Weekly Program Highlights
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Friday 3/31
1:30 – 2:00 PM
Making Contact… Samuel Stein’s new book, Capital City: Gentrification and the Real Estate State, highlights the growing influence of investment capital into land as the driving force behind gentrification and the power developers have over city and local governments. Hear the author talk about the rise of the global real estate market, and learn how radical city planning, rent control and socialized land projects can help.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Hidden Brain… Hear an unusual story about two strangers who first met as adversaries and came to quick conclusions about each other. But then, nearly a decade later, both had the opportunity to pull the curtain back on the other's life.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Fresh Air… Hear from Melanie Lynskey, one of the stars of Showtime’s Yellowjackets, a cult favorite series which is back for season two. And, hear from Cinco Paul, the co-creator, co-writer, and songwriter of the series Schmigadoon!, which lovingly parodies classic Broadway musicals. It returns next week with season two on Apple TV+.
6:30 – 7:30 PM
Club McKenzie… Ferdinand’s Influence: He’s known better by his nickname, Jelly Roll Morton. To some, his boisterous demeanor was a turnoff, but realistically, his importance to the development of jazz cannot be overstated.
Saturday 4/1
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on the NPR news quiz, hear from panelists Luke Burbank, Zainab Johnson, and Matt Rogers. And, actor Michelle Rodriguez talks about Dungeons and Dragons and plays Not My Job.
11:00 – NOON
Radiolab… From Huawei and 5G to TikTok and other viral social media, China is stride for stride with the United States in the world of computing. However, China’s technological renaissance almost didn’t happen for the basic reason that the Chinese language’s 70,000 plus characters couldn't fit on a keyboard.
3:00 – 5:00 PM
American Routes… Pay tribute to the late pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr. and his musical sons. The conversation ranges from coming of age in a family of musicians with expectations of performing at the highest level, to the interplay of traditional and modern jazz in New Orleans.
5:00 – 6:00 PM
The Thistle and Shamrock… Revisit artists from new releases whose music is well-deserving of more airtime. There is so much to discover!
Sunday 4/2
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Reveal… A Philadelphia homicide detective on the rise abused his power in bizarre and extreme ways. Once an investigation was launched, the patterns that prosecutors found by reviewing the detective’s calls and emails with incarcerated men, examining his personnel file, and interviewing men who interacted with him showed shocking coercion and abuse. Take a look at the fallout from the scandal, find out from the Philadelphia Police Department how they addressed the misconduct, and learn how he got away with it for so long.
11:00 – NOON
This American Life… Hear the story of three people and one animal who think they know the path their lives will take until, suddenly, they don’t.
NOON – 2:00 PM
Sunday Baroque… Guitarist Paul Galbraith believes that Johann Sebastian Bach’s spirituality is evident, even in his instrumental music. Tune in to hear him playing a solo violin sonata that shares musical material with Bach’s Passion music, and hear choral selections from Bach’s magnificent St. John Passion.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Gateways Radio… This week on Gateways Radio, clarinetist Anthony McGill is featured in Richard Danielpour’s “From the Mountaintop,” Florence Price's Violin Concerto No. 2, and works by R. Nathaniel Dett and James Cockerham.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Our Body Politic… First, learn about the global impact of the Ukraine-Russia war with Nayyera Haq, Sirius XM host and former White House senior director, and Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania. Plus, Cornell Professor Jessica Chen Weiss puts US and China relations in context, and Brooklyn College Professor Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome shares the latest on elections in Nigeria.
6:00 – 7:00 PM
The Moth Radio Hour… In this hour, hear stories of love—passions, parents, and dating apps: a woman swipes for a second chance; a little girl finds her calling; and fathers find ways to relate to their children.
Monday 4/3
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Issues and Ideas… Hear from Cal Poly journalism professor and non-fiction author Katya Cengel about the paperback release of From Chernobyl with Love: Reporting from the Ruins of the Soviet Union. Also, Betsey Nash, The Grape Nut, reports from the recent SLO Coast Wine Classic. And, the SLO Food Bank says more than 15,000 local households will have less money for groceries this month due to a change in CalFresh benefits.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
The Splendid Table… Hear from legendary food writer Claudia Roden, one of the foremost authorities on Mediterranean, North African, Spanish, and Sephardic Jewish cooking. Claudia was raised in Cairo and trained as an artist. Fascinated by the social and historical aspects of the food world and the documentation of lost heritages, she started writing about food in 1968 and has forever changed the way people write and think about what we cook.
Tuesday 4/4
1:00 – 2:00 PM
TED Radio Hour… When times get tough, how do we keep our spirits up? In part three of the series “Mind, Body, Spirit,” TED speakers tell stories of salvaging the human psyche and rekindling a zest for life.
Wednesday 4/5
1:00 – 1:30 PM
Bioneers… Hear from writer, naturalist, and activist Terry Tempest Williams. She invokes our deepest humanity to honor and protect the wilderness as the root of evolution – and of our own imagination.
1:30 – 2:00 PM
IdeaSphere… Tune in to learn about sustainable jobs in nonprofits. Recent research by the organization Staffing the Mission has led to a deeper understanding about working in a nonprofit. Find out why about one in five nonprofit workers quit every year, a rate that is much higher than turnover in the private sector.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Freakonomics Radio… In this installment of the “Freakonomics Radio Book Club,” economist Amy Finkelstein explains why insurance markets are broken and how to fix them. And, find out why you can't buy divorce insurance.
6:30 – 8:00 PM
KCBX in Concert… Host Craig Russell explores his collaboration with radio host and flautist Suzanne Bona—and friends—in a benefit concert for KCBX and Festival Mozaic on April 16. Craig then delves into the upcoming concerts of the Santa Barbara Symphony, Santa Maria Philharmonic, Cal Poly Student Opera, Lompoc Pops Orchestra, the SLO Master Chorale, pianist Terry Spiller, and Santa Barbara’s Community Arts Music Association, or CAMA.
Thursday 4/6
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Latino USA… Tune in to learn about the life of the pioneering trans activist Lorena Borjas. When she first arrived in the US in 1981, she found both a community and an epidemic. Through her experiences in Queens, NY, Lorena developed a personal approach to connect trans Latinos and trans sex workers to critical medical and legal resources. Decades later, it would be another massive health crisis — COVID-19 — that would take the life of this beloved community leader, putting into stark relief her vast legacy. Now, her closest friends paint a loving intergenerational portrait of Lorena, as a trailblazer, a mentor, and a mother.
Friday 4/7
6:30 – 7:30 PM
Club McKenzie… Storyville: In the mini French Quarter of New Orleans at the turn of the twentieth century, jazz flourished thanks to the many night clubs and brothels, and the latter of the two businesses ultimately led to Storyville’s demise.