Shows / KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting. Hosts Davey D and Anita Johnson give voice to issues ignored by the mainstream while planting seeds for social change.
Episodes
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Oakland at a Crossroads: Billionaire Influence, Ballot Battles and the Fight for Community Power (PT2)
Davey D speaks with Pamela Drake, Chaney Turner and Pecolia Manigo about Oakland’s political future, corporate influence, voter education and the importance of…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Hard Knock Radio – Oakland at a Crossroads: Billionaire Influence, Ballot Battles and the Fight for Community Power
Davey D speaks with Pamela Drake, Chaney Turner and Pecolia Manigo about Oakland’s political future, corporate influence, voter education and the importance of…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioBay Area Midterms 2026: Billionaire Influence, Political Backlash and the Battle for San Francisco and Antioch
As the 2026 midterm elections approach, political battles across the Bay Area are raising urgent questions about money, race, displacement, policing and who…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioElection 2026: Voter Suppression, Political Resistance and the Growing Power of Grassroots Organizing
Hard Knock Radio | Hosted by Davey D With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, Hard Knock Radio host Davey D convened a national political roundtable…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioUndiscovered SF Celebrates 10 Years of Filipino Culture, Hip Hop and the Historic Legacy of 330 Ritch
San Francisco’s rich Filipino American history, its legendary Hip Hop scene, and the ongoing battle against gentrification took center stage on Hard Knock…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioBeyond the Beat: Dr. Umi Vaughan on Black Music, Cultural Survival and the Fight to Keep Oakland’s Music Scene Alive
On a recent edition of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with Oakland-born musician, scholar and author Dr. Umi Vaughan for a wide-ranging conversation…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioBeyond Lordship: Muhannad Ayyash Reimagines Liberation in Palestine-Israel
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Palestinian scholar and sociologist Muhannad Ayyash about his book, Lordship and Liberation in Palestine-Israel…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioBeyond the Riots — What’s Really Fueling the Unrest in France? and British singer, songwriter, and soul artist Daley
As images of riots, looting, and unrest circulate around the world, Hard Knock Radio host Davey D speaks with Paris-based journalist Epee Hervé Dingong to…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioIs American Democracy Designed to Keep People Out? Dr. James Taylor Sounds the Alarm Ahead of the Midterms!
(HKR-10-19-26) With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, Hard Knock Radio host Davey D sat down with political analyst and professor Dr. James Taylor for a…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioAmerican Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs and Poor News Magazine
On today’s program we honor the life and legacy of civil rights activist Grace Lee Boggs through the lens of the documentary film American Revolutionary: The…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioBhaskar Sunkara on Socialism, Power and Building a Movement
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sits down with author and political thinker Bhaskar Sunkara for a wide-ranging conversation about socialism, economic…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioTommy Davidson on Black Imagination, Hollywood Power, Politics and the Return of Varnell Hill
Comedian, actor and author Tommy Davidson joined host Davey D on Hard Knock Radio for a wide-ranging conversation that went far beyond comedy. With an upcoming…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioBreak the System: Susila Gurusami on Black Motherhood, Reproductive Warfare and the Limits of Reform
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with sociologist and author Susila Gurusami for a wide-ranging conversation about her book Break the System…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
AI Data Centers and Carbon Emissions
On this episode of Hard Knock Radio, Davey D sits down with Jean Su, Director of the Energy Justice Program at the Center for Biological Diversity, for a…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioHard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special: The People’s Historian — The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn
On this special edition of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D moderates a spirited and thought-provoking conversation with acclaimed author and sports commentator…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Hard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special – Life Is Living: Celebrating 60 Years of the Black Panther Party, Hip Hop, and Oakland’s Legacy of Community Self-Defense
As Oakland prepares to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Black Panther Party, the annual Life Is Living Festival is bringing together generations of…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Hard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special – Mahmoud Khalil Presented by Center for Constitutional Rights and AROC Action
Today on Hard Knock Radio, we bring you a powerful conversation featuring Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate, legal permanent resident, and…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioHard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special – Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else?
On a recent episode of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with political strategist, attorney, and author Steve Phillips to discuss his provocative new…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioHard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special – Beyond the Tap: The Fight for Safe, Affordable and Equitable Water
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with Professor Manny Teodoro, a political scientist and co-author of Safe Drinking Water Act: The Next 50 Years, for…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioHard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special – Who Gets Protected? OUSD and the Fight Over Antisemitism Training
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D brought together three Bay Area educators for a wide-ranging conversation about antisemitism, Palestine, free expression and…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioHard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special – Nina Turner on Socialism, Corporate Power and the Fight for a Progressive Future
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner for a spirited conversation about the congressional resolution condemning…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Hard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special Programming – Fist Up Film Festival Centers Community and Resistance and Chris Hedges
On a recent edition of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with filmmakers and brothers Eli and Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi for a wide-ranging conversation…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioHard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special Programming – Ibram X. Kendi: The Chain of Ideas Behind Our Authoritarian Age
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with historian, scholar and National Book Award-winning author Ibram X. Kendi for an expansive conversation about…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioHard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special Programming – Anthony Browder on Reclaiming African History and the Power of Knowledge of Self
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with author, historian and cultural scholar Anthony Browder for a wide-ranging conversation centered on his new…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioHard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special Programming – To Catch a Fascist: The Fight to Expose the Radical Right by Christopher Mathias
Today on Hard Knock we present – To Catch a Fascist: The Fight to Expose the Radical Right A searing, provocative investigation into the rise of white…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioHard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special Programming – Who Controls the Story? Jennifer Pozner on Media Consolidation
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D speaks with journalist, author and media critic Jennifer L. Pozner about the Paramount Skydance–Warner Bros. Discovery merger…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Hard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special Programming – Requiem for Gaza by Chris Hedges
In a profound and elegiac work of investigative journalism, the writer Chris Hedges and the cartoonist Joe Sacco collaborate to present the testimony of…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioHard Knock Radio Fall Fund Drive Special Programming – Breaking ICE: Community Defense, Resistance; and the Power of Organizing
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with award-winning journalist and author Sonali Kolhatkar for a wide-ranging conversation about her new book…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioBreaking the Silence: Men, Mental Health and the Crisis of Connection
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D opened a wide-ranging conversation about mental health, masculinity, loneliness and suicide with filmmaker Byron Hurt, author…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioBoots Riley on Power, Propaganda and Building a New World PT. 2 and Afro-Latino Identity: Reclaiming History and Building Bridges
Boots Riley on Power, Propaganda and Building a New World, PT.2 and Afro-Latino Identity: Reclaiming History and Building Bridges There are moments when the…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Boots Riley on Power, Propaganda and Building a New World PT. 1
There are moments when the political landscape shifts so dramatically that ideas once dismissed as too radical suddenly don’t sound so radical anymore. On Hard…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioTarrant County Voting Site Closures & Voter Suppression
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Nina Oishi, a voting rights attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, about growing concerns over voting…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioWard Churchill’s Legacy: Truth, Resistance, and the Road to Liberation
On this edition of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with Akilah Kinnison, daughter of the late scholar and activist Ward Churchill, and Churchill’s…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
H.R. 4795, Palestine Advocacy, and Academic Freedom
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Zahra Billoo of CAIR and Sabiya Ahamed of Palestine Legal about H.R. 4795, a bill that has passed the House and…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Tupac 30th Anniversary and Poor News Magazine
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D marks the 30th anniversary of the passing of Tupac Shakur, reflecting on the life, legacy, and lasting influence of one of…
KPFA - Hard Knock Radio25 Years Later: The Lasting Aftermath of 9/11
As the nation approaches 25 years since the September 11 attacks, Hard Knock Radio host Davey D sat down with UC Berkeley professors Hatem Bazian and Michael…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioThe Assault on Ethnic Studies: Professor Lina-Maria Murillo Sounds the Alarm
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Professor Lina-Maria Murillo about the dismantling of ethnic studies and gender studies at the University of Texas…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Oakland International Film Festival Brings Independent Stories, Political History and Community to the Screen
Hard Knock Radio host Davey D sat down with filmmaker and cultural organizer David Roach to discuss the 24th annual Oakland International Film Festival, an…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioBlack Childhood, Big Imagination: Tiffany Golden on Storytelling, Sisterhood, and Joy [Rebroadcast]
Today on Hard Knock Radio, we sit down with acclaimed children’s author, illustrator, and teaching artist Tiffany Golden for a conversation about Black…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioHieroglyphics: Legacy, Innovation and the Relentless Pursuit of Hip Hop
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with Hieroglyphics members Tajai, Domino and A-Plus for a wide-ranging conversation about the collective’s 35-year…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioYoung, Gifted, and Black: Preserving the Oral Tradition in the Age of Educational Suppression
On a recent episode of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with longtime educator, organizer, and PhD Dr. Hodari Davis to discuss the powerful work of…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioFashion, Memory and the Fight for Justice for Timothy Charles Lee
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with KPFA’s Frank Sterling Jr. and fashion designer Meeka Starr about the unresolved death of Timothy Charles Lee and a…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioOakland Street Vendors Fight Back Against Sweeps and Seizures
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D continued his coverage of Oakland’s escalating crackdown on street vendors. Joined by longtime vendor and organizer Needa B…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioIn Conversation with Dr. Rosa Clemente
On a recent episode of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with Dr. Rosa Clemente — journalist, freedom fighter, and longtime show guest — to discuss…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
A History of Traditional Root Healing (Encore) and Poor News Magazine
In many parts of the world, herbal medicine remains an important part of everyday life. Yet when we think about traditional healing practices, we often imagine…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioSuspicious Hangings, Systemic Neglect and the Fight for Black Safety
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Dr. Melina Abdullah of Black Lives Matter Grassroots and Mississippi organizer Rukia Lumumba about the alarming…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioMiko Marks Reflects on Dolly Parton’s Music, Humanity and Trailblazing Legacy
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Oakland-based singer-songwriter Miko Marks about the passing and enduring legacy of country music icon Dolly…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioAAPI Communities Confront a Hidden Deportation Crisis
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Timmy Lu, founding executive director of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Civic Empowerment (AAPI FORCE)…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioICE Enforcement, Surveillance and Community Resistance in Minneapolis
(HKR-08-24-26) On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Minneapolis-based independent journalist and DJ Aaron Johnson about ICE enforcement, political…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioCop Cop and the Politics of Accountability: MacMuir on Fixing a Rigged System (Encore)
Cop Cop and the Politics of Accountability: MacMuir on Fixing a Rigged System On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D Cook sat down with Oakland-raised investigator…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioHard Knock Radio: Camara Williams on Florida’s Primary Elections and Black Political Power
Hard Knock Radio host Davey D spoke with Florida-based attorney, political strategist and community organizer Camara Williams about Florida’s primary…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioDr. James Taylor on Race, Redistricting and the Democratic Establishment
Hard Knock Radio host Davey D spoke with political analyst and professor Dr. James Taylor about Florida’s primary elections, newly drawn congressional…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Freedom of Speech, but Watch What You Say: Donald Lacy’s New Film Challenges American Censorship
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Oakland playwright, comedian, actor and community activist Donald Lacy about his new film, Free Speech Costs…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioSunspot Jonz and Hip Hop Fairyland
Sunspot Jonz on Hip Hop, Healing and Creating Space for Oakland’s Youth On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with veteran recording artist and educator…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
The Follow-Up to Lindsey Graham’s Impact on South Carolina and Beyond
On this episode of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D reconnects with South Carolina journalist and political commentator Preach Jacobs for a follow-up…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioBlack Childhood, Big Imagination: Tiffany Golden on Storytelling, Sisterhood & Joy
Today on Hard Knock Radio, we sit down with acclaimed children’s author, illustrator, and teaching artist Tiffany Golden for a conversation about Black…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Oakland Street Vendors Fight Back Against Sweeps and Criminalization
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Oakland street vendors and organizers Needa B, Joyous and Hannibal Shakur about what they describe as an…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioThe History They Tried to Erase: Congo, Cuba and Black Liberation
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D continued a far-reaching conversation with organizers and artists Obi Egbuna Jr. and Russell Shoatz III about Black…
- KPFA - Hard Knock Radio
Assatta Shakur and Pauline Lumumba
Host Davey D spoke with Pan African organizer Obi Egbuna Jr. and activist and cultural producer Russell Shoatz III about Kotelemela Bolingo, a two-album…
KPFA - Hard Knock RadioDestani Wolf: Making Music That Heals, Connects and Defies Categories
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with Berkeley-raised singer, songwriter and vocal improviser Destani Wolf for a wide-ranging conversation about her…