World Cafe

INTERVIEW: The Music Of Heated Rivalry For the first episode of BLEACHED: The Podcast Season three, I have sat down with four artists I discovered through the Heated Rivalry soundtrack who I genuinely loved including Wolf Parade, Cailin…

Dan Boeckner of @wolfparade.bsky.social chats about their Heated Rivalry placement with BLEACHED bleachedistheword.com/2026/01/28/i...

In Baltimore, a volunteer-run theater company embraces rock, gore and excess : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast The Baltimore Rock Opera Society creates original productions powered by DIY spectacle and a love of the unconventional.

Our Sense of Place: Baltimore travels have connected Cafe host @rahrahraina.bsky.social w/ the amazing Baltimore Rock Opera Society (BROS). Raina talked with Patrick Staso of BROS about the volunteer-driven theater company & their creative and unconventional productions.

www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...

What does Baltimore sound like? : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast The World Cafe team heads to Charm City for our latest Sense of Place series.

We went to Baltimore for our recent Sense of Place series. Of the stops we made, we connected with Izzy Bavis, who covers the local music Baltimore music scene on WTMD. Izzy talked with Cafe host @rahrahraina.bsky.social about some emerging bands that you need to hear.
www.npr.org/2026/01/27/n...

thank you for listening.

YouTube video by World Cafe The Format on World Cafe | Studio Session & Interview

After 20 years, The Format have returned. Nate Ruess and Sam Means join Cafe host @rahrahraina.bsky.social in the studio to perform live and to talk about returning to a guitar-forward sound on their new lp, Boycott Heaven.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFUV...

And thank you @annemurrayofficial.bsky.social for sharing your stories and songs with us!

17 years after retiring, Canadian icon Anne Murray returns with new music : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast The country star breathes new life into long-forgotten recordings on Here You Are.

interviewed @annemurrayofficial.bsky.social for @worldcafe.bsky.social and it was SO NICE www.npr.org/2026/01/20/n...

17 years after retiring, Canadian icon Anne Murray returns with new music : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast The country star breathes new life into long-forgotten recordings on Here You Are.

Canadian legend Anne Murray has released her first new music since retiring 17 years ago by opening the vaults to some of her previously unreleased songs. Cafe host @rahrahraina.bsky.social catches up with the multiple Juno & Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter.
www.npr.org/2026/01/20/n...

How Big Thief found a kindred soul in Tucker Zimmerman : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast Zimmerman, who has been recording since the 60s, made his latest album, Dance of Love, with the indie folk band.

We're saddened to hear the news over the weekend that Tucker Zimmerman and his wife Marie-Claire passed away. About a year ago, Cafe host @rahrahraina.bsky.social talked with Tucker and Buck Meek about the record, Dance Of Love, Tucker made with Big Thief.
www.npr.org/2025/01/10/1...

Blue Mitchell's "March on Selma" uplifts our MLK Day soundtrack Blue Mitchell's "March on Selma," released in 1966, celebrates a turning point the Civil Rights Movement. It will be featured in our jazz programming for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Jan. 19.

Read Nate Chinen’s WRTI feature on Blue Mitchell’s “March On Selma” in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day! www.wrti.org/wrti-spotlig...

'It's a very Irish thing': CMAT on why making country pop felt inevitable : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast On Euro-Country, the Dublin-born artist draws on country music’s knack for storytelling to revisit her memories of Ireland’s economic crash in the 2000s.

One of our favorite albums from last year was CMAT's Euro-Country. @cmatbaby.bsky.social talks about the album with Cafe host @rahrahraina.bsky.social.

www.npr.org/2026/01/16/n...

The unsung classic that helped define hip-hop's golden age : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast World Cafe correspondent John Morrison joins us to talk about why the East Coast rap group Main Source deserves a spot as one of the best hip-hop groups of the '90s.

Cafe host @rahrahraina.bsky.social talks with John Morrison about a golden age of hip-hop classic album by Main Source. www.npr.org/2026/01/13/n...

Jazz obsession fuels Hether’s genre-bending album, 'Holy Water' : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast Guitarist and producer Paul Castelluzzo channels jazz foundations and years of pop studio work into Holy Water.

Paul Castelluzzo, who performs as Hether, performs live and talks with the Cafe's @kallao.bsky.social about his recent album, Holy Water. www.npr.org/2026/01/12/n...

Playing Grateful Dead songs with Bob Weir: Don Was remembers The Grammy winner and Blue Note label head recalls the unique challenges and rewards he faced when the late Bob Weir recruited him for an intimate new project in 2018.

The Grammy winner and Blue Note label head recalls the unique challenges and rewards he faced when the late Bob Weir recruited him for an intimate new project in 2018. n.pr/3NFR9VC

The song Josh Ritter was nervous to share and more stories from his catalog : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast The singer-songwriter joins World Cafe for a new installment of Backtracking, where musicians revisit songs from their back catalog that have shaped their careers.

We asked a long time friend of the Cafe, Josh Ritter, to look back through his catalogue for the latest episode of Backtracking. Josh joins the Cafe's @kallao.bsky.social studio to share some stories and songs.
www.npr.org/2026/01/09/n...

Tomorrow is the day. Trupa Trupa will appear on @worldcafe.bsky.social, America’s most popular public radio music show. Thank you @rahrahraina.bsky.social for having us 🖤

YouTube video by World Cafe Couch on World Cafe | Studio Session & Interview

If you are not familiar with them, meet Couch. The band join the Cafe's @kallao.bsky.social for an interview and a special outtasite in studio session. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R7-...

YouTube video by IronandWine Iron & Wine - In Your Ocean (Official Music Video)

The new music floodgates have opened and we're excited to share this new song from Iron & Wine, "In Your Ocean."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y5G...

Tune in to a Sharon Van Etten mini-concert : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast Listen to Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory perform at the 2025 XPoNential Music Festival.

Last September, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory performed at WXPN's XPoNential Music Festival. Listen to highlights from the show for a special mini-concert. www.npr.org/2026/01/06/n...

Peter Frampton On World Cafe Hear the English rocker unplug and perform songs from his new album, Acoustic Classics.

It's 50 years to this day that Peter Frampton released the now classic double live album, Frampton Comes Alive. Here's our interview with Peter from 2016, playing acoustic versions of songs from the live lp, and talking about the success of the album. www.npr.org/sections/wor...

KIRBY’s Mississippi roots echo through 'Miss Black America' : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast Kirby Lauryen Dockery has written for stars like Rihanna and Beyoncé, but her latest album centers her own creative legacy.

Cafe host @rahrahraina.bsky.social chats with KIRBY about her recent album, Miss Black America and delivers some powerful in-studio performances from the lp.

www.npr.org/2026/01/05/n...

Thanks for listening and happy new year!

I mean, there could not have been a more perfect ending to your wonderful year of programming than Matt Farley’s live performance of "People Like Raina Douris Because She's Great!" Thanks for bringing us so much great music in 2025, @rahrahraina.bsky.social, and best wishes for the year ahead!

Deftones bet against Y2K nostalgia. The move paid off on 'private music' : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast Frontman Chino Moreno says the alternative rock band has defied expectations at every turn. Their Grammy-nominated 10th studio album is no different.

Cafe host @rahrahraina.bsky.social talks with Chino Moreno, the frontman for the Deftones about their new Grammy nominated rock album, private music, and other highlights of the band's 30+ year career.

www.npr.org/2026/01/02/n...

YouTube video by World Cafe Ringo Starr on World Cafe

We've done several hundred interviews and sessions this year and one of our favorites was with legend Ringo Starr. Ring in the new year with a listen to Ringo's interview with Cafe host @rahrahraina.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4v_...

50 albums in, Herb Alpert rarely looks at the past : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast The trumpeter, record producer and visual artist tells stories from his time at A&R Records, working with the Carpenters and his latest album, 50.

It might almost be 2026, however we started January 2025 off with one of our favorite interviews of the year, with the legend Herb Albert. The Cafe's @kallao.bsky.social talked w/ Herb about his 50th album and his days at A&M Records, which he co-founded. www.npr.org/2025/01/03/1...

How Hannah Cohen found a muse in the Catskill Mountains : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast The singer-songwriter talks about her latest record, Earthstar Mountain.

Some of our favorite sessions and interviews from the past year included our conversation with Hannah Cohen and the Cafe's @kallao.bsky.social. Hannah's album Earthstar Mountain is one of the best albums of the year. www.npr.org/2025/05/27/1...

Why is Perfume Genius obsessed with demented things? Mike Hadreas, of Perfume Genius, talks about his latest album, Glory, and he performs in an exclusive set for World Cafe.

Looking back on some of our favorite interviews and sessions from the year, here's Perfume Genius, who chatted w/ Cafe host @rahrahraina.bsky.social about his latest album, Glory, and performed an exclusive set of songs.

www.npr.org/sections/wor...

Happy holidays from Old Crow Medicine Show : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast The Americana band join us to talk about their first-ever holiday album, OCMS Xmas.

Happy holidays from Old Crow Medicine Show. Ketch Secor and Cory Younts talk about why they wanted to make their first Christmas album 25 years, reinterpreting some classics and writing new, original songs.
www.npr.org/2025/12/25/n...

Jake Shimabukuro rings in the holidays with 'Tis The Season' : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast The Hawaiian ukulele marvel is joined by Yo-Yo Ma and Michael McDonald on his new holiday album, Tis The Season.

Happy holidays from all of us! For the first of a couple special holidays shows, we're happy to have Jake Shimabukuro join the Cafe's @kallao.bsky.social to talk about Jake's new holiday album.

www.npr.org/2025/12/24/n...