In 2024, World Cafe, a daily music and interview program produced by WXPN/Philadelphia and distributed by NPR, received two highly respected awards from the New York Festivals Radio Awards. These awards recognized excellence in radio programs and were a testament to the show’s commitment to providing compelling artist interviews and exploring unique music scenes for public radio listeners since 1991.
The first award was a Gold award, which went to World Cafe for its interview titled “Weird Al on World Cafe with Raina Douris.” This episode featured an engaging conversation with multi-platinum artist “Weird Al” Yankovic, conducted by World Cafe Host Raina Douris and produced by Kimberly Junod. The episode aired in February 2023 and was praised for its insightful content.
In addition to the Gold award, World Cafe also received a Bronze award for its story titled “Velour and Corey Fox: The All-Ages Venue and the Man at the Heart of Provo’s Music Scene.” This episode was part of the show’s “Sense of Place” series, focusing on the music scene in Provo, Utah. Hosted by World Cafe Contributing Host Stephen Kallao and produced by Miguel Perez, this episode highlighted the unique and vibrant music scene in the area.
Bruce Warren, Executive Producer of World Cafe, expressed pride and excitement for the recognition received by his team. He emphasized that their commitment to producing high-quality content has been a driving force behind their success since 1991. The team at World Cafe is grateful for this recognition and remains dedicated to providing their audience with engaging music programming that brings them closer to some of today’s most exciting artists.
World Cafe can be heard on 288 U.S. radio stations or online at https://xpn.org/program/world-cafe/. To learn more about this award-winning program visit https://www.newyorkfestivalsradioawards.com/.
