Q101 (101.1FM / WKQX) is back on Chicago’s FM dial, after many confusing and MIA years for the brand. A fresh listen reveals a station in line with what many (or at least I) would argue is a “classic” Q101 look and feel.

Let’s be candid: Terrestrial radio is facing serious headwinds, and its success hinges on bold ideas spanning multiple platforms. To talk about radio, and more specifically, Q101, I invited Q101 Program Director James Kurdziel to discuss topics like:

• What makes for a good air personality in the modern day (especially compared to, say, the 1990s)?
• How does new music find its way onto the air?
• What does the industry need to do to right the course?
• Is being a heritage station an advantage or weakness?
• What about being ‘live and local?’
• Where do podcasts, YouTube, et al. fit in?

I’ve worked for (and with) my share of radio blowhards through the decades. James isn’t one of them. He and his vision for the station are easy to root for.

Disclaimer: Car Con Carne is a Q101 podcast. Even so, I asked the same questions I would have asked if that were not the case.

Disclaimer #2: This episode (1011… get it?) is being published before Episode 1008. I decided I didn’t want to sit on it just to fall in sequence. I thought it was really interesting, and a good one to share before Thanksgiving. 

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