Texas Public Radio celebrates the season with holiday programming to get you into the spirit, or simply offer a moment of reflection. Join us on KPAC 88.3 FM, KSTX 89.1 FM, and all of TPR's stations for a cornucopia of programs, including music, spoken word, and more. This page will be updated as shows are added to the lineup.
On KPAC 88.3 FM
Thanksgiving, November 23, 1pm-3pm, Giving Thanks
Giving Thanks sounds the way Thanksgiving feels: inviting, warm, and festive. No clichés about pilgrims and pumpkin pies. Instead, it’s a contemporary, thoughtful celebration of spirit of the holiday. For listeners, whether they're up early in the kitchen, on the road to a family gathering, or relaxing after the feast, Giving Thanks provides the perfect atmosphere for Thanksgiving: the warmth of great music, and truly memorable words.
Giving Thanks shares music and stories that reflect the meaning of gratitude on Thanksgiving, and this year celebrates its 25th year on public radio! This year’s show presents the best moments of a quarter century of great guests:
- Foodies: Stanley Tucci, Nigella Lawson, Jacques Pepin, Calvin Trillin
- Writers: Anne Lamott, Adam Gopnik, Julia Sweeney, Anna Quindlen, Deepak Chopra
- Poets: Billy Collins, Rita Dove, Nikki Giovanni, Ada Limon. And classic poems read by Patrick Stewart, Bill Moyers, Studs Terkel
- Musicians: Michael Tilson Thomas, John Rutter, Sir Stephen Hough
- In Memoriam: John Updike, Wendy Wasserstein, Nora Ephron, Rabbi Harold Kushner
Broadcast made possible by H-E-B.
Thursday, December 7, 3pm, Chanukah Memories and Melodies
Chanukah Memories and Melodies is a new 1-hour radio special featuring interviews with artists and public personalities about their Chanukah memories grounded in the music tied to their holiday memories. Guests on this program include cellist Alisa Weilerstein, Broadway actress Tovah Feldshuh, Sephardic music expert and flutist Daphna Mor, musician and Yiddish musicologist Henry Sapoznik, poet, musician and author Aaron Dworkin, and Eric Jacobsen, artistic director of The Knights.
Sunday, December 24, 9am-11am: A Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols
Michael Barone presents this live service of spoken-word and music (choral and organ) broadcast from the chapel of King's College in Cambridge, England. The 30-voice King's College Choir performs the legendary Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service of Biblical readings and music.
Sunday, December 24, noon: St. Christmas with the Imani Winds
Join Scott Blankenship for a conversation with members of the Imani Winds featuring pieces from their album "This Christmas with Imani Winds." Hear stories behind the songs chosen for that album and how it all came together.
Monday, December 25, 1pm-3pm: St. Olaf Christmas Festival
The St. Olaf Christmas Festival has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. Started in 1912 by F. Melius Christiansen, founder of the St. Olaf College Music Department, the festival includes hymns, carols, choral works and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity. It features the St. Olaf Choir, the St. Olaf Orchestra, the St. Olaf Cantorei, the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, the Manitou Singers and the Viking Chorus, performing as individual groups and as a massed ensemble.
Tuesday, December 26, 3pm: The Sounds of Kwanzaa
During the aftermath of the Watts Uprisings in the 1960s, Dr. Maulana Karenga decided to create a special December holiday designed for Black people to celebrate themselves, their culture, and their future liberation. Today, Kwanzaa is still celebrated by not only Afro-Americans, but Black people around the globe!
In this broadcast, Garrett McQueen offers a background on the history of Kwanzaa and its guiding principles, alongside musical selections that highlight the spirit of the celebration. The show features the compositions of Florence Price, Duke Ellington, Sean O’Loughlin, and special performances by Imani Winds.
Monday, January 1, 10am: New Year's Day from Vienna
The ever popular annual New Year’s Day Concert will be performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Christian Thielemann. With this concert it is not only the desire of the Vienna Philharmonic to provide musically definitive interpretations of the masterworks of this genre, but also, as musical ambassadors of Austria, to send people all over the world a New Year's greeting in the spirit of hope, friendship and peace. Hosted by WBUR's Lisa Mullins.
ON KSTX 89.1 FM/TPR news stations:
Thanksgiving, November 23, 11am-1pm: Turkey Confidential
Turkey Confidential is The Splendid Table’s annual Thanksgiving show. Francis Lam takes calls and comes to the rescue of Thanksgiving cooks, kitchen helpers, and dinner guests during the biggest cooking day of the year.
Guests include chef Kristen Kish, Top Chef’s newest judge, Michigan chef and award-winning writer Abra Berens author of "Pulp, A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit," Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grandbaby Cakes, and Dan Pelosi aka “GrossyPelosi” the exuberant author of "Let’s Eat, 101 Recipes to Fill Your Heart and Home." Broadcast made possible by H-E-B and Lifetime Recovery.
Thanksgiving, November 23, 7pm, Giving Thanks
Giving Thanks sounds the way Thanksgiving feels: inviting, warm, and festive. I’s a contemporary, thoughtful celebration of spirit of the holiday. Music, plus poetry and readings. This is a one-hour version of the program broadcast on KPAC 88.3 FM earlier in the day. (Will not be broadcast on KTXI 90.1 FM) Broadcast made possible by H-E-B.
Sunday, December 17, 3pm: Hanukkah Lights 2023
This NPR favorite returns with the best of the best Hanukkah Lights stories plus a special musical performance by The LeeVees. Hosted by Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz. Broadcast made possible by H-E-B.
Saturday, December 23, 7pm: Christmas in Jazz, TX
Enjoy an hour of holiday music recorded live at Jazz, TX with Doc Watkins and friends. Broadcast made possible by Kinetico Water Softeners, City Year San Antonio, Comfort Air Engineering & Primo Plumbing, and Natascha Reynoso, Farmers Insurance.
Saturday, December 23, 8pm: Christmas Around the World with Deirdre Saravia
TPR’s Deirdre Saravia shares holiday favorites from around the world on her weekly program, “World Music.” Broadcast made possible by Kinetico Water Softeners, City Year San Antonio, Comfort Air Engineering & Primo Plumbing, and Natascha Reynoso, Farmers Insurance.
Sunday, December 24, 10pm: A Jazz Piano Christmas
Your favorite holiday classics as you’ve never heard them! The Kennedy Center and NPR present A Jazz Piano Christmas, the annual sell-out event featuring jazz-infused renditions of the season’s most-loved music. This year, we spotlight remarkable pianist, vocalist, and actress Melvis Santa—whose eclectic Afro-Cuban style has made her one of the most electrifying artists on the scene—in addition to internationally acclaimed Cuban composer and jazz pianist Alfredo Rodriguez. Hosted by Felix Contreras. Broadcast made possible by Kinetico Water Softeners, City Year San Antonio, Comfort Air Engineering & Primo Plumbing, and Natascha Reynoso, Farmers Insurance.
Sunday, December 24, 11pm: Peabo's 23rd annual Christmas Special, Peabo's Multiverse Madness
Hosted by Nathan Cone, David Furst, and Peabo the rooster. Join the three friends for music, madness, and merriment as they count down to Santa’s arrival at midnight. Broadcast made possible by Kinetico Water Softeners, City Year San Antonio, Comfort Air Engineering & Primo Plumbing, and Natascha Reynoso, Farmers Insurance.
Monday, December 25, noon and 7pm: Jonathan Winters' A Christmas Carol
Join us on-air for a holiday tradition — the late Jonathan Winters' one-man performance of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," presented by NPR. Broadcast made possible by Kinetico Water Softeners, City Year San Antonio, Comfort Air Engineering & Primo Plumbing, and Natascha Reynoso, Farmers Insurance.
Tuesday, December 26, noon and 7pm: A Season's Griot
A Season's Griot is public radio's only nationally syndicated Kwanzaa program. Hosted for 25 years by acclaimed storyteller Madafo Lloyd Wilson, this annual one-hour special captures the tales and traditions of African American and African peoples. The show’s poet laureate, Beverly Fields Burnette, and other members of the Season’s Griot family return with familiar and favorite elements of Griot. Broadcast made possible by Kinetico Water Softeners, City Year San Antonio, Comfort Air Engineering & Primo Plumbing, and Natascha Reynoso, Farmers Insurance.