KCRW

20 years ago, The Simpsons stepped out of the Tracy Ullman show and into their own half-hour timeslot on the then-fledgling FOX network. 450 episodes later, they’re still going strong. We talk this morning with one of the show’s long time voice actors, Harry Shearer.

About half of the year, actor and comedian Harry Shearer lives in the French Quarter of New Orleans. He’s been watching Gustav’s wrath from afar, via satellite feeds from his other home in Southern California.

With just four days left until the election, early voting and new polling numbers are dominating the headlines. But comedian and satirist Harry Shearer doesn’t want voters overlook the legacy of President George W. Bush and his administration.

The subject of today’s Global Hit is singer Lokua Kanza. He’s from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in central Africa. Kanza has a new album out. And regular contributor Tom Schnabel says it’s a winner.

Today’s Global Hit takes us to Iran, but not contemporary Iran. We’re going back to the 60s and 70s. TWO new compilation CDs of the era have come out this year. Music programmer for KCRW in Santa Monica, California, Tom Schnabel, dips into both of them.