Paul Krassner's Underground Abortion Referral Service, Kathy Acker's Don Quixote, and "Nightwalks During the Pandemic"

Spoken Word with Electronics is an audio series delivering to you a two side recording of unusual stories paired with vintage modular electronic sounds

THIS WEEK:

Episode #5: Audio Politics

Hello, everyone - I hope all things are continuing to be comfortable and well. This installment begins with the fourth part of an interview conducted with Paul Krassner. You can hear the entire interview here as one playlist - There will be two more installments added to this playlist in the next few weeks.

The 60s offered a dystopian reality for many women. This installment focuses on an awful moment in US history (still at risk to return) where a satire magazine would be among the only places found to provide sanity and safety.

When I interviewed Paul in 2017 for a comedy magazine I couldn't help but veer into the serious business of Paul running an underground abortion referral service. This wasn't being an abortion provider, merely indicating where such services could be found. I'll let Paul describe this best, but as an introduction, consider that there was ZERO public information on getting an abortion: no phone book, certainly no Internet (or social media, Google search, or any network), no public record. It had to be word of mouth, leading to many distortions, blackmail, and worse.

Below is probably the most concise he's ever been describing his role of running an underground referral service. Paul did this for a decade, earning him a sizable chapter in his FBI file. Paul is a hero to me for a lot of reasons, but this most of all. Read the rest