Conversations, Storytelling And Science Highlight CapRadio’s Fresh Program Schedule

As our nation and our region navigate a pandemic, protests and politics, CapRadio is increasing our responsiveness to the news during the week while adding new weekend shows that offer moments of reflection and respite.

We’re thrilled to announce a fresh new weekday and weekend program schedule that keeps the core of our lineup intact while adding shows that will bring younger and more diverse voices to our air.

We’re also shifting some of our existing programs to new slots in order to create a Science Block on Friday nights and a Storytelling Block on Sunday afternoons.

Among the highlights:

• We’re replacing our current noon weekday strip with The Takeaway, to make our 12 p.m. hour more responsive to the news and consistent five days a week. Host Tanzina Vega (Monday through Thursday) will join The Takeaway’s “Politics with Amy Walter” (Friday, moving from its current 9 a.m. Friday slot) to bring new energy to our airwaves and streams.

Listen here to a recent episode of The Takeaway:

• Replacing The Takeaway’s Politics show on Fridays at 9 a.m.? The award-winning investigative reporting show Reveal, which moves from its current airtimes of noon Tuesdays and 4 p.m. Sundays. We believe Reveal’s hard-news focus deserves a high-visibility broadcast time and will be a strong fit on weekdays at a moment when we know our audience craves lighter shows on weekends.

• We’re excited to announce a brand-new “Storytelling Block” on Sunday afternoons with the addition of two new shows: The Moth Radio Hour at 1 p.m. and Snap Judgment with host Glynn Washington at 3 p.m. They’ll be joined by This American Life at 2 p.m. and TED Radio Hour at 4 p.m.
  

Listen here to a recent episode of The Moth Radio Hour:

And to a recent episode of Snap Judgment:

• We’re also creating a “Science Block” on Friday nights from 8-11 p.m. by pairing Radiolab with the rebroadcast of Science Friday.
  

• Finally, we’re adding NPR’s “cultural zeitgeist” show Bullseye with host Jesse Thorn at 6 p.m. Saturdays, which we think will be a wonderful bridge between Weekend All Things Considered and our Saturday night music block of K-ZAP on CapRadio, Hey, Listen! and Acid Jazz.

Listen here to a recent episode of Bullseye:

We’re not eliminating any shows besides Live from Here, which is no longer being produced (we are currently airing reruns of the show). We will, however, be reducing Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me and This American Life from three airtimes to two.

We’re also removing the Friday 8 p.m. Fresh Air rebroadcast (but listeners can catch it at 1 p.m.) and the second hour of Science Friday at noon (but it stays on the schedule Friday nights). And The Splendid Table moves to 7 p.m. Sundays.

The schedule changes take effect Monday, August 10 on CapRadio’s news stations in Sacramento, Stockton-Modesto, Tahoe-Reno and Quincy.

Check out our full schedule below.

FAQ about CapRadio’s schedule changes:

Q: You’ve moved several shows to new time slots, and eliminated the second or third airings of a few others. I miss hearing my favorite program at its old time. Are there other ways I can find it?

A: If the new airtimes don’t work for you, you can listen on demand at these links:

• Radiolab
• Reveal
• The Splendid Table
• The Takeaway’s Politics with Amy Walter
• TED Radio Hour
• This American Life
• Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me

Check out CapRadio’s full weekly program schedule here.

Q: Why are you no longer airing the second hour of Science Friday live at 12 p.m., and the Friday rebroadcast of Fresh Air at 8 p.m.?

A: As mentioned above, the second hour of Science Friday had been part of a “Noon strip” of programs that varied each day. We wanted to make our 12 p.m. hour both more responsive to the news and consistent five days a week. As for Friday night’s Fresh Air, it’s making way for Radiolab to allow us to create a Friday night “science block.” However, both of those shows will still broadcast over the air once each Friday (Fresh Air at 1 p.m. and the second hour of Science Friday at 10 p.m.), and you can listen on demand to Science Friday and Fresh Air anytime you’d like

Q: Why are you removing Live from Here from your program schedule?

A: Sadly, American Public Media announced earlier this summer that it made the difficult decision to end the longtime public radio hallmark that for most of its run was named A Prairie Home Companion. APM is still distributing Live from Here rebroadcasts through mid-September, and you can catch the last few weeks on CapRadio’s music station Saturdays at 6 p.m.

Q: Didn’t you just move The Splendid Table’s airtime a couple of months ago? Why are you changing it again?

A: Yes, we did slide The Splendid Table back an hour from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays in our previous round of program changes earlier this summer. We made that decision prior to learning that Live from Here would end production. Live from Here’s cancellation offered us the opportunity to create our Sunday afternoon storytelling block. We’re hoping that running The Splendid Table at 7 p.m. will be a nice fit for listeners who are more likely to be thinking about food … at their Sunday dinner table!

Ben Adler is CapRadio’s director of programming and audience development.