Larry Bensky, Iconic Voice of KPFA News Radio, Dies Aged 87

Larry Bensky, veteran broadcaster at KPFA, passed away Sunday, May 19th, 2024 at the age of 87. Larry was best known as the national affairs correspondent for Pacifica Radio from 1987 to 1998. Larry covered numerous national and international events for Pacifica, including the Iran–Contra hearings in 1987, the confirmation hearings for four Supreme Court justices, the 1990 elections in Nicaragua, and numerous demonstrations and protests in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere.

He anchored Pacifica’s live coverage of the 9/11 Commission hearings, and co-anchored Pacifica’s coverage of many Democratic and Republican conventions, as well as the Presidential debates. He was an anchor for Pacifica’s extensive coverage of the post-2004 election controversy in Ohio, as well as several Congressional hearings about the misuse of executive power in the Bush administration.

Larry was also host of the public affairs show Sunday Salon for many years and later came out of retirement to host the classical Sunday morning music program, Piano. He graduated with departmental honors from Yale University, where he was managing editor of the Yale Daily News.