WAMU 88.5FM American University Radio

WAMU's Bluegrass Country host Dick Spottswood celebrates 25 years on-air

Dick Spottswood celebrates his 25th anniversary this month as host of The Dick Spottswood Show, which airs on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country (BGC). The show, casually known to fans as the “Obsolete Music Hour,” highlights the many facets of folk culture in the United States during its two hours, largely concentrating on music from the 1920’s through 1950’s.

WAMU 88.5's newsroom wins four Public Radio News Directors, Inc. (PRNDI) awards

WAMU announced that Public Radio News Directors, Inc. (PRNDI) has honored WAMU 88.5 with four awards at its annual banquet which took place June 26, 2010, including first place in the Breaking News category for the "Metro Crash" team coverage and first place in the Use of Sound category for Rebecca Sheir's "J Street, Traffic Circles, and the Swamp that Never Was."

WAMU 88.5 launches 88.3 FM on Delmarva Peninsula

WAMU 88.5 announced the launch of WRAU 88.3 FM,"NPR news and information on the Delmarva Peninsula." The station will be known on-air as "Eighty-eight three Ocean City," and its program schedule will largely mirror the current WAMU 88.5 schedule, including the WAMU-produced, Peabody award-winning The Diane Rehm Show. 88.3 Ocean City is also slated to include local news, traffic, and weather.

WAMU's Bluegrass Country ranks in May Arbitron© report

WAMU’s Bluegrass Country (BGC) is the second HD Radio® multicast station in the nation to place in an Arbitron© monthly report, ranking 47th overall for the month of the May 2010 in the competitive Washington market. BGC is the first Washington multicast channel to rank in a monthly report (May 2010, Washington, 6+ PPM, M-Su 6A-12M, © Arbitron Inc.).

The Kojo Nnamdi Show wins James Beard Foundation Award

WAMU 88.5's The Kojo Nnamdi Show was honored with a James Beard Foundation Award for "Best Audio Webcast or Radio Show" at the 2010 James Beard Awards in New York City for the show's focus on food segments. The James Beard Awards are the highest honors for food and beverage professionals in America.

WAMU 88.5 increases digital power signal fourfold

WAMU 88.5 announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved a digital power increase from 170 watts to 680 watts for its HD channels -- the flagship frequency at 88.5–1; WAMU's Bluegrass Country, at 88.5–2; and WAMU–3, at 88.5–3, a news and information station featuring international coverage from the BBC. This power is now four times the power than when WAMU started broadcasting digitally in May 2004.

WAMU 88.5's Diane Rehm wins Peabody Award

WAMU 88.5 and NPR's Diane Rehm has won a coveted George Foster Peabody Award. The award honors Diane Rehm's more than 30 years in public broadcasting as host of The Diane Rehm Show, heard by more than 2.1 million listeners weekly. The 69th Annual George Foster Peabody Award winners were announced this morning via webcast.

WAMU 88.5's general manager Caryn Mathes named in Radio Ink's "Most Influential African-Americans in Radio" issue

WAMU 88.5 announced today that Caryn Mathes, WAMU 88.5's general manager, has been named One to Watch in Radio Ink's "Most Influential African Americans in Radio" issue. Mathes is among ten people named to the "Ones to Watch" list by the industry trade publication, and the only person from public radio to be recognized.

The Diane Rehm Show wins Shorty Award in News

WAMU 88.5’s The Diane Rehm Show (@drshow) has won a Shorty Award in the #news category, besting five other finalists to win the category. The 2nd Annual Shorty Awards, which took place 7:30 p.m., March 3, in New York City, honor the best producers of short, real-time content on Twitter, a social networking and micro-blogging utility.

Summer Gardening...and Watering Without Waste

When you're slogging through one of those suffocating summer days in the District it can start to feel as if the season will never end. David Furst speaks with Kathy Jentz, editor and publisher of Washington Gardner Magazine - she joins us to help our gardens survive the heat.