It's the most wonderful time of the year! The chilly days and nights call for a cozy fire, as we're snuggled up with a warm bev while watching a holiday movie or listening to our favorite holiday tunes! And this year, as ever, Public Radio Tulsa helps to bring the holiday cheer to you and yours with special programming.
Throughout the holiday season -- on both of Public Radio Tulsa's broadcast stations -- we'll share a festive array of music-driven and storytelling-based programs. These shows are certain to enrich and enliven your experience of the holidays. So, please take note...and tune in...and happy holidays to all!
2025 HOLIDAY PROGRAMMING GUIDE
PUBLIC RADIO 89.5 KWGS-FM
Hanukkah Lights 2025
Thursday, December 11 at Noon & Friday, December 12 at 8pm
The Festival of Lights commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, the lighting of the menorah, and the spiritual strength of the Jewish people. This special broadcast, a longtime NPR favorite, will present wonderful Hanukkah Lights stories from years past. It's hosted by the legendary Susan Stamberg, who died earlier this year, and WAMU's Murray Horwitz.
Tinsel Tales: NPR Christmas Favorites
Thursday, December 18 at Noon
This beloved program offers narratives from the NPR archives concerning the real meaning of Christmas. You'll hear David Sedaris, Bailey White, John Henry Faulk, Scott Simon, and other NPR voices (both past and present) sharing beautiful stories of the season.
The Hidden Sixties Holiday Special
Friday, December 19 at 8pm
Dig the ever-popular Hidden Sixties Holiday Special! An hour of seasonal music that you haven't heard since the 1960s, if you've heard it at all, as presented by Scott (ALL THIS JAZZ) Gregory and John (SWING ON THIS) Wooley. Join us...as we run the gamut from Jimi Hendrix to Jackie Gleason to...well..Who Knows Who Else? Pour a potent proverbial "spike" into that radio-listening punch this holiday season, people!
Swing On This: The Holiday Show
Saturday, December 20 at 7pm
This year's holiday episode of SWING ON THIS includes not only yuletide Western Swing numbers from various decades, but also, per tradition, songs from Tulsa artists both famous and less-familiar. If things work out right, the program will begin with a very rare cut from Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys...a track that's never before been shared in the 22-plus years that SOT has been on the air! In fact, thanks to a listener from England, host John Wooley only recently learned of its existence!
Vince Guaraldi's Christmas Gift to Jazz
Saturday, December 20 at 9pm
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" -- the animated TV classic that everyone knows and loves -- first aird on CBS sixty years ago, in December of 1965. Now comes a new program from Chicago's WFMT celebrating the warm-hearted, wonderfully-made music that's at the heart of this family favorite. Host Jana Lee Ross shares interpretations of Vince Guaraldi's classic score by Cyrus Chestnut, Dianne Reeves, and others. Also, of course, we'll hear from Mr. Guaraldi himself.
A Jazz Piano Christmas from NPR
Saturday, December 20 at 10pm
Each December for the past 25 years, NPR and The Kennedy Center have collaborated to present A Jazz Piano Christmas, a sell-out-concert-turned-radio-program that shares jazz-infused renditions of seasonal music. This year, the program digs into the archives to share highlights from its remarkable history; listen for "from the vaults" keyboard mastery by the likes of Geri Allem, Hank Jones, Jason Moran, Dr. Billy Taylor, and others.
All This Jazz: The Christmas Show
Saturday, December 20 at 11pm
Behold: Xmas-themed modern jazz, both recent and classic, across a broad range of styles! Tune in for improvised holiday music, both freshly recorded and historically treasured. Whether you're wrapping gifts, looking at lights, sipping nog, or all (or none) of the above, you'll surely enjoy this late-night yuletide jazz jam! Come along!
The Rhythm Atlas Christmas Special
Sunday, December 21 at 6pm
Join host Denis McGilvray for a celebration of Christmas music from around the world! You'll hear familiar favorites in fresh musical settings as well as holiday songs from a wide variety of musical traditions all over the globe. Tune in for a cup of musical cheer! Feliz Navidad! Joyeux Noël! Merry Christmas!
Folk Salad: The Holiday Program
Sunday, December 21 at 7pm
Join co-hosts Richard Higgs and Scott Aycock as they share music of the season in an eclectic, singer-songwriter-driven manner. Spanning various decades (and drawing upon folk, roots, rock, Red Dirt, The Great American Songbook, and other styles) they'll offer a decidedly Folk Salad spin on the holidays.
A Paul Winter Solstice (from The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC)
Monday, December 22 at 8pm
Celebrate the return of the sun with a moving, multi-genre concert recorded in the world's largest Gothic cathedral! This one-hour special, originally taped in 2023, will warm up the longest night of the year with a taste of the tropics. Brazilian musical guests will include Ivan Lins, Renato Braz, and Luciana Souza, plus the celebrated Paul Winter Consort.
A Christmas Carol with Jonathan Winters
Wednesday, December 24 at Noon
Maybe it's like the NPR version of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" -- this public radio tradition, a beloved hour of radio storytelling that seems as timeless as it does familiar, finds the late-great Jonathan Winters doing a lively and memorable reading of the Dickens yuletide classic. "God bless us, every one!"
Toast of the Nation
Wednesday, December 31 at 10pm
An NPR program that's been airing every NYE since the 1970s, Toast of the Nation is your ideal audio companion for the occasion: festive and exciting jazz that you can definitely party to, wherever and however that party is going down. Join host Christian McBride for three hours of New Year's Eve jazz as we ring in 2026!
CLASSICAL 88.7 KWTU-FM
Candles Burning Brightly
Sunday, December 14 at 4pm
This one-hour Hanukkah special offers a delightful mix of classical music and charming conversation! Lots of music from Jewish communities around the world, plus a funny lesson on how to prepare a classic Hanukkah dish and a timeless holiday story that'll bring light into every home. Host Mindy Ratner will share music from Essential Voices USA, Chicago a cappella, Chanticleer, Zamir Chorale of Boston, and more.
St. Olaf Christmas Festival 2025: "O Morning Star, O Radiant Love"
Sunday, December 21 at 5pm
For one-and-a-half centuries, St. Olaf College has been a hub of connection, community, learning, and growth. And since 1912, the St. Olaf Christmas festival has been a part of that history. As recorded on the campus of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, this two-hour program, hosted by Valerie Kahler, presents one of the oldest musical celebrations of Christmas in the US.
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
Wednesday, December 24 at 9am
This is the live, wonderful, worldwide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal music -- as presented by one of the world's foremost choirs of men and boys. You'll hear this powerful service "in the moment" -- just as it's being presented in an acoustically and architecturally renowned venue: the 500-year-old Chapel of King's College in Cambridge, England.
New Year's Day from Vienna 2026
Thursday, January 1 at 10am
The always-lovely New Year's Day Concert will be performed "live from Austria" by the Vienna Philharmonic. It'll be a stirring program of some of the world's finest classical music, with Yannick Nezet-Seguim holding the baton in the Golden Hall of Vienna's Musikverein. Hosted by WBUR's Lisa Mullins. Happy 2026!
This story was originally shared in PRT's local scene newsletter Our Town. Subscribe here to get these stories first.
