Weekly Program Highlights
Thursday 06/12
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Central Coast Voices… Tune in for a conversation with Andrew Pridgen, the Central Coast Editor for SF Gate, the popular online news site based in San Francisco. Pridgen, who covers Central California, is based in San Luis Obispo. He joins Central Coast Voices to share his insights on how a major Bay Area news outlet views and reports on the Central Coast. This is an opportunity to better understand the nature of our communities, as seen through the perspective of a journalist bringing a Bay Area lens to local stories.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Latino USA… Tune in to hear the story of an unnamed pregnant Venezuelan woman with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who is forced to hide her identity, after suing the Trump Administration over her unborn baby's constitutional right to birthright citizenship. If the Supreme Court sides with the executive, the human cost would affect not just one woman’s baby but all babies born in the U S. Then, long before Latin music ruled the charts, Tejano was king, and there was one man at the center of it all: Johnny Canales. Maria Hinojosa sits down with the directors of a new documentary that looks at the life of Canales and his legacy.
Friday 06/13
6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie… The Big Easy: There are quite a number of nicknames for NOLA, otherwise known as New Orleans. All are legitimate in their own way but the one most widely recognized is “The Big Easy”. Here’s one story: Around the turn of the century, there was supposedly a nightclub known as The Big Easy. Somehow, there’s no recorded evidence of this story. Nevertheless, trumpeter Buddy Bolden wrote a song he titled Bigeasy and performed it at this club. With that in mind, the song may closely fit Bolden’s image of the Bigeasy. Also in this episode, hear selections such as New Kinda Blues by Paul Howard’s Quality Serenaders, followed by Sweet and Low Down Blues by Jabbo Smith's Rhythm Aces.
Saturday 06/14
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… Join panelists Alonzo Bodden, Luke Burbank, Rachel Feinstein and guest host Negin Farsad. Plus, actor Chris Perfetti from Abbott Elementary discusses upcoming projects and plays Not My Job.
11:00 – NOON
Radiolab… First, hear about an evolutionary nightmare unfolding within a single COVID-19 patient. Then, explore the story of an ancient showdown between fungi and mammals that began when dinosaurs vanished from the Earth. Back then, the battle swung in our favor—spoiler alert—and we’ve been holding onto that advantage ever since. However, one scientist suggests that the rise of a new infectious fungus may signal that our edge is gradually slipping, degree by increasing degree.
3:00 – 5:00 PM
American Routes… Join American Routes as we walk and cross the blurry line between country and blues, as performed by both Black and white artists. Guests include white blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite, who shares his lifelong journey from Mississippi to Memphis, Chicago, and California. Also featured is the late Charley Pride, who reflects on his upbringing in Sledge, Mississippi, his baseball career, and his groundbreaking success as an African American country singer with twenty-nine number-one hits to his name. Plus, enjoy bluesy country and country blues from artists such as Hank Williams, Howlin’ Wolf, Aretha Franklin, and more.
Sunday 06/15
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Reveal… The 2024 election has triggered an identity crisis for the Democratic Party. The party's first major test since Trump's victory is taking place in New York City.
11:00 – NOON
This American Life… In honor of Father’s Day, hear stories of sons and daughters discovering the one thing they’ve always wanted to know about their fathers. The answers are not always what they had hoped for.
NOON – 3:00 PM
Sunday Baroque… Can you imagine the pressure of growing up in the Bach family? Johann Sebastian Bach carried on a musical tradition nurtured by his father, uncles, cousins, and other ancestors. He also had several children who followed in his footsteps, some of whom achieved great success. Listen to music by various members of the Bach family.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Code Switch & Life Kit… First, on Code Switch, hear how the Trump administration’s policy on combating antisemitism is raising concerns about free speech. Then, on Life Kit, learn how to keep old friends in your life.
6:00 – 7:00 PM
The Moth Radio Hour… Hear a special Father’s Day edition of The Moth Radio Hour, featuring stories of a man who faints at the sight of blood as he prepares to become a father; a Russian immigrant who takes a trip home and tries to fulfill a promise to his mother; a child who goes to great lengths to hide Brussels sprouts from her stepfather; and a family that fights to stay in the country they call home.
Wednesday 06/18
1:00 – 1:30 PM
Bioneers… At the core of our civilizational breakdown is an extractive economy that wastes both nature and people while simultaneously hoarding extreme wealth among the billionaire class. However, with breakdowns come breakthroughs. Professor Manuel Pastor believes we are living through a moment of profound transformation. It will come down to what we do—or do not do—at this moment of radical change. In this episode, hear from Pastor about how shocks to the system are precipitating a great awakening and growing movements to transform the economy into one that serves all of us.
1:30 – 2:00 PM
California Report Magazine… Precious photos that miraculously made it to safety during the LA fires. Join host Sasha Khokha in a conversation about one woman’s quest to reunite these photos with their owners.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Freakonomics Radio… Everyone makes mistakes. How do we learn from them? Hear lessons from the classroom, the Air Force, and the world’s deadliest infectious diseases.
6:30 – 8:00 PM
KCBX in Concert… Join host Craig Russell as he delves into three contemporary violin concertos, each with its own distinctive flavor. Samuel Barber’s concerto is infused with soaring lyricism, where the violin offers endless, gorgeous melodies; Mason Bates’s Violin Concerto is an ingenious musical hybrid—sometimes frenetic, sometimes sweetly singing; and David Chesky’s Violin Concerto No. 3, “The Klezmer Concerto,” is crafted from mournful Klezmer melodies, inspired by the Holocaust, juxtaposed against soulful riffs of the Roma people, known as Gypsy violinists.
Thursday 06/19
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Latino USA… Latino USA presents the first episode of a new series, The Network, a co-production with NPR’s Embedded podcast. The series explores the movement helping millions of women across the world have safe abortions outside of clinics—and how it all started in Brazil.