Holiday Programming
Happy holidays from all of us at Iowa Public Radio! We're pleased to provide the soundtrack to your holiday traditions and special programming that captures the spirit of the season. Programs are broadcast on IPR News, Classical, News/Studio One and Studio One online. The stream is noted after each program title and broadcast time.
Find your local signal, tell your smart speakers to play Iowa Public Radio or download our app and stream our holiday programming uninterrupted, wherever you are!
Printable copies of our holiday programming: All holiday programming, IPR News holiday programming, IPR Classical holiday programming, IPR Studio One holiday programming.
Thursday, Dec. 21
CLASSICAL:
Anticipation and Celebration: Advent with the Montserrat Boy Choir
3 - 4 p.m. on IPR Classical
Perched atop the mountains near Barcelona, the choir of the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria de Montserrat is one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious boy choirs. For the first time in their 800-year history, the choir traveled to and performed in the Midwest United States. In this special, the ensemble sings a wide range of works. From Gregorian Chant to pieces by contemporary Spanish composer Bernat Vivancos (b.1972), the Monserrat Boy Choir sings with style and an attention to detail that is sure to enthrall and speak directly to your heart.
In Winter's Glow
4 - 5 p.m. on IPR Classical
A winter solstice program, with modern classical sounds for the longest night of the year, chosen especially to compliment the chilly, starry nights of the season.
Friday, Dec. 22
NEWS:
The One Recipe Holiday Special
10 - 11 a.m. on IPR News and News/Studio One
7 - 8 p.m. on IPR News
Join host Jesse Sparks for a holiday edition of The Splendid Table’s newest “podbaby,” The One Recipe. Jesse talks to culinary superstars about their “One,” the recipe that signals the holiday has begun! They’ll get into traditions and food with influences from all over the world and leave you with recipes that could jumpstart your own festivities! It’s delicious eating all month long.
Tinsel Tales 4: NPR Christmas Stories Told Through Song
12 - 1 p.m. on IPR News and News/Studio One
8 - 9 p.m. on IPR News
NPR revisits interviews with musicians about their Christmas albums. Some, like Katie Melua and Sting, celebrate tradition and winter mystery in their Christmas songs. Others, like Kenny Rogers and Amy Grant, find spirituality and stability in holiday music. Jon Batiste and Anthony Hamilton bring new energy to old favorites on their Christmas albums.
Saturday, Dec. 23
CLASSICAL:
A Choral Tradition: Christmas Edition
7 - 8 p.m. on IPR Classical
Join IPR's Curt Snook, host of A Choral Tradition, for an hour of Christmas choral music sure to bring you holiday joy.
STUDIO ONE:
All Access Holiday Special
1 - 4 p.m. on News/Studio One and the Studio One online stream
Join the Monday Night Live! crew and friends for a special broadcast of holiday music, including the original "Big Blue Balls."
Christmas Eve — Sunday, Dec. 24
CLASSICAL:
A Choral Tradition: Christmas Edition
7 - 8 a.m. on IPR Classical
Join IPR's Curt Snook, host of A Choral Tradition, for an hour of Christmas choral music sure to bring you holiday joy.
Anticipation and Celebration: Advent with the Montserrat Boy Choir
8 - 9 a.m. on IPR Classical
Perched atop the mountains near Barcelona, the choir of the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria de Montserrat is one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious boy choirs. For the first time in their 800-year history, the choir traveled to and performed in the Midwest United States. In this special, the ensemble sings a wide range of works. From Gregorian Chant to pieces by contemporary Spanish composer Bernat Vivancos (b.1972), the Monserrat Boy Choir sings with style and an attention to detail that is sure to enthrall and speak directly to your heart.
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
9 - 11 a.m. on IPR Classical
An annual and beloved Christmas tradition, “A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols” is an extraordinary and memorable live service of word and music from the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, England.
Christmas at Luther
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. on IPR Classical
Join IPR for Christmas at Luther, new for 2023. This year's program is titled "Love, the Rose, Is on the Way."
A Chanticleer Christmas
12 - 1 p.m. on IPR Classical
Celebrate the season with song! Brian Newhouse hosts this one-hour program of a cappella holiday favorites, new and old, presented live in concert by Chanticleer, the superb 12-man choral ensemble known as "an orchestra of voices."
All is Bright
1 - 2 p.m. on IPR Classical
"All Is Bright," with host Lynne Warfel, offers an hour of gorgeous, contemplative choral music that tells the traditional Christmas story with songs about angels, the star and the manger scene.
Amahl and The Night Visitors
2 - 3 p.m. on IPR Classical
Settle in with a cup of egg nog or hot chocolate as Iowa Public Radio brings you a holiday classic, Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. Performed by the Des Moines Metro Opera and recorded in December of 2013. This one act opera depicts the three Wise Men stopping for shelter at the home of a poor mother and her crippled son, Amahl, as they journey to find the newborn Child.
St. Olaf Christmas Festival
3 - 5 p.m. on IPR Classical
This service in song and word has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. The festival includes hymns, carols, choral works and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity and featuring more than 500 student musicians in five choirs, as well as the St. Olaf Orchestra.
Christmas with Morehouse and Spelman Glee Clubs
5 - 6 p.m. on IPR Classical
The choirs of two of the most prestigious historically Black institutions in the nation join together to present a spine-tingling concert program.
Christmas with Stile Antico
6 - 7 p.m. on IPR Classical
Stile Antico is a 13-member a cappella choir based in London. This holiday special features hand-picked sacred music for the Christmas season from the English Tudor era by 16th century composers including Thomas Tallis and William Byrd.
Doug Brown's reading of A Christmas Carol
7 - 10 p.m. on IPR Classical
The incomparable Doug Brown, longtime host of WOI’s The Book Club, reads Dickens’ holiday classic.
NEWS:
Tinsel Tales 4: NPR Christmas Stories Told Through Song
5 - 6 p.m. on IPR News
NPR revisits interviews with musicians about their Christmas albums. Some, like Katie Melua and Sting, celebrate tradition and winter mystery in their Christmas songs. Others, like Kenny Rogers and Amy Grant, find spirituality and stability in holiday music. Jon Batiste and Anthony Hamilton bring new energy to old favorites on their Christmas albums.
Tinsel Tales 3: Even More NPR Christmas Favorites
6 - 7 p.m. on IPR News
In keeping with a well-loved NPR holiday tradition, hear the third collection of extraordinary Christmas stories that will transport you to unexpected places. Audie Cornish, Ken Harbaugh, Nina Totenberg and other voices from NPR's past and present tell stories of the season in this hour-long special. Some tales are funny; some are touching; some are insightful or irreverent or nostalgic or surprising. You might recognize them from our broadcast archives — or you might fall in love with them for the first time.
Tinsel Tales 2: More NPR Christmas Favorites
7 - 8 p.m. on IPR News
NPR fills millions of homes each holiday with humor, warmth, and a host of festive voices. Continuing with the tradition of the first Tinsel Tales program, this is another collection of the best and most requested holiday stories. Joy, hope, and childhood memories overflow as NPR voices, past and present, tell stories of the season.
Tinsel Tales: NPR Christmas Favorites
8 - 9 p.m. on IPR News
This program features stories from the NPR archives that touch on the meaning of Christmas. David Sedaris, Bailey White, John Henry Faulk - these and other NPR voices, past and present, tell stories of the season.
Doug Brown's reading of A Christmas Carol
9 p.m. - midnight on IPR News
The incomparable Doug Brown, longtime host of WOI’s The Book Club, reads Dickens’ holiday classic.
STUDIO ONE:
A Folk Tree Christmas
1 - 5 p.m. on News/Studio One and the Studio One online stream
Join IPR's Karen Impola, host of A Folk Tree, for three hours of Christmas folk music sure to bring you holiday joy.
All Access Holiday Special
7 - 10 p.m. on News/Studio One and the Studio One online stream
Join the Monday Night Live! crew and friends for a special broadcast of holiday music, including the original "Big Blue Balls."
Christmas Day — Monday, Dec. 25
CLASSICAL:
Your Classical Christmas Favorites
8 - 10 a.m. on IPR Classical
Join us this holiday season as we count down the top Christmas songs as voted by you in a two-hour special.
All is Bright
10 - 11 a.m. on IPR Classical
"All Is Bright," with host Lynne Warfel, offers an hour of gorgeous, contemplative choral music that tells the traditional Christmas story with songs about angels, the star and the manger scene.
Welcome Christmas
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. on IPR Classical
There’s no better way to welcome Christmas than Welcome Christmas!, the VocalEssence holiday concert. It’s an hour of joyful, classic holiday music from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups, singing traditional carols and new discoveries.
St. Olaf Christmas Festival
12 - 2 p.m. on IPR Classical
This service in song and word has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. The festival includes hymns, carols, choral works and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity and featuring more than 500 student musicians in five choirs, as well as the St. Olaf Orchestra.
Carols as Home with the Imani Winds
2 - 3 p.m. on IPR Classical
Carols as Home features a modern take on classic Christmas carols, hosted by Imani Winds founding oboist, Toyin Spellman-Diaz. Toyin coaxes intimate stories of Christmas memories from the members of the ensemble, and why these classic carols are still essential today. You’ll hear many of your favorite carols updated with the ensembles’ own imaginative take. This is APM’s first hour long special dedicated to Imani Winds, and the debut of Toyin Spellman-Diaz as host.
Christmas at Luther
3 - 4 p.m. on IPR Classical
Join IPR for Christmas at Luther, new for 2023. This year's program is titled "Love, the Rose, Is on the Way."
Christmas with Stile Antico
4 - 5 p.m. on IPR Classical
Stile Antico is a 13-member a cappella choir based in London. This holiday special features hand-picked sacred music for the Christmas season from the English Tudor era by 16th century composers including Thomas Tallis and William Byrd.
NEWS:
Doug Brown's reading of A Christmas Carol
9 a.m. - 12 p.m. on IPR News and News/Studio One
The incomparable Doug Brown, longtime host of WOI’s The Book Club, reads Dickens’ holiday classic.
Selected Shorts: Unwrapping the Holidays
12 - 1 p.m. on IPR News and News/Studio One
Host Meg Wolitzer presents three unexpected stories that let us see the holidays’ associations — family, friends, food, gifts and goodwill — in different ways.
Tinsel Tales: NPR Christmas Favorites
7 - 8 p.m. on IPR News
This program features stories from the NPR archives that touch on the meaning of Christmas. David Sedaris, Bailey White, John Henry Faulk - these and other NPR voices, past and present, tell stories of the season.
Selected Shorts: Unwrapping the Holidays
8 - 9 p.m. on IPR News
Host Meg Wolitzer presents three unexpected stories that let us see the holidays’ associations — family, friends, food, gifts and goodwill — in different ways.
STUDIO ONE:
A Rockin' Christmas with Tony Dehner
7 - 10 p.m. on News/Studio One and the Studio One online stream
The music is all holiday songs from all eras and all music styles, some of it picked out by listener request. Join Iowa Public Radio Studio One this Rockin' Christmas!
New Year's Day - Sunday, Jan. 1, 2024
CLASSICAL:
New Year's Day from Vienna
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. on IPR Classical
The ever popular annual New Year’s Day Concert will be performed by the Wiener Philharmoniker under the baton of Daniel Barenboim in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna.