KRCU will be adding three new shows from NPR beginning on Saturday, October 7. The new NPR programs include It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, Planet Money and How I Built This, and Hidden Brain. KRCU is also bringing American Routes back to its schedule, and Fresh Air is getting an additional broadcast at 7 p.m. every Monday through Thursday.
It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders showcases the talent of NPR’s Sam Sanders, a host and reporter who delighted NPR listeners with the reporting he did for the 2016 presidential election. KRCU listeners might well remember Sanders signing off reports on presidential candidate Bernie Sanders with “Sam Sanders, no relation.” It’s Been a Minute will air Saturdays at 9 a.m. beginning October 7. This time slot has long held The Best of Car Talk, NPR’s beloved comedy and car advice call-in show. Car Talk has been produced using archived segments since October 2012. KRCU’s final broadcast of Car Talk will be Saturday, September 30 at 9 a.m.
Planet Money and How I Built This combines two NPR podcasts into an hour of informative and entertaining radio. Planet Money launched in 2008, covering the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. Listeners to NPR News programs, as well as the public radio program This American Lifewill likely recognize the name Planet Money from segments that take complex economic issues and explains them in accessible terms and in a fun way. How I Built This is an NPR podcast hosted by Guy Raz, who is also host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour. In How I Built This Raz interviews entrepreneurs of famous companies about their journeys to success. Planet Money and How I Built This will air Sundays at noon and Mondays at 8 p.m. beginning October 8.
Hidden Brain is a word pair that NPR news listeners will recognize as the Twitter handle of Shankar Vedantam, NPR’s social science correspondent. Vedantam is known for his reporting on human behavior and the social sciences, and how research in those fields can get listeners to think about the news in unusual and interesting ways. Using science and storytelling, Hidden Brain helps curious people understand the world, current events and themselves. Hidden Brain will air Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. beginning October 8.
American Routes will make its return to KRCU as part of this new schedule as well. American Routes is a weekly two-hour public radio program produced in New Orleans, presenting a broad range of American music, including blues and jazz, gospel and soul, old-time country and rockabilly. The program also presents documentary features and artist interviews, with conversations that include Willie Nelson, Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, and more.
American Routes will air Sundays at 7:00 p.m. beginning October 8. This time slot has been held for over 20 years by Sunday Night at the Opera, a locally produced program hosted and produced by Barb Herbert. KRCU’s final broadcast of Sunday Night at the Opera will be October 1 at 7 p.m. KRCU General Manager Dan Woods said, “We are so appreciative of Barb’s dedication to the opera program for over 20 years. The kind of commitment she demonstrated is one of the strengths of public radio, the dedication of the people behind it.” Herbert is still a part of the KRCU family, and will continue to be heard as a host and programmer of Afternoon Classics, which airs weekdays from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Fresh Air, NPR’s award-winning and iconic long-form interview and arts program will be getting an additional time slot. The program currently airs weekdays at 3 p.m. and will continue to do so, but will also air Monday through Thursdays at 7 p.m., beginning on October 9. This move is meant to give more of the KRCU audience a chance to hear the in-depth conversations and arts reviews that Fresh Air is known for.
KRCU’s “Awesome Hour” block will now be heard at 8 p.m. weeknights. Performance Today will no longer be broadcast on KRCU and will have its final broadcast on October 5. On Monday through Thursdays from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., KRCU will offer a variety of classical music programs from WFMT, including performances from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic beginning on Monday, October 9.
7:00 p.m. Time Slot:
• Monday through Thursday – Fresh Air (beginning Oct. 9)
• Friday – This American Life
8:00 p.m. Time Slot:
• Monday – Planet Money and How I Built This
• Tuesday – TED Radio Hour
• Wednesday – Hidden Brain
• Thursday – Snap Judgment
• Friday – All Songs Considered/alt.latino