— Voltaire

There aren't a lot of villages with a population of barely 1,000 that can boast of its own public library.

Let alone a really good one.

Kaslo is an exception.

On today's show, host Randy Morse visits Kaslo's 21st century information hub (situated in a decidedly 19th century building), and has a lively conversation with library director Darlene Edwards and trustee Hilary Schroeder.

Turns out roughly a third of us who live in Kaslo and the North Kootenay Lake region fall into that category. 

It's a time of life that brings with it both blessings and curses, opportunities and challenges. 

With that in mind, a truly useful-sounding expo is happening on Saturday, April 25, 2026, from 10 AM to 2 PM at the Kaslo Legion called AGING TOGETHER. Offering us a chance to wander around and learn about the amazing array of organizations and services that are available to us, all of them designed to help folks age with as much grace, comfort, and dignity as possible.

Kaslo Community Services Co-Director Patrick Steiner provides a helpful rundown of what to expect this Saturday.

They include two outstanding choirs, Castlegar's Family of Friends Doukhobor Choir and Nelson's Cottonwood Singers, ukulele-wielding singers extraordinaire Jasmine Popoff & Julie Johnson ("Pretty Notes"), Nelson-based band APB&J... and Gates.

Gates, headed by Tasha Taylor — formerly of the acclaimed pop-rock band LILLIX — and Tamara Umlah, former front woman of the alt-pop project, Familia — will knock you out with their soulful, retro-inspired R&B. Tasha and Tamara write and produce songs that draw on the timeless warmth of classic soul and rhythm & blues, creating a sound that is, as they describe it, “as heartfelt as it is holy — worshipful, honest, and full of hope.

Five of their songs are featured on today's show — enjoy!

Voices like Frantisek Strouhal and Chantal Robert, who gently, thoughtfully suggest that in times like these, we must find ways to remind ourselves of how much we have in common. Of the importance of recognizing that all of us clinging to this small blue orb, hurtling through the cosmos, are as one. 

The founders of the non-profit Global Symphony for a United World share the story of how they met, their art and writing, and the upcoming Global Symphony concert, slated for April 11, 2 PM at Castlegar's Brilliant Cultural Centre, with Radio Free Kaslo host Randy Morse. 

Both outstanding BC community choirs will be performing together at “Global Symphony,” a concert organized by the Slocan Valley-based non-profit, World Symphony for a United World. 

Saturday, April 11, 2 PM, at Castlegar’s Brilliant Cultural Centre. Admission by donations, kids under 12 and seniors free. 

He had long, very white fur with large black eye patches and long, lynx-like ears with tufts of hair at the ends. One eye was brown, the other blue. He was the size of a Labrador retriever, loved howling at passing ambulances, and was hypoallergenic. He enjoyed peeing on fire hydrants, chasing cats, and barking at strangers. He was smart, mischievous, and loyal to a fault.

And, oh yes, he was a lifelong Democrat. 

‘How might this be?’ you may ask. 

Well, to be clear, Lennart hadn’t always been a canine. No, for much of his life he had been L.L. Larsson, son of Rachel Slovic, a nice Jewish girl from Lincoln Park, a leafy neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side, and Lars Larsson, a Swedish graduate student from the lovely village of Leksand, in the historic Dalecarlia region, working on his PhD in political science at the University of Chicago.... 

On today's show, host Randy Morse reads Chapter 12 from his novel-in-progress, The Man Who Became a Dog. 

Lennart, newly arrived at Quirk Press, a boutique publishing house in Manhattan, has dinner with the firm's editor-in-chief, Zelda Gibbons.

I was faced with this dilemma yesterday. So I decided to grab a hand-held recorder, leave the studio, wander down to the beach, then stroll back via Kaslo's Front Street and simply describe what I was seeing.

If you've never been to our fair village, this is a nice introduction to one of — if not the — loveliest small towns in the country. If you do live here, or are a frequent visitor, it's always nice to be reminded what a great place this is. 

(And be sure to send this to friends and family, to give them a small taste of what they're missing)!

Featuring gorgeous three-part harmonies woven with banjo, stomp-clap-Cajon rhythms, and spoken word, rooted in Gospel, rhythm & blues, folk traditions, and poetic storytelling, the EP moves from hush and swell, to ritual and release.

Band members talk about how they came together, and introduce each EP track —

• The Rain It Falls
•  Come In,
• Poor Black Woman Blues
•  I'm Done

If you've ever listened to an album you love, and wondered what the artists were thinking when they wrote and recorded  it, you're not going to want to miss this show!

As a trio of three mothers, our lived experiences shape the music

Ah, but that doesn't keep the hardy, outdoor-loving denizens of the tiny mountain village of Kaslo from flocking to Winter in the Forest, held every Family Day (in February, for those of you unfamiliar with the holiday), at the Kaslo Aerodrome.

This year, Mother Nature decided to go along with the general theme of the event, providing a steady fall of snow to ensure that no attendee wondered if it was actually Spring.

Host Randy Morse wandered around, doing his best to stay warm — no easy feat, given his gloveless hand holding a recorder — chatting with folks as they enjoyed the festivities. Subjects ranged from soup to wildlife; from tourism to housing. 

Listen in, and enjoy!

With that in mind, here's an intriguing  conversation with tech whiz and seniors healthcare advocate, Tyler Dobie.

With music provided by Shred Kelly and Bachman Turner Overdrive.

With apologies to Lennon & McCartney!

Featuring a new song, The Streets of Minneapolis, by Bruce Springsteen, and classics by two towering Minnesota musical geniuses, Prince and Bob Dylan. 

Anne's husband, Vladimir Malik (aka Laddie), hails from the former Czechoslovakia. He’s a jack of all trades who has worn many hats, and at one time hosted the most charming coffee house in Kaslo. Laddie doesn’t let an obstacle stand in his way from moving forward.   

Russell Precious grew up in Vancouver and graduated from UBC and UC
Berkeley. A BC organic pioneer and natural foods entrepreneur, Russell most recently developed the Nelson Commons project, and designed and oversaw Nelson's new Kootenay Co-op. A Kootenay resident for nearly 40 years, the last three in Kaslo, Russell considers this his ultimate home base.

Host Randy Morse sat down for coffee and a a lively conversation with Anne, Laddie, and Russell recently at the Maliks' lovely home across the street from Kaslo's historic SS Moyie.

Like most assumptions, this one has some serious holes in it.

That certainly became evident during last year's controversy surrounding the (ongoing) saga on the fate of Kaslo's South Beach.

What do locals really think about their village? What do they appreciate about their home town? What do they wish would change? What do they hope remains as it is?

Host Randy Morse sets out to answer these questions through a series of conversations with local residents over the course of 2026. In this first instalment, recorded live at Kaslo's Blue Belle Bistro, he sits down over a coffee with BC Rural Centre Executive Director and Kootenay Lake Historical Society Chair, Sarah Sinclair, together with Historical Society Treasurer and SS Moyie Project Manager, Kit Ashenhurst, for a lively conversation on their views of the place they call home.

Enjoy!

Happy 2026!

This recording is especially dedicated to Charlotte's grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nephews and nieces. Listen — and learn!

Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, and a very Merry Christmas to you all!

On Friday, December 19, 7 PM at Kaslo's historic Langham Theatre, the Kaslo & District Public Library's New Library Project is hosting a theatrical reading of Dickens' immortal seasonal story of redemption.

Randy Morse, host of Kootenay Co-op Radio's long-running Radio Free Kaslo, sat down with the show's director, Hilary Schroeder, to chat about Dickens, the story, and the upcoming event. 

Tickets @ $20  at Sunnyside Naturals, and the Kaslo & District Public Library

Here in tiny (but oh-so lovely) Kaslo, we've put the Christmas Market at the Canadian Legion and the Lightup Parade down Front Street behind us. 

Next up?

On today's show, host Randy Morse reminds listeners that Songs for a Winter's Night, Kaslo's Kuimba Choir's holiday concerts, happen Friday December 12, at 7 PM, and Sunday December 14, at 2 PM — both at St. Andrew's United Church. Tickets available at Sunnyside Naturals and at the door.

He ventures west to the snowy Slocan Valley, where he visits the annual Linden Lanes Farm Christmas Fair, and chats with the third generation farmer who makes it happen.

Then he heads north, to Argenta, to a magical workshop where craftspeople and artisans are building gigantic, fire-breathing wooden dragons.

And finally, he sits down with Hilary Schroeder for a conversation focussed on the most famous holiday story in the English language. Hilary is directing a dramatic reading featuring over a dozen locals, of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the venerable Langham Theatre on Friday, December 19, at 7 PM. Tickets available at Sunnyside Naturals and the Kaslo library.

Throw in holiday-centric songs by brilliant Canadian artists Sarah McLachlan, Loreena McKennitt, and Kate & Anna McGarrigle, and you have a half-hour of seasonal listening guaranteed to get you in a celebratory state of mind — and heart!

Come and join your friends & neighbours for the annual Kuimba Choir holiday concert — Songs for a Winter's Night — this Friday, December 12th, 7PM at Kaslo's historic St. Andrew's United Church, and/or this Sunday, December 12th, 2PM, also at St. Andrew's.

Tickets are available at Kaslo's Sunnyside Naturals, or (if there are any left!), at the door.

Come join your friends & neighbours, and usher in the festive season in style!

Radio Free Kaslo host Randy Morse sits down with Kuimba conductor Tamara Sunsong for a conversation that covers Tamara's musical background, and some of the highlights of the choir's upcoming Songs for a Winter's Night performances at Kaslo's St. Andrew's United Church, Friday December 12 (7 PM), and Sunday December 14 (2 PM).

Enjoy!

Enjoy!

Enjoy!

Lennart Lovecraft Larsson is a round peg in a world of square holes.

From his boyhood in first Sweden, then Oregon, through his career as a publisher, first in New York, then Portland, Lennart nurtures his uncanny ability to communicate with canines. 

Meanwhile, as America spirals down the MAGA drain, his faith in humanity begins to wane. Faced with the prospect that things will never get better, he does the only sensible thing: he becomes a dog. 

This is his story. 

LUCAS MYERS, in Randy from Creston

Friday, Nov. 7

Saturday Nov. 8

Sunday November 9

All shows 7 PM, at the Langham Theatre. Tix available at Sunnyside Naturals, Willow Home Boutique, and online at thelangham.ca.

The answer, for most of you, is "No. Of course not!"

Well, here's a taste of what it was like back in the 1950s. Today's show consists entirely of host RG Morse reading Chapter Four of his novel-in-progress, The Man Who Became a Dog. Get all cozy, curl up in front of your device, and be transported to the slightly skewed world of Lennart Lovecraft Larsson, just like folks did back in the mid-20th century!

             — James Herriot

Unless one happens to be a billionaire oligarch, the world is becoming an increasingly hostile place.

Reactions to an unraveling of civility and common sense vary from joining cult-like reactionary movements, to donning frog costumes and taunting angry but bewildered ICE agents. 

For the majority of us, we just want to hunker down, mind our own business, and live our lives.

Ah, but in times like these, that is a luxury few can afford (see "billionaire oligarchs" above). A realization that can easily lead to despondency, despair, and desperate attempts to escape the madness. 

In the puzzling case of one Lennart Lovecraft Larsson, the answer is to leave the human race behind, to join a far more sensible and caring species: he decides to become a dog.

This is his story — or at least it is the first three chapters of his tail — er, tale. 

Enjoy.

Enjoy!

Enjoy — and Happy Thanksgiving!

For example, Apple's new AirPods, when enabled by an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence (Apple's AI), have a feature called Live Translation — and that's just what they deliver. Wonder what on earth that taxi driver in Paris is saying to you? Not if you have these new AirPods in your ears!

Inspired by an article about this clearly positive new technology, host Randy Morse found himself contemplating the darker side of tech — specifically, social media algorithms that reward anger and vitriol,  the stampede among AI leaders to see who will first develop Super Intelligence, the emergence of what Morse refers to as "Structural Nihilism," and the inevitable comparison to the chilling thesis of that classic film directed by the Wachowskis, The Matrix — that humanity is a virus that must be eradicated.

Today's show is rescued from utter darkness and despair(!), by Morse's anecdote about love blossoming at the recent Argenta Fall Faire, and the fabulous music of the jazz duo of Elizabeth Shepherd and Michael Occhipinti (aka ES:MO), with 17 JUNO nominations to their name, who this week performed twice at Kaslo's historic Langham Theatre to appreciative crowds.

Hope springs eternal at Radio Free Kaslo!

Be sure to attend the Open House, hosted by Radio Free Kaslo host Randy Morse,  on Sunday, September 28, at St. Andrew's United Church's Heritage Hall, at 7 PM. Anne will present her vision for a fair and reasonable future for South Beach, and field questions & comments from the audience. All are welcome!

He then features an article from the August 14 edition of the Valley Voice written by Local Journalism Initiative reporter Rachael Lesosky on Kaslo Village Council's recent in-camera meeting regarding correspondence received from local citizens regarding the proposed South Beach strata RV development.

On today's show, host Randy Morse looks back on last weekend's Kaslo Jazz Etc. Festival, and features a couple of artists slated to perform at this week's Edmonton Folk Festival.

Performers featured include Stone Face Kid, Moses Mayes & the Funk Family Orchestra, Yasmin Williams, The Roots (with Erykah Badu), and Stephen Wilson Jr..

Enjoy!

And speaking of Corb, "The Hurtin' Albertan' Lund, toss in a conversation between host Randy Morse and Edmonton-based Kaslo visitor Doug Piquette, and you have a worthy kickoff to another season of music and fun in Kaslo Bay. Enjoy!

On today's show, host Randy Morse chats with his American family on their recent visit to Canada. They cover everything from being greeted by heavily armed agents (Homeland Security? ICE?) on the American side of the border before crossing into the True North, to life in rural Kansas nearly 100 years ago, to the glories of listening to Andrea Bocelli while sitting on a deck staring across at Mt. Loki as the sun sets.

A perfect reminder that there are wonderful people everywhere. Enjoy the show!

     — Let's Get Naked in the Kootenays

Severe rain events are causing increasing numbers of catastrophic flooding events, around the world and right here in our mountainous backyard.

Today's show tackles this issue, against the sobering backdrop of recent tragedies in Texas Hill Country, North Carolina, Illinois, Iowa, France, Italy, and Uganda — as well as Johnsons Landing, Grand Forks, and elsewhere in BC.

Surely anything that can be done to mitigate potential flood risk in a municipality like Kaslo, many of its homes and virtually all its businesses built on an alluvial fan created over the centuries by the Kaslo River, is a no-brainer. 

Research from First Street Foundation points to “large” jump in risk for catastrophic flooding in the northwestern U.S., and by extension, BC. The way humans have developed natural landscapes, both inland and along rivers and coasts, means more rainwater remains unchecked and unabsorbed at the surface, turning life-giving rains into devastating floods. Our roads, sidewalks, buildings, , dams, agricultural practices — and strata RV parks — have eliminated many natural landscape features that would otherwise slow rainwater’s path across the land and absorb it deeply underground.

Kaslo's South Beach area is a floodplain, serving as a natural outlet for any flooding that may occur on the Kaslo River — in other words, a vital safety valve for Lower Kaslo, with its many homes, stores, and services.

If the current site of Lower Kaslo was untouched terrain and a developer came along and proposed to build houses and a downtown core here, it wouldn't be allowed. It's 2025. We know better today. But that urban development horse left the barn 125 years ago. All we can do now is anything and everything in our power to mitigate what appears to be a growing risk — and certainly refuse to allow any actions that increase that risk.

Today's Radio Free Kaslo celebrates summer, in words and music. Thanks to Jill Holland and Steve McGrath for being such good sports!

Plus we take listeners to Kaslo's Angry Hen Brewery for a conversation with Hen co-owner Rogan East, and master kayak builder, Steve Anderson. 

Toss in a few classic Canadian tunes, and you have a nice chunk of informative, entertaining listening here — enjoy!

     — Sami Sage, Democracy in Retrograde: How to make changes big and small in our country and in our lives

Long-time Kaslo, BC resident Anne Malik takes Sage's advice quite seriously.

For many years, Anne has monitored the deliberations of successive Kaslo Village councils, holding elected officials and municipal staff to their word — and occasionally, their feet to the fire.

Without bias, Anne has emerged as a reliable, detailed, conscientious chronicler of Village council debates, motions, and actions. She closely followed the process that led to the adoption of Kaslo's current (2022) Official Community Plan, as she has the proposed South Beach strata RV park.

With all this in mind, Radio Free Kaslo host Randy Morse sat down with Anne Malik for a conversation, during which she shares her views on the controversial proposal that would see Village land sold and a 72-lot RV strata development occur on the south bank of the Kaslo River. 

Few have done more over the past three years to graphically convey the unspeakable horrors of Putin's brutal war than VR journalist, Nickolay "Mikola" Omelchenko. 

Radio Free Kaslo host Randy Morse spoke recently with Omelchenko, from Nashville, Tennessee. 

For example, you could win a totally rad skateboard.... Let Pizza Mike explain.

Plus a chat with the ever-enthusiastic Pizza Mike.

Enjoy!

For example, when it comes to music, we all know Canada is, with no hyperbole, a world leader. Toss around names like Joni, Neil, Leonard, and Céline in a London pub or a Delhi market, and people will nod knowingly. 

But we also rock classical music. 

I've always been a huge fan of Glenn Gould, and have featured his piano virtuosity many times on this show. Today, I'm delighted to introduce three other towering Canadian classical music talents: composer Harry Somers, pianist Angela Hewitt, and violinist James Ehnes.

Ah, but no Radio Free Kaslo episode would be complete without at least a little Kootenay contact. 

So when I found myself in Nelson this week, feeling a little down, what with all that's happening around us, I wandered into Thor's Pizza, for decades Nelson's go-to place for a pie, a slice — and a hearty pick-me-up of optimism, kindness, and humour — delivered daily, by owners Annie & Mike Garbula. I had a chance to have a conversation with Pizza Mike himself, and captured it for you to enjoy!

Or to be more accurate, it's a conversation between two friends over morning coffee at a small town eatery on a blustery, bleak late-March morning.

Enjoy.

Host Randy Morse also sits down and has a conversation with his buddy Harel Challmie, over coffee at The Parlour, a charming  java joint in the tiny alpine village of Kaslo, where they chat about everything from the Enlightenment to movies.

You're definitely not going to hear anything like this on commercial radio!

But for decades most of us haven't considered the True North a particularly "big" power.

Oh, sure, we know we're physically enormous, second only to Russia in terms of landmass. Ah, but now that the Trump regime has arbitrarily decided to take us into the economic and geopolitical corners, we're quickly coming to the realization that we have some sharp elbows — and are starting to use them.

The USA may have the world's largest economy (Number Two China isn't even close). But make no mistake, Canada is no economic slouch. Our US$2 trillion + GDP is nothing to smirk at. We are awash in the natural resources the world is clamouring for. We have a largely healthy, well-educated population, bolstered — not threatened — by a sensible immigration policy. 

And while the Canadian military has suffered from generational neglect, that can change on a dime — or a loonie. Over 1.1 million Canadians fought in World War II. That's from a country with a 1945 population of 12 million! We are over 40 million today. And to give all this a bit of perspective, Canada's GDP is nearly identical with that of... Russia. 

Then there's culture. When it comes to literature, film, theatre, art, dance — and music — Canada is a global heavyweight. 

The general point is there are few — if any — other nations on earth with as much pent-up power and potential as Canada. While we haven't always behaved as if we understood this, the times, they are a' changing. 

Today's show, with its emphasis on music (with a little political commentary thrown in) celebrates this fact. 

Also a conversation with BC Rural Centre executive director Sarah Sinclair, and Russell Precious, a member of Kaslo's South Beach Working Group.

With music from the Kyiv Symphony and Chorus, Chris Stapleton, and Van Morrison.

Slava Ukraini!

1. When humanly possible (this is an AI-free show), make it Canadian!

2. If not, anything but American, thanks very much.

I do this regretfully — the USA is of course full of amazing musicians, not all of whom support in any way their current government's actions — in fact I suspect most don't. 

Until things change, c'est la vie.

The main upside (for me, at least) is that I am already discovering homegrown talent I either hadn't heard or played in a long while, or, even worse, had no clue existed. I'm delighted to bring them to your attention. Today's playlist includes songs by:

— Juno Award-winner Sarah Harmer

— Nova Scotia's Joel Plaskett

— Guelph, Ontario's Constantines

— Montreal's Stars

— Winnipeg's The Weakerthans

— Halifax's Thrush Hermit

Today, world-class, all-Canadian indie pop. Next week? Stay tuned!

Enjoy, 'eh!

Including love of one's hometown. And on that topic, a big shout out to Kaslo's local council for doing the right thing and putting the brakes on a potentially disastrous proposal to pave paradise, and slap a huge strata RV park onto a prime pice of land on the south bank of the Kaslo River. 

Speaking of love, I'd like to thank Donald Trump, on behalf of all Canadians regardless of political stripe, for viscerally reminding us how much we love this country. And for jolting me into realizing we may need to look elsewhere for friends we can trust, friends with whom we share crucial values — and geography.

Welcome, Bienvenue, Välkommen, Velkommen, Velkomin, Velkomst, Tervetula to the DNA, folks — that would, of course, be the Democratic Northern Alliance, made up of Canada, Iceland, Greenland (and with it, Denmark), Norway, Sweden, and Finland. 

DNA has to be one of my best brainchildren ever. And it's all thanks to our increasingly obnoxious southern neighbour's Great Leader.

I love it! 

Kallee, the Executive Director of the West Kootenay Regional Arts Council, is bright, articulate, and full of enthusiasm and interesting insights. If you're a voter in her riding, or simply interested in Canadian politics generally, this program is worth a listen!

Indiana University professor David Honig lucidly lays out Trump's approach, as clearly as I've ever seen. Have a listen and see if this makes sense to you.

It's also the day Donald Trump has threatened to slap a 25% tariff on Canadian goods and services crossing the US border. All while continuing to publicly muse on the notion of annexing Canada, bringing it into the US MAGA fold.

Today's Radio Free Kaslo features 11 reasons why this is not going to happen, taken from a Youtube video series (@rgmorse) being created by host Randy Morse called, "51 Reasons Why Canada Will Never Become a US State." Together with a conversation with NDP candidate for his party's nomination in the new federal riding of Columbia-Kootenay-Southern Rockies, Keith Page.

This is an entertaining, and for some likely provocative show — happy listening, 'eh?!

• City Councillor, Nelson (currently in his second term)
• Nelson Director, Regional District of Central Kootenay
• President, Association of Kootenay Boundary Local Governments (representing 31 local governments)
• Kootenay Boundary Rep, Union of British Columbia Municipalities

His political and community accomplishment include:

• Co-developed Nelson Next Climate Action Plan (75% GHG reduction by 2032)
• Established cross-jurisdictional non-profit housing partnerships, putting hundred of units into the pipeline
• Led local government team to successfully advocate medical travel support for rural residents
• Modernized district regional recreation services to improve rural access, youth and senior supports, and transformation of management structure
• Successfully led UBCM emergency resolution on carbon pricing reform for local governments

NDP riding members will choose between Page and West Kootenay Regional Arts Council Executive Director Kallee Lins in an election February 27 that will determine the NDP candidate in the next federal election. 

Anderson studied journalism at the University of Oregon and did graduate work in Asian culture and history in Seattle and Honolulu. He is perhaps best known for his work in Asia, beginning in the 1980s, when he served as managing editor of Apa Productions’ Singapore-based series of Insight Guides. He has lived in Vietnam and Cambodia since 2019.

His work is frequently honored by the North American Travel Journalists Association, twice including “self-illustrated story of the year.” In 2022, his popular blog "Travels in Vietnam" (www.travelsinvietnam.com), was chosen as one of the top five independent travel blogs in America.

He joins Radio Free Kaslo host Randy Morse from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to talk about his life, and in particular his current sojourn in Southeast Asia.