WCBE FM 90.5

Located on the Fort Hayes campus, the WCBE logo on the building and the WCBE designated parking gives a visitor indication of which building their offices are located in.
I never made it past the reception desk but I was greeted promptly upon entering the lobby. I was there to drop off some promotional material so I didn’t need to go anywhere else in the building.

What can I say? I was an intern at WCBE for 6 months, and volunteered for a good while after that. My life is pretty out of control right now so I haven’t been able to stop in for a long time, but I dearly miss the station.
There are only something like 8 people at the station on average, and it’s such a good bunch bringing you the best radio programming in Columbus. They pour their heart and souls into their work. Dan Mushalko is always there, and he always makes a big deal at the end of the day about how his wife will kill him if he doesn’t leave. He’s so dedicated to the station. They also get some donated food from here and there and when you volunteer for a fund drive, you are well fed.
As far as the station itself is concerned, I believe it has to be a magnitude better than WOSU. WCBE plays all the standard NPR stuff that you can get on either station — morning edition, all things considered, fresh air, marketplace, as well as car talk and wait, wait, don’t tell me on weekends.
However, WCBE doesn’t only play news. They have an amazing music lineup. Ante Meridian and The Global Village get you through most of the day until the NPR programming picks back up in the evening. Then at 8 they have my favorite radio show, The World Café. This is a syndicated show, but not carried elsewhere in the city. David Dye has some of the best guests, from classic artists like Jeff Beck to newcomers (relatively speaking) like Columbus’s own RJD2.
After that is Echoes, which plays… soundscapes. Mostly spacey electronic stuff, but really, anything that fits the bill.
Now, and this might be news to some of you! On Saturday nights from 10pm until 1am, WCBE plays Columbus’s only REAL dance/​electronic show, All Mixed Up!!! Hosted by Michael Swaggerty, All Mixed Up features 3 hours of the newest house music. The last hour is almost always a guest set by local DJ, James Brown. Mike is an awesome guy, and he’s been spinning for over 30 years!!!
I’ve always called All Mixed Up «Saturday Night Dance Party.» Well, that phrase was made even more accurate when WCBE added Shakin’ It. It occupies the two hours preceeding All Mixed Up and features any kind of music, new or old, that is rockin’ and shakin’.
They also offer A Prairie Home Companion and Whadd’ya Know? to great weekend shows, as well as Afropop Worldwide, which features all kinds of African and Afro-​Cuban music. It can be hit or miss, but when it’s good, it’s amazing.
Hands down the best station in Columbus, and truly deserving of your support. CD101 is the only thing that comes close, but after a few weeks on WCBE, you’ll convert.

There are other stations that I listen to when I have to listen to the radio, sure, but in the thick of things, this is the best station in Columbus, period. A friend of mine once referred to NPR as a «god-​damned waste of tax payers’ money,» and considering how often I listen to WCBE, I couldn’t disagree with him more.
First of all, I love the BBC World Service. It’s a great source of international news and when WCBE airs it at midnight, you’re getting the news of the day at an unbelievably early hour: the headlines from London at 5am. Love.
I could go on about individual programming blocks on this station: from the NPR syndicated shows to the local musical hours, it’s all good. Of course sometimes you can’t help that NPR is airing two people talking about something you could care less about, so it’s not the only station I listen to. So be it– I’m still in love.
It’s an outrage that the largest campus in the university doesn’t have a student radio station, but WCBE’s music shows are a close approximation of some of what you’d expect from college radio. Thanks for kind of filling the gap, WCBE!

As an alternative to WOSU, this station works pretty well. It carries all the standard NPR fare — Morning Edition, All Things Considered, BBC News Hour and Car Talk among others. This duplicates the programming on WOSU at times. WCBE localizes the news a bit by throwing in traffic and weather reports which are conspicuously absent on WOSU.
As a mixed news and music station, WCBE also serves up some of the only adult alternative on the Columbus airwaves. Feist and Goldfrapp share airtime with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Tom Waits.
WCBE is a must-​listen in Columbus.

Central Ohio’s NPR station has all the syndicated shows you expect, plus music broadcast in the «adult alternative» format from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. This is a very wide range of music: on a recent show I heard DJ Shadow, Linda Thompson, and the Weakerthans. Since Columbus lost college radio several years ago, WCBE has been the radio home of interesting, eclectic music.