interesting list from the period of 1787 is the rather long one of people who were not allowed to vote - and he names all of them. Also, in Part TWO, the many ways in which votes have been stolen during the Bush administration. This archival recording is a primer on the history of voting and the day to day efforts to make democracy come alive that shows Parenti at his best as historian and engaged political thinker. Parenti (1933-2026) was one of the nation’s leading progressive political analysts. After receiving his Ph.D. in political science from Yale Parenti/ taught at colleges and universities, in the United States and abroad. Parenti risked and ended his academic career when he openly opposed the war on Vietnam.  He was a prolific author and an engaging speaker. He served on the board of judges for Project Censored and authored 22 books, among them: Democracy for the Few, Superpatriotism, History as Mystery, and God and His Demons. Recorded by Contra Costa TV at the Pleasant Hill Library in Contra Costa, California 1-24-07.