Sonali Kolhatkar is the host and executive producer of Rising Up With Sonali, a weekly nationally syndicated radio and television program produced in Los Angeles, California.
Previously, Sonali hosted and produced Uprising with Sonali, a drive-time radio show that debuted in 2003, making it the longest running drive time radio program in Southern California hosted by a woman of color.
In 2015, Sonali won the Best TV Anchor Award from the Los Angeles Press Club.
Rising Up With Sonali can be heard on KPFK Pacifica Radio in Southern California, KPFA Pacifica Radio in Northern California, and the television version of the program can be viewed on the show’s Vimeo channel and on Free Speech TV (DirecTV, Dish Network, Roku). Dozens of other community and independent radio stations around the U.S. and Canada also carry the program.
Watch a “Behind-the-Scenes” video of Rising Up With Sonali:
Latest Stories from Rising Up With Sonali:
- Report from Havana: How Cubans Survived Decades of US Sanctionsby Rising Up With Sonali on March 5, 2026 at 3:00 pm
Independent journalist Ed Augustin speaks from Havana about how Cubans are coping with decades of sanctions and whether there could be a US war on Cuba.
- US War on Iran: Everything You Need to Knowby Rising Up With Sonali on March 4, 2026 at 3:00 pm
The Iranian Red Crescent Society is reporting that nearly 800 Iranians have been killed in US and Israeli air strikes since the Trump Administration launched an illegal war on Iran on February 28 without Congressional approval.
- Rising Up For Justice: Tenants Strike for Affordable Rentby Rising Up With Sonali on March 3, 2026 at 3:00 pm
This week on Rising Up for Justice, Tara Raghuveer, director and founder of the Tenant Union Federation joins us.
- Here’s How To Block ICE Detention Centers in YOUR Townby Rising Up With Sonali on February 26, 2026 at 3:00 pm
Communities around the country have been countering new ICE detention centers–and they’ve been winning.
- How North Carolina’s Immigrant Rights Movement Fought ICEby Rising Up With Sonali on February 26, 2026 at 3:00 pm
Although rural states such as North Carolina did not garner as much national attention for the 2025-26 federal assault as Minnesota and California, it was an epicenter of ICE operations in the South.