PRESS RELEASE
International Women’s Day, March 8, 2022
TUNING IN
A Memoir of Transformation Through the Magic of Radio
A new book by Sandy Miranda
Taught from an early age to be “seen and not heard,” Sandy Miranda has long been searching for her voice.
From humble beginnings as a shy girl yearning to escape her dysfunctional family to finding herself pregnant and abandoned at age 18, follow Sandy’s journey of self-discovery as she puts herself through college, finds work at a nascent Apple Computer in Silicon Valley, and then has a life-changing experience at Esalen at age 43. As she goes back to graduate school and on to become a successful broadcaster, will her ground-breaking radio programs on music, culture, and spirituality help her finally overcome her fears of being heard, both on and off the air?
Women’s rights, importance of legal abortion, workplace rights, finding one’s own true path, the importance of education, women in broadcasting, and the healing culture of traditional Hawaii—these are all part of TUNING IN. Here you’ll find an amazing first book by a 75 year old woman, self-published with an editing team in London, Paris, New York, and San Francisco’s East Bay.
“Sandy Miranda’s natural ebullience and continued curiosity with the natural world is what makes her an engaging storyteller and radio programmer. Tuning In is an affirmation of facing and conquering life’s challenges through the power of connection, creativity, and glorious music.”
—Michele Flannery, KPFA Music Director emerita
“I was moved by Sandy’s book as I followed her transformation from the darkness of her past into her present day of light and healing. She has a gift for sharing her Aloha by connecting us world musicians to her vast base of listeners, giving us a platform to share not only our music but also our stories and culture. Mahalo, Sandy.”
—George Kahumoku Jr. Native Hawaiian Practitioner, farmer, musician, mentor, Professor emeritus University of Hawaii, Maui College Institute of Hawaiian Music, Lahainaluna High School teacher of “at risk” students, fine arts artist,
writer, publisher, recording artist, and recipient of four Grammys
“Tuning In is the story of someone in search, not of a job, but of a calling. That calling was radio. Sandy Miranda has been that joyful voice over the airwaves that brought the music, culture, and philosophy of the World to us for over thirty years. As a Mauian, I’m extremely grateful to Sandy for her particular dedication to the mele and mo`olelo of our dear Hawai`i. Tuning In is no ka oi.”
—Wayne Moniz, author/playwright of Pukoko: A Hawaiian in the American Civil War (novel) and Barefoot Boy in the Mango Tree: A Memoir of Maui and Me
“Sandy helped put ‘down-home music’ on the air on a number of Bay Area stations, featuring old and new releases of vernacular music and regional music. She is an avid devotee of ‘real music.’”
—Chris Strachwitz, Arhoolie Records founder and president of The Arhoolie Foundation; 1999 inductee to the Blues Hall of Fame; 2000 recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts; 2016 recipient of the Grammy Trustees Award in recognition of his Outstanding Recording Contributions
“How marvelous to be reminded of that magical moment at Esalen 35 years ago when we were gathered to celebrate Joseph Campbell. It was there that you embraced the “call to adventure”, not yet knowing that you would profoundly enrich the lives of thousands of radio listeners by transmitting the most brilliant and spirited world music of our time over the airwaves, performed by countless musicians who are living cultural treasures. Campbell’s wise words rightly predicted that the way to change the world is to vitalize yourself, to find the source of life and to share it. Thank you for all you have given us over the years on your spirited heroine’s journey.”
—Marler, Founder/Executive Director, Institute of Archaeomythology;
Former poetry director and KPFA programmer, «Voices of Vision»
“Beloved radio host Sandy Miranda takes readers on an insightful journey that chronicles a life lived in Technicolor and surround sound. Her intrepid search for purpose, knowledge, love, and adventure takes us far and wide. This is the story of an iconic time and place, observed with wit and hard-won wisdom by a courageous woman who has created the soundtrack for her own life. “
—Pamela Michael, writer, radio producer, founder of Center for Environmental
Literacy at St. Mary’s College, co-founder (with Robert Hass) of River of Words
“An intriguing memoir and inspiring story of a woman’s healing self-recovery and transformation, plus lots of good stories about musicians, music, and concerts, all with a global reach.”
—Mara Lynn Keller, PhD, Professor Emerita of Philosophy and Religion and Women’s
Spirituality MA/PhD Program, California Institute of Integral Studies
TUNING IN: A Memoir of Transformation Through the Magic of Radio available at Amazon.com and soon through bookstores.
Learn more at SandyMiranda.com
Sandy Miranda is a San Francisco native who broadcast global roots music shows in the Bay Area for over thirty years. Roots music is music that carries the culture of the region from which it comes.
Since 1988 on KPFA FM, Sandy produced and hosted Music of the World, Focus on Women in Music, and Folk Music From Near & Far Out as well as the weekly series Women, Spirit, & Peace. She hosted many Hawaiian musicians and others who played live on her show.
Since 2008, Sandy also hosted shows on KALW’s Folk Music & Beyond. KALW is an NPR/CBC/BBC affiliate in San Francisco. Producing a website for the Olympics in Italy, Sandy recruited global musicians to perform both virtual and live segments. She has also been an instructional designer at Apple in Silicon Valley and for other visionary organizations.
Sandy was one of the photographers for the Arhoolie Records 40th Anniversary box set which won a Grammy. The Smithsonian Institution has now acquired Arhoolie Records. A voting member of The Grammys and of Na Hoku Hano Hano Hawaiian music awards, Sandy received a Hawaiian “Aloha Spirit” award in 2010 in San Francisco from leading Hawaiian elders and a California State Award for music journalism.
Sandy holds a B.A. in World Literature, has completed two years of graduate work in Myth & Symbolism, and an M.A. in Philosophy & Religion/Women’s Spirituality.
