MPR News Announces Weekend Schedule Changes

Jan 10, 2013

MPR News today announced changes to its weekend radio schedule that will begin Saturday, Jan. 19. Listeners will hear fewer repeats and several new programs. A few old favorites will have new start times. "This is a fun mix-- fresh, original and innovative public radio," said Chris Worthington, managing director for MPR News. "The new programs, paired with our audience favorites like A Prairie Home Companion and Wait Wait ...Don't Tell Me, will provide great weekend entertainment programming."

On Saturdays, RadioLab, the little show about big ideas, moves to 2 p.m. Then, get ready for your Saturday night with The Dinner Party at 3 p.m., an hour-long celebration of culture, food, and conversation designed to help you dazzle your friends at this weekend's get-together. Following A Prairie Home Companion, listeners can tune in for the new quiz show Ask Me Another at 7 p.m. Saturday evening arts and culture programming continues at 8 p.m. with the hit variety show Wits, arts and pop culture happenings with Studio 360 at 9 p.m., and arts/culture from a British perspective at 10 p.m. with The Strand from the BBC World Service.

Sunday morning at 10 a.m., have brunch with Lynne Rosetto Kasper and The Splendid Table at a new time. There's also a fresh lineup on Sunday night. At 6 p.m., the best of TED Talks come to the air with the TED Radio Hour, followed by On Being with Krista Tippett at 7 p.m. Then, stay tuned for Sunday night storytelling with audience favorite This American Life at 8 p.m., followed by two new acclaimed shows, Snap Judgment at 9 p.m., and The Moth at 10 p.m.

MPR News wants to hear what you think of our new weekend lineup. Email us at mail@mpr.org or join the conversation on the Minnesota Public Radio Facebook page.

About the new shows

The Dinner Party, airs Saturdays at 3 p.m. An hour-long celebration of culture, food, and conversation designed to help you dazzle your friends at this weekend's get-together. In every episode you'll learn a joke, meet an artist of note (say, Spike Lee or Willie Nelson), and learn the answers to your burning etiquette questions.

Ask Me Another, airs Saturdays at 7 p.m. Ask Me Another is a lively hour of puzzles, word games, and trivia played in front of (and with) a live audience. It's like Weekend Edition Sunday's Puzzle Segment meets Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me.

Wits, airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. Wits brings world-class comedians, actors and musicians to the stage of St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theater. Hosted by public radio veteran John Moe, Wits mixes improv, sketch comedy, conversation, music and genuine beauty in a program praised as "one of the rare public radio comedy shows that's actually funny" (Huffington Post).

Studio 360, airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. This Peabody Award-winning show is public radio's smart and surprising guide to what's happening in pop culture and the arts. Each week, Kurt Andersen introduces you to the people who are creating and shaping our culture.

The Strand, airs Saturdays at 10 p.m. The Strand highlights the best of what's going in the arts from a British point of view. Wide-ranging and with eclectic interests , it features discussions, reviews, big-name interviews and reports as well as live studio performances and Hollywood gossip.

The TED Radio Hour, airs Sundays at 6 p.m. The TED Radio Hour offers a fresh step back from the frenetic pace of news. And, for the most part, it's hopeful: astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, new ways to teach and learn.

Snap Judgment, airs Sundays at 9 p.m. Snap Judgment tells intriguing stories about extraordinary and defining events in people's lives. The program's raw, intimate, and musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see a sliver of the world through another's eye.

Tune in: These programs can be heard weekends on all MPR News stations, including 91.1 FM in the Twin Cities and online. For a complete schedule of MPR News programming, visit mprnews.org.