Weekly Program Highlights
Friday 7/31
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Science Friday… This week on Science Friday, tracking the wonder and mystery of sharks.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Hidden Brain… Stories about unlikely heroes have captivated people for thousands of years. This week on Hidden Brain, social scientist Ben Rogers explores why the “hero’s journey” resonates so deeply, and how the stories we tell about our own lives can shape our sense of purpose.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Fresh Air… This week on Fresh Air, remember Glen Hansard, an Irish singer and songwriter who began his career busking on a Dublin street. He became internationally famous for co-starring and co-writing the music for the indie Irish film Once.
6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie… Two Leads in My Band: In its original form, New Orleans jazz was a collective ensemble of a few musicians. Their performances were strikingly different, and improvisation was the key that separated the music from any of its neighbors. Louis Armstrong's reference of “Two Leads in My Band” is for when two instruments dominate the ensemble with what became known as an improvisational solo, a concept that forever changed jazz.
Saturday 8/1
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, the show travels to Sonoma, California, with panelists Tom Papa, Shane Torres, and Joyelle Nicole Johnson. And, best-selling author Mary Roach answers weird questions and plays Not My Job. Join Peter Sagal and Alzo Slade for a real NPR Wine Club.
11:00 – NOON
Radiolab… To what extent is color a physical thing in the physical world, and to what extent is it created in our minds? Radiolab starts with Sir Isaac Newton. Then, meet a sea creature that sees a rainbow way beyond anything humans can experience, and track down a woman who can see thousands more colors than the rest of us. And then, end with an age-old question: why is the sky blue?
3:00 – 4:00 PM
American Routes… This week on American Routes, it’s all about trying to be and stay cool. Leading the in-crowd is the late pianist and jazz radio host Ramsey Lewis in conversation about blending the blues he heard on the Chicago streets with gospel music from home to create a cool version of jazz. Hear also cool words and music from Tom Waits and Aretha Franklin. Plus, a visit to North Carolina’s historic Black Seabreeze Beach.
Sunday 8/2
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Hidden Brain… Stories about unlikely heroes have captivated people for thousands of years. This week on Hidden Brain, social scientist Ben Rogers explores why the “hero’s journey” resonates so deeply, and how the stories we tell about our own lives can shape our sense of purpose.
11:00 – NOON
This American Life… This week on This American Life, stories about noticing the world changing around you when no one else seems to notice.
NOON – 2:00 PM
Sunday Baroque… This week on Sunday Baroque, hear pieces where the much-maligned oboes and bassoons are at their best.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, the show travels to Sonoma, California, with panelists Tom Papa, Shane Torres, and Joyelle Nicole Johnson. And, best-selling author Mary Roach answers some weird questions and plays Not My Job. Join Peter Sagal and Alzo Slade for a real NPR Wine Club.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Latino USA… Hear an exclusive listen to the first episode of Muy Excited with Maria Garcia, Latino USA’s new podcast. Maria Garcia discusses the importance of queer icon Ricky Martin’s career and life, and how he had to live “La vida loca” so that Bad Bunny could do “Lo que le da la gana.” Later on the show, after a family was deported from the U.S. to Honduras, a court found that it should have never happened and ordered their return. Follow the days leading up to the family’s return, the struggles they’re facing now, and how their legal risks aren’t over yet.
4:00 – 5:00 PM
Reveal… Abortion access after the end of Roe v. Wade looks really different than a lot of people expected. Instead of plummeting, abortion numbers across the country have actually gone up. This week on Reveal, hear the stories of three women trying to shape what’s possible in post-Roe America: a doctor mailing abortion medication nationwide, an international traveler bringing abortion pills into the US, and a conservative activist who is trying to stop them.
6:00 – 7:00 PM
The Moth Radio Hour… This week on The Moth Radio Hour, it’s all about clothes; from DIY threads to silk blouses, and a prison visiting room to a runway in France.
Tuesday 8/4
1:00 – 2:00 PM
SPECIAL: Call to Mind: The Fifth Branch…Over the past decade, police in America have shot and killed nearly two-thousand people who were in the middle of a mental health crisis. Those deaths helped fuel a movement. Instead of armed police, more than half of the country’s largest cities now send specially trained social workers and EMTs. This new generation of first responders handles 9-1-1 calls involving mental illness, substance-use disorders, or suicidal thoughts. This Call to Mind special takes listeners to Durham, North Carolina, to meet people who have reimagined the city’s crisis-response system.
Wednesday 8/5
1:00 – 1:30 PM
Bioneers… This week on Bioneers, hear from Bren Smith, a path-finding ocean farmer who has cultivated a breakthrough method of near-shore aquaculture called 3-D ocean farming, which has the potential to transform our relationship with the ocean, make room again for the flourishing wild diversity of ocean animals, and launch a novel, delicious, and authentically sustainable cuisine along with way.
1:30 – 2:00 PM
California Report Magazine… This week on California Report Magazine, head to Yolo County and venture beneath a busy freeway to get a peek at one of the biggest bat colonies in California.
7:00 – 8:00 PM
KCBX in Concert… This week on KCBX in Concert, host Lisa Nauful invites you to an evening of vibrant and expressive classical music. The program opens with the bold energy of Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, followed by the rich, lyrical beauty of Glazunov’s Saxophone Concerto. Dvořák’s ever-charming “American” String Quartet brings warmth and familiarity, while Beethoven’s often-overlooked Symphony No. 2 closes the hour with wit, elegance, and surprising brilliance. It’s a lineup of masterworks you won’t want to miss.