With fall’s arrival, there are changes in the air and on the air here at Boise State Public Radio. Beginning Saturday, October 7 and Sunday, October 8 we’ll make several adjustments to our weekend schedule and add some new programs in an effort to better serve you. These changes give us the opportunity to share some new & exciting voices on KBSX.
Schedule changes:
This FAQ will hopefully answer any questions you have about these programming changes:
Q: What’s happening?
A: Starting October 7you’ll hear some old favorites in new time slots as well as some new voices on 91.5. With longtime KBSX favorite Car Talk ending production, we’re adjusting our schedule to keep Saturday mornings entertaining and freshen up the weekend with some new voices.
Fun will still rule as Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me replaces Car Talk on Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Ask Me Another follows at 11 a.m. Modern storytelling at its very best kicks in with Radiolab at a new noon start time, followed by Ira Glass & This American Life. Then at 2 p.m. we launch the new Planet Money/How I Built This show, which features a creative focus on the economy and business.
On Sunday October 8 we debut the one-hour radio version of Hidden Brain at 10 a.m. featuring Shankar Vedantum. At 4 p.m. we’ll launch It’s Been A Minute With Sam Sanders, who is a compelling new voice at NPR.
****An encore of Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me will start airing on Sunday December 3rd at 2 p.m.
Q: Why are you making these changes?
A: We are constantly looking to provide you with the most compelling and entertaining programming we can find. Several new shows that were launching this fall caught our ear while we were evaluating our current schedule. It doesn’t hurt that several of them have already proven to be hits in the world of podcasting. We think you’ll like them:
Planet Money has been one of the most popular segments on Morning Edition and All Things Considered, not to mention their podcast which consistently ranks near the top of all public radio ‘casts. In this new NPR offering it is paired with another highly successful podcast called How I Built This, to form an hour of playful storytelling and insightful journalism.
Hidden Brain uses science and storytelling to help curious people understand the world, current events and themselves. Host Shankar Vedantam is a beloved NPR contributor, as well as a popular podcast host. Now audiences will be able to hear Shankar go deeper on intriguing topics.
During last year's election, Sam Sanders quickly emerged as a compelling new voice, and became a fan favorite as one of the hosts of the NPR Politics Podcast. It’s Been A Minute with Sam Sanders will provide an irreverent, casual space for listeners who don’t know how to process the pace of current events but can’t think about anything else.
Q: How do you decide which shows to put on the air?
A: We are always tracking and reviewing the performance of each show on Boise State Public Radio. We subscribe to several research providers including Nielsen and Media Audit. They give us our best audience estimates related to program usage. We are able to follow which shows are doing well and where there might be opportunity for improvement of our service. We’ll continue to carefully evaluate all listener feedback as well as review the ratings to determine how effective our schedule is in serving the community. Please continue to let us know how you feel about our programming.
