Enjoy Holiday Programming From KSUT
'Tis the season for old favorites and new classics. KSUT has a festive lineup of special holiday programming in December. Hear a variety of timeless storytelling, carols and Christmas Music Blends. Spend your holiday with the KSUT Family and lots of great radio.
Scroll down to learn more.
Sunday, December 18
11:00 a.m. - Living On Earth's Hope For the Holidays Special
Once a year Living on Earth takes a break from the news cycle and devotes an hour to stories of the season. This year: A trickster slave who outwits his master and a boy who discovers that he’s descended from an enemy tribe. The annual storytelling special also features tales from Celtic traditions, an African-American parable, and other stories centered on the theme of 'hope.'
12:00 p.m. - The Splendid Table's Homemade Holidays
It’s a team approach to holiday eating and entertaining this year when The Splendid Table joins forces with America’s Test Kitchen to simplify entertaining and the holiday kitchen. Lynne Rossetto Kasper, Bridget Lancaster, Jack Bishop and other America’s Test Kitchen personalities take it all on, whether you're cooking for two, or twenty. Join the team for foolproof ideas and recipes, gift guides for the eaters and cooks on your list and the perfect snack for Santa.
1:00 p.m. - Hungry for the Holidays with Julia Child
Everyone knows Julia Child loved to cook, but not everyone knows she loved to read. "A Christmas Carol is a lovely story to read over the holidays," she says, "because it has a happy ending." Peter Donat brings the story to life -- with sounds and music that stimulate the theatre of the mind. Next Julia introduces her old friend, legendary food writer M.F.K. Fisher.
4:00 p.m. - The Moth Radio Hour Holiday Special
The unexpected gifts of December: holiday customs, brand new traditions, flying cows, fruit, luminaries and a magical forest. Adam Ruben is at a loss when it comes to buying Christmas gifts. Ed McCarthy breaks into the house he grew up in to rescue a precious box of Christmas decorations. Denise Scheurmann has a terminally ill father but her neighbors don't forget to light her Christmas luminaries.
5:00 p.m. - Dinner Party Download Holiday Special
The Dinner Party Download is stuffed with holiday goodness. You'll hear: a Yuletide playlist; etiquette tips to save you from a work party snafu (or maybe create a memorable one?); a little-known chestnut of holiday history; conversations with special guests both nice and (delightfully) naughty; and lots more! Featuring good cheer, comic relief, and a tipple or two, the episode's a perfect companion to the hectic and happy holiday season.
Wednesday, December 21 (Winter Solstice):
7:00 p.m. - Paul Winter's 36th Annual Winter Solstice Celebration
Celebrate the return of the sun and the warming of the heart with Paul Winter's all-new Winter Solstice Celebration. On the darkest night of the year, we head back to New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine to hear The Paul Winter Consort and the glorious Cathedral Pipe Organ. The performance brings traditional holiday favorites and new sounds from around the world with special guests.
Friday, December 23:
10:00 p.m. - All Songs Considered For the Holidays
Bob’s had it with the holidays. He storms out of the studio and finds himself taking a Dickensian journey, with visits from some old friends including Carrie Brownstein, Dan Auerbach, Aimee Mann, Ben Folds, and more. And um, they will also play the usual unusual holiday songs.
Saturday December 24:
6:00 a.m. - A San Juan Christmas Eve Sunrise
Start Christmas Eve with a two-hour set of mellow holiday tunes. Turn up the radio, warm up some coffee and hot chocolate, and listen as host Stasia Lanier provides a little quiet music time in anticipation of the holiday's arrival.
1:00 p.m. - American Routes: A Sonic Season of Light & Evergreens
For Solstice to Christmas and Chanukah to Kwanzaa we’ll hear tunes and tales of of holidays and holy days that bring light to the darkness and greenery to the blues.
3:00 p.m. - Hanukkah Lights
A perennial NPR favorite with all new Hanukkah stories. Authors include R.L. Maizes with more authors. Hosted by Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz.
4:00 p.m. - A Prairie Home Companion Christmas
Garrison Keillor returns as host in this encore Prairie Home broadcast.
7:00 p.m. - Jonathan Winters' A Christmas Carol
A public radio tradition hosted by NPR's Susan Stamberg. Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of Dickens' holiday classic, with a special performing edition prepared by Dickens for his own presentations.
8:00 p.m. - St. Olaf Christmas Festival
A service in song and word that has become one of the nation’s most cherished holiday celebrations. Tickets to the event - which takes place at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN - are always gone months in advance. The festival includes hymns, carols, choral works, as well as orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity and featuring more than 500 student musicians in five choirs and the St. Olaf Orchestra.
10:00 p.m. KSUT's Christmas Eve Blend
Join KSUT for a special mix of holiday music. Our Christmas Eve Blend will feature lots of traditional favorites and instrumentals, suitable for the quietest night of the year.
Sunday December 25:
12:00 a.m. - KSUT Christmas Blend
We'll keep the holiday tunes running all night long. We sent Santa the link to our online stream, so he can listen along in the sleigh between deliveries.
6:00 a.m. - Welcome Christmas!
VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups, heralds Christmas Day with hour of traditional carols and new discoveries.
7:00 a.m. - A Chanticleer Christmas
This unique program of holiday music features a choral concert by Chanticleer. Hear why this superb 12-man ensemble is known as "an orchestra of voices," as they perform holiday classics and new favorites, with choral commentary by American Public Media host Brian Newhouse.
10:00 a.m. - Tinsel Tales 1
Stories from the NPR archives that touch on the meaning of Christmas. Scott Simon, David Sedaris, Bailey White, and other NPR voices past and present tell stories of the season.
11:00 a.m. - Tinsel Tales 2
Another collection of the best and most requested holiday stories. Joy, hope, and childhood memories overflow as NPR voices tell more stories of the season.
12:00 p.m. - Tinsel Tales 3
Nina Totenberg, Audie Cornish, Bailey White, Baxter Black and others share extraordinary Christmas stories that will transport you to unexpected places.
1:00 p.m. - KSUT Christmas Day Blend
The presents are unwrapped, dinner's on the way, and grandpa is snoring on the couch. Time for a few hours of festive tinsel tunes from the KSUT library! We'll spin a mix of traditional Christmas favorites and instrumentals; holiday jazz, R&B and blues; and seasonal songs from modern artists.
4:00 p.m. - Chris Stamey's Occasional Shivers
Hosted by Branford Marsalis, and with music, song and dialogue by longtime songwriter Chris Stamey, Occasional Shivers tells the story of two young lovers who meet at a pair of Christmas parties in 1960s Manhattan. The music is new, is written in the tradition of the Great American Songbook. Marshall Crenshaw, Don Dixon and others are joined by jazz guitarist Bill Frisell and an all-star cast for what is sure to become the next sentimental holiday classic.
5:00 p.m. - Festivo Alt.Latino
NPR Music's Alt.Latino presents an encore broadcast of this holiday special, featuring the 20-piece choral ensemble Coral Cantigas. The performance also includes stories about various holiday traditions and cultures. Hear a traditional Peruvian Christmas Carol, folk music from Brazil, Spain, and Mexico, plus Parrandas from Venezuela and Puerto Rico. The many rich styles of Latino choral music will unite listeners through the joyful and transformative power of music. Hosted by Felix Contreras.