As in years past, APM is offering a selection of specials to help your audiences celebrate the holiday season at no added cost to your station. APM Presents includes timely specials highlighting holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah and the turning of a new year. Find broadcast windows and program details below, or visit our website for more information including links to ContentDepot and digital assets.

Questions? Reach out to your station relations representative.

News / Talk

Selected Shorts: Holiday Hurdles

One hour

Broadcast Window: November 24, 2021 – January 7, 2022

In Selected Shorts: Holiday Hurdles with David Sedaris, audiences are invited to reimagine holiday rituals.

Turkey Confidential

Two hours

Broadcast Window: November 25, 2021

Turkey Confidential is The Splendid Table’s annual Thanksgiving show. Francis Lam takes calls and comes to the rescue of Thanksgiving cooks, kitchen helpers, and inner guests during the biggest cooking day of the year. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the special may not be live – more details to come.

Musical

From the Current

2021 Remembered from the Current

One hour

Broadcast Window: December 13, 2021 – January 9, 2022

Join The Current in honoring the life, music, and legacy of artists we lost this year with 2021 Remembered from The Current. This hour-long musical tribute is a celebration of all sounds – from indie to influential – and the perfect way for music lovers to unite in paying homage to the artists who have shaped music history.

Classical

Hollywood Halloween

One hour

Broadcast Window: October 1, 2021 – November 1, 2021

Hollywood Halloween is a scary collection of the best (and darkest) classical film scores, ranging from “Night on Bald Mountain” to the horror classic “Bride of Frankenstein” and its comic cousin “Young Frankenstein.” Join Lynne Warfel, host of APM’s Saturday Cinema and Flicks in Five, for a musical ride through popular film scores just right for Halloween.

Every Good Thing

One hour

Broadcast Window: November 4, 2021 – November 30, 2021

On Thanksgiving, host Andrea Blain and classical music fans from all around the country take some time to give thanks and celebrate one of life’s most meaningful gifts: music. It’s “Every Good Thing” — an hour of stories and music to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Giving Thanks

One hour or Two hours

Broadcast Window: November 4, 2021 – November 30, 2021

Giving Thanks sounds the way Thanksgiving feels: inviting, warm, and festive. It’s a contemporary, thoughtful celebration of the spirit of the holiday. Special guests Stanley Tucci and Naomi Shihab Nye join our Thanksgiving table, and music from Eric Whitacre, Bach, Copland and more complete the scene.

All is Bright

One hour

Broadcast Window: November 23, 2021 – December 31, 2021

Hosted by Lynne Warfel, All Is Bright: Contemplative Music for Christmas presents one hour of gorgeous, contemplative music related to the Christmas season and its symbolism. This program uses sacred choral music grouped in a way to tell the traditional Christmas story by way of songs about angels, the star, and the manger scene. Featured artists include Cambridge Singers, Cantus, and Chanticleer. Encore from 2018

Candles Burning Brightly

One hour

Broadcast Window: November 23, 2021 – December 31, 2021

Candles Burning Brightly is a one-hour celebration of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights with an exploration of Chanukah foods and traditional activities … and plenty of music. Encore from 2020

Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square

One hour

Broadcast Window: December 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021

The sounds of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square floated into many homes during the holidays in the ’60s & ’70s on Goodyear and Firestone albums, bringing lush renditions of favorite Christmas carols. Those warm memories and feelings come right back again in this holiday special. The choir continues its tradition of great artistry with touching arrangements of familiar carols, and surprises with lesser-known melodies that are fast becoming the new classics.

Hollywood Holiday

One hour

Broadcast Window: December 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021

Lynne Warfel, host of Saturday Cinema, takes listeners on a one-hour musical retrospective of some of Hollywood’s most cherished Christmas themed movies. Selections feature scores from “Scrooge, the Musical”, “A Muppet Christmas Carol”, “The Polar Express”, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” and more. Encore from 2018

A Soulful Christmas

One hour

Broadcast Window: December 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021

A Soulful Christmas is an uplifting, relevant display of Black music in the classical, gospel, spiritual, and jazz-inspired style. This special celebrates the non-idiomatic Black classical music, while exploring non-idiomatic choral traditions. Guest details to be announced.

Welcome Christmas

One hour

Broadcast Window: December 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021

Welcome Christmas is a perennial Christmas favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups, conducted by Philip Brunelle. This program presents an hour of traditional carols and new discoveries, including the world premiere of two carols from the annual Christmas Carol Contest. Guest details to be announced.

Hygge Holiday

One hour

Broadcast Window: December 1, 2021 – January 31, 2022

Join host Elena See for an hour-long program of nostalgic favorites for the winter season. Programming includes favorites from Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Debussy and Blake. Encore from 2019

A Chanticleer Christmas

One hour

Broadcast Window: December 15, 2021 – December 31, 2021

This one-hour program of holiday favorites, new and old, will be presented live in concert by Chanticleer, the superb 12-man ensemble known as “an orchestra of voices.” Chanticleer is one of the premiere vocal ensembles in the nation. The ensemble has won two Grammys and is a member of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.

St. Olaf Christmas Festival

Two hours

Broadcast Window: December 15, 2021 – December 31, 2021

APM’s distribution of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival is a chance for listeners across the country and around the world to participate in one of the nation’s most treasured holiday celebrations. Programming includes sacred choral and instrumental music from many traditions: beloved hymns, classical masterworks, folk songs from around the world, and African-American spirituals.

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Two hours

Broadcast Window: December 24, 2021 – December 25, 2021

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols presents your audience with an opportunity to share in a live, world-wide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal Classical music. This special will be presented by one of the world’s foremost choirs of men and boys and performed in an acoustically and architecturally renowned venue, the 500-year-old Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, England.

For years, APM affiliate stations have been accessing special programming through APM Celebrates to help their audiences commemorate holidays, offer seasonal cooking tips, and provide kid-friendly programming for families.

More recently, APM specials have evolved to address timely topics that audiences care about, like climate change, structural inequity, mental health, and more. In recognition of the expanded reach of our programming, we are excited to rename our quarterly specials package to: APM Presents. Find the full announcement here and see below for Q2 specials.

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News / Talk

Unexplainable from Vox

• Broadcast Window: October 1, 2021 – January 7, 2022
• Duration: One hour
• Description: In an hour-long special, Vox’s Unexplainable will explore some of the most exciting unanswered questions in physics.

Uprooted: The 1950s plan to erase Indian Country

• Broadcast Window: October 7, 2021 – November 30, 2021
• Duration: One hour
• Description: This documentary presents the voices of people who survived a devastating plan to solve “the Indian problem.” In the 1950s, the U.S. government launched a campaign to assimilate Native Americans by eliminating reservations, terminating tribal governments, and persuading Native people to move to cities. This documentary provides listeners a unique opportunity to hear the voices of Native people who lived through this era, and people still struggling to overcome its effects.

Selected Shorts: Holiday Hurdles

• Broadcast Window: November 24, 2021 – January 7, 2022
• Duration: One hour
• Description: In Selected Shorts: Holiday Hurdles with David Sedaris, audiences are invited to reimagine holiday rituals.

Turkey Confidential

• Broadcast Window: November 25, 2021
• Duration: TBD
• Description: Turkey Confidential is The Splendid Table’s annual Thanksgiving show. Francis Lam takes calls and comes to the rescue of Thanksgiving cooks, kitchen helpers, and inner guests during the biggest cooking day of the year. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the special may not be live – more information to come. Keep an eye out for additional details, including special guest information.

BBC Witness History: World War Two in the Pacific

• Broadcast Window: December 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
• Duration: One hour
• Description: To mark the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Witness History brings you an hour of personal stories from the time.

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Musical

The Current

2021 Remembered from the Current

• Broadcast Window: December 13, 2021 – January 9, 2022
• Duration: One hour
• Description: Join The Current in honoring the life, music, and legacy of artists we lost this year with 2021 Remembered from The Current. This hour-long musical tribute is a celebration of all sounds – from indie to influential – and the perfect way for music lovers to unite in paying homage to the artists who have shaped music history.

Classical

Hollywood Halloween

• Broadcast Window: October 1, 2021 – November 1, 2021
• Duration: One hour
• Description: Hollywood Halloween is a scary collection of the best (and darkest) classical film scores, ranging from “Night on Bald Mountain” to the horror classic “Bride of Frankenstein” and its comic cousin “Young Frankenstein.” Join Lynne Warfel, host of APM’s Saturday Cinema and Flicks in Five, for a musical ride through popular film scores just right for Halloween.

Every Good Thing

• Broadcast Window: November 4, 2021 – November 30, 2021
• Duration: One hour
• Description: On Thanksgiving, host Andrea Blain and classical music fans from all around the country take some time to give thanks and celebrate one of life’s most meaningful gifts: music. It’s “Every Good Thing” — an hour of stories and music to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Giving Thanks

• Broadcast Window: November 4, 2021 – November 30, 2021
• Duration: One hour and two hours
• Description: Giving Thanks sounds the way Thanksgiving feels: inviting, warm, and festive. It’s a contemporary, thoughtful celebration of the spirit of the holiday. Special guests Stanley Tucci and Naomi Shihab Nye join our Thanksgiving table, and music from Eric Whitacre, Bach, Copland and more complete the scene.

All is Bright

• Broadcast Window: November 23, 2021 – December 31, 2021
• Duration: One hour
• Description: Hosted by Lynne Warfel, All Is Bright: Contemplative Music for Christmas presents one hour of gorgeous, contemplative music related to the Christmas season and its symbolism. This program uses sacred choral music grouped in a way to tell the traditional Christmas story by way of songs about angels, the star, and the manger scene. Featured artists include Cambridge Singers, Cantus, and Chanticleer.

Candles Burning Brightly

• Broadcast Window: November 23, 2021 – December 31, 2021
• Duration: One hour
• Description: Candles Burning Brightly is a one-hour celebration of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights with an exploration of Chanukah foods and traditional activities … and plenty of music. Encore from 2020.

Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square

• Broadcast Window: November 23, 2021 – December 31, 2021
• Duration: One hour
• Description: The sounds of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square floated into many homes during the holidays in the ’60s & ’70s on Goodyear and Firestone albums, bringing lush renditions of favorite Christmas carols. Those warm memories and feelings come right back again in this holiday special. The choir continues its tradition of great artistry with touching arrangements of familiar carols, and surprises with lesser-known melodies that are fast becoming the new classics.

Hollywood Holiday

• Broadcast Window: December 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
• Duration: One hour
• Description: Lynne Warfel, host of Saturday Cinema, takes listeners on a one-hour musical retrospective of some of Hollywood’s most cherished Christmas themed movies. Selections feature scores from “Scrooge, the Musical”, “A Muppet Christmas Carol”, “The Polar Express”, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” and more.

A Soulful Christmas

• Broadcast Window: December 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
• Duration: One hour
• Description: A Soulful Christmas is an uplifting, relevant display of Black music in the classical, gospel, spiritual, and jazz-inspired style. This special celebrates the non-idiomatic Black classical music, while exploring non-idiomatic choral traditions. Guest details to be announced.

Welcome Christmas

• Broadcast Window: December 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
• Duration: One hour
• Description: Welcome Christmas is a perennial Christmas favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups, conducted by Philip Brunelle. This program presents an hour of traditional carols and new discoveries, including the world premiere of two carols from the annual Christmas Carol Contest. Guest details to be announced.

Hygge Holiday

• Broadcast Window: December 1, 2021 – January 31, 2022
• Duration: One hour
• Description: Join host Elena See for an hour-long program of nostalgic favorites for the winter season. Programming includes favorites from Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Debussy and Blake.

A Chanticleer Christmas

• Broadcast Window: December 15, 2021 – December 31, 2021
• Duration: One hour
• Description: This one-hour program of holiday favorites, new and old, will be presented live in concert by Chanticleer, the superb 12-man ensemble known as “an orchestra of voices.” Chanticleer is one of the premiere vocal ensembles in the nation. The ensemble has won two Grammys and is a member of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.

St. Olaf Christmas Festival

• Broadcast Window: December 15, 2021 – December 31, 2021
• Duration: Two hours
• Description: APM’s distribution of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival is a chance for listeners across the country and around the world to participate in one of the nation’s most treasured holiday celebrations. Programming includes sacred choral and instrumental music from many traditions: beloved hymns, classical masterworks, folk songs from around the world, and African-American spirituals.

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

• Broadcast Window: December 24, 2021 – December 25, 2021
• Duration: Two hours
• Description: A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols presents your audience with an opportunity to share in a live, world-wide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal Classical music. This special will be presented by one of the world’s foremost choirs of men and boys and performed in an acoustically and architecturally renowned venue, the 500-year-old Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, England.

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Contact your Station Representative to learn more about APM Presents, our unique package of seasonal programs and more.

Get the latest updates from APM Distribution:

• Subscribe to our newsletters
• Explore our website

Please encourage your social media, digital, marketing and membership teams to sign up for updates, too!

For years, APM affiliate stations have been accessing special programming through APM Celebrates to help their audiences commemorate holidays, offer seasonal cooking tips, and provide kid-friendly programming for families.

More recently, APM specials have evolved to address timely topics that audiences care about, like climate change, structural inequity, mental health, and more. In recognition of the expanded reach of our programming, we are excited to rename our quarterly specials package to: APM Presents.

These specials are still available to all APM affiliates at no additional charge. As in years past some specials will be produced by APM properties like Marketplace, APM Reports, The Splendid Table, and YourClassical, while others will be brought to your through our partnerships with top audio and news organizations across the country. Recent partners include BBC World Service, The Washington Post, Munk Debates, On Point, and station partners like New Hampshire Public Radio.

Keep an eye out for our APM Presents quarterly package launch in September, in addition to our new APM Presents webpage. Questions or ideas you’d like to share for future APM Presents programming? Please reach out to your stations relations representative.

New specials highlight the ways Amazon has transformed our lives, debate the biggest questions of our time and feature patriotic classical specials in time for the Fourth of July.

Promote your special broadcasts with customizable digital ads for your website, social media and newsletters. Coming soon to the ‘Marketing Tools’ section of APM Celebrates program pages.

New for FY22, APM specials are available to all APM affiliates (BBC docs and specials are for BBC affiliates).

News

Amazon: The Prime Effect

Episode 1: July 2, 2021 – July 31, 2021
Episode 2: August 6, 2021 – August 31, 2021
Episode 3: September 3, 2021 – September 30, 2021
Three, one-hour long programs – each is stand alone
Amazon: The Prime Effect, from On Point, is an in-depth series exploring the myriad ways Amazon is changing the ways we shop, work and live. These three episodes will look at the company, it’s founder Jeff Bezos, and how Amazon has fundamentally changed the global economy

Munk Debates

July 14, 2021 – October 31, 2021
Three, one-hour long programs.
The Munk Debates brings together acclaimed thinkers around the world to tackle the big questions of our time. These three episodes will debate the usefulness of capitalism, the impact of religion, and the question of whether humankind’s best days lie ahead.

Windfall

July 20, 2021 – December 31, 2021
One hour
Windfall from NHPR’s award-winning podcast Outside/In investigates the launch of the American offshore wind energy industry, the political chicanery that has delayed it, and how past failures define future success at a time when the government is poised to take real action on climate change. Ultimately, this is a story about power: who has power, where does it come from, and who benefits.

Spotlight on Virtual Mental Health Care

August 13, 2021 – September 30, 2021
Three, one-hour long programs.
We explore how mental health care’s urgent pivot to new technologies fared during the pandemic’s critical stress test. Through interviews with expert clinicians and researchers, we will explore the fast-developing landscape of virtual mental health care — its advancements, and its challenges.

The Uncertain Hour from Marketplace

August 25, 2021 – October 31, 2021
One hour
When Jerry Vasquez realized he was making less than minimum wage after buying a franchise janitorial business with a company called Jan-Pro, he joined fellow franchisees to sue the company, saying they’d been misclassified as independent contractors when they should have been employees. But the argument over what defines an employee has a long and strange legal history. We’ll dive in and explore the origins of the federal minimum wage, why lawmakers wrote the law as broadly as they did, whom it applied to and whom it excluded.

In Deep: one city’s year of climate chaos

August 27, 2021 – November 30, 2021
One hour
This documentary special will chronicle the effects of multiple disasters on one city in southwest Louisiana over the course of a year, putting the events into context through the lenses of climate change and equity.

Classical

Fourth of July with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square (encore)

July 1, 2021 – July 17, 2021
One hour
Join Julie Amacher for an hour of traditional, patriotic choral music performed by the world-renowned Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square.

To Honor and Inspire (encore)

July 1, 2021 – July 17, 2021
One hour
Andrea Blain hosts this patriotic encore special, featuring performances by the United States Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine bands. Audiences will be moved and uplifted by an hour of music, including marches by Sousa, Jewell and Gould, and classical works by Copland, Saint-Saens and Holst.

Wondrous Strange

September 15, 2021 – October 31, 2021
One hour
Whether it’s the theremin, the octobass or the contrabass flute, this special will explore instruments that are off the beaten track and the musicians that play them. Audiences will hear commentary about the instruments along with music recordings that showcase their unique sound.

Time Signatures

August 3, 2021 – August 31, 2021
One hour
This is a unique celebration of classical music by and for people who have been fortunate to live into their ‘senior’ years – a positive and sometimes surprising look at the power of classical music in the context of older age.

Back to School at the Movies (encore)

August 19, 2021 – September 30, 2021
One hour
An hour of great movie music from films that celebrate school days. Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Dead Poet’s Society, Shadowlands, Mr. Holland’s Opus and more.

Contact your Station Representative to learn more about APM Celebrates, our unique package of seasonal programs and more.

New specials highlight community-based money skills, mental health care in the United States, how the killing of George Floyd changed us forever, music composed by Black artists and an investigation into the role of masculinity in our society through music.

Promote your special broadcasts with customizable digital ads for your website, social media and newsletters. Coming soon to the ‘Marketing Tools’ section of APM Celebrates program pages.

News

Small Change: Money Stories from the Neighborhood

April 26, 2021 – June 4, 2021
One hour
Small Change highlights smart, practical and collaborative money skills developed by people living with lower and unstable incomes. Hosts Chris Farrell and Twila Dang talk to community members who are redefining wealth, the value of community and the purpose of money. Money wisdom taught by the true experts – people who have learned from experience.

Call to Mind: Spotlight on Rethinking Mental Health Care

Hour one: April 24 – May 31, 2021
Hour two: April 25 – May 31, 2021
Two, one hour long programs
Rethinking Mental Health Care will present an honest critique of the nation’s mental health care shortcomings, while highlighting tangible solutions and models for improving access and quality of care. Hosted by Kimberly Adams of Marketplace, this two-part format will allow guests to deep dive into failures, challenges and opportunities, while also allowing people to question mental health experts to ground the issues in matters most pressing to the public. This will be a candid, solutions-oriented discussion about mental health policy and care delivery in the U.S. Stations may carry one or both of the hours in this two-part series.

How George Floyd Changed Us

Coming Mid-May (watch your inbox for details):
One hour
As we mark a year since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, join MPR News host Angela Davis for a reflection on how he changed us. In this one-hour special, you’ll hear a range of voices articulating the transformation that’s taken place on both personal and community levels – from the young people whose worldview has been forever altered to the community members working to ensure the Black man killed when a police officer kneeled on his neck is never forgotten. We’ll also check in with a renowned expert on trauma and healing on what gives him hope a year late

Classical Music

Song and Story

April 1, 2021 – April 30, 2021
One hour
Join John Birge for a classical program featuring music with connections to works of literature, including Rossini’s “The Thieving Magpie” Overture (in Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle), Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata (in Leo Tolstoy’s “The Kreutzer Sonata”), or Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto (in Zoe Morrison’s “Music and Freedom”).

Alone Together (encore)

April 29, 2021 – May 31, 2021
One hour
Join Cantus for Alone Together, a special program highlighting mental health topics including depression and anxiety. The program is a collaboration with Call To Mind.

Fields of Wonder – Juneteenth Special

May 27, 2021 – June 30, 2021
One hour
Join Andrea Blain and Cantus for a concert celebrating music composed by Black artists, primarily the song cycle of Margaret Bonds.

Brave – Father’s Day Special

May 27, 2021 – June 30, 2021
One hour
Just in time for Father’s Day, join Cantus for a live recorded concert featuring music that focuses on the idea of masculinity in our society.

Contact your Station Representative to learn more about APM Celebrates, our unique package of seasonal programs and more.

Get the latest updates from APM Distribution:

• Subscribe to our newsletters
• Explore our website

Please encourage your social media, digital, marketing and membership teams to sign up for updates, too!