Jane Blanchard interviews Sandra Slaminko. Sandra will talk about Baby Basics, Inc., a non-profit, 100% volunteer organization that provides and distributes diapers to babies of the working/near poor in Sarasota.
Our musician this week, Diana Vytell, has delighted audiences on two continents. She performs cabaret, opera, Broadway, and jazz. Vytell started her musical journey Hartt College of Music where she studied opera, while continuing to explore musical theatre, as well as straight acting. Her performing life has been diverse, ranging from singing the mother in New York Opera at the Academy’s Tales of Hoffman, acting in The Vagina Monologues, with the Venice Little Theater, in Sarasota Florida, and playing Kate in The Taming of the Shrew with the Southern Connecticut Summer Theatre.
Diana speaks four languages and is psychotherapist with an emphasis on integrative mind body techniques. After opening a psychotherapy practice, she was drawn to cabaret. She study with Helen Baldassare’s Cabaret Performance Group. and with Marianne Challis, New York vocal coach and performer
On Thursday, Feb. 4, Local Matters welcomed David T. Warner, the author of “Vanishing Florida: A Personal Guide to Sights Rarely Seen” to the WSLR studio, where he spent an hour reminiscing about the fascinating characters and off-the-beaten-path locales he’s encountered during his time in Sarasota and his extensive travels throughout Florida.
David shared his memories of the Liar’s Lunch gatherings that took place in Sarasota and included writers such as John D. MacDonald, Joe Hayes, Thornton Wilder, Art Buchwald and Stephen King and he talked about his time as the owner of the South Trail Cinema and the media attention that resulted from Pee Wee Herman’s infamous arrest at this establishment. David also shared his memories of his mentor and best friend Borden Deal and had much more to say about his time as writer and traveler in and around the Sunshine State.
On Saturday Feb. 6, Local Matters host Joe Hendricks will play two hours of jam band, rock and Americana music from 5 to 7 p.m. The playlist will include Wilco, The Jayhawks, Phish, DMB, Widespread Panic, The Rolling Stones, Nora Jones, Patty Griffin and more.
The show will also include a set of music featuring Zoe Lewis, Evan Greer, Anne Feeney and Samantha Crain- musical artists that are headed to Sarasota in February and March.
Raymond Lotta, author of “A Life Well Lived: Remembering Howard Zinn, People’s Historian,” joined Surreal News hosts Steve and Larry on Friday, Feb. 5 for a remembrance of Howard Zinn – the legendary historian, radical activist, thinker and teacher who died at the age of 87 on January 27.
Zinn wrote more than 20 books and plays, with his most famous and influential work being “A People’s History of the United States,” a book that opened the eyes of countless readers to the realities of America’s founding in genocide and slavery and America’s arc of brutal expansion. Howard Zinn stood for a truth-seeking craft of history that challenged the official and self-serving narrative of America-and that challenged people to learn from history, to act on history, to become a force in the struggle for a better world. Raymond Lotta is a revolutionary intellectual who has written and lectured extensively on the experiences of the communist revolutions in the Soviet Union and China. He has done major work on political economy, including “America in Decline” and ongoing analyses of global economic developments in the “Revolution” newspaper.
Each episode of The Surreal News features “A Tannen Weekly” by humorist Pete Tannen, a Media Matters Minute and plenty of under-reported news items.
What Every Women Needs to Know to Go from Invisible to Invincible
Jane Blanchard interviews Nancy Solomon. Nancy Solomon is a writer, speaker, facilitator and executive coach. She has built her career around one simple question: “What did you come here to do, and are you getting it done?” With a Masters in Psychology and eighteen years coaching experience, Nancy travels the country evangelically spreading the word that “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” She has inspired thousands to remove the obstacles to personal and professional success and to engage in their work and in their lives.
WSLR is an innovative, listener-supported, non-profit, non-commercial FM radio station dedicated to serving the Sarasota community. WSLR features locally produced programming and presents cultural, artistic, and political perspectives currently underrepresented in the media. Our goal is to inform and empower listeners to play an active role in WSLR and in their community. WSLR’s programming promotes equality, peace, sustainability, democracy, and social and economic justice.
Upcoming Events
Thursday, February 11th, 7-10pm. WSLR Social at the Old Packinghouse Cafe. Live Music w/ the Papa Schmitz Band. No cover.
Sunday, February 14th, 8pm. Evan Greer (Riot Folk Collective) and Gepetta at the Box Social. Tickets: $10.
Friday, February 19th, 8pm. Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers, Lake Osprey Village Cabaret, 6265 Lake Osprey Drive, 8pm. Tickets: $12, $15 door.
Saturday, February 20th. Noise Ordinance CD Release Party at the Cock and Bull. Support Local Music.
Friday, March 5, 8pm. Zoe Lewis at the Box Social. Tickets: $12 adv/$15 door.
Sunday, March 14, 7pm. Hellraiser Anne Feeney. Location: Lake Osprey Village Cabaret, 6265 Lake Osprey Drive. Tickets: $10 adv, $15 door For complete details, visit
our events page.
Upcoming Meetings
Promotions Committee
Thursday, February4, 6:30pm
at the studio
WSLR Board Meeting
Monday, February 15th, 7pm
at Crossroads Church
Programming Committee Meeting
Monday, February 8th, 7:10pm
at the studio
WSLR Podcasts
You can download podcasts of the following shows at the sites listed below:
How to Build an Antenna for Better Reception at your Home
We've received a number of requests from listeners about what they can do to improve reception in their homes. Well, if you're up for a little construction project, we've got an answer for you. Click here for details.
