Weekly Program Highlights

Friday 3/13

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Science Friday… This week on Science Friday, learn about social media’s favorite nerve, the vagus nerve. It may sound like another health trend but there’s a lot of science to untangle about it.

2:00 – 3:00 PM
Hidden Brain… What's the point of disgust? This week on Hidden Brain, explore the evolutionary role of this emotion, and how it's used to persuade and divide us.

3:00 – 4:00 PM
Fresh Air… This week on Fresh Air, the Academy Awards are soon. Listen to actor Benecio Del Toro discuss his latest film projects such as One Battle After Another and The Phoenician Scheme.

6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie… Feelin’ Complementary, part 1: How best to describe complementary instrumental voices in jazz? It’s known as counterpoint, which is essentially multiple musical voices having a conversation at the same time — and nobody's waiting their turn. But instead of it being chaos, they're somehow perfectly aware of each other, weaving in and out, finishing each other's thoughts, and leaving space exactly when the other needs it. That's the spirit of jazz counterpoint: when two or more melodic lines play independently but fit together harmonically.

Saturday 3/14

10:00 – 11:00 AM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, the show is at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago with panelists Rachel Coster, Adam Felber, and Joyelle Johnson. Legendary actor John Cusack takes the stage to put his knowledge to the test on Not My Job.

11:00 – NOON
Radiolab… In the 1960s, then-President Lyndon Johnson approached an ambitious young Senator Birch Bayh known as the "Kennedy of the Midwest" to tweak the way Americans elect their President. The more Bayh looked into the electoral college the more he believed it was a ticking time bomb hidden in the constitution, and that he had to stop it. With overwhelming support in Congress, the endorsement of multiple Presidents, and polling showing that over 80% of the American public supported abolishing it, it looked like he might just pull it off. This week on Radiolab, the show asks why do we still have the electoral college?

3:00 – 4:00 PM
American Routes… For St Patrick’s, it’s old and new cultural connections of singers, fiddlers and pickers from Ireland to rural and urban America. This week on American Routes, it’s reels and jigs for dancing, jazz takes on Irish tunes and songs about love, immigration and drinking from Hank Locklin, The Clancy Brothers and Louis Armstrong. Then a live set from the 80th National Folk Festival exploring the musical connections of Ireland and Appalachia with Irish musicians John Doyle and Seamus Egan and bluegrassers Rob and Ronnie McCoury.

Sunday 3/15

10:00 – 11:00 AM
Reveal… When a pregnant woman was murdered in 1989, Boston police rounded up countless young Black men in search of her killer. But the whole time, they were chasing a lie that was all too easy for the city to believe. This week on Reveal, look at why police bought into a racist hoax.

11:00 – NOON
This American Life… This week on This American Life, stories that take place on the edge of civilization, just out of sight.

NOON – 3:00 PM
Sunday Baroque… Alison Balsom made a spectacular career as a trumpet soloist for nearly a quarter of a century, violinist Angele Dubeau founded her all-female ensemble in 1997 and it’s still going strong, and pianist Rochelle Sennet has crafted a high-profile musical life as a performer, teacher, and scholar. Alison Balsom, Angele Dubeau, and Rochelle Sennet are three of the extraordinary musicians that can be heard on Sunday Baroque this week.

3:00 – 4:00 PM
Code Switch & Life Kit… This week on Code Switch, a show about the film Sinners and Oscar nominations. Then on Life Kit, a show about phone screentime

6:00 – 7:00 PM
The Moth Radio Hour… This week on The Moth Radio Hour, stories of education, illumination, or just being schooled. The lessons learned from communities new and old, on top of a glacier, and from children.

Monday 3/16

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Issues and Ideas… This week on Issues and Ideas, hear from the new head of a local group that works all year to address food insecurity on the Central Coast… Wine Country producer Mira Honeycutt sits down with Alma Rosa Winery's Samra Morris to talk about winemaking on the Central Coast... and Father Ian takes listeners to a stunning fruit ranch and wedding venue for a look at seasonal pears in his segment, Playing with Food.

2:00 – 3:00 PM
The Splendid Table… This week on The Splendid Table, join host Francis Lam in his kitchen and do a deep dive on ramen. From the history and culture to the ingredients and recipes with Sho Spaeth, author of the masterful new book Homemade Ramen.

Tuesday 3/17

1:00 – 2:00 PM
TED Radio Hour… This week on Ted Radio Hour, host Manoush Zomorodi explores different ways of coexistence, how different species, provocative scientific ideas, and even conflicting emotions find ways to live in harmony.

2:00 – 3:00 PM
The Reluctant Therapist… 

Wednesday 3/18

1:00 – 1:30 PM
Bioneers… There is a growing movement to redefine manhood, and to address ways that violence is baked into our cultural expectations of masculinity. Courageous, visionary men are rising to the challenge. One of those men is activist, writer and public speaker Kevin Powell. This week on Bioneers, Powell boldly and bravely discusses his experiences with toxic masculinity and his journey to redefine what it means to be a man.

1:30 – 2:00 PM
California Report Magazine… This week on California Report Magazine, hear about a black owned talk radio station that’s been covering Alta Dena’s recovery from the Eaton Fires and demanding accountability from FEMA.

2:00 – 3:00 PM
Freakonomics Radio… Economists don’t usually talk about “culture.” But Joel Mokyr argues that it’s the engine of innovation — and the Nobel Prize committee agreed.  This week on Freakonomics Radio, Stephen Dubner sits down for a thousand-year conversation with the new Nobel laureate.

6:30 – 8:00 PM
KCBX in Concert… This week on KCBX in Concert, host Lisa Nauful explores the rich variety of music written for different ensembles from the warm glow of Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony for strings, to the elegant colors of Charles Gounod’s Petite Symphonie for winds, and the luminous voices of Claude Debussy’s Trois Chansons for a cappella chorus. The program builds to the sweeping Polovtsian Dances from Alexander Borodin’s Prince Igor. Along the way, violinist Gil Shaham brings tenderness to Elgar’s Salut d’Amour, and pianist András Schiff performs Schubert’s poetic Four Impromptus, Op. 90. Join us for an evening of vivid musical color and expressive performances on KCBX in Concert.

Thursday 3/19

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Central Coast Voices… This week on Central Coast Voices, we spend significant time in our lives planning for the 'big moments'—weddings, careers, first homes, starting families—but we rarely talk about the one transition we all eventually face. This week’s guest is someone who comfortably navigates the transitional space between life and death. As an End-of-Life Doula, she provides emotional, physical, and spiritual support to the dying and their families. Join Kris Kington - Barker and her guest, Gabrielle Jimenez, palliative and hospice care nurse and end-of-life doula, educator, author, and founder of The Hospice Heart, in a discussion exploring how the role of a doula has emerged and is becoming more relevant in our country's aging and seriously ill population and decline in healthcare resources.

2:00 – 3:00 PM
Latino USA… This week on Latino USA, host Maria Hinojosa sits down with journalist and historian Jelani Cobb. They talk about the parallels between recent ICE raids and the Fugitive Slave Act, the importance of solidarity, and his latest book, Three or More is a Riot. Also on the show, journalist and author Sam Quinones spent his career reporting on crime, drug trafficking, and addiction. In his latest book, The Perfect Tuba, he turns to the band world. He’ll speak about some of his favorite stories and what we can all learn from working to master a craft.

Friday 3/20

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Science Friday… 

6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie…