Fifty years ago, in 1967, one of Pacifica's most iconic figures, Alan Watts, gave a lecture titled Zen Bones - about the temporal nature of life and about the need for Americans to readjust their priorities. Watts had gained popularity as one of the original early hosts on Pacifica Radio's flagship station KPFA in Berkeley, California; his eloquent, simple, and insightful presentation of Eastern spiritual and philosophical concepts made him a very popular listen and one of the leading experts on Zen Buddhism. This week on From the Vault we pay tribute to this iconic radio personality and the fiftieth anniversary of one of his most popular talks.
From the Vault is presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project, funded in part by an award from the GRAMMY Foundation and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission at the National Archives and Records Administration, and past grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation, and the American Archive funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, along with the generous support of Pacifica Radio Listeners. We also thank our partners and collaborators at the Pop-Up Archive, Amara, Other Minds Archives, George Blood Audio, and the California Audio Visual Preservation Project.
PRA metadata view