On WHRB: Harvard College’s Official Student-Run Radio Station
Graphic by Linden McCarl
WHRB (W: East of the Mississippi River, HRB: Harvard Radio Broadcasting) 95.3 FM is Harvard’s official radio station. Founded in 1940 as the Harvard Crimson Network, the station, housed in the basement of Pennypacker Hall, has been run by undergraduate students for eighty-six years, including yours truly.
WHRB’s current undergraduate staff is furthering a long-standing tradition of bringing a mix of music alongside commentary for the local Cambridge community. Originally affiliated with the “Harvard Crimson,” the station broke away in 1943, obtained its FM license in 1957, and merged with the station run out of Radcliffe Women’s College called Radio Radcliffe in 1960. In 1995, WHRB’s audience dramatically expanded to roughly the entire area within Route 495 when a new transmitter and antenna were moved to One Financial Center in downtown Boston.
“Being in WHRB has exposed me to so many new songs and genres since I’m constantly searching for lesser-known artists to play,” co-general comp director of WHRB Capri Wayne ’28 said. “There’s a sense of exploration and discovery you get while listening to the radio that you can’t really get on streaming services. Listening to the radio in the car is always how I’ve discovered the most new songs.”
WHRB follows a similar daily music schedule so listeners can tune in to their preferred styles. Jazz music plays from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays, followed by classical from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., and then the Record Hospital, WHRB’s underground rock music segment, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. On weekends, Blues and the Hillbilly Jamboree play from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m., and The Darker Side (hip-hop) airs overnight from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. News and Sports airs on Sundays at noon, following WHRB’s broadcast of segments from Memorial Church’s Sunday service.
Aside from regular programming, WHRB is also famous for inventing the Orgy®—derived from the word’s definition as “excessive indulgence.” In this case, excessive indulgence applies to one style of music. These are marathon-style broadcasts where, during Reading and Finals Week, individual DJs play programs on a specific topic, artist, or music style. Highlights include last semester’s eight-hour-long Bob Marley orgy, Broadway showtunes, Bach’s complete works, and more.
The Orgy’s emphasis on student freedom of expression underscores the organization’s fundamentally undergraduate-driven structure. WHRB’s commitment to student leadership has had tangible results. “I had been going to all of these meetings and asking people, ‘What organization made [people] the happiest on campus?’” WHRB News member Avani Shah-Lipman ’29 said, noting that many answered the same way: WHRB, hands down.
Sure, the radio is characterized by the music it plays—WHRB recognizes this. However, live reporting is also a major part of the station. During the 1969 Harvard student occupation of University Hall, WHRB reporters were among those to interview Vietnam War protesters and report on the ongoing political conflict. WHRB alumnus and American broadcast journalist Chris Wallace ’69 actually was taken into custody by police after the protests and used his one phone call to report live from Cambridge jail, signing off with “This is Chris Wallace in custody.” News at WHRB is designed to go beyond Harvard’s campus, incorporating local Cambridge updates to better serve WHRB’s broader audience.
“I don’t do the same thing as most people on WHRB do because they mostly go on-air and news is off-air, but I got to interview my freshman seminar professor and the curator of the Glass Flowers at the Natural History Museum. So I talked about science and art in a podcast, and it went on-air a couple of months ago,” Shah-Lipman expanded. WHRB News ranges from weekly headlines of local Harvard and Cambridge updates to these kinds of podcasts that do deep dives into the community. Recent shows include a piece from the Anime Convention in Boston on April 5 and an interview with an MBTA Red Line inspector.
Similarly, WHRB Sports does a lot of off-air reporting. Beyond their weekly recaps every Sunday after News, they also report on many major Harvard athletic competitions, like the Game and the Beanpot. These reports are published on the website and are done live at 1 p.m. on Sundays, providing a unique chance for Cambridge residents to get updates about local Harvard sports teams.
WHRB also hosts live events, such as a Record Hospital Fest (this year on April 11) and other regular concerts featuring local bands and artists, including many students at Harvard. This promotion of small and underground artists is one of WHRB’s great advantages, for both artists and listeners.
WHRB’s future remains just as bright as its storied past, remaining one of the few student-run commercial radio stations in the United States. While radio broadcasting is forecast to decline in revenue and listenership in the coming years as streaming services and other platforms for listening to music have become more popular, online radio listeners have actually increased. WHRB remains an iconic part of campus as a social institution while also providing news and entertainment to all Cambridge residents.
WHRB serves many different demographics, but a large proportion of its listeners are older. “I believe we have a lot of classical music and jazz to suit a largely older demographic,” said Neeraja Kumar ’27, the WHRB News director. This reflects general trends in the United States, where the demographic with the highest radio reach in the country in 2025 was men aged 55 and older. It also explains why classical music holds a 9-hour slot during prime time, and jazz is second.
The consistent interest in WHRB reflects that even though other ways of listening to music have become popular, the radio remains a staple. Radio stations, especially those that play a variety of genres, are great opportunities to discover new artists and diversify your taste in music, whether by plugging in at random moments or by regularly listening to one DJ.
Beyond that, radio stations build community. Listeners across Boston—and even the country—tune in to WHRB together. A connection forms between Harvard students and the larger Boston community that is not always present otherwise. “Getting to take air and receive calls from listeners showing their appreciation is really cool,” Wayne said.
WHRB provides a unique opportunity for students to learn new skills and expand their horizons, while also remaining a notably welcoming and accessible organization. The club occupies a unique spot in Cambridge’s heart as well, bridging the gap between Harvard and the city every day as people tune in during their work and school commutes.
“It’s taught me that you should seek out those spaces on campus that make you happy,” Shah-Lipman concluded.
Elle du Pont ’29 (edupont@college.harvard.edu) highly recommends everyone go to WHRB.org(you don’t need a radio!) and hit play.