The Whole Wide World with Rita Houston

It's funky, it's jazzy, it's old and it's new and it's not like any other radio program.

Around the city, around the globe

Perhaps the only place on the NYC radio dial where you wouldn't be surprised to hear Nancy's Sinatra's "Bang Bang" and Manu Chao's "Bongo Bong" on the same show, The Whole Wide World kicked off in 2001 as a showcase for host Rita Houston's wide-ranging taste in music.

Traditional "world music" it ain't. Instead, Rita spans the globe to bring you interviews with artists like Japan's ukulele-playing pop duo Petty Booka, Brazilian rap artist Lenine, Swedish soul singer Nicolai Dunger and New York's favorite Orthodox Jewish reggae star Matisyahu. While she'll always have a back-up career as United Nations Secretary-General of Cool Music, Rita is in fact WFUV's Music Director and she spends her Friday nights pushing the limits of rock, dance and jazz, mixing the lesser-known with the deservedly classic.

Houston's interviews are regular highlights on the air, with a relaxed, unassuming tone and a dash of wit that disarms the most jaded touring pros. Guests who've enjoyed the Rita treatment over the years include David Byrne, Gomez, Sigur Ros, Bebel Gilberto, Feist, Nouvelle Vague, Lewis Taylor, The Brazilian Girls, Kings of Convenience, Elvis Costello, Calexico, Sam Phillips, Cibelle, The Thrills, Daniel Lanois and many, many others.

Miss a week? Listen to past shows in The WFUV Archives.

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