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Alan Farley

In Memoriam (1936-2012):  KALW lost an important voice for the arts in the Bay Area, our senior announcer, Alan Farley, in October of 2012.  Alan’s diagnosis and subsequent passing of pancreatic and liver cancer was sudden, and a shock to all of us here at KALW. 

Alan Farley was born in Idaho in 1936 and spent his formative years in Seattle, though he finished his high school career in Southern California in 1953.  Farley attended Caltech as a mathematics undergrad, and went on to pursue graduate degrees at the University of Michigan and the University of California, Berkeley.  He served as Chairman of the Mathematics Department at Morehouse College in Atlanta from 1964-1969.  He has also been a faculty member at Merritt College.

As a music aficionado, Farley served as guide and head guide to the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Berkshire Music Festival during the summers of 1958, '59 and '60.  He was also a Road Manager to Richard Pryor.

And as a radio lover, Alan was a volunteer and staff member at KPFA, until he transitioned to KALW in 1975, where he was founding host and producer of Book Talk, My Favorite Things, Open Air, Explorations in Music, the Berkeley Symphony broadcasts and various performing arts specials.

Click here for information about Alan's shows from 2011 and before.

  • Alan talks with Margaret Schaefer, who has produced a new translation of Schnitzler's "Anatol" for the Aurora Theatre, and with actress Delia MacDougall,…
  • Alan talks with New Yorker Music Critic Alex Ross about his book "The Rest Is Noise:Listening to the Twentieth Century. {rebroadcast from 2007] Sunday at…
  • Alan talks with Christopher Buckley about his latest satirical novel, "They Eat Puppies, Don't They?" Sunday at 6:30 PM [rebroadcast]
  • Alan talks with Dan Ariely about his latest book, "The Honest Truth about Dishonesty." [rebroadcast] Sunday at 6:30 PM
  • Alan talks with Anne Perry about her latest mystery, "Dorchester Terrace." [rebroadcast] Sunday at 6:30 PM
  • Alan talks with Frank Deford about his memoir, "Over Time - My Life as a Sportswriter." [rebroadcast]
  • Alan talks with John Irving about his latest novel "In One Person." Sunday at 6:30 PM [rebroadcast]
  • Alan talks with T. C. Boyle about his latest novel, "When the Killing's Done." Sunday at 6:30 PM [rebroadcast]
  • Guest host David Latulippe presents Alan Farley's interviews with Marco Barricelli, Artistic Director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and Michael Morpurgo…
  • Guest host David Latulippe presents Alan Farley's interviews with Marco Barricelli, Artistic Director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and Michael Morpurgo…