Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in January 2023. While the airtimes are out of date, we hope you still enjoy learning about these shows, many of which can be streamed on PBS.org or KAMU’s website.
Say hello to 2023! As the calendar flips, it’s time to make those New Year’s resolutions. This year, the team at KAMU wants to help. We’ve scoured our TV and FM schedules to find the best informational and educational programs to help you achieve your goals. From cooking to crafting to learning about your community, there’s something for everyone in the new year.
- Make New Friends
- Binge a New Show
- Learn About Your Community
- Explore Texas
- Keep Up With Current Events
- Travel and Explore the World
- Widen Your Perspective
- Improve Your Cooking Skills
- Learn How to Make Things
- Discover New Music
Make New Friends or Reunite with Old Ones
PBS KIDS carries some of the most trusted children’s programs of all time. From “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” to “Alma’s Way,” PBS KIDS reaches the hearts of many different people and generations. This new year, introduce the young ones in your life to the PBS KIDS world — and you might see a few familiar faces along the way! KAMU offers 24/7 PBS KIDS programming for free on channel 12.3 and on Optimum channel 18. KAMU also airs children’s programming on our main channel each day from 5-11:30 a.m. For more information, please visit our PBS KIDS webpage.
Binge a New Show
This month, KAMU-TV brings back some favorite shows for brand new seasons. Starting Jan. 8, enjoy cozy Sunday nights with “Miss Scarlet and The Duke” at 7 p.m., “All Creatures Great and Small” at 8 p.m. and a dramatic end to the night with “Vienna Blood” at 9 p.m. If you’d like to binge previous seasons of these hit shows, KAMU Passport is the place to go. For only $5 a month, you can binge-watch your favorite KAMU and PBS shows anytime and anywhere. Plus, explore the KAMU TV Schedule to discover more shows to binge in 2023.
Learn About Your Community
Getting involved in our Brazos Valley community and learning about the wonderful things happening in the area is always a good resolution. There’s no better option than KAMU’s new, original program “Texas A&M Today.” Highlighting the best and brightest of Texas A&M, the series showcases the incredible work of the university’s students, faculty and staff. All six episodes of Season 1 are now available to stream on PBS.org or KAMU’s YouTube channel — and watch for episodes to be re-broadcast on KAMU-TV this spring.
Also on KAMU-TV is “The Bookmark.” The Texas A&M University Press publishes numerous books authored by local experts. Host Christine Brown brings the best books to the KAMU studio to provide reviews and interview authors. New episodes air Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. with re-airings on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. Past seasons are also available to stream if you’re a KAMU Passport member.
On KAMU-FM, Hector Niño brings the Brazos Valley’s best artists to your radio with “The Heart of Art.” He learns how each one approaches their craft and uncovers the passion they have for art and their community. New episodes air Saturdays at 2 p.m. and past episodes can be listened to on the show’s webpage.
Explore Texas
Find your next Texas vacation spot or stay up to date on what’s happening in our state. On FM, “Texas Standard” compiles important news from across the state and brings it to your radio every weekday at 10 a.m. And Sundays at 2:30 p.m., dig a little deeper into the hidden issues our state faces by listening to “Texas Matters.”
On TV, “The Daytripper” airs Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 6 p.m. Host Chet Garner travels the Lone Star State, looking for the best food, fun and experiences in every major town. Meet the people who make Texas one-of-a-kind with a tour across the Texas A&M System on “Around Texas with Chancellor John Sharp,” Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. and Thursdays at 7 p.m. See the diversity of wildlife and scenic locations on Thursdays at 2:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5:30 p.m. on “Texas Parks and Wildlife.”
Keep Up With Current Events
PBS and NPR’s daily and recurring news programs focus on fact-based, politically neutral reporting from America and around the world. If your resolution is to keep up with current events, the best places to start include “PBS NewsHour” (weeknights at 6 p.m. on KAMU-TV), “Morning Edition” (weekdays from 6-9 a.m. on KAMU-FM) and “All Things Considered” (weekdays from 3-5:30 p.m. on KAMU-FM) — but there are several other options.
- If you’d like more world news, watch the U.K.’s “BBC World News America” on weekdays at 5 p.m. or Germany’s “DW News” at 5:30 p.m. every weekday except Tuesday.
- If in-depth, public affairs conversations are more your thing, try “Amanpour and Company,” airing most weeknights at 10 or 10:30 p.m., or “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover,” airing Fridays at 7:30 p.m.
- Award-winning investigative, documentary journalism can be found on PBS’s “FRONTLINE,” which airs most Tuesdays at 9 p.m.
- Finally, if political news is your go-to, watch “Washington Week” on Fridays at 7 p.m.
Travel and Explore the World
Want to learn more about the right way to travel, or want to see the world while not leaving your couch? KAMU has a terrific travel lineup for the explorer in you. On weekdays at 2 p.m., travel with Rick Steves in “Rick Steves’ Europe.” Experience culture and find little-known spots with “Samantha Brown’s Places to Love” every Monday at 2:30 p.m. Join KAMU in watching the premiere of Season 6 on Jan. 4.
Explore the world with “NATURE” every Wednesday at 7 p.m. This month, discover the wonders of the Alps, the mysteries of the oceans and much more. Become mesmerized by the captivating footage and revel in the facts and stories presented by the award-winning team of videographers and researchers. Bring the beauty of the world to your home this new year.
Widen Your Perspective
Unearth new thoughts and allow yourself to be open-minded to new ideas this year. Whether through radio or TV, KAMU can help you widen your perspective. Tune in to “The World” on weekdays at 2 p.m. on KAMU-FM to uncover the world’s most interesting stories that remind us just how small our planet really is.
On the TV side, there’s “Independent Lens” or “POV” every Monday at 9 p.m. (see TV Schedule for program time change for “Independent Lens” on Jan. 23). Both programs are excellent documentaries that are often applauded for their topical variety. On Tuesdays, be sure to not miss “Finding Your Roots” at 7 p.m. and “American Experience” at 8 p.m. Each offers unique insight into history and provides glimpses of the past unlike any seen before. If you missed the premiere of Ken Burns’ three-part series “The U.S. and the Holocaust” in the fall, you have a chance to watch it for the first time in January — and for those who have already seen it, we welcome you to rewatch it. The series airs Friday nights at 8 p.m., starting Jan. 6.
Improve Your Cooking Skills
If your resolution is to learn how to cook or improve your skills, afternoons on KAMU-TV are a great place to start. On weekdays, our 3 p.m. hour is dedicated to public television’s best chefs. On Mondays, catch “Sara’s Weeknight Meals” and “Julia Child: Cooking with Master Chefs.” Tuesdays bring “Pati’s Mexican Table” and “Kevin Belton’s New Orleans Celebrations” to your screen. “Field Trip with Curtis Stone” and “100 Days, Drinks, Dishes & Destinations” cover that hour on Wednesdays. Hearty dishes from “Lidia’s Kitchen” and “Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Television” are ready to be learned on Thursdays. And Julia Child makes her second appearance of the week on Fridays on “Baking with Julia,” followed by new show “Dream of Italy.”
The afternoon cooking fun extends to weekends, too. Six shows air back-to-back from 2-5 p.m. on Saturdays, including “Milk Street Television,” “Lidia’s Kitchen,” and “Baking With Julia.” And on Sundays, the noon hour features “America’s Test Kitchen” and “Cook’s Country.”
Learn How to Make Things
Whether your resolution is to do more crafting, take care of home improvement projects or build a business, KAMU has plenty of helpful programs — especially on weekends.
- Learn how to sew on Saturday mornings by watching “It’s Sew Easy” at 11 a.m. and “Quilting Arts” at 11:30 a.m.
- For woodworking tips, project plans and inspiration, watch “The Woodsmith Shop” on Saturdays at noon.
- “This Old House” and “Ask This Old House” provide plenty of DIY and home improvement tips, Saturdays at 12:30 and 1 p.m.
- “Central Texas Gardener” will help you improve your garden, Saturdays at 1:30 p.m.
- Local gardening tips abound on KAMU-FM’s call-in show “Garden Success with Skip Richter.” Skip is a Texas A&M AgriLife horticulture expert and he takes your questions on Thursdays at noon.
- Listen to “Planet Money” on Sundays at 11 a.m. on KAMU-FM to learn about economic issues facing businesses and individuals.
- Also on radio, listen to interviews with leading entrepreneurs on “How I Built This” to learn how to build your own business. It airs Sundays at 11:30 a.m.
Additionally, if you watch KAMU-TV with an antenna, tune in to CreateTV — our 24/7 crafting, woodworking, cooking, painting and DIY subchannel — on channel 12.2.
Discover New Music
Learn about new artists, find your next favorite song or discover a new album or genre on KAMU. Start by going back in time with Dave South during his program “Easy Sounds of the ’50s and ’60s” (every Saturday at 5 p.m. and every Sunday at noon on KAMU-FM), have smart and engaging conversations about music criticism on “Sound Opinions” (every Sunday at 1 p.m. on KAMU-FM) and enjoy live performances from some of the world’s favorite bands and artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Chris Stapleton and Bonnie Raitt on “Austin City Limits” (every Saturday at 10 p.m. on KAMU-TV, with new episodes beginning Jan. 7).
The music doesn’t stop there. KAMU-FM offers music from 7-11 p.m. every day. And after ACL on Saturday nights, KAMU-TV showcases intimate performances from singer-songwriters around the country with “Sound on Tap” at 11 p.m. and “Songs at the Center” at 11:30 p.m. Fill your days and nights with an array of different music!
Let us know how your New Year’s resolutions go! If a KAMU program helps you achieve your goal, tag us on social media. We can be found @KAMUTVFM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
