Weekly Program Highlights
Friday 7/24
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Science Friday… This week on Science Friday, a conversation with Nobel Prize-winning astronomer Andrea Ghez about black holes and her own orbit in science.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Hidden Brain… Pain feels like a simple message from the body. If your elbow hurts, there must be something wrong with your elbow. If your back is painfully stiff, you need some work done on your back. But psychologist Rachel Zoffness says our minds play a much larger role in our experience of pain than many of us realize. This week on Hidden Brain, take a look at what's really happening when we experience pain, and how a better understanding of this process can open up new possibilities for treatment and healing.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Fresh Air… This week on Fresh Air, chastity, poverty, obedience, total devotion, and rebellion. Catherine Coldstream talks about her years in a carmelite monastery, the beauty of silence in prayer, and the loneliness when her idealism, intellectualism, and questioning were frowned upon. After 12 years, she left. Her memoir is called Cloistered.
6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie… Polishing the Gold: In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are three symbols for the social classes of the 1920s: East Egg (old money), West Egg (new money), and the Valley of Ashes (the poorest; those who polish the gold). The Valley of Ashes is also where most of the musicians of the Roaring Twenties fit.
Saturday 7/25
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, the panelists are Josh Gondelman, Faith Salie, and Hari Kondabolu. And, actor Tyler James Williams, known for his role on Abbott Elementary, talks about his career and plays Not My Job.
11:00 – NOON
Radiolab… Shark antibodies: They’re small, they’re flexible, and they can fit into nooks and crannies on tumors that human antibodies can’t. This week on Radiolab, journey back 500 million years to the moment sharks got these special powers and head to the underground labs transforming these monsters into healers. Can these animals we fear so much actually save us?
3:00 – 4:00 PM
American Routes… This week on American Routes, country singer Kelsey Waldon grew up in the Ohio River bottoms of Ballard County Kentucky. She tells about her journey as a songwriter, and her friendship with another hero of Kentucky, John Prine. Then, a live set of New Orleans jazz and its Caribbean cousins with the widely acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, Aurora Nealand and her quartet at Artisound Studios in New Orleans’ 9th Ward.
Sunday 7/26
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Reveal… Six miles from Mar-a-Lago, Guatemalan families are being ripped apart. During the first Trump administration, kids were taken from their parents at the southern border, and images of crying toddlers outraged many Americans. This time around, ICE is targeting neighborhoods in US towns and cities, and many parents are being picked up on their way to work, school, or the gas station. Left behind are their kids, who have to fend for themselves.
11:00 – NOON
This American Life… This week on This American Life, hear stories of people getting more testosterone and coming to regret it. And of people losing it and coming to appreciate life without it. The pros and cons of the hormone of desire. And, the staff of This American Life gets their testosterone measured.
NOON – 3:00 PM
Sunday Baroque… Many of the best known composers from the Baroque era in history were from Germany, France, England, Italy, and Spain. This week on Sunday Baroque, hear music from Scandinavia, such as Swedish violinist and composer Johan Agrell Leipzig-born musician Johann Scheibe, who pursued his successful career in Denmark, and Norwegian composer Johann Heinrich Berlin.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Code Switch & Life Kit… This week on Code Switch, a show about the rise of deed theft in gentrifying neighborhoods. Then on Life Kit, a show about making the decision to have a baby.
6:00 – 7:00 PM
The Moth Radio Hour… This week on The Moth Radio Hour, stories to boost the spirit: a cruise to Antarctica; a fresh loaf of bread; and bedtime stories.
Monday 7/27
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Issues and Ideas… This week on Issues and Ideas, a silver medal at a national collegiate culinary competition has put Cal Poly Dining Services Chef Arthur Dulin on the map. Chef Dulin talks about his journey from cooking with family, to competing on Food Network’s Chopped and why he’s already thinking about next year’s competition. Then, one San Luis Obispo baker says losing gluten doesn’t have to mean giving up great food. And, “People of the Planet” producer Gianna Patchen speaks with John Smigelski with the California Alliance for Community Energy about a recent report on the cost to keep Diablo Canyon Power Plant running.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
The Splendid Table… This week on The Splendid Table, dive deep into seasonal cooking with Georgina Hayden, author of MEDesque: Everyday Recipes with Mediterranean Roots, and chef Nichole Accettola, author of Scandinavian Everyday: Vibrant, Simple Meals from Northern Europe.
Tuesday 7/28
1:00 – 2:00 PM
TED Radio Hour… GLP-1 medications promise to change how we understand and treat addiction, but is it really a silver bullet? This week on TED Radio Hour, host Manoush Zomorodi explores new ideas about the brain, addiction, and empathy.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
SPECIAL: Call to Mind: Immigration and the Challenge to Belong… More than 50 million people born in other countries now call the U.S. home. Migrating to a new country can bring unique mental health challenges, like coping with the traumas that caused a person to leave home, and the pressure of fitting into a new community. Meanwhile, global conflicts, disease, immigration policy, and the deportation crackdown have all amplified the challenges of making a new home in the U.S. This Call to Mind special explores the unique mental health challenges for immigrants in America.
Wednesday 7/29
1:00 – 1:30 PM
Bioneers… This week on Bioneers, Cynthia Brix and Will Keepin from Gender Equity and Reconciliation International say that only by bringing the wounds of the patriarchy into the light can we heal them. Patriarchy destroys men’s souls, too, so a revolution in gender relations can liberate women and men.
1:30 – 2:00 PM
California Report Magazine… This week on California Report Magazine, meet an Armenian musician in Santa Rosa who plays the duduk, an instrument with an otherworldly and haunting sound.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Freakonomics Radio… This week on Freakonomics Radio, Stephen Dubner has an idea for a new project. So, he drives to Connecticut and knocks on the door of the talk show master Dick Cavett.
6:30 – 8:00 PM
KCBX in Concert… This summer’s Festival Mozaic has been wonderfully exciting, and this weekend’s concluding performances promise to be even more thrilling. This week on KCBX in Concert, join host Craig Russell as he explores the anti-war cantata "Cornet" by Korean-American composer Earl Kim, the hypnotizing energy of Steve Reich’s "Double Sextet," the impressively difficult (yet luscious) Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff, and more!
Thursday 7/30
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Central Coast Voices… Host Lata Murti speaks with guests who share updates on the renovations underway to Guadalupe’s historic Royal Theatre. Find out what’s happened since the official groundbreaking ceremony on December 1, 2025. Hear from Chachi Ramirez, president of the Guadalupe Visual and Performing Arts Center's Board of Directors, and Tom Brandeberry, project manager, grant administrator, and capital campaign coordinator of the Royal Theatre.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Latino USA… It’s a discussion of the significance of the 2026 World Cup, from the controversial moments to the most joyful storylines; the “firsts” in this nearly century-old tournament; and Spain’s journey to the coveted trophy. Later on the show, Oscar, Golden-Globe and Emmy-nominated actress Rosie Perez opens up about hosting Futuro Media’s new podcast, Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York. They discuss her love of boxing, what it means to grow up Nuyorican, and salsa music.
Friday 7/31
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.