KQED Public Radio's main coverage areas are the San Francisco Bay Area, where you can tune in to KQED at 88.5FM, and the Sacramento area, where you can tune in to KQEI at 89.3FM..
KQED has two translators: 88.3FM in Santa Rosa and 88.1FM in Martinez. Try these frequencies in these areas.
You can listen online to our live stream from anywhere in the world.
You can also listen to two syndicated KQED programs on public radio stations around the state and across the country.
The live stream is the online equivalent of our on-air broadcast. It is a live, continuous "stream" of digital audio that can be accessed online through the Internet. The live stream is simultaneous with our on-air broadcast. For the most part, the online stream is identical to our on-air broadcast. (There are a few programs that we cannot stream online.)
What programs are available in the KQED Radio Archives?
Seven KQED-produced programs are currently being archived on a regular basis. The links below will take you directly to the programs' archive pages:
Forum -- twice-daily; available from October 1, 2001 The California Report -- daily Mon-Fri and weekly for the 30-minute Friday magazine; available from November 1, 2001 Health Dialogues -- monthly; available from January 2002 KQED Radio News -- daily; available from October 2002 Perspectives -- weekly; available from September 2002 QUEST Radio -- weekly; available from February 2002 The Do List -- weekly; available from April 2008
Are audio archives available for other programs that I hear on KQED?
Yes, you can find archives of many programs from
National Public Radio and Public Radio International. There is not one combined archive for all public
radio programs, but we've done our best to gather links to many of the most popular programs with
audio archives to help you find what you're looking
for.
You can listen online to KQED Radio's live stream using Real Media Player, QuickTime,
Windows Media Player, WinAmp, iTunes or a variety of other players. We recently simplified
our "listen live" feature by eliminating the KQED player pop-up. You still get to the stream the same way,
by clicking on the "listen live" button, but the button now takes you to a new page. This page
lists links which now launch the stream directly inside the various player applications
instead of inside a KQED pop-up. This saves you the trouble of customizing your pop-up blocker
or cookie preferences. This new page also gives you many more player options for listening
to the live stream along with stream status reports and detailed troubleshooting tips. Visit the new
listen live page to see for yourself.
You can listen to the KQED Radio Archives using Real Media Player. Look for the speaker
icon and links that say "Listen." When you click on one of these links, it will open up
a small window that will play the audio file and display information on the audio clip.
If the clip doesn't play from this window, look for a link that says "No audio? Click
here." You may have to scroll down to see it.
What kind of hardware and software do I need to listen online?
Hardware: You need a computer with a sound card and either speakers or headphones.
Software: You'll need Real Player for the audio archives and for the live stream you can use Real Player, Windows Media Player or QuickTime, all of which are available for free and can be downloaded online.
Some programs can't be streamed online due to licensing or copyright restrictions and are replaced in the online stream with BBC World Service. These programs are:
Washington Week Wall Street Week Selected Shorts NPR Playhouse
A podcast is a downloadable audio file that can be delivered automatically to your computer. You can play the file whenever you like from your hard drive, or transfer it to an iPod or other portable audio player and listen wherever you like.
To get podcasts, you will first have to get podcasting software. There are a number of options, many of which are free. Here are some of the more popular options:
Once you have installed the podcast software, you will need to set up subscriptions to the feeds that you would like to receive. With most software, you will select "Add a New Feed," then paste in the URL of the podcast feed.
How are the podcasts different from the audio archives?
There are two main differences:
1. When you get a podcast, you download the audio file to your computer. You do not have to be connected to the Internet to listen to the file. This allows you to transfer it to a portable audio player and listen whenever and wherever you like. In contrast, when you listen to a file in our audio archives, you are playing the file from our server. You do not actually download the file. This means that you have to be connected to the Internet when you want to listen to the file, and you cannot transfer it to a portable audio player.
2. Podcasts use a protocol called RSS that allows you to "subscribe" to a particular program, so that you can receive new installments automatically. In contrast, you have to visit our site each time you want to find a new installment in our audio archives.
You
can find out what programs are coming up by looking
at our Weekly Schedule. See the
Radio Programs page for specifics (topics, stories,
guests) on particular programs. On the Radio Programs
page, you can click on the name of any program to
visit the program's web site.
The programs on KQED Radio come from a number of sources:
KQED - KQED Public Radio produces six regular programs here in our San Francisco studio, and also co-produces and presents some Bay Area programs. NPR - Many of the national programs on KQED come from NPR, a national production and distribution network. PRI - KQED broadcasts several programs from PRI, a national distribution network. These programs are produced at different public radio stations around the country, then distributed to KQED by PRI. PBS - KQED Radio broadcasts the audio from some PBS programs, including the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
Independent Productions - Some programs on KQED are independently produced by public radio stations or nonprofit organizations.
KQED produces: KQED Radio News - Local Bay Area news, broadcast weekdays in brief segments during Morning Edition and throughout the day. The California Report - Statewide news and public affairs commentary. Includes 8-minute segments broadcast weekday mornings and a half-hour newsmagazine broadcast Friday afternoons. Carried by public radio stations around California. Forum - Live call-in talk show, broadcast daily in two one-hour segments. Perspectives - Public affairs commentary by community members, broadcast daily during Morning Edition and Weekend Edition. QUEST Radio - Weekly program focusing on the people behind the science and environmental issues that are changing the way we live. The Do List - Discusses the hottest tickets and must-see shows in Northern California. Airs Fridays at 6:30am and 8:30am.
NPR (National Public Radio) is a nonprofit company that produces and distributes public radio programming. Many NPR programs (including Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered) are produced at NPR's headquarters in Washington, DC. Other NPR programs (including Fresh Air and Car Talk) are produced at public radio stations around the country and are then distributed by NPR. NPR News also maintains bureaus and correspondents around the world.
All Things Considered
Car Talk
Fresh Air with Terry Gross
Latino USA
Living on Earth
Morning Edition
National Press Club
NPR Playhouse
On the Media
Says You!
Selected Shorts
Talk of the Nation
Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me
Weekend All Things Considered
Weekend Edition - Saturday
Weekend Edition - Sunday
PRI (Public Radio International) is a distribution network for public radio programming. PRI distributes programs produced by public radio stations around the country. PRI is associated with Minnesota Public Radio, a network that produces many of the programs distributed by PRI.
The BBC is the British Broadcasting Corporation. KQED Radio airs BBC World Service, the BBC's worldwide news program. The program is broadcast from London in 43 languages, and is distributed in the U.S. by PRI.
How can I get a tape, CD or transcript of a program?
You can order tapes or CDs of KQED programs by sending a check along with the name, date and time of the program you'd like. See our Tapes and CDs page for prices and mailing addresses. KQED does not offer written transcripts.
Please see KQED's job page for information on current openings and the application process.
Several KQED Radio programs also accept interns. See KQED's internship page for more information.
How can I submit events for the community calendar?
KQED's on-air announcers regularly read listings for upcoming arts and cultural events in the Bay Area. Please see the Community Calendar Submissions page for more information.
find answers to...
radio FAQ
tuning in
about KQED
back to top
