I am a retired NYC high school teacher, and taught adults in continuing education at NYU for many years, as well as undergraduates at Brooklyn, Hunter, and City Colleges. I have an abiding interest in encouraging the intellectual and spiritual life of all members of our community. As a co-founder of Citizens Defending Libraries, I was active in advocating for free speech and against censorship and control of information by powerful interests. Over the years I have engaged in activism and advocacy on many issues. In 2022 I ventured into politics, running for New York State Senate, and in 2023 I ran for New York City Council. In both campaigns, one of my paramount issues was the right of New Yorkers to a free flow of uncensored information and discussion of ideas.

At a time when corporate interests, increasingly unaccountable government power, and lockstep media are conspiring to push uniform, mendacious narratives and suppress alternative thought and information, WBAI has the opportunity to stand out by holding firmly to the principles of freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and a rich diversity of ideas, offering its listeners a wide range of outlooks and perspectives.

In the face of looming threats of totalitarian control of our society, radio has the special power of allowing listeners to be free from being tracked and traced in the political and intellectual concepts they seek and the thoughts they engage in. And radio, especially an independent, listener-supported WBAI, can be a bulwark against such a danger.