As the Trump administration’s plan to cut federal funding to public radio and television appears poised to come to fruition, local public media outlets like The Public’s Radio & Rhode Island PBS are assessing next steps. Congress this week approved a plan to claw back $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, sending it […]
Luis Hernandez
Luis helms the morning lineup. He is a 20-year public radio veteran, having joined The Public's Radio in 2022. That journey has taken him from the land of Gators at the University of Florida to WGCU in Fort Myers to KNPR in Las Vegas and then to WLRN in Miami.
Luis sees himself as a journalist and an entertainer, which is what drives him every morning—bringing more local news to the listeners and doing it in an interesting and sometimes fun way.
He also co-hosts Artscape and hosts The Weekly Catch. In his spare time, Luis is working on a couple of novels, a couple of podcasts and is getting back into painting.
Posted inArts And Culture, Local
Tickets on sale Friday for first ‘Nashville North’ concert series in Westerly
On Nov. 8, the United Theatre in Westerly will host the first in a series of intimate live shows featuring singer-songwriters from Nashville, presented by the Music City’s legendary Bluebird Cafe. The series is part of the “Nashville North” initiative, which seeks to bring powerful songwriter-driven performances to Rhode Island. The first show will include […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Business, Politics, The Weekly Catch
Payday lending reined in, fish processors face fines for underage workers, and more
Earlier this month, Rhode Island lawmakers finally passed a bill aimed at ending the predatory practices of payday lenders. We’ll look at what the new law means and how it took 15 years to get it passed. Our reporting on underage undocumented children working in New Bedford fishing houses has at least one Massachusetts lawmaker looking at ways to end the practice. Our reporter Ben Berke will describe what he’s found and the response from the fishing industry. On Artscape, a conversation about the fusion of Afro Cuban, Puerto Rican, and New Orleans jazz.
Posted inArts And Culture, Artscape
‘Merging Roots’: Combining Cuban, Puerto Rican, and New Orleans jazz at Summer Beats
The First Works Summer Beats concert series takes place at Roger Williams Park this summer with a variety of acts performing at the Boathouse Lawn every other week. This Friday, you can see The William Cepeda and Elio Villafranca jazz Sextet in a performance called “Merging Roots,” a collaboration exploring the shared African roots between Cuba, Puerto Rico and New Orleans. Morning host Luis Hernandez spoke with them for this week’s show.
Programming note: Artscape will be taking a break, so this is the last episode you’ll hear for a while. But in the meantime, we’ll still be bringing you stories on arts and culture throughout the week. You can find our coverage at thepublicsradio.org/arts.
Posted inArts And Culture, Economy, Politics, The Weekly Catch
Local tourism slumps under Trump, highlights of the 2025 RI legislative session, and more
In the 2025 Rhode Island General Assembly session, lawmakers passed a major gun law and numerous bills tackling housing and healthcare. We’ll look into what legislators achieved and failed to get done, as well as what to expect in 2026. Also, Trump administration policies are scaring off tourists. Hotels have higher than normal vacancies, and restaurants are closing on certain days due to low traffic. What kind of summer season will we have this year? Plus, thousands in Massachusetts and Rhode Island will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Cape Verdean independence this weekend. We talk with two people from our region who are being featured at a national celebration in Washington, D.C. That and more on this week’s show.
Posted inArts And Culture, Local
‘We are focused on freedom’: Local Cape Verdeans celebrate 50 years of independence
On July 5, Cape Verde marks 50 years of independence. It’s an important anniversary for the thousands of Cape Verdeans who will be celebrating in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, which together are home to the largest population of Cape Verdeans in the country. Morning Host Luis Hernandez spoke with two people from the region who […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Artscape
Teatro en El Verano explores the ultimate bargain in ‘¡Que Diablos! Fausto,’ a bilingual ‘Doctor Faustus’
Imagine if you could be the greatest in the world at anything, but, it would come at a cost: you’d have to sell your soul to the devil. That’s the story of the show “¡Que Diablos! Fausto,” a bilingual adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s play, “Doctor Faustus.” The show is part of the 10th anniversary production for Teatro en El Verano, a collaboration between Rhode Island Latino Arts and Trinity Repertory Company. The Public’s Radio Morning Host Luis Hernandez talked with Jesús Valles, the playwright who created the adaptation, and Marta Martinez, community program administrator, activist and historian at Rhode Island Latino Arts.
Posted inArts And Culture, Local
What’s on in July at the Community Libraries of Providence
The Community Libraries of Providence offer a slew of programming every week for kids and adults at their nine locations around the city. We highlight a few of these events in our monthly community libraries segment. For July, morning host Luis Hernandez spoke with Cheryl Space, Library Director of the Community Libraries of Providence, and […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Education, Politics, The Weekly Catch
Behind the bills: Rhode Island’s new gun control law and student cell phone ban
On today’s show we look at two significant bills signed into law this week by Gov. Dan McKee. First, a ban on the sale and manufacture of assault-style weapons. How effective are bans like this at actually tackling the problem of gun violence? A national expert breaks it down. Also: Rhode Island has joined the growing number of states banning cell phone use in schools. We’ll hear from a Providence teacher who says she hopes it will reverse some of the learning losses that have happened over the past decade. And we remember George Kent, the founding musical director of the Chorus of Westerly, who died recently at the age of 88. That and more on this week’s show.
Posted inLocal, Media
Pending Senate vote could eliminate federal funding for local public media
Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure to rescind already-approved funds for public media across the country. For the Public’s Radio & Rhode Island PBS, that would mean losing about 10% of our budget. The Senate hasn’t yet approved the rescissions package, but if they do, it would threaten our ability […]
