Atlanta public media powerhouse WABE is revamping its television and radio schedules to better serve and engage Atlanta’s audience with more voices, perspectives, and locally-focused content. On television, that means a move to partial PBS programming to allow WABE to provide Atlanta audiences with more original and locally produced video content via WABE TV (PBS-30). WABE’s NPR affiliate radio station, WABE 90.1 FM, is enhancing its lineup across all dayparts with optimized scheduling and compelling new shows. The updates underscore WABE’s commitment to delivering the best national and Atlanta-focused programming and experiences across multiple platforms.
“These changes allow us to live up to our promise of ‘Amplifying Atlanta’ by curating a unique mix of local stories and voices that capture the vibrant arts, culture, and community narratives you can’t find elsewhere,” says WABE Pres/CEO Jennifer Dorian. “It’s public media reimagined to be a distinctive voice for our dynamic city.”
Beginning July 1, fans of WABE TV will find a mix of acclaimed PBS shows alongside more local productions on PBS-30 or streaming on wabe.org, WABE Mobile App, Hulu + Live, YouTube TV, and other streamers. To fill that pipeline, WABE will continue to produce original programs such as Sounds Like ATL, Atlanta on Film, (re)Defining History, and My Money Mentors through its WABE Studios-Video arm while partnering with local arts and cultural institutions, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Opera, and High Museum of Art, to license Atlanta-centric cultural content for broadcast. The station will continue to air PBS mainstays PBS Newshour, BBC Newshour, Great Performances, Finding Your Roots, and Nova. New shows premiering this summer/fall on WABE TV include:
Closer Look Coffee Conversations: Rose Scott takes her popular weekday civic affairs radio show into the community to hear the issues that matter most to Atlanta neighborhoods.
Black In The Garden: At the intersection of horticulture and Black culture, host Colah B Tawkin brings her acclaimed podcast, exploring issues impacting Black communities and Mother Earth, to video.
Montgomery & Company: WNBA Champion and part-owner of the Atlanta Dream, Renee Montgomery, is coming to WABE TV to discuss family, sports, culture, and fun with guests across sports, business, and entertainment.
WABE Time Capsule: A collection of shows from 40 years of WABE’s archives, capturing snapshots of Atlanta’s recent history, neighborhoods, issues, and culture.
Saving the Chattahoochee: A film by Atlanta filmmaker Hal Jacobs chronicling the story of the Atlanta women who defended the Chattahoochee River over five decades.
No Ordinary Life: Atlanta documentarian Heather O’Neill celebrates the careers and courage of five pioneering female photojournalists who braved the frontlines of war.
WABE Night at the Arts: A weekly series featuring performances and behind-the-scenes content from Atlanta’s cultural institutions.
Primetime hours on WABE TV (8-11 p.m.) will be reimagined nightly with thematic blocks like Local History & Culture on Mondays, Arts & Performance on Wednesdays, and BBC Mysteries on Fridays. While some popular PBS shows such as PBS Masterpiece, Frontline, Antiques Roadshow, and Nature will shift to streaming on WABE Passport only, WABE TV remains committed to airing trusted news sources like PBS NewsHour.
On the radio side, WABE’s 90.1-FM is adding ten new programs, bringing more perspectives on themes like world news, business/economy, science/health, and society/culture starting July 29. Midday hours (10 a.m.–2 p.m.) are being reimagined with a new sequence featuring On Point at 11 a.m., Closer Look With Rose Scott at noon, and City Lights With Lois Reitzes at 1 p.m., leading into Fresh Air at 2 p.m. on weekdays. The long-running international news magazine The World debuts on weeknights at 7 p.m. The evening rebroadcasts of Closer Look and City Lights move to 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively.
Friday afternoons on WABE 90.1 will now focus on health and science programming, starting with the debut of Health Wanted with Laurel Bristow at 1 p.m. This new weekly show exploring developments in public health is produced by WABE in partnership with the Rollins School of Public Health. Following Health Wanted is the popular Science Friday hosted by Ira Flatow at 2 p.m.
Weekends on WABE 90.1 are expanding with programs such as Throughline (Sat, 1 p.m.), No Small Endeavor (Sun, 7 a.m.), and a Planet Money/How I Built This block (Sun, 11 a.m.), before the live call-in program Notes From America debuts at 6 p.m. Sundays.
In addition, WABE Studios has been building an impressive slate of original podcast content, with more than 25 shows in development and production for the WABE/NPR Podcast Network.
