The TED Radio Hour (2 pm Saturdays) explores ideas, astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ways to teach and learn. 

Each year, TED hosts conferences that bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less about their ideas in technology, entertainment, design and more. 

TED Radio Hour focuses on a theme each week and weaves together its TEDTalks centered on the topic with innovative soundscapes and conversations that spark ideas. The Washington Post just featured a profile of the new NPR program.

Ask Me Another (3 pm Saturdays) is the other pilot NPR program airing on 89.7 FM.  This show’s improvisational mix of banter, brains, and music shines brightly in those funny, unexpected moments. Host Ophira Eisenberg guides listeners through each episode as she puts questions to a rotating band of puzzle gurus, audience members and “mystery” guests.

As part of this new approach to piloting content, 89.7 NPR News and NPR will invite the listening audience to provide feedback about these pilot programs. TED Radio Hour will air Saturdays at 2 p.m., followed by Ask Me Another at 3 p.m. in June and July.

America is in the midst of an age boom. The 50+ population in America is projected to be 127 million in 2030.

In response, WOSU Public Media  introduces Next Avenue, an extensive new website.  Next Avenue will engage, inspire and inform the more than 100 million people who are transitioning into what many see as a new life stage in human development – a stage between young adulthood and “old old.”  This web site is tailored to engage the 50+ population and help them plan for these “bonus years” as the most comprehensive, accessible, intelligent, and thought-provoking daily stop for this growing audience.

WOSU is one of 73 Next Avenue affiliates bringing this important service to our community. When users log in to www.nextavenue.org  at the top of the home page they will see local information integrated within the site (be sure to choose WOSU as your local station). We plan to localize more information in the months to come, but it is full of important information now about adult caregiving, retirement planning, and more.  Check it out!

For the past several years, WOSU has produced a wonderful fundraising event called Chefs in the City, which is captured for later broadcast because it highlights the work of a celebrity chef and some of the best we have in Columbus.  This year’s participants includes chefs from Ella, G. Michael’s Bistro, Jenis Splendid Ice Cream, M, and our celebrity guest chef from San Francisco, Hubert Keller.  Tune in this Saturday at 1 pm on WOSU TV for all the action.  We really have some of the best in the country right here in Columbus!

We’re very excited to provide this new 24-hour NPR News service for Coshocton at 88.3 FM to go along with our all-day classical music station at 91.1 FM.  It’s rare for any community to have access to both of these quality public radio services, but Coshocton listeners and local foundations have been very supportive of our efforts. The primary coverage area of the signal will extend this new service to about 20,000 residents.

Programming will be provided by WOSU’s Columbus station 89.7 FM NPR News including regular NPR programs such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered, along with Fresh Air, Talk of the Nation, On Point and popular weekend programs such as Car Talk, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, This American Life and more.  Local programming from the WOSU studios includes regular news broadcasts, the radio talk program All Sides with Ann Fisher, and weekend music from the Bluegrass Ramble. WOSU’s news team has been named the top radio news organization in Ohio for the past two years by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Funding for the new service was provided by the Coshocton Foundation, The Montgomery Foundation, and The Simpson Family Foundation with special assistance from former Friends of WOSU Board President and Coshocton resident David L. Baker.

The station was then at 570 AM, operating at just 1.8 watts and had the call letters WEAO.  The tower and transmitter for the station were moved to the University Golf Courses in 1938. As the station’s reputation and growth continued, Youngstown’s WKBN paid for WOSU-AM to move its frequency from 570 to 820 kilocycles in March 1941.

What caused Ohio State to get interested in AM radio in the early 1920s?  You may be surprised to learn it was a local natural disaster- the 1913 Flood of Franklinton/Columbus.  During the weeks following the devastating flood that left 93 people dead and 5000 citizens of central Ohio homeless, it was the wireless telecommunications system at The Ohio State University that carried news of the flood to telegraphs across the state.  That public service led the Engineering department at OSU to look forward at this new technology 0n the horizon called AM radio. Thanks to our community, WOSU has grown tremendously over the past nine decades — adding WOSU FM broadcasting in 1949 and our Columbus  WOSU TV station in 1956, plus additional FM stations across the region in the late 1990s.

Our congratulations to Dublin Scioto High School for their victory in the IN THE KNOW quiz competition.  With the generous sponsorship of Westfield Insurance, WOSU is proud to have IN THE KNOW as its longest running regular local program – 29 years!  The host for all those years continues to be Bill Schiffman, who gets better with age.  The students from Dublin Scioto should be proud they came out on top in this competition with 64 teams.  Another mention of Westfield Insurance — they cover the production funding, scholarship money and even pay each school’s entry fee!