Reconciling Australia: The Hard Questions — Four prominent Aborigines have their say about the woolly concept of "reconciliation" in a special four-part series. Barbara Flick, indigenous adviser to the AMA, John Ah Kit, executive director of the Jawoyn Association Aboriginal Corporation, Marcia Langton, chair of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and senior policy officer at Cape York Land Council, and Colleen Hayward, vice president of the WA Trades and Labour Council, have their say. ABC Radio National, April 10-13, 8pm.
The Poetry of Kevin Gilbert: Wiradjuri — Poems selected from the anthology Inside Black Australia published in 1988. ABC Radio National, Thursday, April 13, 9.30pm.
The Inexorable Dog Star — Radio comedy by Christopher Roman. A terrorist group from an obscure island north of Tasmania attempts to raise its world profile with a dastardly act. Characters include a serious Scottish socialist with a memorable accent, and a sensitive, ethical activist who loses his memory and thinks he is a fish. ABC Radio National, Friday, April 14, 9.30pm.
Jimi Hendrix rocks Newcastle — Back Catalogue will be broadcasting the last two parts of a three-part profile of psychedelic blues great Jimi Hendrix. Rare tapes from Hendrix's estate will be played, and we will hear from those who knew him before and after his fame spread. 2NUR-FM Newcastle, Fridays, April 14 and 21, 8pm.
East Coast Blues Festival live from Byron Bay on national public radio — Blues fans are in for a feast of live music over Easter (April 16-18) when the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia joins forces to send direct coverage of this year's blues festival to a public radio station near you via landline and satellite. Local station 2BAY-FM will provide facilities as the host broadcaster; Lismore's 2NCR will provide the outside broadcast van and Melbourne 3RRR blues presenter Brian Wise will be on hand to give top rate commentary. In Sydney, the festival can be heard on 2RDJ-FM (88.1). For more information about the station carrying the festival in your area, and what time to tune in, phone Ray Jennings at 2RDJ on (02) 744 0881.
The Backsliders live — Australia's premier acoustic blues band recorded live in Melbourne. ABC Radio National, Sunday, April 16, 4.05pm.
The Blues had a Baby — The monumental BBC series, The Story of Pop, continues with a program on the blues, the root of everything that later came to be known as "rock". Features BB King, John Lee Hooker, Son House, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy and noted music writer Peter Guralnick. Also the original versions of a host of rock classics. ABC Radio National, Friday, April 21, 8.05pm.
A Swag of Yarns — From the Australian Bush Music Festival at Glenn Innes, storyteller and poet Shirley Friend. Friend is a teller of funny women's stories. Her topics are personal and adult but have a common touch people relate to. ABC Radio National, Saturday, April 22, 9.05pm.
New jazz program on Sydney public radio — Blowin' With the Crew airs every Tuesday at 11.30pm on 2RSR-FM (88.9). The "crew" promises regular interviews, mind-expanding melodies by the jazz greats and a regular plethora of information to keep you abreast of the scene.
Women Out Loud: Beijing or Bust! — 35,000 women are expected to attend the UN conference on women in September. Representatives have returned from the first planning meeting in New York and the latest news about the conference preparations will be passed. Also those from the alternative "Boycott Beijing" movement will have their say. ABC Radio National, Saturday, April 22, 5.05pm.
Forever — Radio play by Cathy Craigie. Kaylene is 22, Koori and a single mum. She lives in a high-rise housing commission flat in inner Sydney. She reminisces about the football hero who promised to love her "forever". Cathy Craigie writes to assist her people's struggle, placing urban Aboriginal women at the centre of her plays. ABC Radio National, Wednesday, April 26, 9.30pm.