While Harvard radio broadcasting on 95.3 might not be the most popular station for CRLS students, the Sunday afternoons when Falcon Frequency is aired, it should be. Falcon Frequency is a radio show founded by CRLS students Sarah Glassman ’26, Xavier Agran ’26, Noah Fritz-Sherman ’26, Ella Colgan ’26, and Eli Bartholomew ’26. The program covers topics centered around Cambridge and high school life.
Falcon Frequency’s most recent edition, which aired on April 7th, is a fascinating dive into Cambridge’s history and its movement forward, told through interviews both in the WHRB studio and on the street. The Falcon Frequency team set out to interview some Cambridge residents in Central Square about topics including the gentrification of Cambridge over time, employment in Central Square, and even the abolition of our current system of mayoral election.
The first segment consists of a series of street style interviews conducted in Central Square. The team talks to employees at two Cambridge institutions, Cheapo Records and Boomerangs, as well as a Cambridge resident advocating for changing the roles of city manager and mayor in Cambridge. The latter interviewee says “the City Manager…make[s] the important decision really without any accountability to the voters.” He is advocating for Let Cambridge Choose, a group “seeking to start a democratic reform… so that we can have elected an accountable government” in the words of the interviewee.
The program then turns to an in-studio interview between Bartholomew and Ruth Economou, a longtime Cambridge
resident. Economou and Bartholomew both lived in the same area of Cambridge at some point in their childhood, and they share interesting perspectives on how Cambridge has changed over the years. Economou speaks of Mass Ave as a more vibrant place than we may know it now, a place where “you could take care of your errands but there were also…fun things to do.” Bartholomew provides a more recent perspective, saying “I remember walking to the store…but there weren’t as many fun activities as you’ve mentioned.”
All these interviews are unique and encapsulate each person, but all share the same themes of Cambridge’s change over time. They discuss change both in terms of positive growth and the negative consequences of gentrification and the stigmatization of certain neighborhoods. The show covers these topics with class and grace, and Glassman, Agran, Fritz-Sherman, Colgan, and Bartholomew are a dynamic team.
Furthermore, the interviews flow nicely, and the listener feels as though they have really met the people being interviewed. Overall, the show has both professionalism and interesting content, making for a very enjoyable listening experience. Though the next broadcast date has not been announced, keep your eyes out for a post on their Instagram and make sure to be near your radio for the next Falcon Frequency, it’s definitely worth a listen.
This article also appears in our April 2025 print edition.
