Lumpen RadioLumpen Radio

Lumpen Radio is the broadcast arm of Public Media Institute, a Chicago arts non-profit that has been running galleries, publications and festivals out of Bridgeport since 2001. When the FCC opened its low-power window, PMI took a licence and put WLPN-LP 105.5 on the air in 2016, run out of the same South Side block as the rest of its operations. Its signal reaches most of the city, an HD subchannel followed, and the whole operation rests on a handful of staff and a very large volunteer roster.

The schedule is built by curators rather than a music director. Trqpiteca's resident DJs bring Chicago underground dance on alternate Mondays, Out Of Vogue takes a different strain of punk each week, alluvia's fluid threads vinyl sets through field recordings, and Democracy Now opens every weekday morning. A good part of the week runs in Spanish, from Radio es Cultura on down.