Weekly Program Highlights
Friday 5/1
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Science Friday… You’ve heard of the dodo bird, but some other big birds from the past deserve attention. This week on Science Friday, meet the terrorbird.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Hidden Brain… We tell ourselves that meaning comes from passion, or finding the “one right path.” But these beliefs can leave us feeling stuck — even when our lives look perfectly fine on paper. This week on Hidden Brain, explore a new approach, borrowed from design thinking, to help us build lives that feel more alive, flexible, and real.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Fresh Air… This week on Fresh Air, remember conductor, composer, and pianist Michael Tilson Thomas, the long time director of the San Francisco Symphony. He conducted most of the world’s major ensembles and founded the New World Symphony for young players. His musical inheritance came from his grandparents, who were stars of the yiddish theatre.
6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie… Jazz Unbound, part II - The Crucible: The cultural threads that came together in New Orleans around 1900 to produce something completely new is a one-of-a-kind story in music history. The city blended different cultures, like African, Caribbean, Creole, European, Catholic, blues, and even vaudeville. The port was constantly pumping in Caribbean vibes — especially Cuban habanera rhythms that basically fed straight into what jazz would eventually sound like. Then, the city's red light district created real, paying gigs for musicians.
8:30 – 10:00 PM
The Universal Language… Tonight on The Universal Language — inspired by International Jazz Day — Jerome Taylor features instrumental music from Jamaica and New Orleans.
Saturday 5/2
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!… This week on Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, the show is in San Diego, California, with panelists Paula Poundstone, Eugene Cordero, and Alzo Slade. And, legendary anchorman Ron Burgundy talks about himself and then plays Not My Job.
11:00 – NOON
Radiolab… This week on Radiolab, the show celebrates the unsung places, from the cells inside our bodies to the tree tops above.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
American Routes… This week on American Routes, get sonically aloft with musical memories of the Byrds and the Flying Burritos Brothers. Hear music that influenced the Byrds from Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger. Plus, conversation with Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers co-founder Chris Hillman about his bluegrass roots, the Byrds’ shift toward country music on Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and forming country rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons. Also, find out about songs in the land of love lost and found from Dr. John, Sam Cooke, Patsy Cline and Irma Thomas.
Sunday 5/3
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Reveal… Activists sailed to Gaza to deliver aid but were met with drone attacks and imprisonment. This week on Reveal, an exclusive look at the Global Sumud Flotilla.
11:00 – NOON
This American Life… The entire time we’ve been at war with Iran, the whole country has been under an internet blackout. This week on This American Life, hear from people across Iran who have managed to get messages out. It’s a picture from inside Iran that is like nothing else we’ve heard.
NOON – 3:00 PM
Sunday Baroque… This week on Sunday Baroque, Johann Sebastian Bach composed his first “French Suite” in 1722. But Bach never went to France, and he didn’t call them “French Suites.” That nickname was given by a German music critic decades later.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Code Switch & Life Kit… This week on Code Switch, a show about the state of Black masculinity. Then on Life Kit, a show about forming deeper friendships.
6:00 – 7:00 PM
The Moth Radio Hour… This week on The Moth Radio Hour, it's raining cats and dogs (and a few snakes as well). Stories of reluctant pet owners, canine companionship, and an elderly cat named Rita.
Monday 5/4
2:00 – 3:00 PM
The Splendid Table… This week, The Splendid Table, hear a show recorded live in Seattle's Town Hall with KUOW as part of the 30th anniversary tour. Host Francis Lam is joined onstage with chefs Melissa Miranda of Musang, Janet Becerra of Pancita, Yasuaki Saito of Saint Bread, Jeremy Thunderbird of Native Soul Cuisine, Food and Drink writer Tan Vinh of The Seattle Times, and co-founder of the Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project, Valerie Segrest.
Tuesday 5/5
1:00 – 2:00 PM
TED Radio Hour… We’re living longer, but not always better. How do we expand our "healthspan" and not just our lifespan? This week on TED Radio Hour, host Manoush Zomorodi and doctor Eric Topol separate the real science of "super aging" from costly health trends.
Wednesday 5/6
1:00 – 1:30 PM
Bioneers… This week on Bioneers, hear a conversation between Bioneers co-founder Nina Simons, who is also the author of Nature, Culture and the Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership, and Terry Tempest Williams, one of the most celebrated and revered American nature writers and an award-winning conservationist.
1:30 – 2:00 PM
California Report Magazine… This week on California Report Magazine, in a world with increasing prices, visit a store in Oakland that allows customers to walk out with one item for free.
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Freakonomics Radio… This week on Freakonomics Radio, the show asks why there has been so little progress on curing Alzheimer’s disease. One possibility: a leading hypothesis pursued by researchers (and funders) was built on science that now appears to be fraudulent. Stephen Dubner speaks with the scientist and the journalist who blew the whistle.
6:30 – 8:00 PM
KCBX in Concert… For centuries, musicians have performed enchanting serenades. Sometimes they were sparkling instrumental works for outdoor entertainments. At other times, serenades were short operas written for night-time, festive occasions. Some serenades were moonlit courtship songs, whereas some were heartfelt goodbyes, sung as wistful farewells at a lover’s departure. This week on KCBX in Concert, join Craig as he plays diverse serenades through the ages by Mozart, Britten, Stravinsky, Scarlatti, and more.
Thursday 5/7
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Latino USA… This week on Latino USA, hear testimony from Nashville-based journalist Estefany Rodríguez about her ICE detainment and the inhumane conditions she experienced. In an interview with Estefany and her husband and a deep review of her case files, Latino USA discusses the reality of journalists targeted by immigration enforcement. Also on the show, governments worldwide are restricting press freedom, with the U.S. experiencing a drastic decline under the second Trump administration. The hosts are joined on this roundtable by two journalists to discuss what the erosion of press freedom means for our democracy.
Friday 5/8
6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Club McKenzie… The Chemistry – What Made It Jazz: So, what actually made it jazz? It wasn't just one thing — it was a bunch of things happening all at the same time. The cornet is carrying the main melody, the clarinet is dancing above it, and the trombone is holding everything together. Nobody's reading from a script — they're all just listening to each other, reacting, and negotiating with each other in real time. This is probably the thing that set early New Orleans jazz apart from almost everything else happening in music at the time.