Weekly Program Highlights

Friday 3/27

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Science Friday… This week on Science Friday, the case for Pluto being a planet. NASA wants to make Pluto a planet again, causing some scientists to say that the debate has long been settled.

2:00 – 3:00 PM
Hidden Brain… Should you tell a harsh truth if it will only cause pain? Or is it sometimes kinder to keep someone in the dark? This week on Hidden Brain, explore the unwritten rules that guide when people feel it’s acceptable to lie.

3:00 – 4:00 PM
Fresh Air… This week on Fresh Air, comic writer, director, and actor Julio Torres talks about the absurd obstacles he faced in the US Immigration system when coming to the States from El Salvador. He satirizes the system in the film Problemista. He formerly wrote for Saturday Night Live and has a new show on HBOMax called Color Theories.

6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie… The Prankster: Considered the father of jazz violin, Joe Venuti pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with his childhood friend, guitarist Eddie Lang. Something that he’s remembered for, though, are his humorous stories, dubbed “Venutisms” by his fellow musicians. The portrait of Venuti is far more complex and compelling than the one-dimensional clown prince of the Jazz Age that he is often reduced to. Behind the pranks, he was one of the most virtuosic and innovative musicians of the era with a style of playing that was characteristic of someone with a solid basis in violin technique.

Saturday 3/28

10:00 – 11:00 AM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, the cast is at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, with panelists Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Peter Grosz and Rachel Coster. Listen in as Negin Farsad interviews star of Apple TV Plus’s Your Friends and Neighbors, Olivia Munn.

11:00 – NOON
Radiolab… This week on Radiolab, flip the Disney story of life on its head thanks to a barrel of seawater, a 1970s-era computer, and underwater geyser. It’s the chaos of life.

3:00 – 4:00 PM
American Routes… This week on American Routes, it’s songs of hope for Easter, Passover and spring. Hear songs of resurrection, liberation, rainy weather, and rabbit blues with the voices of Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Bessie Smith, Sister Rosetta Tharp, Dr. John, Willie Nelson and Fats Domino. Hear the “voice of the Holy Ghost” through the sacred steel stylings of Fran Grace and Nicolle “Nikki D” Brown. Then, travel to North East Louisiana to witness the Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble perform a spiritual ritual from enslaved Africans that combines Christian worship and the West African ring shout tradition.

Sunday 3/29

10:00 – 11:00 AM
Reveal… This week on Reveal, reporters train their magnifying glasses on smaller, more personal investigations. Can they find a filmmaker’s first movie? Did a reclusive rock star really call into a college radio station to premiere his new song? And what is it about doppelgangers that makes them so unnerving?

11:00 – NOON
This American Life… This week on This American Life, stories about what happens when a new guy comes on the scene and changes the way everyone who was already there relates to each other.

NOON – 3:00 PM
Sunday Baroque… This Easter weekend on Sunday Baroque, hear a joyful, extroverted suite for two trumpets, a contemplative violin sonata for Easter, and charming Italian dances by a composer who worked for the Gonzaga family by day, and composed Hebrew language liturgical music by night.

3:00 – 4:00 PM
Code Switch & Life Kit… This week on Code Switch, a show about MAGA aesthetics. Then on Life Kit, a show about optimism and how it can be learned.

6:00 – 7:00 PM
The Moth Radio Hour… This week on The Moth Radio Hour, stories of finances—coin collecting, running grifts, and determining the value of "stuff."

Monday 3/30

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Issues and Ideas…

2:00 – 3:00 PMThe Splendid Table… This week on The Splendid Table, hear a show recorded live with LAist as part of The Splendid Table’s 30th anniversary tour. Host Francis Lam is joined onstage with Evan Kleiman [KLIGH-muhn], host of KCRW's Good Food; Gab Chabrán [shah-BRAHN], LAist’s associate editor of food and culture; and Los Angeles’ chefs Keith Corbin, Uyên Lê [OO-ehn lay], and Elvia and Alex Garcia, the team behind Evil Cooks.

Tuesday 3/31

1:00 – 2:00 PM
TED Radio Hour… As artificial intelligence reshapes our world, we need to measure its progress using the public good as the yardstick. This week on TED Radio Hour, host Manoush Zomorodi talks with a tech pioneer who leads the Humanistic AI movement, the founder of the educational tech company Century Tech, and the co-founder of the financial service app Robinhood.

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

Wednesday 4/1

1:00 – 1:30 PM
Bioneers… This week on Bioneers, hear from two Indigenous language champions, Jeannette Armstrong and Rowen White. They reflect on the words, stories, songs and ideas that influence our very conception of nature, and our place within it.

1:30 – 2:00 PM
California Report Magazine… This week on California Report Magazine, head to Mendocino County to visit ancestral land recently restored to a local tribe.

2:00 – 3:00 PM
Freakonomics Radio… As one researcher told Freakonomics Radio, “We’ve engineered a world where the most distracting device ever made is also the one we use to listen to music in the car.” Take a look at a new study that measures the cost.

6:30 – 8:00 PM
KCBX in Concert… This week on KCBX in Concert, host Craig Russell focuses on music from the Arab and Iranian traditions, including Mohammed Fairouz’s oratorio Zabur, about the Psalms of David, as if they were written by a modern-day blogger in the war-torn Middle East; and Kareem Rouston’s movie soundtrack for Encounter Point, a documentary about the Bereaved Parents Forum where both Israelis and Palestinians who have suffered family losses advocate for peace. Craig also celebrates Persian-American composers Behzad Ranjbaran and Richard Danielpour.

Thursday 4/2

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Central Coast Voices… This week on Central Coast Voices, host Fred Munroe takes a look at Cuesta College’s Audio Technology certification program within the music department. One of the most advanced areas of music, the program is intended to help students develop a clear understanding of the ways to deliver music in both live and recorded presentations. Cuesta College’s ability to incorporate this into the music department’s curriculum has proven to be a remarkable tool for both musicians and technology specialists alike. Fred’s guests share one of the many reasons why Cuesta’s academic curriculum goes far beyond what we historically think of when focusing on community colleges.

2:00 – 3:00 PM
Latino USA… This week on Latino USA, hear from Miss Jamie Zapata and Kassandra Alicea about what it was like growing up trans in Texas, how they find joy in community, and how they’re using their newfound virality to fight transphobia. Also on the show, hear from an NBC News reporter to learn more about the targeting of DACA recipients and where the DACA program stands today. Also look back at the history of the DACA program and how it came to be in the first place.

Friday 4/3

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Science Friday… 

6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie… The Prankster: Considered the father of jazz violin, Joe Venuti pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with his childhood friend, guitarist Eddie Lang. Something that he’s remembered for, though, are his humorous stories, dubbed “Venutisms” by his fellow musicians. The portrait of Venuti is far more complex and compelling than the one-dimensional clown prince of the Jazz Age that he is often reduced to. Behind the pranks, he was one of the most virtuosic and innovative musicians of the era with a style of playing that was characteristic of someone with a solid basis in violin technique.