Welcome to ground zero for music discovery! For more than 30 years, World Cafe has been the place where public radio audiences get their first “before they were famous” look at emerging musicians and connect deeply with legendary performers.

A celebrated music tastemaker, World Cafe spans an array of genres including singer-songwriter, classic rock, indie rock, Americana, alt-country, blues, world music, R&B and soul. Along with a carefully curated music mix, the central element of each daily show is a conversation with an artist focusing on his or her craft, songwriting, and inspirations, and combined with an exclusive musical performance.

World Cafe is hosted by Raina Douris along with contributing host Stephen Kallao.

Ways to Listen:

• Tune to WXPN broadcast or livestream starting at 2:00 pm ET on weekdays
• Stream studio sessions anytime from NPR Music
• World Cafe: Words and Music podcast provides listen anywhere, anytime excerpts of key live performance and conversations from the show

Show Features:

• Sense of Place takes listeners around the world to meet the local artists who bring the music scene alive and enlighten audiences about the ways geography and culture influence their work. Locations have included cities in Brazil, Ireland, Iceland, and Cuba, as well Portland, Memphis, Austin, Charlottesville, and Detroit.
• Latin Roots is a biweekly segment that explores and exposes American audiences to the vast variety of work from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking musicians.
• Reports from World Cafe Bureaus in Nashville and New Orleans connect audiences with artists, journalists, and music historians from these music-rich locations, showcasing the breadth of artistic expression in each city.

Fun Facts:

• World Cafe is produced by WXPN and distributed to more than 250 US radio stations via NPR.
• World Cafe reaches more than 6 million music fans each month via broadcast, digital streaming and archives, video, and social platforms
• Winner of two NFCB Golden Reel Awards, five “Best of Philly” awards, NARAS Philadelphia Chapter’s “Hero Award,” ASCAP Deems Taylor Award, and numerous radio industry trade citations.
• The first episode of World Cafe aired on October 14, 1991.