Weekly Program Highlights
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Friday 5/13
1:30 – 2:00 PM
Making Contact… Filmmaker Stephanie Welch explores the role that racist, unscientific propaganda has played in promoting white supremacy in the US. She traces the history of Pioneer Fund, the primary funding source for research that claims to demonstrate that people of color are genetically and intellectually inferior.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Hidden Brain… Money worries are one of the biggest sources of anxiety in the lives of Americans. The new "Money 2.0" series kicks off with psychologist Brad Klontz, who says that while external economic forces often shape financial well-being, unconscious beliefs about money also contribute to how well we manage budgets.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Fresh Air… Hear an interview with countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, who starred in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Philip Glass’ opera, Akhnaten. The celebrated production returns to the stage next week. Costanzo’s range is typically associated with women’s voices, a range once sung by castrati.
6:30 – 7:30 PM
Club McKenzie… The Gentleman of Jazz: In the 1920s, Bud Freeman was very instrumental in bringing the tenor saxophone into popularity by developing the style that became known as Chicago jazz.
10:00 – MIDNIGHT
Ritmo Y Sabor… Changüí means party, and tonight Fred Friedman will be playing Changüí music from the Guantanamo Province of eastern Cuba. Changüí music is a joyous, communal, and mostly improvised riff-based dance music born in the sugar and coffee plantations around Guantanamo City. Workers start playing the fun music on Fridays after working in the fields, and it serves as a soundtrack for a three-day party over the weekend.
Saturday 5/14
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on the NPR news quiz, hear from panelists Faith Salie, Peter Grosz, and Laci Mosley as they share their perspective on the week’s news.
11:00 – NOON
Radiolab… Discover the real story of Helen Keller, a story far more complicated, mysterious, and confounding than the simple myth of a young Deafblind girl rescued by her teacher, Annie Sullivan. It’s a story of ghosts, surprises, a few tears, a bit of romance, some hard conversations, and a possibly psychic dog.
3:00 – 5:00 PM
American Routes… Explore the sounds of musical and social breakouts, from Great Britain to the Big Easy. First, hear how blues pioneer John Mayall broke out of England with his band the Bluesbreakers, bringing British blues to a larger audience. Then, it’s booty shakes and backbeats with Big Freedia, the Queen Diva of New Orleans Bounce, a rhythmic dance music with sources in hip hop and rap, as well as earlier jazz and R&B. Plus, music by Kermit Ruffins, Sam Morgan, Smiley Lewis, and Rebirth Brass Band.
5:00 – 6:00 PM
The Thistle and Shamrock… Explore the craft of songwriters and the landscapes that inspire their music with Emily Smith, Bert Jansch, Eamon Friel, and Karine Polwart.
Sunday 5/15
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Reveal… Amazon warehouse employees are injured on the job at a higher rate than at other companies, even though Amazon claims to prioritize safety. One reporter has drawn national attention to the company’s safety record by gathering injury data and speaking with workers and whistleblowers, which has prompted regulators, lawmakers, and the company itself to address the issue more closely. Then, take a look at the most common type of injury in the workplace, and learn why the government chose not to try to prevent it. Plus, find out why many online reviews of products and businesses are not what they seem.
11:00 – NOON
This American Life… Hear stories of kids using perfectly logical arguments and arriving at perfectly wrong conclusions.
NOON – 3:00 PM
Sunday Baroque… In honor of International Museum Day on May 18th, show your appreciation and support for local museums, whose programs frequently include concerts. This show features music from a few ensembles that have performed baroque and early music in museums.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Our Body Politic… Learn about the future of abortion access with author Jessica Bruder as she discusses her Atlantic Magazine cover story titled “The Abortion Underground.” She asks, if reproductive rights aren't something that's given to people by the state, church, or government, how can these entities take those rights away?
6:00 – 7:00 PM
The Moth Radio Hour… Explore stories relating to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education): travel from the laboratories of the Antarctic to the icy seas of Saturn’s moon, Titan; learn that predisposition does not mean predestined; and sometimes A is larger than C.
Monday 5/16
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Issues and Ideas… Hear from two candidates who are hoping to fill the vacant city council seat in Morro Bay. Also, take a look at Santa Barbara's evolving downtown, as well as Festival Mozaic's upcoming summer concert season.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
The Splendid Table… Spend time in the kitchen of legendary chef Jacques Pépin as he discusses the merits of his classic training, which began at age 13. He also talks about the years he spent cooking for the Prime Minister of France, weighs-in on the current culinary school scene, and teaches listeners how to make an insanely easy and delicious instant cured gravlax. Then, hear from Bridget Lancaster of America's Test Kitchen about how Jacques' book, La Technique, changed her life.
Tuesday 5/17
1:00 – 2:00 PM
TED Radio Hour… Sound surrounds us, from cacophony to silence. But depending on how we hear, the world can be a different auditory experience for each of us. On this episode, TED speakers explore the science of sound.
Wednesday 5/18
1:00 – 1:30 PM
Bioneers… Hear from some of the women who are fighting for change from the front lines at events like oil refinery accidents in California and the aftermath of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf South. Hear from Pennie Opal Plant and Colette Pichon Battle, who are organizing their communities to stop the harms of the extraction economy and climate disruption. Plus, one activist/attorney is making sure the voices of those most affected are heard by rallying Latino voters.
1:30 – 2:00 PM
IdeaSphere… Clash: In his new book, Clash, Jon Marshall explores the political, economical, social, and technological forces that have shaped the relationship between US presidents and the press during times of crisis.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
On Being… Hear a 2015 interview with Robin Wall Kimmerer, the author of the popular book, Braiding Sweetgrass. Robin is a botanist and also a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She’s a bryologist, or an expert in moss, which she describes as the “coral reefs of the forest,” and she offers a sense of wonder and humility for the intelligence in all kinds of life.
6:30 – 8:00 PM
KCBX In Concert… Host Craig Russell explores the heroic music of Eduard Tubin of Estonia, composed as the Baltic states resisted invasions, first by Stalin and then the Nazis. Then, Craig turns his attention to Native American composers who have contributed to the modern classical repertoire and devoted themselves to preserving the environment. Finally, Craig shares Cuban music featuring Silvio Rodríguez, a leader of the New Song, or Nueva Trova, movement.
Thursday 5/19
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Central Coast Voices… Host Fred Munroe speaks with guests about the local work being done to establish family councils among family and friends of long-term care residents. Hear from Linda Beck, staff Ombudsman with the Long Term Care Ombudsman Services of San Luis Obispo County; Kathryn Cherkas, director of programs at the Alzheimer’s Association; and Jenny Molinar, owner of GuidedAging Geriatric Care Management.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Latino USA… The “Genias in Music” series highlights the lives and work of notable women musicians. Dive into the complexities of Violeta Parra, who changed music in her native Chile and beyond. She is known as the “Mother of La Nueva Canción,” a political folk music movement that swept Latin America in the late 1960s. Also on the show, imagine the possibilities of body art with tattoo artist Tamara Santibañez.
Friday 5/20
6:30 – 7:30 PM
Club McKenzie… Frankie’s C melody: Only a few musicians chose to play the C melody saxophone, but of the ones who did, very few were able to play it with the creative and expressive command of Frankie Trumbauer.