WAMU-FM (Washington, D.C.)

WAMU is a public radio station catering to the larger Washington, D.C. area. It broadcasts non-stop on 88.5 FM, can be streamed online at wamu.org, and is also available on HD Radio at 88.5-HD1 and HD2. Owned by American University, its studios are situated close to the university in northwest Washington. Additionally, WAMU's HD2 channel features Bluegrass Country, which you can listen to at bluegrasscountry.org or on-air in northern Virginia at 105.5 FM.

Local

English

Radio

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#247707

United States

#63832

Arts and Entertainment/Music

#761

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

D.C. wants to reform its violence interruption programs. Despite years of debate, lawmakers still can't agree how.

2 days ago | wamu.org | Alex Koma

D.C. lawmakers broadly agree: The city’s violence interruption efforts aren’t working as well as they could be. There’s much less unanimity on the question of what to do about that. The latest debate has spilled into the city’s latest round of budget deliberations, further complicating a process already slowed by D.C.’s worsening revenue picture. The District’s worked for years to experiment with programs aimed at breaking cycles of violence with peers and mentors instead of police.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser proposes rolling back some climate programs, alarming environmentalists

3 days ago | wamu.org | Alex Koma

Cerise Turner has managed a remarkable feat: She hasn’t paid a utility bill in over two years. In fact, Pepco owes her money; a little over $1,300, to be exact. Thanks to several city programs, Turner added solar panels to her Petworth home and started selling excess energy back to the grid.
D.C.-area temperatures expected to soar into the 100's. Here's how to prepare

4 days ago | wamu.org | Esther Ciammachilli |Jackson Sinnenberg

The D.C.-region’s forecast for the upcoming week is that it’s due to be punishingly hot. A weather phenomenon known as a heat dome is building over the Eastern and Midwestern U.S., trapping heat and humidity over much of the country including D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
Major changes to Metrobus, a firehouse primary in Fairfax

4 days ago | wamu.org | Jackson Sinnenberg |Esther Ciammachilli

Here are a few of the stories WAMU will be highlighting in the days ahead:A shift is coming to D.C.-area public transit Sunday as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority plans to launch its Better Bus Network. Metro is calling it the first major overhaul of the bus system in 50 years. Every bus route is being renamed and many are being changed by being combined with other routes, or eliminated.
A weekend of D.C. musical celebration

1 week ago | wamu.org | Jackson Sinnenberg |Esther Ciammachilli

Two music festivals this weekend will allow D.C.-area residents to dive into some of the core hometown sounds of the city. First off, The Home Rule Music Festival will take place this Saturday from 1pm to 9pm at The Parks at Walter Reed. The Home Rule Music Festival was founded in 2022 by HR Records (Home Rule Records) and the Home Rule Music and Film Preservation Foundation.
Your healthcare questions about the proposed budget answered

1 week ago | wamu.org | Chris Remington |Esther Ciammachilli

GOP Senate leadership threw a curveball into the Trump administration’s budget plans this week, with significant changes to a proposed Medicaid overhaul. On Monday, Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo proposed more cuts to the government health program, which could delay a vote past lawmaker’s self-imposed deadline of July 4th. Julie Rovner is the Chief Washington Correspondent for KFF Health News and host of the weekly “What the Health” podcast.
Virginia primary election, environmental protests in D.C.

1 week ago | wamu.org | Esther Ciammachilli |Jackson Sinnenberg

Here are a few of the stories WAMU will be highlighting in the days ahead:Virginia voters head to the polls Tuesday to vote on which candidates will participate in the general election in November. Voters will decide nominees for some local races and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates, as well as candidates for Attorney General and Lieutenant Governor. Republicans do not have competitive contests for those last two roles.
Get Out There: Immersive theater comes to the Folger Shakespeare Library

2 weeks ago | wamu.org | Chris Remington

“DC I Love You: Ready or Not,” is a unique theatrical production, unfolding across various D.C. neighborhoods and venues, weaving together real stories from the community. The multi-part, immersive theater experience is the brainchild of Katherine Harroff, the Artist in Residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library and Director of Community Engagement. She says the vision for “DC I Love You” began with a community writing workshop.
Funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health put HIV research and response in D.C. at risk

2 weeks ago | wamu.org | Rae Ellen Bichell |Rachana Pradhan

Communities in Montgomery County and beyond continue to feel the effects of mass layoffs and funding cuts at the National Institutes of Health, either directly or through the decline of scientific research. “Grants that focus on HIV and vaccine research have been cut … and then also grants for programs focused on the health of racial or gender minorities,” KFF Health News correspondent Rae Ellen Bichell told WAMU’s Morning Edition host Esther Ciammachilli.
WAMU's Week Ahead: Trump's travel ban, DC military parade, and an immersive theater experience

2 weeks ago | wamu.org | Esther Ciammachilli |Jackson Sinnenberg

Here are a couple of the stories WAMU will be highlighting in the days ahead:President Trump’s new travel ban on migrants and visitors from 12 Muslim-majority countries – as well as a partial ban on seven others – goes into effect Monday. He resurrected the policy from his first term following an attack on participants at a vigil for Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado on June 1. The suspect was an Egyptian national who stayed in the U.S. past the expiration of his visa.