The Political and Cultural Power of Comedy with Hari Kondabolu

WORT Music Playlists

What was that song I heard? Who was the artist, what is the album title, where can I get it? Where can I find the entire playlist for a show?

Click on the Playlists button to bring up a calendar where you can choose any date to find the playlists for that day. If you can’t find the right playlist or the song you’re looking for, your best bet is to call the station the next time that program’s on and ask the host yourself. If that’s not possible we may be able to help you, but please have as much information as possible at hand when you contact us, such as: approximate day and time the music was played, what type or genre of music it was, who hosted the show and any other information you remember about the selection and we’ll do our best to track it down.

Contact Information

Music Director: Sybil Augustine – musicdirector@wortfm.org (for music submissions, charts and tracking, promotional exchanges for music events and following up on volunteer applications or other requests. Please include specifics in your subject line, such as “Hiphop Music Submission” etc, )

Digital Production Director: Aaron Scholz – aaron@wortfm.org (for record donations and sales, promos recording volunteers, etc.)

Music Calendars: Submit your events online here or send by email to calendar@wortfm.org

How do I get my music played on WORT?

We accept submissions in most genres and styles of music, focusing on noncommercial, out-of-the-mainstream, independent releases (check out our playlists and music charts for more information.) It may take up to a few weeks for us to review and process your submission so we appreciate your patience, and feel free to contact us to follow up. Please send your music, indicating any tracks with language that needs to be aired after 10 pm and including a one-sheet description and any biographical and tour information, to WORT Music Director, 118 S. Bedford St, Madison, WI 53703 and/or to musicdirector@wortfm.org.

We do accept digital files on .wav or mp3, but currently we still prefer CDs to digital submissions because it’s the quickest way to get it into the hands of our programmers and onto the airwaves, though we have a growing digital library. Digital submissions should be .wav or other lossless files, or high quality mp3s [128-320 kbps.]

You can follow up or “track” your submissions by email, or call 608-256-2001 on Wednesdays between 1-4 pm CST to ask if we received it, has it been reviewed, has it been added to our library, and what kind of airplay it’s getting—e.g. light, medium, heavy or charting. Thanks and we look forward to hearing your music!

They say laughter is the best medicine—and if that’s true, stand-up comic Hari Kondabolu is here to heal a sick society. Today, he joins Esty in the studio for a wide-ranging conversation about the political and cultural significance of comedy.

They talk about when it’s okay to joke about sensitive topics, what it means to make it in a white, male-dominated industry like comedy, being a disappointed fan (including of America), the relativity of humor, and using entertainment to provoke important conversations about class, race, sex, oppression, and power.

Hari Kondabolu is a Queens-raised, Brooklyn-based comedian and writer hailed as “one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today.” On TV, Hari has appeared on Comedy Central, Conan, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Show with David Letterman, and more.

Hari has released several chart-topping comedy albums, including Waiting for 2042 and Mainstream American Comic. His comedy special Warn Your Relatives premiered on Netflix in 2018, following the success of his critically-acclaimed documentary The Problem With Apu about the stereotypical character on The Simpsons.

Hari Kondabolu will be performing at Comedy on State in Madison on Friday, November 22 and Saturday, November 23 at 8:00 PM and 10:30 PM both nights. More information available here.