First—the bone-chilling cold temperatures. Then the January thaw. And now winter slaps back with the season’s first big snowstorm. By the time you read the March edition of “What’s Going On,” we may be in shirt sleeves. But that’s the way it is here in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s a choice between warm and really hot.

But before we get too caught up in a minor inconvenience such as the ever-changing weather, let’s take a moment to remember those in the tropical nation of Haiti. Relief efforts continue in the earthquake-devastated regions. Even though Haiti is usually not within the signal area of KNLS—which prevents us from broadcasting to the Haitian people—we can continue to encourage Pacific Rim listeners to help Haiti recover. Celebrities lent their influence in a telethon that was telecast world-wide and offered much of the planet an opportunity to help the Haitian people. KNLS is an instrument in what has been described as the “global village.” Mass communication has truly shown that we are all God’s children and all one people.

The  KNLS English Hour continues to serve the Pacific Rim seven days a week with great music, current news, and The Good News. The Pacific Rim is that part of the Eastern Hemisphere that encompasses the English-prevalent countries of the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. Additionally—English is widely spoken in Indonesia.  

KNLS is on the air daily from 800 hours UTC (Universal Coordinated Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time) to 1800 hours UTC. Eastern Daylight Time is four hours behind UTC; Central Time is five hours behind. So, if you’re in Dallas or Chicago, you can listen between 3:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. If you’re in Atlanta or New York, you can listen between 4:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

KNLS broadcasts in Chinese, Russian, and English. The English Hour is carried at 800, 1000, 1200, and 1400 UTC. You get times and frequencies of all KNLS broadcasts through this link http://www.knls.org/English/ksched.htm 

The KNLS English Hour is the Pacific Rim’s source for music to love, news to know, and a message to live. The KNLS signal stretches throughout the English-speaking world—including the planet’s most populous (1.2 billion people) democracy—India—that has English as its official language.

While we work to provide a geographical balance in the topics we feature, news about the USA is of great interest to many listeners around the world. The English Hour does tell stories about life in the United States and KNLS’ home state of Alaska. Two of the programs are titled The American Highway and Postcard from Alaska. They often include a discussion of “American” principles—principles rooted in Christianity that are universally understood and applied.  And our Eye on the World stories often show the interdependence of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Since our target audience is mostly non-Christians, our content is different from a typical Christian format station in America. While we provide our share of positive, uplifting content, some of our programming also provides an honest look at the dark side of life on Earth. Indeed, some program segments, such as a popular music selection and the 2007 AIR-award-winning report about slave trafficking in India, may raise questions that a thoughtful seeker of the truth will ask. And other segments, such as the Bible or Christian lifestyle lessons, serve to answer those questions.

Music is a universal language. Probably 80 per cent of the world’s pop tunes are sung in English, and are enjoyed by people everywhere, many who are themselves not proficient in English. The KNLS English hour features your favorite songs of the 80’s, 90’s, and today. International pop charts show that your favorite music is also the favorite of people who are culturally diverse—whether in Nairobi, Sydney, Singapore, or Jakarta.

The songs are rock, pop, and r&b, with an occasional selection of country or hip-hop. The KNLS English Hour generally features music by artists from the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Americans are familiar with Alicia Keys, Beyonce, the Black Eyed Peas, Colbie Callait, Daughtry, John Mayer, Justin Bieber, Kelly Clarkson, Kings of Leon, Lady Gaga, Leona Lewis, Lifehouse, Lily Allen, Linkin Park, Michael Buble, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Miley Cyrus, Ne-Yo, Nickelback, One Republic, Owl City, Rob Thomas, Sean Kingston, The Script, Shinedown, Taylor Swift,  Uncle Kracker, U2, and Christian crossover artists such as Jars of Clay and Flyleaf—just to name a few.

For the new year, KNLS listeners will be introduced to new music from Alicia Keys featuring Beyonce, The Fray, John Mayer, Justin Bieber, Kris Allen, Mary J. Blige, Owl City, Parachute, and Selena Gomez and The Scene.

Since KNLS is a Christian station, we screen song lyrics for their language and their message. Some songs provide a positive, uplifting, or values-based message. Some provide commentary about life, both good and bad. And some are purely for entertainment, to give the listener a chance to take a deep breath and lighten up for moment.

Once an hour, we take a break from pop music and present Profiles in Christian Music with Gayle Crowe. These include acapella versions of newer songs that have been on Christian Hit Radio charts.

The English hour features reports about topics of current interest. Marcy Bryan reports about entertainment, business, and religious news. Kelly Ann Monahan has the latest developments in medicine, science, and computer technology. Blake Farmer and Paul Ladd provide special reports about diverse topics, religious and secular. Doug Poling provides commentary on the news from a Christian perspective on Today’s News & the Good News. And Bob Waliszewski of Focus on the Family provides Plugged-in Movie Reviews. Bob rates the latest movies according to family friendliness. This is in addition to Marcy Bryan’s regular movie reviews in her Eye on Entertainment reports. And Fred Osterman reports about the latest news in the world of radio.

Upcoming reports for mid-winter 2010:

*People ask “Why God?” after a big natural disaster such as the Haitian earthquake. Doug Poling addresses this age-old question on Today’s News & the Good News.
* Doug also reports that insulting your spouse will soon become illegal in France. No kidding!
*Marcy Bryan updates the international relief efforts in Haiti.
*Marcy also reports about the movie Avatar. China is renaming a mountain for it.
Again—no kidding!
*Your dog can now use Twitter. Kelly Ann Monahan reports. (Find out if we’re kidding.)
*Kelly Ann also reports on an FCC investigation into termination fees charged by major cell phone companies.
*What’s it like to donate bone marrow to save a life? Paul Ladd interviews someone who did as part of the Refiner’s Fire series.
 *Dick Brackett stayed away from the World Christian Broadcasting office all during December. During his absence, he somehow found out everything about Santa Claus’s visit to a nearby shopping center. He shares Santa’s experiences with KNLS listeners.
Mary Westheimer continues her long-running series about the world’s most interesting websites
*Bob Waliszewski reviews the movies Avatar, The Princess and the Frog, The Spy Next Door, and When in Rome, rating their family-friendliness.

Souder and Friends

Sometimes funny. Sometimes serious. But always getting your attention. It’s time for Souder & Friends! Long-time KNLS program contributor Larry Souder presents his classic collection of interesting friends. In February, Larry introduces KNLS listeners to a kitchen band. It’s a real kazoo!

The English Express

Dick Brackett, Marcy Bryan, and Paul Ladd join forces to bring KNLS listeners the stories behind some of the idiomatic sayings of the English language. This is for the benefit of listeners who practice English as a second language—as well as the rest of us who claim to know English.

This is what we’re about and why we’re on the air. Our mission is to present the lessons of the Bible, including and emphasizing the Gospel message, in an interesting, non-threatening way that an unbeliever can relate to.

New Series

The God Who Makes Himself Known with Bill Young

Ongoing Series

Andy Baker’s Prayer Lesson
Author’s Journal with Dick Brackett
Bible Archaeology, Proofs from the Earth with Bill Humble
First Person with Paul Ladd
Creation Moments with Ian Taylor
God’s Money with Brant Hanson and Don White
Groundwire with Sean Dunn
I Love Life with Jerry Dahmen
Living with Conflict with Greg Taylor
Profiles of the New Testament with Bob Borquez
Profiles of the Old Testament with Royce Kessler
 Promises with Royce Kessler
Refiner’s Fire with Paul Ladd
Uplift with Bill McClure