Donate Now!

1968 Year in Review (three-hour boxed set)

Pacifica Radio Archives is proud to announce the release of its original new three-hour documentary, 1968 Year in Review, a 40th-anniversary celebration of a year in which a radical wave crashed across the globe, changing the world and its people politically, socially and culturally.  There were wars, marches, elections, assassinations, human rights, civil rights, women’s rights, the explosion of consciousness and creativity. No event took place in isolation. The Vietnam War ducked and wove through 1968, depositing destruction and igniting defiance against injustice. Students worldwide took to the streets to not only speak out against social ills in their own land but also in support of their international brethren. Civil rights campaigners spoke in unity about the need for equal rights and respect. And a new battle — the war of words — was penned as artists struggled to comprehend and express the social and political upheaval surrounding them. 

Pacifica Radio was there to capture it all.

This three-part documentary features rare, historic recordings recently restored under Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

• Part One consists of a broad overview of 1968, with audio selections ranging from Pacifica’s courageous and uncensored coverage of the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King, Jr., members of the Black Panther Party, Cesar Chavez, Robert Kennedy, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Pete Seeger, Jesse Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Ayn Rand, and many more. 
• Part Two showcases the powerful artistic contributions made within this year of turmoil: the sounds of Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, Melina Mercouri, Sun Ra, Phil Ochs, Abbie Hoffman, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and others.
• Part Three features two very special guests who found themselves on the forefront of change in 1968 – independent journalist Connie Lawn and activist Tom Hayden join us in the studio 40 years after the fact, to share thoughts and analysis on the lasting importance and impression of 1968, the year of sounds that changed the world.

Executive Producer: Pacifica Radio Archives and Brian DeShazor. Produced and edited by Mark Torres. Written by Joanne Griffith. Presenters: Brian DeShazor, Joanne Griffith, Sonali Kolhatkar, Mark Maxwell, Margaret Prescod, Aura Bogado and Mark Torres.

Archive Number: PZ0751.01-03
Total Running Time: 180 minutes

top