Gene Kelly Was 100 Last Year, but Ahead of His Time 

World-renowned showman Gene Kelly, probably best-known for his performances in Singing in the Rain and An American in Paris, would be 101 years old this year. Paul Ladd interviews Kelly’s widow Patricia, who says his dancing style lives today because it was ahead of its time. Paul’s interview is in four parts. KNLS listeners can hear them on consecutive Thursdays starting June 11. 

The Pacific Rim 

The Pacific Rim is the reason KNLS broadcasts in English. It’s 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. And English is the official language of government and commerce in India. 

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, Nashville, or Chicago, you can listen between 5:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.  If you’re in Atlanta, Miami, or New York, you can listen between 6:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.. Outside the U.S.—if you’re in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, or Singapore, you can listen between 5:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. If you’re in New Delhi or Mumbai, there’s an additional half-hour offset. Listening times are between 3:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. 

You can also use this website or the KNLS listener website, www.knls.org to listen to the English Hour if you’re not into shortwave radio. You can also access KNLS through the Safari or Google applications on your I-Phone or Droid.

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 may raise questions that a thoughtful truth seeker will ask. And other segments, such as the Bible or Christian lifestyle lessons, serve to answer those questions. 

Music to Love 

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, r&b, and hip-hop, with an occasional selection of country music that crosses over to the pop charts. The KNLS English Hour generally features music by artists from the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.  

In June, KNLS listeners will hear new music from A Great Big World, Bastille, Bruno Mars, Capital Cities, Nikki Williams, Sara Bareilles, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, and Walk Off the Earth. 

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.  

Souder & Friends 

It may bring a smile or it may bring a tear. Award-winning videographer Larry Souder continues his series of fascinating people and interesting places. He brings them to radio for KNLS.  

In June, KNLS listeners can hear Larry’s “Fried Pies” classic. 

News to Know 

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. Paul Ladd provides 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. George Penk and Eden McCulloch of New Zealand’s Life FM discuss relevant topics of culture and entertainment. And George joins with Nerice Collins to discuss topics related to social media. Bob Waliszewski of Focus on the Family provides Plugged-in Movie Review. 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, Paul Ladd’s features about faith-based movies, and movie discussions by George and Eden in Culture & Entertainment. And Fred Osterman reports about the latest news in the world of radio.  

Upcoming Reports for June 2013: 

Will miniature robots soon be crawling into our insides to diagnose and treat what ails us--assuming the robots themselves don’t ail us? Kelly Monahan reports. 

Kelly Ann also reports about the latest—perhaps surprising--findings regarding salt in the diet, and the not-so-surprising findings concerning job stress and health. 

What is a nano particle? And how can it help purify water in locations that don’t have modern water treatment? Marcy Bryan reports. 

Marcy also reports that relief agencies are taking advantage of supply networks first set up by Coca Cola to distribute soft drinks to remote places on the planet. 

Social media are all about hashtags, selfies, and an occasional rant against the USA. George Penk and Nerice Collins of New Zealand’s Life FM have the latest on Social Media. 

George and Nerice also report on the use of social media to help Oklahoma tornado victims locate lost property. 

George and Eden McCulloch report about the latest incarnation of the movie Anchorman—Anchorman II. 

A judge in Michigan has a strict rule against having cell phones in his courtroom.

What did he do when his cell phone went off during a trial? Doug Poling has the answer on Today’s News & the Good News. 

Doug also reports on the topping out of the new skyscraper that replaces the World Trade Center. 

Bob Waliszewki rates, for family friendliness, the movies After Earth, Deep in the Heart, and Epic. 

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.  

A Message to Live 

This is what we’re about and why we’re on the air and on the internet. Our mission is to present the lessons of the Bible, including and emphasizing the Good News in an interesting, non-threatening way. 

Ongoing Series 

• Andy Baker’s Prayer Lesson

• Author’s Journal with Dick Brackett

• Bible Archaeology—Proofs from the Earth with Bill Humble

• Certain Hope with Paul Ladd and Gary Holloway

• Creation Moments with Ian Taylor

• Direction with Rubel Shelly

• Family Minute with Deb Sorensen

• First Person with Paul Ladd

• God’s Money with Don White

• Groundwire with Sean Dunn

• Immersed in Life with Greg Taylor

• I Love Life with Jerry Dahmen

• Life Stories with Joe Norris

• Paradoxes with Bill Steensland

• Profiles of the New Testament with Bob Borquez

• Profiles of the Old Testament with Royce Kessler

• Refiner’s Fire with Paul Ladd

• True Stories of the Bible with Bill Steensland

• Unforgettable Conversations with Larry Souder

• Unexpected Gifts with Larry Souder

• Uplift with Bill McClure