LISTEN: WGDR’s History over 50 years

Three shows, celebrating 50 years of WGDR on the air with a look back with past station managers, stories from listeners and programmers, and clips from our archives too.

LISTEN: Gathering Peace: Jules Rabin & Gabor Rona

LISTEN: A Radio Remembrance of Reuben Jackson

LISTEN: Ken Feld’s last “Lost Highway” show

LISTEN: Celebrating the life of Larry Gordon

"Gathering Peace" host Joseph Gainza interviews two guests in this episode:

Gabor Rona, is an author and Professor of Practice at Cardozo Law School where he teaches international human rights law, international criminal law, and international humanitarian law (the law of armed conflict). He is also a Lecturer at Columbia Law School and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Law Association – American Branch. They discuss the violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide by Israel, as heard by the International Court of Justice.

Jules Rabin, a long-time Vermonter, rebound baker, and activist. They discuss why he will be demonstrating for Palestinians on his 100th birthday. ules describes his advocacy for a just peace in the Middle and how, as a Jew, he is responding to the devastation of Gaza by the Israeli government.

On Saturday, March 9, we gathered through the power of the radio airwaves (a very Reu thing to do) to honor Reuben Jackson's life. We took calls, shared memories and stories, played snippets of his radio shows and poetry readings, and created some celebration space for a life that has impacted so many near and far here in Vermont.

WGDR, Plainfield is where Reuben got his start in radio at just 18 years old as a student at Goddard. We are honored to help celebrate his life at, in his own words, "one of the greatest loves of my life (WGDR/radio)."

Hosted by Reuben's friend in nerdy radio, DJ Llu (and our station manager), with special guests and other tributes.

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that long time programmer Ken Feld has passed away in early February, 2022. His long running music show, “The Lost Highway” aired Tuesdays, 2-4pm. We aired a series of tribute shows for him in the weeks that followed and saved his Ken’s last live show, available for listening anytime posted below.

Here is the final celebration show for Ken, hosted by Dave Tucker and John Foster on March 15. Available for listening anytime on our special archives.

In November of 2021, beloved musician and Vermont community activist Larry Gordon passed away after a bike accident. As tributes by friends, family, colleagues, and fellow musicians amplified, WGDR/WGDH provided a platform for them to sing out across Vermont, live on the air.

This show aired on Sunday, November 14, from 7-9pm, honoring Larry’s life. Hosted by Joseph Gainza, with board operation by Carl Etnier, the show featured friends of Larry’s telling stories and the music of Village Harmony.

On behalf of all of us at WGDR/WGDH, thank you Larry for the tremendous impact you had on Vermont and far beyond.