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Comment by galleywest200 | Hacker News Reader

Check out a listener-powered station such as KEXP at 90.3 (Seattle) or 92.7 (SF/Oakland). If you live outside of these regions they stream at KEXP.org or on their mobile app. You can also listen to the last two weeks of shows at https://www.kexp.org/archive/.

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While I’m a long time fan of KEXP and KCRW, I just can’t say enough good things about KYRS. It’s a local broadcaster with dozens of eclectic shows by volunteer DJs who lovingly curate music and content. It’s broadcast out of our central library downtown and has a rather unreliable radio tower that had a tendency to go down during big storms. The programming is brimming with enthusiasm and positive energy, and has helped me discover music that simple wouldn’t get played anywhere else. I love how human the DJs are, they sometimes ramble, or miscue a track, maybe wander a bit far from the mic. It feels completely organic and in stark contrast with your average media in 2024. Check out their stream on https://kyrs.org

Yep, still going strong here in Rochester, NY as well with WBER: https://wber.org

I've listened to plenty of listener powered stations. They don't have ads. Just weeks of effectively ads when they are begging for donations. I'd rather have an ad.

Plus every listener powered station I've ever listened to has tons of shows I don't care about or even tolerate. Streaming doesn't have the same issue. Just as an example: your KEXP appears to play country, jazz, and electronic, reggae, and metal. I think a lot of people aren't going to be interested in all of those options.

I listen to KUTX and KEXP and appreciate that there are shows hosted by different DJs that play different genres at different times of the day, and week.

On Friday afternoons KUTX has had a old school dance show.

I don't really listen to funk or disco but I always enjoyed the energy of that show on Fridays, and have come to associate it with the weekend and get excited when it's on

I'm not interested in everything KUTX plays, but I'm way more interested in the variety they offer and the chance to discover new artists like Adrian Quesada, JUNGLE, or Khruangbin, who I otherwise never would have discovered, than I am in whatever twenty year old mainstream dreck is on iHeartRadio's single-genre no DJ shuffle broadcast

> I don't really listen to funk or disco but I always enjoyed the energy of that show on Fridays, and have come to associate it with the weekend and get excited when it's on

I had the same experience when I regularly listened to wfmu. The human connection is a really wonderful quality of broadcast radio.

Also Seattle interestingly, C89.5 has a great live stream. No commercials, owned by Seattle Public Schools, and partially run by high school students.

Also WWOZ (https://wwoz.org/) from New Orleans.

Did not know that KEXP had an Oakland repeater. It would be nice if we could get one in the Portland area.

In the same vein, listener-supported WFMU.

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