Weekly Program Highlights

Friday 10/30

NOON – 1:00 PM
Fresh Air… Klara and the Sun, the novel set in the future about a human looking robot who functions as a friend, has been adapted into a new film. This week on Fresh Air, their interview with Nobel Prize winning writer, Kazuo Ishiguro.

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Science Friday… This week on Science Friday, actor, director, and farmer, Isabella Rossellini is here to talk about why she went back to school to study animal behavior.

2:30 – 3:00 PM                                                                      
Today, Explained… Everyone experiences rageful feelings like trying to get a hold of customer service and getting nothing done. This week, Science Friday asks if AI would help with our rage economy or worsen it.

3:00 – 4:00 PM and 4:30 – 6:30 PM
All Things Considered…
Vice President JD Vance is leading an effort to combat wasteful government spending as the Trump administration is ramping up efforts to fight what it calls “waste, fraud, and abuse” ahead of the midterms. 

4:00 – 4:30 PM
Marketplace… Explore the business of scam artists, and find out what’s going on when you get a call, or maybe a text, from an unknown overseas number (and, obviously, you don't respond.)

6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie… The Unusual Suspects: The 1920s jazz scene embraced some incredibly fascinating homemade instruments that added unique textures to the music. The washboard was particularly prominent, and the jug was another. But, there were dozens of other instruments that made what became known as “novelty” music.

Saturday 10/31

10:00 – 11:00 AM        
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, the panelists are Paula Poundstone, Faith Salie, and Hari Kondabolu. And, actor John Turturro shares some of his film making stories and plays Not My Job.

11:00 – NOON
Radiolab… This week on Radiolab, explore an AI technology that can discover medicines for rare diseases and can also discover the most potent chemical weapons known to humankind. Then, the 26 little words known as Section 230 are the core of an Internet law that coats the tech industry in Teflon. No matter what happens, who gets hurt, or what harm is done, tech companies can’t be held responsible for the things that happen on their platforms. Why do we have this law? And more importantly, why can’t we just delete it?

3:00 – 5:00 PM
American Routes… To usher in the season of the witch, American Routes invokes the power of hoodoo charms and haunted melodies, blood moons and black magic. And, hang with the Bay Area’s artsy punk rockers Shannon & the Clams as they tell of ghostly encounters, spirit animals, and memories from Halloween's past. Plus, spooky chills and thrills from Miles Davis, Memphis Minnie, and Hank Williams.

Sunday 11/1

10:00 – 11:00 AM
Hidden Brain… Why is my friend late? How does nuclear fission work? What can I do to help my baby sleep through the night? We all feel the need to understand the people and events that shape our lives. Some researchers think the drive to explain the world is a basic human impulse, similar to thirst or hunger. This week on Hidden Brain, psychologist Tania Lombrozo discusses how explanations can lead to discovery, delight, and disaster.

11:00 – NOON
This American Life…Midterms are here! People are trying to convince people who to vote for, what to do with their races. This week on This American Life, stories about persuasion.

NOON – 2:00 PM
Sunday Baroque…Halloween is this week, and Sunday Baroque will highlight some scary Baroque favorites: witches and fairies of Shakespeare, a devil’s trill, a concerto by Antonio Vivaldi that goes bump in the night, and one of the most famously scary tunes in all of classical music.

2:00 – 3:00 PM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, the panelists are Paula Poundstone, Faith Salie, and Hari Kondabolu. And, actor John Turturro shares some of his film making stories and plays Not My Job.

3:00 – 4:00 PM
Latino USA… This week on Latino USA, they speak with historian Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny, to help us understand this significant historic moment as we near what many consider, including himself, to be a consequential US midterm election in terms of whether the country continues to flirt with fascism. Later on the show, Dolores Huerta died at age 96. They’ll look back at Dolores’ legacy, while Maria Hinojosa also reflects on how Dolores impacted her. Also hear parts of the last interview she did with Latino USA.

4:00 – 5:00 PM
Reveal… A Christian nationalist pastor dreams of making the country a Christian nation. One where gay marriage is outlawed, abortion is a crime, and only Christians can hold public office. This week, Reveal sent a team to a small Idaho town to meet with the man in the pulpit. And what they found is a denomination rapidly gaining political power—and drawing in prominent members, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

6:00 – 7:00 PM
The Moth Radio Hour… This week on The Moth Radio Hour, an episode in which storytellers transport us to the behind the scenes of their workplaces: a McDonald’s; a law office; a fishing boat.

Monday 11/2

Tuesday 11/3

1:00 – 2:00 PM
The Reluctant Therapist… How can active service to the natural world foster both personal well-being and the collective good? Tune in for an inspiring conversation with Elizabeth Barrett and Montana conservationist Clifford Kipp about wilderness preservation, living a purpose-driven life, and hands-on volunteer opportunities that bring people face-to-face with the wonderment of untouched wilderness under the big sky and endless stars.

5:00 – 11:00 PM
Election Night Special Coverage… Voters have been casting their ballots in advance, and tonight voters will be at the polls casting final votes. The tally will determine who controls the Senate and House, gubernatorial races, and countless local offices. The NPR Politics Team will have live coverage and analysis of the races nationwide, The California Newsroom will offer state coverage, and KCBX News will report on Central Coast races. Join us from 5:00 to 11:00 tonight live on air, on the KCBX app, and at KCBX.org.

Wednesday 11/4

1:00 – 1:30 PM
Bioneers… This week on Bioneers, the late world-renowned feminist, writer and change-maker Gloria Steinem connects the dots among disparate social movements to reveal the common patterns of oppression that underlie them all.

1:30 – 2:00 PM                        
California Report Magazine… This week on the California Report Magazine, meet a daisy drag duo, exploring what it means to turn the Bollywood songs their mothers and aunties danced to, into something openly queer.

Thursday 11/5

6:30 – 8:00 PM                                     
The Road Home… Local singer-songwriter and mental health advocate Cate Armstrong creates music aimed at bringing people together. She’ll be part of our Central Coast Sessions live at The Rock SLO this Saturday afternoon. Tune in for a preview as Marisa Waddell invites Cate onto the show to play a few songs in the studio and chat about her songwriting craft.

8:00 – 10:00 PM
Across the Tracks… Singer-songwriter Perla Batalla joins Brad Kyle to explore the work of Leonard Cohen, her longtime friend and mentor — in anticipation of her tribute concert to Cohen on November eleventh at the Clark Center.