The FBI's John Lennon files

UC Irvine historian Jon Wiener has been suing the government under the Freedom of Information Act since 1983 for complete access to the voluminous John Lennon FBI files. J. Edgar Hoover began surveillance of the ex-Beatle in 1971 when Lennon's protests of the Vietnam War made him a deportation target of President Nixon. Wiener has gotten most of the papers and authored Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files and John Lennon: Come Together in His Time. But the government has decided to appeal a federal court ruling that ordered release of the final ten pages, saying they contain confidential information from a foreign nation. Since tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of Lennon's murder, Wiener's show on KPFK (90.7 FM) today at 4 pm will air rare audio clips out of the Pacifica Radio Archives about Lennon and his anti-war activities. Pete Seeger and Abbie Hoffman are featured.

Also: That postponed segment of Politics of Culture about the closing of Hatikvah Records on Fairfax will now air Tuesday, Dec. 13 on KCRW, I'm told.