Weekly Program Highlights
Friday September 12th, 2025 to Friday September 19th, 2025
Friday 09/12
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Hidden Brain… Many of us have been raised to believe that if we want to get something done, we just need to set our minds to it. Yet somehow we end up polishing off that pint of ice cream in the freezer, or spending more than our budget allows. Explore why our minds often conspire against our best interests, and how we can regain control.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Fresh Air… Hear a discussion with Steven Graham, the co-creator, co-writer, and star of Adolescence, the four-part drama series that has become one of Netflix’s most-watched shows. It’s nominated for 13 Emmys, including for Graham’s performance as the father of a 13 year old boy arrested for murdering a classmate.
6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie… Creme de la Creme, part II: As compositions of 1920s jazz music became more complex, musicians were encouraged to experiment during performances. Hear one of the biggest hits written in 1924, “Everybody Loves My Baby,” which reached the arranging talents of pianist Earl Hines five years later, when it experienced another level of popular interest. Also, hear Hoagy Carmichael’s hit of the century, “Stardust.”
Saturday 09/13
10:00 – 11:00 AM Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, the panelists are Brian Babylon, Emmy Blotnick, and Peter Grosz. Country music star Dierks Bentley plays Not My Job. And, guest judge and scorekeeper Rhymefest fills in for Bill Kurtis.
11:00 – NOON
Radiolab… As he finished his medical school exam, David Fajgenbaum felt off. He walked down to the ER and checked himself in. Soon he was in the ICU with multiple organ failure. The only drug for his condition didn’t work. If he was going to survive, he was going to have to find his own cure. Miraculously, he pulled it off in the nick of time. From that ordeal, he realized that our system of discovering and approving drugs is far from perfect, and that he might be able to use AI to find dozens, hundreds, even thousands of cures, hidden in plain sight, for as-yet untreatable diseases.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
American Routes… When Lyle Lovett was asked why he didn’t stick with journalism, he said, “It’s hard to sing the newspaper.” From blues to country to Texas swing, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band can tell some good stories, and they’re not all about penguins. And, the late Howard Tate was a master of soulful singing, bringing his bluesy touch and deep meaning to such classics as “Get it While You Can” and “Ain’t Nobody Home.” Learn about his life in Philadelphia’s gospel and soul scenes, and his path back to the stage.
Sunday 09/14
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Reveal… In the 1980s, as California’s prison population surged, so did prison violence. California started aggressively targeting prison gangs by sending men to a special supermax unit at the state’s highest-security prison. After spending years locked in solitary confinement, a group of California men united to launch the largest prison hunger strike in US history, helping to push California to implement reforms.
11:00 – NOON
This American Life…
NOON – 3:00 PM
Sunday Baroque… The airline safety demonstration reminds you to secure your own oxygen mask before helping others. Catch your breath this weekend as Sunday Baroque takes an international tour of Baroque music with stops in Bolivia, Japan, Wales, Venice, Sweden, and Scotland.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Code Switch & Life Kit… This week on Code Switch, a show about the remigration of immigrants in the United States to other countries and how this influences policy in the USA. Then on Life Kit, a show on how to receive compliments and the benefits of doing so.
6:00 – 7:00 PM
The Moth Radio Hour… This week on The Moth Radio Hour, stories of questions—asked, answered, implied, and open-ended; from personal inquiries in professional situations to domestic decisions.
Monday 09/15
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Issues & Ideas…
2:00 – 3:00 PM
The Splendid Table… This week on The Splendid Table, take a look at Vietnamese food with a New Orleans twist with Nini Nguyen, author of the beautiful book Dac Biet: An Extra-Special Vietnamese Cookbook. And then, it’s the foods of Ukraine with chef Yevhen Klopotenko, author of The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen: Recipes from a Native Chef.
Tuesday 09/16
1:00 – 2:00 PM
TED Radio Hour… This week on the TED Radio Hour, hear from Astro Teller, the CEO of X, Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory. Host Manoush Zomorodi and Astro Teller discuss the many bold projects that have come from the lab, from the self-driving car company Waymo to Google Glass, and what global problems the Moonshot Factory is working on solving next.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
The Reluctant Therapist…
Wednesday 09/17
1:00 – 1:30 PM
Bioneers…. In a world that’s threatened from climate disruption and gaping inequality, another climate crisis confronts humanity: the climate of hate and othering. Award-winning scholar and educator Valarie Kaur says to overcome racism and nationalism, one must not succumb to rage and grief. She founded the Revolutionary Love Project, has emerged as one of the most important voices of the American Sikh community, and has become a highly influential faith leader on the national stage.
1:30 – 2:00 PM
California Report Magazine… This week on California Report Magazine, host Sasha Khokha talks about the healing power of telling jokes with comedian Jackie Keliiaa, founder of Good Medicine Comedy.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Freakonomics Radio… Freakonomics Radio asks if America lost its appetite for the common good. Patrick Deneen, a political philosopher at Notre Dame, says yes. He was a Democrat for years, and has now come to be seen as an “ideological guru” of the Trump administration. But that only tells half the story.
6:30 – 8:00 PM
KCBX in Concert… Join host Lisa Nauful for an evening of lyrical and expressive music. From the virtuosic charm of Marcello’s oboe concerto and Mozart’s elegant final piano concerto, to the intimate beauty of Schubert’s lieder, the modern textures of Litvinovsky’s Le grand cahier, and the joyful energy of Howard Hanson’s Merry Mount Suite, this program offers a rich journey through centuries of musical artistry.
Thursday 09/18
1:00 – 2:00 PM Central Coast Voices… Join host Kris Kington-Barker for a conversation with the CEO of the Rose Care Group as they discuss the recent closing of Wilshire Community Health and Community Services, and how their organization is stepping up its efforts to fill gaps in health services in SLO County.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Latino USA… Sofie is a teenager getting ready for her freshman year of college. But inside home, there is another kind of preparation quietly underway: her parents are making a plan in case they’re taken by ICE. Also, hear a conversation with activist Cristina Jiménez on fear, resilience, and her new memoir, Dreaming of Home. Listen in as she reflects on finding love, building power through community, and how silence won’t protect the most vulnerable.
Friday 09/19
6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie… The Inventor: First came cylinder recordings, which were replaced by 78 RPM records in 1905. At that time, businessman Thomas Edison decided to get into phonograph record-making with his chief chemist. The result was Edison Records, which lasted only a couple decades.