Rags, pumps, the sea, and crime. Those are my areas of hard-earned expertise. I learned what little I know in the school of rags and pumps and the sea and crime, that is to say, in everyday, unlettered learning, in the town square of a foul and vinegary seaside resort, under torrential rain, listening, rapt, to shorebound submariners who had polished many a periscope with many a rag in their time. Their testimony is often overlooked in our universities and think-tanks, more’s the pity.
Six Pillars – Women and Sex in Iran
Six Pillars producer Fari Bradley interviews Dr Pari Esfandiari, the Editor-in-Chief of Irandokht. Entrepreneur business woman, Dr Esfandiari PhD, has built up a massive readership and a vital forum for Iranian women all over the world (dokhtar means daughter in Farsi). The site is an independent, non-partisan but politically engaged site that allows women to communicate and promote peace through understanding. It’s such a worthy cause that Irandokht is among 34 websites showcased by UNESCO.
Dr Esfandiari tells Fari about her recent article ‘Sex in Iran’ which she wrote with co-writer Richard Buskin for Playboy Magazine. This telling article is about lifestyles in contemporary Iran and the extent of social problems that exist therein.
The basis of the article is the news that a well renowned actress of some esteem had either made with her ex-boyfriend or been body-doubled in a home made video tape involving copious of sex and nudity. The tape made a ridiculous amount of money on the black market and the poor girl’s career and life hangs in the balance. Dr. Esfandiari explained that the popularity of the DVD reveals a society that is unsure of its own values. She points out the chauvinism that exists in Iranian culture, as most people sympathised with Madame X only after they saw her portrayed as a victim. The very idea of a woman enjoying sex is seems threatening.
The article also highlights the polarity and divides in society in general on this topic, with permissive and extremist views on women’s roles, illustrated by two completely polarized stories: a group of young girls fearing their families reaction were said to have committed group suicide after being featured on internet dancing with revealing cloths and bare hair, and reports of private parties where guests drink, socialize and couple off at the end of the evening.
Marvin Suicide : 144 – Audio Aubergine Speciale
This weeks episode of marvin suicide is dedicated to the website Audio Aubergine.
All the songs were downloaded from Audio Aubergine, so please visit Audio Aubergine for further information. That’s Audio Aubergine.
The Bike Show: Transition Town Bicycling
Totnes in South Devon is where the rapidly growing ‘transition town’ movement all began. Transition towns are a response to the problem of resource depletion, peak oil and climate change and embrace the practical and more esoteric aspects of changing lifestyles and mindsets. Totnes and the surrounding countryside – like many rural areas – remain heavily reliant on car travel. What can be done to get more people on bicycles in the countryside? Is cycling a viable rural alternative to the internal combustion engine? For more on Transition Towns, listen to this edition of Resonance FM’s Low Carbon Show. Plus Eric Gauster of Cycle Training UK on some great value bike maintenance classes for Londoners. We give away a place on either a basic or intermediate class to the listener who best completes the following sentence:
“I want to go on a bicycle maintenance course because…..”
email to bikeshow@gmail.com
MP3
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Art house Cinema: Podcast #7 – Autumn ’07
Finally, it’s Electric Sheep Magazine & Resonance FM‘s latest Art House cinema podcast featuring reviews of films released last autumn at ‘Art House’ cinemas in London… This show is presented by Alex Fitch with contributions from Virginie Sélavy (editor of Electric Sheep Magazine) , comedienne Jessica Fostekew and Sean Price… Featuring reviews of Daywatch, Control, The Counterfeiters, Princess, Blame it on Fidel, 30 Days of night, Never Apologise, Planet Terror and Weirdsville. In this episode there’re also exclusive interviews with Anders Morgenthaler (Princess), Malcolm McDowell & Mike Kaplan (Never Apologise – a personal visit with Lindsay Anderson). This is a hour long special edition.
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Panel Borders: The work of Gary Russell
Panel Borders: The work of Gary Russell
Originally broadcast 24/01/08 as part of Strip! on Resonance 104.4 FM
Alex Fitch talks to Doctor Who story editor Gary Russell about his new Who comic for the American market as well as the history of Doctor Who in strip format from TV Comic to the Radio Times.
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The Bike Show: Hidden Treasure
Paul Wonnacott has been buying, repairing and selling on used bicycles in the English countryside for almost thirty years. In an extended interview he looks back at the changes he’s observed in the bicycle manufacturing industry (most of them bad) and grapples with a hoarder’s inner demon as he watches his huge stock literally pile up and up. Also mentioned in the show is the Waterfront London exhibition and series of breakfast talks at New London Architecture on Store Street, the Italian writer Ugo Riccarelli in conversation with journalist Richard Williams on the occasion of the publication of the English edition of Coppi’s Angel on 30 January at the Italian Cultural Institute. And the deadline for submissions to the 2008 Bicycle Film Festival is looming: 19 February.
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Hooting Yard : The Helmet of a Conquistador
Munching a whelk, I turned my attentions to the diagrams themselves. They were fearfully complicated. I am no architect, and at first all I could make out were miriad lines meeting at angles and criss-crossing each other seemingly at random. Most of the diagrams had been subjected to revision, and there was much evidence of erasure, overprinting and churlish emendation. My studies were interrupted by a sudden and ferocious thunderstorm.
Marvin Suicide : 143 – 3 Year Anniversary
This episode celebrates 3 years of marvin suicide.
It’s a bit rough around the edges and contains strong language throughout. I would guess anyone other than myself will find this extended edition childish and tiresome.
Six Pillars – Persian Avant Garde Music 1960’s

Mashayekhi’s work is woefully unknown to us the in the west, despite his completely unique and innovative methods and career that spans back to a pre-Shah Iran. From score writing to painting Mashayekhhi’s work reflects the unique way he thinks. Many thanks to Sub-Rosa Records for allowing us to podcast these pieces.
We also hear a short interview with artist Anahita Rezvani on her work, recently shown here at the Paraava gallery. She is interviewed at our request by her friend, who remains unnamed.
This show was produced and presented by Fari Bradley and broadcast from the Resonancefm studios in 2007.
