Sputnik News spoke to several members of its radio team to get their perspectives on the new radio station and what it means for the political conversation in DC. Eugene Puryear, whose show By Any Means Necessary draws from a Malcolm X quote about how to achieve black liberation, said that his show is one "that I think really tries to capture a lot of the energy for the movement for black lives, or the climate justice movement, that are moving young progressive people but are also trying to tie that framework into how we look at current events."
Puryear said that he relished the chance to give less amplified voices a platform to be heard. "Really, that is one of the things I'm most excited about is to be able to tell the stories that everyone is talking about, but from the point of view of people that you rarely hear… and also to follow up on stuff. You hear about a police shooting – what's going on six months later, who's doing what, how are different things happening?"
Garland Nixon and Lee Stranahan host Fault Lines, so named because of the sharply different political views of its two hosts. "I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of the political conversation in DC," said Nixon, a veteran progressive media presence and ACLU board member, about his show. "The dynamics of our show, a populist conservative and a populist progressive in conversation and debate, creates a cross-partisan conversation that is sorely needed.
"Fault Lines with Nixon and Stranahan is a funny, raucous and occasionally heated adventure and I have no doubt it will give our DC drivetime listeners a fun ride."
Stranahan echoed his co-host. "I'm thrilled that Garland and I will be able to bash the establishment over the FM airwaves. Garland and I might not agree on much, but we both agree that the swamp will never be the same after we take to the drivetime airwaves every Monday through Friday."
Walter Smolarek, who produces Loud & Clear, a foreign policy-focused radio program hosted by Brian Becker, said that he was excited that his team's show would be reaching a "wider audience in Washington, DC, a large city, an important city, and a city that we talk about oftentimes, not necessarily the people who live there, but the government agencies, the power players, the decision makers who have their HQ in the city."
"We're sharply critical of the foreign policies and other policies of the US government," Smolarek added. Becker is the national coordinator of the anti-war ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition.
"I think that speaking to the people who live and work in the city is something that's very important to us and to everyone else who is involved in putting forward alternative viewpoints to the narrative that we get day in and day out from mainstream corporate media."
"Radio Sputnik is expanding, our reach is expanding. We look forward to that continuing in the future."
