KALW 91.7 FM

KALW 91.7 FM is a SF bay area radio station, it generates local content: news, interview programs, call in talk programs.

they also have programming from NPR, American Public Media, Public Radio International, BBC.

it isn't often i come across this station. last time, it has hosting a classical music program, so rare on the FM. that's the reason i like KALW 91.7

Great mix of local, national, and international news and culture programming, with nice regional short segments mixed in. Also, weeknights and weekends there's a terrific mix of eclectic music programming.

I wish they hadn't switched to the evening music format; I want intelligent talk and haven't found interest in their DJs' offerings. They have eliminated Scott Simon's intelligent and thoughtful Saturday morning program, which I greatly regret as well. They are earnest and caring people; it's just a disagreement re: priorities and taste.

Although the content of the station is great and I enjoyed listening to them for years and donated money on a monthly basis for years, I have found trying to end that donation is rather difficult. To save the station transaction fees, I allowed for them to do an automatic debit from my account. I have moved from the area, however, and as I am no longer listening, I reached out to request that my donation be cancelled. Several months have gone by, I have left messages, I have emailed, and yet no response. I know with the stay at home orders things are not normal right now, which is why I have been patient, but at this point if they charge me again I am taking it up with my bank.

I highly recommend if you decide to donate money, do not do an automatic payment and I highly recommend avoiding monthly payments, but just do one time payments when you feel like supporting otherwise great public radio.

Update: I don't know if it was coincidence, or my yelp review spurred action, but I finally heard back from them. I am leaving it as a three as I shouldn't have had to try so many times, but again, great station for listening!

I used to really like these guys, and have supported them multiple times, starting around 2018. However, I moved to Northern Minnesota last August after retiring, so I recently tried to cancel my current supporting membership with them. They completely ignored an email sent to Membership 4 days ago (Monday, it's now Friday.) So I attempted to call. It is literally impossible to leave a membership at the extension for membership ("mailbox is full"), & the alternative extension offered, same!! So like many other "corporations", they refuse to accept public contact when one wishes to cancel a service . . . I probably was going to switch my membership to Minnesota Public Radio, which I now sometimes listen to, but now I am reconsidering that after the refusal of KALW to end my sustaining membership now that I have left the Bay Area and am on a limited (pension) income!! Really disappointed.

This is my favorite radio station. The local music programs are superb, especially music from the African diaspora on Thursday nights and Exploring Music (classical) on Monday nights. I love it that I can catch up with the local music shows all week.
The news is grim. They report it accurately. I like the BBC coming every hour, and last night I could follow the voting in the UK. News is kind of like unsalted vegetables or washing the dishes. You gotta do it, but you don't have to enjoy it.

Why I've lowered my rating from 5 stars to 3 stars:
KALW is in many ways a great station, producing some excellent local programming in addition to carrying NPR, CBC, BBC, etc. But some of that local programming suffers from lack of objectivity, especially Gaza Corner on Tangents Radio, an unfortunate and inappropriate injection of anti-Israel diatribes into what's ostensibly a music program. (I say this even though I'm a critic of the current Israeli government and a supporter of legitimate Palestinian rights.) Shame on KALW.

This mixed talk/music public radio station provides substances for my mind, heart and soul. It's no little brother to the exceptional wonderful KQED Radio FM 88.5; they are on-par. While some same NPR programs appear on both public radio stations, KALW provides programming from Canadian Broadcast Corp. (CBC), BBC, DW Radio (Berlin, Germany based radio station that also provides programming in English) and many alternative public service stations throughout the U.S.A. and world.

While bedridden from a recent serious illness and injuries, alternating between KALW and KGO radio stations help me get my sanity back and stay informed.

I listened to KGO Radio for years. Now I listen to both KQED and KALW.

Personal Fave:
Fresh Air with Terry Gross
If Terry Gross wanted to interview me I would really never need to do anything else with my life ever again. She's incredibly knowledgeable and insightful - I swear I've never heard any other interviewer be told "No one's ever asked me that before" more than she has. I get the feeling that even the subjects themselves have never really thought about their work in quite the same way before. She's the Jordan, the Kazan, the Prince of talk radio - she simply reinvents the genre. She can make anything riveting. They could announce "tomorrow, Terry interviews a man whose father enjoyed drinking water" and she would rock it.

Personal highlights:

When she asked Willie Nelson about his jazz influences and I had just seen him perform his version of "All of Me" and was blown away by what a great jazz phrasing and interpretation he has.

When she asked Ang Lee about his use of cattle and landscape in "Brokeback Mountain" - for weeks I had been telling anyone who would listen about how moving those sheep actors were. I mean, those sheep had fucking pathos! And then, to my eternal delight and personal validation, old Ang went on about how he wanted the sheep to represent the interior lives of the stoic cowboys.

Interview with Joe Henry where i found out he was the author of Madonna's "Don't Tell Me to Stop" - restored my personal faith in my musical credibility as I really liked this song and was a scooch mortified to rock it. (I know, I'm not a Madonna fan - I'm on probation with the Gay Men's Alliance). Stop judging me.

Also - Philosophy Talk on Tuesdays and Science Fridays give me reason to make it through the week.

CONTACT INFORMATION
91.7 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area
http://www.kalw.org/


NARRATIVE
In the morning I wake and the voices of the BBC, NPR, and CrossCurrents counsel me on some of the news of the day.

I consider Rose Aguilar and Sandip Roy among my daily counselors.

My brain is regularly massaged on a music, quiz, and informational tip thanks to the programming of KALW.

And they are located on the Burton High School campus in San Francisco. Total lack of pretense!

PRICE RANGE
Moderate - Decadent (It is funded by we the listeners.)

SUMMARY
I feel a particular pride when I listen to Crosscurrents, Your Call, and Up Front, but I secretly love Joe Burke's morning Almanac. His factoids inspire my morning Tweets!

The station has really grown to include so many aspects of Bay Area Life. I feel it offers a 360 view of the Bay.

New America Media is a must-listen for me, as well as This American Life and Selected Shorts. If my radio lost every other radio station I could stay sane with it tuned into KALW.

Had the opportunity to meet Holly Kiernan at a journalism conference last year and hear her speak. She was offering such a great overview of the journalism model. Great professionals who are encouraging citizens to participate in the media they consume. Awesome!

Great selection of bumper music, too.


SERVICE
Excellent. They offer a quality product for free. It ranges from the neighborhood perspective to the world wide view. And they limit their fundraising drives to twice a year.

RESTROOMS
I usually listen at home or in the car, so I can't review their rest rooms at this time.

SUGGESTION
I'd love for your broadcast area to reach into the 925 region! I feel like I step onto another planet when I go through the tunnel and lose the signal!

You can always offer more youth, education, and Oakland stories!

March 25, 2010
Thank you KALW for offering a greater focus on Education lately!

Another suggestion, if there is a way for you to broadcast the Oakland School Board meetings that would be amazing. I always find the San Francisco School Board meetings an amazing inside view of how decisions are made about how we educate our youth!