Discovery Research Hub: KALX

The Discovery Research Hub at KALX is a collaborative initiative between the Berkeley Discovery initiative at UC Berkeley, the Division of Arts & Humanities, and KALX, the university’s radio station, run by students and the community. Broadcasting at 90.7 FM across the San Francisco Bay Area and streaming online, KALX offers undergraduate students internship opportunities in public affairs production and news broadcasting. Interns receive mentorship from the station’s general manager, gaining hands-on experience in broadcast media and journalism.

Background

Initially piloted in fall 2023, Discovery’s partnership with KALX returns in 2026 to support even more undergraduate students.

UC Berkeley students may gain experience in the following areas:

  • Public Affairs Production: Collaborate in a team setting to produce a monthly, 30-minute public affairs radio program.

  • News Broadcast: Develop 15-minute news segments focused on timely and relevant topics.
At the KALX radio station, a student news director interviews Heather Cox Richardson, both wearing headphones and speaking into microphones mounted on booms. The student news director, wearing a vertically striped shirt, sits behind a sound mixing board.

At the KALX radio station, a student news director interviews Heather Cox Richardson.

A wide shot of the upgraded KALX production studio features broadcasting equipment: two monitors with microphone booms, studio speakers, an audio mixing board, a keyboard, and other production equipment. A large blue digital clock reads 11:33:59. A black

Upgraded KALX production studio.

General Program Structure

  • Application Timeline: Applications for KALX positions vary based on station needs. 

  • Fall or Spring: During the fall or spring semesters, students collaborate closely with KALX general manager to contribute to programming.

  • Final Symposium: The program culminates in the airing of the radio programming students produced along with an invitation to present work in a UC Berkeley undergraduate research showcase.

Group orientation meeting at KALX radio station with about a dozen people sitting in a semicircle holding papers. The mood is attentive, with most people looking towards the front. Behind them, a whiteboard calendar and bulletin board are visible. String

In partnership with...

About KALX

KALX began in 1962 as Radio KAL, broadcasting from a simple cigar box and reaching only the UC Berkeley campus. More than fifty years later, KALX has grown into a respected radio station, broadcasting at 90.7 FM throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and streaming online at kalx.berkeley.edu.

All of KALX’s programming is locally produced—the station  doesn't rely on satellite feeds. Instead, content is created by and for the community, which includes both UC Berkeley students and the broader Bay Area.

KALX logo depicting a blue cartoon cat with its mouth open, operating a record player with its left arm while plugging its tail into an electrical outlet. A yellow dialogue bubble displays the text "KALX 90.7FM Berkeley".

About the Division of Arts & Humanities

The Arts & Humanities (A&H) at UC Berkeley are collectively, and in their parts, recognized as among the best in the country and the world. A&H faculty and students are shaping discourse and society, improving understanding of human experience, and gaining new insight into the individual and collective imaginations of those living today as well as those who have inhabited the earth over the past thousands of years. Across 19 departments and 14 research units, more than 250 faculty members and 2,500 students explore every dimension of the human experience from the ancient past to the anticipated future. They employ a range of critical, theoretical, and rhetorical frameworks and work across 60 different languages and a range of artistic media.

UC Berkeley College of Letters & Science Arts & Humanities logo.