On Saturday, September 27, Monty Hall in downtown Jersey City will welcome neighbors and friends for an evening that celebrates the power of community radio. It’s a double documentary screening, the kind of event that feels less like a show and more like a gathering of people who care about voices, stories, and the airwaves that have long carried them.
The night begins with Playing in the FM Band: The Steve Post Story, a 90-minute film about a Bronx kid who turned hardship into art on the radio. Steve Post lost his mother young, faced indifference at home, and endured a rough boarding school, but found escape in radio—sneaking recordings on his father’s tape machine under playful names like “Luke Warm.” From those beginnings, he grew into one of the country’s most original freeform broadcasters, first at WBAI and later at WNYC, where his weekday Morning Music became a staple for two decades. Post was known for his curmudgeonly wit, his fundraising skills that helped keep WNYC independent, and his extraordinary courage through a decades-long fight with cancer. The film, directed by Rosemarie Reed, also takes viewers back to the 1960s and 70s, when WBAI stood as a rare place for real freedom on the dial.
The second feature, An Extraordinary Place: The WMPG Movie, is a 34-minute portrait of a Portland, Maine community station run by 200 volunteers. Instead of focusing on the troubles of the world, it shines a light on solutions—how shared purpose, diversity, and love of music can create joy and belonging. The film has already earned recognition, including “Best Short Film” at the Maine International Film Festival and awards at festivals across North America and Europe.
The event takes place at WFMU’s Monty Hall, 43 Montgomery Street, Jersey City, just steps from the Exchange Place PATH station. It’s a familiar gathering space, and on this night it will be filled with film, music, and community spirit.
General admission is $19, and all proceeds go to support WFMU. The evening is open to all ages, in person only. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the first film starting promptly at 7 p.m. The program runs about two and a half hours—long enough to remind us that radio, at its best, connects us not just through sound, but through community.
