Dear Friends,
The strains of “Auld Lang Syne” will have a special poignancy for public radio fans this year, given the retirement of some of our long-time favorite personalities and shows. Diane Rehm will be retiring at the end of this year. Garrison Keillor has already left A Prairie Home Companion. And the Best of Car Talk, a compilation show that allowed the laughter to continue despite Tom Magliozzi’s death in 2014, will soon be discontinued.
Knowing that all of these changes were coming prompted us to undertake a careful and comprehensive look at our programming, with input from many quarters. I’m pleased to announce that Texas Public Radio will launch an exciting new programming schedule beginning January 2, 2017. I think you will enjoy starting the New Year with our refreshed programming line-up.
If you are like me, you know what time it is by what program is on, so let me help you “reset your clock.” Let’s start with the weekday schedule:
4 am – 9 am – Your early morning routine won’t be disturbed, as Morning Edition will continue in its current time slot. Rachel Martin joined Steve Inskeep and David Greene as a co-host earlier this month, and they have proven to be an engaging team.
9 am – 10 am – BBC Newshour will now fill what was the first hour of the Diane Rehm Show. This selection was made in response to listener interest in having an international perspective on the news of the day.
10 am – 11 am – Texas Standard will now be carried live in this hour. With Austin, Dallas and Houston also airing the program live, we’ll be better situated to leverage the combined strengths of our news rooms and, particularly, to respond to breaking news.
11 am – Noon – Here and Now will provide a mid-day check in to the national news.
Noon – 1 pm – KSTX will move The Source, its 4-day-a-week talk show, to the lunch hour to provide greater opportunity for listeners in San Antonio to call in and connect with its in-studio guests and city-wide audience. On Fridays, KSTX will air Fronteras from noon to 12:30 pm, followed by Texas Matters until 1 pm.
KTXI, KVHL, KTPR, KTPD and KCTI will air a second hour of Here and Now from noon to 1 pm.
1 pm – 2 pm – Monday through Thursday – This hour will debut Think, a program entirely new to TPR. Hosted by Krys Boyd, Think features in-depth interviews with compelling guests, covering a wide variety of topics ranging from history, politics, current events, science, technology and trends to food and wine, travel, adventure and entertainment. The program includes opportunities for listener participation.
2 pm – 3 pm – Monday through Thursday – You’ll be back to the familiar, with Fresh Air remaining in this time slot.
1 pm – 3 pm – Friday – Science Friday will continue in this two hour block.
3 pm – 4 am – from late afternoon through the night, the programming schedule remains unchanged, though All Things Considered begins an hour earlier:
- 3 pm – 6:30 pm – All Things Considered
- 6:30 pm – 7 pm – Marketplace
- 7 pm – 9 pm – On Point
- 9 pm – 10 pm – Fresh Air
- 10 pm – 4 am – BBC World Service
(KTXI will continue to broadcast classical music from 7 pm – 4 am, including Classics a la Carte from 7 pm – 9 pm on Fridays.)
We’re also excited about the changes to our weekend programming, including the introduction of four thoughtful, entertaining and enlightening new programs. For our weekend schedule, I’ll just highlight the changes:
Saturday
Radiolab will now air at 5 am, followed by On the Media at 6 am.
Wait, Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! moves to 10 am.
A new show, Snap Judgment, will fill the 11 am hour. Snap Judgment focuses on presenting compelling personal stories, mixing killer beats with real drama.
Another new program, Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio, airs from 1 pm to 2 pm. With a host who is familiar to many, this program goes anywhere and everywhere to ask questions and get answers about cooking, food, culture, wine, farming, restaurants, literature, and the lives and cultures of the people who grow, produce, and create the food we eat.
The Moth Radio Hour will be heard from 5 pm to 6 pm. The Moth features true stories, told live and without notes, and celebrates the ability of stories to honor both the diversity and commonality of human experience, and to satisfy a vital human need for connection.
We’ll expand our Saturday evening music programming, with World Café, presenting interviews and performances with today's essential and emerging artists, from 6 pm to 8 pm.
(KTXI will continue to broadcast classical music from 7 pm – 4 am, including Performance Saturday from 7 pm – 9 pm, and From the Top from 9 pm to 10 pm.)
Sunday
Changes to our Sunday schedule are minimal, with a Wait, Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! replay from 5 pm to 6 pm and a second chance to hear Snap Judgment from 6 pm to 7 pm.
Our goal is always to provide you the very best of public radio programming. I believe this new programming schedule achieves that goal. As ever, I’m eager to hear your comments. Please do share your thoughts with me as you get acquainted with the new schedule in the New Year.
Very best wishes for the holidays.
Warm regards - joyce