Weekly Program Highlights
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Friday 9/30
1:30 – 2:00 PM
Making Contact… Hear from Raj Patel and Rupa Marya about their new book, Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Hidden Brain… Many people feel like there aren't enough hours in the day, but what if there were a way to reclaim time and get more joy out of life? Psychologist Cassie Mogilner Holmes explains how society has fallen victim to the illusion of time scarcity, and what can be done to spend time more wisely.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Fresh Air… Historian Jeff Shesol recalls the early days of the US space program, when American rockets blew up in test flights, while Soviet satellites and cosmonauts soared through the heavens. He also details conflicts among America’s first astronauts, in part over their personal conduct. His book, Mercury Rising, is out in paperback.
6:30 – 7:30 PM
Club McKenzie… Quality in the Performance: Paul Howard’s Quality Serenaders is a little-known band that was based in Los Angeles in 1929 to 1930. Though almost completely forgotten today, they recorded a dozen titles featuring talented performers and excellent arrangements.
Saturday 10/1
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on the NPR news quiz, hear from panelists Tom Papa, Dulcé Sloan, and Hari Kondabolu. And, Julio Torres, comedian and co-creator of the HBO series Los Espookys, talks about his new book and plays Not My Job.
11:00 – NOON
Radiolab… Explore one of the most underrated mysteries of all time, and take a look at a possible answer that includes everything from an unexpected houseguest to a tiny bolt of lightning to every critter you hold dear. It’s the story of one cosmic “oops” moment that changed the game of life forever.
3:00 – 5:00 PM
American Routes… Hear a curated mix of trad and modern jazz, blues, soul, and country from Cannonball Adderley, Betty Carter, Guitar Slim, and Slim Harpo. Then, come in out of the blues pouring down like rain and get to the sunny side of the street with Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman, party with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, and walk on with Waylon Jennings and Nancy Sinatra. Plus, hear a live genre-blending set with New Orleans’ trombonist Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet.
5:00 – 6:00 PM
The Thistle and Shamrock… Host Fiona Ritchie explores the movement of music with The Birds’ Flight by Tim Cummings, Pete Sutherland, and Brad Kolodner, plus other music that’s traveled to new places and migrated back home again.
Sunday 10/2
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Reveal… The minor league baseball industry created an entire workforce exempt from being paid minimum wage and overtime – and players eventually cried foul.
11:00 – NOON
This American Life… Getting to the facts can be difficult, but it’s always the right thing to do... except when it isn’t.
NOON – 3:00 PM
Sunday Baroque… In light of Queen Elizabeth’s recent death, hear music by a number of composers who created arrangements for the funeral of Queen Mary, who died of smallpox at age 32 in the late seventeenth century.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Our Body Politic… Hear from Mississippi reporter Troy Johnson on how class, race, and politics influence the fight for clean water in Jackson, MS. He points out that communities of color end up in these situations when whole cities 20 miles away are not dealing with the same catastrophic infrastructure problems.
6:00 – 7:00 PM
The Moth Radio Hour… Hear stories of exposure to unexpected worlds, new traditions, and traversing boundaries.
Monday 10/3
1:00 – 2:00 PM
SPECIAL: Standing in Two Worlds… Native American college students take listeners inside the quest for a higher education. US government boarding schools were once used to erase Indigenous culture and force assimilation. But in the twenty-first century, education opens opportunities. In this documentary, students take the microphone to share their stories as they strive to use a college education to support themselves and their communities, without losing sight of who they are.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
The Splendid Table… Go deep into pizza with the charming Nathan Myhrvold, founder of Modernist Cuisine and co-author of the ground-breaking Modernist Pizza. He’s answering listener questions, talking about real-life pizza-making strategies, and looking at pizza traditions all over the globe. Then, hear from journalist Liana Aghajanian as she talks about the emotional and cultural connection to a very particular pizza.
Tuesday 10/4
1:00 – 2:00 PM
TED Radio Hour… What does it take to deliver a message, precious cargo, or vaccines meant for exactly the right place in our bodies? TED speakers explore the often-perilous journey of crucial deliveries.
Wednesday 10/5
1:00 – 1:30 PM
Bioneers… There is a growing movement to redefine manhood and to address ways that violence is baked into cultural expectations of masculinity. Courageous, visionary men are rising to the challenge, one of whom is activist, writer and public speaker Kevin Powell. He discusses his experiences with toxic masculinity and his journey to redefine what it means to be a man.
1:30 – 2:00 PM
IdeaSphere… Constitutional: The first clause of the First Amendment forbids Congress from adopting any laws tending to the establishment of religion. But even with that definitive verbiage, political science professor John Vile says that people still want their own interpretation.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Freakonomics Radio… The pandemic moved a lot of religious activity onto the internet through faith-based apps, and the Silicon Valley is turning virtual prayers into earthly rewards. But does this mean the sharing of user data?
6:30 – 8:00 PM
KCBX in Concert… Host Craig Russell celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month, focusing primarily on modern Mexican composers from the twentieth century, including Mexican maestro Carlos Chávez and his Sinfonia India, along with the Night of the Mayas by Silvestre Revueltas. Both works depict aspects of mestizo and indigenous cultures in Mexico. Plus, hear music by Manuel Ponce and a brief glimpse of poetry by Mexican poet Octavio Paz as sung by Mexican soprano Magos Herrera with the string quartet Brooklyn Rider.
Thursday 10/6
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Latino USA… In 1921, a small town in Nevada began playing a daily “sundown siren” that warned Indigenous people to leave the city limits or face violent consequences. Over a hundred years later, that alarm still blares daily, but local officials now say the siren is a ‘tribute to first responders.’ Hear from a descendent of the local Washoe Tribe who fought to end this traumatic daily reminder to no avail—until he met a pair of unlikely allies: a passionate white bicyclist and a teenage all-star runner.
Friday 10/7
6:30 – 7:30 PM
Club McKenzie… Royalty: After going through a number of different band names, the one that stuck was The Washboard Rhythm Kings. The group was, by far, the most successful skiffle band of the early 1930s.