“All Things Armenian” Radio Hour Premieres on Multicultural 1600AM Radio

Dustin Vartanian

Staff Writer

Turn up the volume and tune in to Multicultural 1600 KGST-AM Radio. The Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State has brought back its “All Things Armenian” radio program hosted by Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian. The original “All Things Armenian” program aired in 2003-2004 through the Fresno State radio station (KFSR) but, the new program’s airing this year have a new twist to them. This program is recorded live and listeners are encouraged to call in to join discussions about relevant topics about the local Armenian community and Armenian news from around the world. “All Things Armenian” also includes interviews from a diverse group of people and different selections of Armenian music. 

The host, Prof. Der Mugrdechian, explains that each episode will be related to Armenian Studies. This gives students involved in the Armenian Studies Program an opportunity to be engaged in other discussions outside of the classroom. The content of the program is targeted for the local community; however, now that the program is streamed online, anyone around the world will be able to tune in. Prof. Der Mugrdechian believes the audience will extend beyond the Fresno community because of the interesting content of the program. “Normally you don’t get to talk to someone and hear them go into depth on a given topic. I want to bring in experts and interesting people so I think it will be a broad audience,” stated Prof. Der Mugrdechian.

“All Things Armenian” is one of the several cultural programs aired through the Multicultural Radio Station. Multicultural Radio highlights the many different cultures found in the diverse Fresno area. Melissa Del Carlo, the General Sales Manager for Lotus Fresno Corporation, explains that the radio programs aired on Multicultural radio are essential for others to learn about different cultures around the community. She says that listening to these programs are some of the only ways to explore different cultures in the Fresno area. The radio programs “help our community really be able to connect with all the different cultures that are here,” said Del Carlo. The Fresno Armenian community is a big and active community and many others living in the area do not understand the Armenian culture and do not understand other cultures as well. 

Del Carlo also sees potential for expanding the “All Things Armenian” program. It is possible that the program could be aired more than once a week in the future. “I’d love to integrate a weekly program that is dialed in Monday through Friday at a set time,” said Del Carlo.

“All Things Armenian” is aired every Sunday afternoon from 2:00pm to 3:00pm on 1600 KGST-AM and live streamed on the Multi-cultural 1600 website, found at https://www.multicultural1600am.com/. All of the programs will also be archived at the site.