Susan Carpenter is co-host of ''The Ride'', a series about modern mobility on the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

Public Radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

station KPCC-FM. In broadcast radio segments and a weekly podcast, she reports on everything from autonomous cars and ride sharing to motorcycles, bicycles and public transit. Before joining KPCC, Carpenter was the car and motorcycle critic for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' and the ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily List of newspapers in California, newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digit ...

''. She is also known for operating two illegal pirate-radio stations and writing about unconventional adventures for the women's magazine '' Jane'' which she undertook in order to experience them firsthand. A

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

graduate, Carpenter was working as a

legal secretary A legal secretary is a particular category of worker within the legal profession. Background In the practice of law in the United States, a legal secretary is a person who works in the legal profession, typically assisting lawyers. Legal secretari ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, in 1995, when she began pseudonymously running an illegal all-music pirate-radio station, which she named "KPBJ", after the sandwich. The station operated for three-and-a-half years before the

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains ju ...

shut it down. During those years, KPBJ grew from interviewing relatively unknown guests to hosting live performances by such bands as the

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

and

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The band's best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro. Jane's Addicti ...

. In 1998, Carpenter took a job as editor of the niche culture magazine ''UHF'' and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where, under the alias "Paige Jarrett", she founded a new pirate station, "KBLT", also named after the sandwich, in the hipster Los Angeles community of Silver Lake. KBLT's deejays included Bob Forrest,

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ca ...

and

Keith Morris Keith Morris (born September 18, 1955) is an American singer and songwriter known for his role as frontman of the hardcore punk bands Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Off!. Born and raised in Hermosa Beach, California, he formed Black Flag at t ...

., performers included

Mazzy Star Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Santa Monica, California, from remnants of the group Opal (band), Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal ...

, who played a benefit to help pay her legal fees, and the station featured bootleg world premieres of songs by

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

, and

Jesus and Mary Chain Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religi ...

. Carpenter's writing has also appeared in '' George,'' ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' (stylized in all lowercase; ) is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on women aro ...

'', and ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

''. She has written about topics as diverse as working as a

Hooters Hooters is the registered trademark used by two American restaurant chains: Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, and Hooters of America, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the private investment firm Nord Bay Capital (with Tr ...

girl, posing

nude Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and no ...

for ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' magazine, joining the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, working on a

chain gang A chain gang or road gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include repairing buildings, building roads, or clearing land. The system was nota ...

, competing in a

Hawaiian Tropic Hawaiian Tropic is an American brand of suntan lotion that was founded by Ron Rice in 1969. Hawaiian Tropic became the largest private manufacturer of sun care products in the United States. The company was acquired by Playtex Products, Inc. in ...

tanning contest, and trying out for the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

dance squad, the

Laker Girls The Laker Girls are a National Basketball Association Cheerleading squad that supports the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team at home games. They also perform at many other events and venues. Jerry Buss commissioned the Laker Girls in 1979 aft ...

, and has provided insider commentary about pirate radio happenings. In October 2012, Carpenter moved to the ''Orange County Register'' as automobile and motorcycle columnist. In 2004, Carpenter wrote a book about her experiences as a pirate-radio operator which has been described as "''

sine qua non A ''sine qua non'' (, ) or ''condicio sine qua non'' (plural: ''condiciones sine quibus non'') is an indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient. It was originally a Latin legal term for " conditionwithout which it could not b ...

'' for anyone who aspires to run any kind of community-style radio station" due to the details it provides about the college, community, and pirate scene.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Sue Living people American women writers Writers from California University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Motorcycle journalists Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women