The Hear and Now

10:00 PM Pacific Time: Thursdays

The Hear and Now is a freeform mix of music ranging from singer-songwriter folk and surprising back-catalog rock ’n’ roll to avant-garde jazz and improvisation, with unexpected forays into everything in between and beyond. Bits of comedy, international sounds, and contemporary and postmodern classical composition crop up now and then, and local and touring musicians stop by frequently for conversations and fully produced in-studio concerts.

Derk Richardson
Host/Producer

Derk Richardson hosted and co-hosted his first KPFA programs in 1989 and found his way to Thursday nights in 1995. A longtime music journalist, writing for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, the East Bay Express, and a variety of national publications, Derk has also written about travel (authoring 2 to 22 Days in Thailand) and food (reviewing restaurants for Oakland Magazine), and has worked as an editor at Acoustic Guitar, Oakland and Alameda magazines, and the award-winning travel-and-culture magazine AFAR, where he is presently senior editor. He has also been an early childhood caregiver, a history teacher, a SCUBA and free diving instructor, and a drugstore soda jerk.