Weekly Program Highlights
Friday 10/16
NOON – 1:00 PM
Fresh Air… This week on Fresh Air, remember Eva Marie Saint, best known for her roles in On The Waterfront and North by Northwest, with an interview from 2000. Also, revisit a 1990 interview with Anne Rice, in honor of the 50th anniversary of her debut novel, Interview with the Vampire.
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Science Friday… This week on Science Friday, the science behind getting swallowed by a whale. In the new movie Whalefall, an unlucky diver is swallowed by a sperm whale. Could this actually happen? A sperm whale expert breaks down the ins and outs of the science behind the movie.
2:30 – 3:00 PM
Today, Explained… Hear why the left and right are now fighting to be the sexiest party.
4:00 – 4:30 PM
Marketplace… The tech industry has been a big contributor to India’s economic growth over the last few decades, and India’s economic strength comes in part from its sheer scale. With nearly one and a half billion people, the country generates a lot of data. Take a look at training artificial intelligence using a very large sample size.
6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie… The Street: This week on The Club McKenzie, step back into 1930s New York City when a single strip of Prohibition-era speakeasies transformed into the legendary capital of jazz. Travel with Guy Rathbun down 52nd Street — simply known to legends like Louis Prima and Stuff Smith as “The Street.” From the secret doors of the 21 Club to hot spots like The Onyx, The Famous Door, and Kelly’s Stable, discover how brownstones and steakhouses ignited the era of Swing.
Saturday 10/17
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, guest host Negin Farsad celebrates the arrival of autumn with some memorable interviews from the past year with acting legend Sally Field, author Caro Claire Burke, and the comedian with his hand inside Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. It’s a fall spectacular packed with laughs, surprises, and plenty of news quiz fun.
11:00 – NOON
Radiolab… This week on Radiolab, hear a story about what happened when an entomologist named Martha Weiss got a letter from a little boy in Japan saying he wanted to replicate a famous study of hers. In addition to revealing some fascinating secrets of insect life, it also raises big questions about memory, permanence, and transformation. The letter Martha received about building on this study set in motion a series of spectacular events that advance her original science and show how science works when a 12-year-old boy is the one doing it.
3:00 – 5:00 PM
American Routes… This week on American Routes, New Orleans jazz, Baton Rouge blues and Ethio-jazz played on keyboard and accordion by a former Washington D.C. cab driver, Hailu Mergia, who mixes Ethiopian music with jazz, funk and soul. Then, it’s a rare, intimate solo performance by Baton Rouge bluesman Lil Ray Neal, live at the West Baton Rouge Museum.
Sunday 10/18
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Hidden Brain… Why is lasting happiness so difficult to achieve? This week on Hidden Brain, psychologist George Loewenstein explores how negative emotions can distort the way we see our lives. He also offers ways to better understand these forces and lessen their power over us.
11:00 – NOON
This American Life… This week on This American Life, hear a show composed of stories about coincidences as submitted by listeners, with topics ranging from a chance encounter at a bus station to a romantic dollar bill to a baffling apparition in a college shower stall.
NOON – 2:00 PM
Sunday Baroque… October 18th is the birthday of legendary trumpet player Wynton Marsalis. This year, the multiple award-winning performer and composer turns 65. Hear Wynton Marsalis shine as the soloist playing all the trumpet parts in a triple concerto on Sunday Baroque this weekend.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, guest host Negin Farsad celebrates the arrival of autumn with some memorable interviews from the past year with acting legend Sally Field, author Caro Claire Burke, and the comedian with his hand inside Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. It’s a fall spectacular packed with laughs, surprises, and plenty of news quiz fun.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Latino USA… This week on Latino USA, hear the third installment in a series about Estrella: an undocumented transgender woman from Mexico caught up in the United States’ criminal and immigration systems. This summer, after serving a nine-year sentence in a notorious Texas men’s prison, Estrella was released and deported to Mexico. Look back on Estrella’s story, her evolving relationship with host Maria Hinojosa, and what it means to finish serving a criminal sentence when you’re an undocumented immigrant whose freedom is tenuous and bittersweet.
4:00 – 5:00 PM
Reveal… Next month, a large number of Black Louisianans will head to the polls in a newly drawn, majority-white congressional district. That’s because this past spring, the Supreme Court dismantled the district represented by Black Congressman Cleo Fields. The court’s ruling effectively put an end to the Voting Rights Act, which for decades had protected Black voters from discrimination. What that means for voters in Louisiana and throughout the South, this week on Reveal.
6:00 – 7:00 PM
The Moth Radio Hour… This week on The Moth Radio Hour, an episode about our relationship with death through stories from the great beyond and back again: body transport, mysterious disappearances, and life-or-death crushes.
Monday 10/19
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Issues and Ideas… This week, KCBX News presents a pre-election forum with three candidates running for San Luis Obispo City Council: Brett Cross, Emily Francis, and Michelle Shoresman.
2:30 – 3:00 PM
Today, Explained… Susan Collins is a political ninja who convinced Mainers she was for them, Dems that she was aligned with them, and Republicans that she ultimately sold their message – until President Trump came along.
Tuesday 10/20
2:30 – 3:00 PM
Today, Explained… Take a look at why influencer side hustles are keeping pyramid schemes alive and well.
Wednesday 10/21
1:00 – 1:30 PM
Bioneers… This week on Bioneers, Indigenous scholar and organizer Nick Estes explores how Indigenous land-based and Earth-centered societies are advancing regenerative solutions and campaigns to transform capitalism. An ancient “eco-nomics” today puts Indigenous leadership at the forefront of assuring a habitable planet.
1:30 – 2:00 PM
California Report Magazine… This week on the California Report Magazine, long before Apple Watches or smart rings, learn how a group of very dedicated nerds began collecting health data on themselves.
Thursday 10/22
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Central Coast Voices… This week on Central Coast Voices, host Kris Kington-Barker talks with guests about what CAPSLO is doing to ensure a smooth transition as the Paso Robles Senior Center moves under the CAPSLO umbrella. They’ll discuss some of the benefits already noticed, and what they will look forward to in the future. Hear from Lawren Ramos, community services program director for CAPSLO, and Laura DeLoye, Paso Robles Senior Center manager.
2:30 – 3:00 PM
Today, Explained… Take a look inside the spending on political ads in the midterms, which is at a record high, and how both parties are using AI to generate especially partisan attack ads.