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WRFU "Radio Free Urbana" 104.5FM is a low power FM station that is community run. WRFU physically lives in Urbana, IL in the United States of America.

Listen Live by tuning to 104.5FM in East Central Illinois -- if you are close enough, you can hear us. We are low power FM!
We also stream programming online at our website: https://www.ucimc.org/wrfu_104_5
We also live stream WRFU in other formats:OGG/Vorbis (320 kbit) or MP3 (128kbit)

WRFU's programming features an eclectic mix of talk and music chosen by volunteer members of WRFU. Each radio show is run by a collective. Here is a short list of some of our local shows (as of 2020).

  • WannaBe Cafe holds a table for conversation for seeking to reconcile with and restore all who are, and is long integral and harmonized, rooted and related, Native and Indigenous.
  • The After Work Drive Show is a venue for local artists to get their music out into the community
  • The 11th Indian Show
  • Ladies First
  • Talks with Tari
  • CU Immigration
  • Economic Update - Richard Wolff
  • Radical History Reviews
  • ​Conscious Community Connection
  • Good Afternoon Champaign-Urbana and Vicinity
  • ​The Prison Justice Show
  • The World Labor Hour: Each week the World Labor Hour interviews guests from Central Illinois and from around the world, and delivers news and discussion on labor and other issues that effect working people.
  • The Show (Ray Morales)
  • Harukana Show -- The host of the show is Mugiko and the co-hosts live in US and in Japan. We will speak in Japanese as we connect the US and Japan through radio.
  • Rare Grooves
  • East to West: Hosted by Chuck Simpson, East to West is a show about optimistic hope through love for each other. Christian. 
  • God's Word to Feed Your Soul Ministry
  • Not Another Sports Show

To learn more about all the WRFU shows: current shows

To browse past shows: recordings of (some) past shows / http://stream.wrfu.net/wrfu-recordings/?C=M;O=D

We recently got a lovely email saying: " I'm a local musician. I'd like to thank you for your dedication to music and to the community! I hope you realize the healing that you do for our culture."

To get involved: contact WRFU's volunteer station manager: [email protected] or show up at our monthly meeting! Monthly Meetings:     When: 3rd Wednesdays at 7:00pm.  Where: at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center /  202 S. Broadway Ave Urbana IL.

Become a WRFU member and join the rfu email list: write to  [email protected]

Other questions:  also write to WRFU's volunteer station manager, [email protected]

Submit a Public Service Announcement: see  PSA and how to submit one

Do you want to have your own radio show?
Write up a proposal.  You'd write up something about the purpose of the show, who would do it, a show title, how long you'd like the show to be (an hour is common, though shows run from half an hour to two hours), whether you'd intend to do shows live vs. pre-recorded (either is possible), things like that.

Choose a time: There's a mix of available times - you can browse the week's schedule on
     http://wrfu.net/

Weekday daytimes are pretty much wide open.   Weekday early evenings (5pm-8pm) are fairly busy but have some open slots.    On weekend days, there's a 1:00-2:00pm Saturday show ("Union Edge") which hasn't happened in a while, so you could probably take that.

You'd need to be an IMC member ($50 per year, $25 low income) and also a WRFU member (an additional $25/year, though if that's a hardship then something might be worked out).

Bring the proposal to the next WRFU meeting or send the proposal to [email protected]

Once your show is approved, you will be trained by the WRFU volunteers.

Like the Public I newspaper, the Urbana-Champaign Books To Prisoners, and Makerspace Urbana, WRFU is a "Working Group" of the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center - a non-profit organization. Together our mission is: "The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center’s mission is to foster the creation and distribution of media and art that emphasizes underrepresented voices and perspectives, and to promote empowerment and expression through media and arts education. To that end we operate a Community Media and Arts Center out of the historic downtown Urbana post office building, which we purchased in 2005, located at 202 S. Broadway Ave., Urbana."  // The UC-IMC is supported in part by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency with the mission of building a strong, creative, and connected Illinois through the arts. // UC-IMC is a proud member of Community Shares of Illinois, a network of non-profit organizations.

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