It's Black History Month!
Here's what's on at WAMC!
Monday 2/9 – 11am -- Witness History: Black History Month
A special hour-long edition of Witness History from the BBC World Service, bringing together some incredible interviews looking at the African-American experience. Told by people who were there, we hear stories that are fascinating, harrowing, and inspiring.
Thursday 2/26 – 11am - Rhapsody in Black: Black History Month Special
Join us for this hour long special as we turn up the voices of Black artists in the world of classical music, with host Vernon Neal.
For President's Day, here's what you can look forward to!
9am – The Poetry Café – Live From Greensboro
Feed your mind, your body, and your soul as you immerse yourself in this open mic night over the airwaves.
10am - Collaborative for the Earth (C4E)
The debate over advancing nuclear technology in the United States is promising safe, reliable, and carbon-free energy to power data centers, cryptocurrency, and AI demands. The Collaborative for the Earth explores how the political, social and economic optics have shifted toward nuclear as one possible off ramp to an impending energy crisis in the U.S.
11am – BirdNote Presents: Words in Flight
Birds have long been a popular subject for writers. They are featured over and over in songs and books. Shakespeare frequently mentioned birds in his plays, whether for symbolism or dramatic effect. And there are more poems about birds than we can count. Words in Flight is an hour-long radio special, featuring selections from episodes of BirdNote Daily and Bring Birds Back that highlight contemporary poetry. You’ll hear poets, in their own words, sharing what birds mean to them, and what they teach us about ourselves and our world.
2pm – Building Tomorrow
Marketplace and This Old House Radio Hour are collaborating on Building Tomorrow, a one-hour national radio special that explores how American homes are being reimagined for the next century. Co-hosted by Marketplace’s David Brancaccio and This Old House Radio Hour’s Jenn Largesse, Building Tomorrow blends personal narrative, design reporting, and economic insight into a sweeping look at what the next hundred years of American housing might hold. Throughout the hour, listeners will meet the architects, builders, and homeowners redefining the American dream from the ground up. Each act of construction becomes an act of imagination—proof that resilience begins not with what we can build, but with what we can envision.
3:30pm – New York Minute In History
We kick off America’s birthday year with the harrowing story of the capture of British spymaster Major John André, who was caught attempting to bring vital information on the American garrison at West Point to the British army command. The documents hidden in André’s boot made it clear that American General Benedict Arnold was involved in the conspiracy and a traitor to the cause.
Interviewees: Brian Keough, New York State Archivist and Aaron Noble, guest host and Senior Historian and Curator of Political and Military History at the New York State Museum