A noncommercial educational public radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, and serving the greater Los Angeles region.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
KPCC is a noncommercial educational FM radio station licensed to Pasadena, California. The station broadcasts on 89.3 FM and has historically served as one of the principal National Public Radio member stations in the Los Angeles area. Its primary coverage includes Greater Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, while repeaters and translator facilities extend its reach into parts of Santa Barbara County, the Coachella Valley, Palm Springs, Ventura County, and the Inland Empire. The station is owned by Pasadena City College, which retains the broadcast license, and is operated by Southern California Public Radio, a nonprofit organization associated with American Public Media Group, the parent organization of Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media. KPCC also carries programming from NPR, Public Radio Exchange, and American Public Media, while producing selected local programs and reporting for Southern California audiences. Its Pasadena facilities include the Mohn Broadcast Center and Crawford Family Forum on South Raymond Avenue. The transmitter is located on Mount Wilson, a position that substantially expanded the station's regional signal compared with its earlier campus-based operation. The station's institutional roots reach back to Pasadena City College's predecessor, Pasadena Junior College. The college participated in radio programming as early as the 1930s, initially producing material for other local stations. Pasadena City College opened a dedicated radio studio in 1947, but it did not yet have its own transmitter or broadcast license. The college began operating its own FM service in April 1957 under the call sign KPCS. The original call letters referred to Pasadena City Schools. The station initially broadcast only for limited daily hours, later expanding to a full-day schedule in 1962. The call sign changed to KPCC near the end of 1971. During the 1970s and 1980s, KPCC received numerous broadcasting awards and remained closely connected to the college. Flooding during Pasadena's prolonged 1983 rainstorm damaged the station's radio and television operations. In 1988, the station moved its transmitter and tower from the Pasadena City College campus to a higher-powered Mount Wilson facility. The studios moved from a cramped basement in the college's C Building to the Shatford Library in 1993, before relocating in 2010 to a converted office building on Raymond Avenue. The new 35,000-square-foot facility was named the Mohn Broadcast Center and Crawford Family Forum. The Mount Wilson expansion and the station's increasing emphasis on Los Angeles-wide coverage prompted debate during the 1990s about whether KPCC was moving away from its Pasadena and student-radio identity. By the end of that decade, it was still a relatively small, student-oriented NPR station with a mixture of music and public-radio programming. Around 1999 or 2000, Pasadena City College agreed to have Minnesota Public Radio establish and operate Southern California Public Radio. SCPR retained day-to-day operational control while the college continued to hold the license. The transition brought more network programming and reduced the number of on-air opportunities available to students, although technical and internship opportunities continued. KPCC developed a stronger regional news and public-affairs identity under SCPR. Its locally originated programming has included AirTalk, FilmWeek, The Loh Down on Science, and Go Fact Yourself, alongside national and distributed programs. In 2018, SCPR joined WNYC and WAMU in acquiring major assets of the Gothamist network, including LAist, with the intention of integrating LAist into SCPR's Southern California operations. On January 31, 2023, SCPR announced that its stations and digital platforms would move away from the KPCC brand and adopt LAist as the public-facing name. The Pasadena station's official call letters nevertheless remained KPCC, and the service continued to operate as the same l…
History
KPCC's history is rooted in Pasadena City College's long-standing involvement in educational radio. The institution's predecessor, Pasadena Junior College, began participating in radio during the 1930s by producing a monthly program for the Pasadena Presbyterian Church station KPPC. In 1942, the college also produced an experimental weekly program for another local station. These early activities established radio as part of the school's instructional and community-outreach mission before the college operated a station of its own. Pasadena City College opened a dedicated radio studio on December 14, 1947. The facility included a studio classroom, engineering room, workroom, and reception area, but the college did not initially possess either a transmitter or an FCC broadcast license. Its programs were therefore carried by other stations, including KPPC and KXLA. The college was also active in television production during the postwar period, creating an institutional base for later broadcast education. In April 1957, the college began its own FM broadcasts under the call sign KPCS. The transmitter had been acquired from KWKW. KPCS was unusual among two-year college stations because it held an FCC broadcast license. Its first schedule was limited to several hours each day, beginning at 11 a.m. On October 1, 1962, it expanded to all-day broadcasting. The call letters originally represented Pasadena City Schools, reflecting the relationship between the college and the local educational system. At the end of 1971, the station adopted the KPCC call sign. KPCC remained closely associated with Pasadena City College through the 1970s and 1980s. It received numerous broadcasting awards during those decades and operated alongside the college's television activities. A 12-day rainstorm affecting Pasadena in 1983 flooded the radio station and television studio. In 1988, the transmitter and tower moved from the college's C Building to a higher-powered site on Mount Wilson. The move increased signal strength and expanded the station's potential service area beyond Pasadena. The studio operation moved in 1993 from the cramped basement of the C Building into the newly built Shatford Library, where radio facilities operated for the next seventeen years. The broader signal and expanding programming created controversy during the 1990s. Some members of the college and local community believed that the station was shifting from a Pasadena-centered educational service toward a Los Angeles regional broadcaster. By the end of the decade, however, KPCC was still a relatively small student-operated NPR station, carrying music and other programming on a budget of approximately $300,000. Around 1999 or 2000, Pasadena City College accepted an offer from Minnesota Public Radio to create Southern California Public Radio and assume operational responsibility for KPCC. The college continued to hold the station's license, while SCPR became responsible for programming, staffing, fundraising, and day-to-day management. SCPR later operated within the American Public Media Group structure. The new operating model replaced much of the station's music and local schedule with network programming from NPR and other public-media distributors. Students continued to have internship and technical opportunities, but there were fewer on-air roles than under the earlier college-centered model. In response to the reduced student presence on KPCC, Pasadena City College established a separate low-power service on 88.9 MHz in 1998. That service became known as Lancer Radio and later developed an online stream and website. KPCC, meanwhile, continued its transition into a professionally operated regional public-radio service. In March 2010, KPCC left the Shatford Library and moved into a 35,000-square-foot converted office building on South Raymond Avenue. The facility, named the Mohn Broadcast Center and Crawford Family Forum, provided larger studios, production space, and an event venue. The station's programming increasingly emphasized local news, public affairs, culture, science, and conversations relevant to Southern California, while retaining major national public-radio programs. SCPR expanded its digital-media ambitions in 2018 when it joined New York's WNYC and Washington's WAMU in acquiring much of the Gothamist group, including LAist and DCist. The acquisition was supported by donations from two anonymous donors. SCPR planned to merge LAist's Southern California operation with its existing studio and reporting infrastructure. This strategy eventually led to a unified LAist identity across radio and digital platforms. On January 31, 2023, SCPR announced that the radio stations would stop using KPCC as the principal consumer brand and would adopt LAist across its platforms. The Pasadena station retained KPCC as its official call sign, meaning that the historical station identity continued in regulatory records even as LAist became the dominant public-facing brand. The service remains a nonprofit public-radio outlet licensed to Pasadena City College, operated by Southern California Public Radio, and focused on the Los Angeles region.
- 2023
Public-facing identity changes to LAist
[1]SCPR announces that its stations and digital services will use the LAist name, while the Pasadena station keeps KPCC as its official call sign.
- 2018
SCPR participates in Gothamist and LAist acquisition
[1]SCPR joins WNYC and WAMU in acquiring much of the Gothamist network, including LAist, laying the groundwork for later platform integration.
- 2010
Mohn Broadcast Center opens
[1]KPCC moves into a new Pasadena facility containing expanded broadcast studios and the Crawford Family Forum.
- 2000
Southern California Public Radio assumes operations
[1]Around the turn of the millennium, Minnesota Public Radio establishes SCPR to operate KPCC while Pasadena City College retains the license.
- 1998
College launches a separate low-power student station
[1]Pasadena City College establishes a 1-watt service on 88.9 MHz that later becomes known as Lancer Radio.
- 1993
Studios move to Shatford Library
[1]The radio operation leaves its basement facilities in the C Building and moves into the new Shatford Library.
- 1988
Transmitter moves to Mount Wilson
[1]KPCC relocates its transmitter and tower to a higher-powered Mount Wilson facility, broadening regional signal coverage.
- 1983
Flood damages broadcast facilities
[1]A prolonged Pasadena rainstorm floods the college's radio and television facilities.
- 1971
KPCC call sign adopted
[1]The station changes its call letters from KPCS to KPCC near the end of the year.
- 1962
Station expands to all-day broadcasting
[1]KPCS extends its schedule from limited daytime hours to all-day operation.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit, civic-minded public-media service combining Southern California news and public affairs with national public-radio programming. Historically identified as KPCC and, since 2023, publicly branded as LAist 89.3.
FM public radio station · 1957
KPCC 89.3 FM
The licensed Pasadena FM station historically branded as KPCC 89.3 and later presented publicly as LAist 89.3. It provides regional news, public affairs, cultural coverage, science content, and programming distributed by NPR, PRX, and APM. Its Mount Wilson transmitter and associated translators extend service beyond Pasadena into much of Southern California.
Local talk and public-affairs program
AirTalk
A locally originated conversation and public-affairs program associated with KPCC's Los Angeles service. The program addresses regional and national issues through interviews, analysis, and audience discussion, and has been one of the station's best-known local offerings.
Film and culture program
FilmWeek
A film-focused program produced for the station's audience. It provides reviews and discussion of current cinema and connects the station's public-radio service with the cultural life of Southern California.
Science program
The Loh Down on Science
A locally associated science program that presents scientific subjects in an accessible public-radio format. Its role reflects KPCC's emphasis on educational content in addition to news and public affairs.
Pop-culture trivia program
Go Fact Yourself
A locally originated trivia and pop-culture program built around guests answering questions in a game-show-style format. It represents the station's expansion beyond conventional news and talk programming.
Marketing campaigns
- 2023LAist rebrand
Southern California · Digital platforms
Southern California Public Radio consolidated its radio and digital consumer identity under the LAist name, replacing KPCC as the primary public-facing brand while preserving KPCC as the station's official call sign.
Outcome. The service became publicly identified as LAist 89.3, while the underlying Pasadena license and call letters remained KPCC.
Brand decisions
2023
Adoption of the LAist identityStrategyBackground
SCPR had developed LAist as a digital local-news brand and sought a unified identity across its radio and online platforms.
Action taken
SCPR announced that its stations would move away from the KPCC brand and use LAist across platforms.
Aftermath
The Pasadena station continued to use KPCC as its official call sign but was presented to audiences as LAist 89.3.
2018
Acquisition of LAist and related Gothamist assetsM&ABackground
Public-media organizations sought to build stronger digital news operations and connect online local journalism with established radio organizations.
Action taken
SCPR joined WNYC and WAMU in acquiring much of the Gothamist network, including LAist, with support from two anonymous donors.
Aftermath
SCPR planned to integrate LAist into its Southern California studio and reporting operations, eventually making LAist the principal consumer identity.
2000
Operational partnership with Southern California Public RadioStrategyBackground
Pasadena City College sought a model that could support a larger, professionally operated public-radio service while continuing to hold the station's broadcast license.
Action taken
Around 1999 or 2000, the college enabled Minnesota Public Radio to establish Southern California Public Radio and take over operational responsibility for KPCC.
Aftermath
KPCC shifted toward network and regional public-radio programming, with less music and fewer on-air student roles, while retaining technical and internship opportunities.
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