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Smart Speakers

NPR/Laundry
NPR/Laundry

How To Listen To WUFT & NPR On Your Smart Speaker

Your smart speaker is smart, but is always learning. The new way to experience public radio is here, but is still very much a work in progress. As we all discover how to use Smart Speakers to listen to public radio -- listeners, stations, and networks such as NPR -- we are learning that there is a bit of a learning curve to all of this.

The algorithms used by Amazon's Echo devices with Alexa voice recognition and Google's Home devices with Google Assistant are very different, so the way they hear and interpret your voice commands may bring different results. And these results keep changing as we and they learn and make modifications to get more accurate results.

So, with that being said, let's see some of the different ways you can unlock the world of NPR using your voice and Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Apple HomePod.

Select your device by clicking on the corresponding speaker type below:

Amazon Alexa

We have learned that most devices featuring Alexa voice-activation should work with third-party skills, but two devices that have had issues in the past include Sonos One and Amazon Fire TV, so Amazon doesn’t “officially support” them.

After enabling the official WUFT Alexa Skill or official NPR Alexa Skill, these are the primary commands that will play WUFT:

  • “Alexa, play WUFT” (Please make sure you are only requesting W-U-F-T as any variation will fail).
  • “Alexa, enable WUFT” (Please make sure you are only requesting W-U-F-T as any variation will fail).
  • “Alexa, open WUFT” (Please make sure you are only requesting W-U-F-T as any variation will fail).
  • “Alexa, play NPR”
  • “Alexa, enable NPR”
  • “Alexa, open NPR”

Available since 4/6/2018, WUFT has two official Amazon Alexa Skills for WUFT-FM and WUFT Classic! In order for them to work, you must first “enable” them.

To enable the WUFT skill, just say, “Alexa, enable WUFT skill.” Then just ask your Alexa device to “open” or “play” WUFT every time thereafter. You can also enable the skill directly through your account on Amazon.com or by using the Alexa App on your smart phone.

To enable the WUFT Classic skill, just say, “Alexa, enable WUFT Classic skill.” Then just ask your Alexa device to “open” or “play” WUFT Classic every time thereafter. You can also enable the skill directly through your account on Amazon.com or by using the Alexa App on your smart phone.

Please let us know if you experience any difficulties with these or any other commands at: radio@wuft.org. Thank you!

With a few simple commands – or "skills" – you can access the entire world of NPR: all the latest news, newest podcasts, and discussions of the day. Give some of the utterances below a try and hear NPR's critically-acclaimed, audio-rich stories come alive on your Alexa-enabled device.

Print or download a PDF with all the NPR-friendly commands currently available on Alexa.

Here are some other general commands, as well as some specific commands for WUFT:

"Alexa, play NPR."
Depending on where you live and your GPS location, this should stream your local public radio station, WUFT, live.

"Alexa, play the latest news from NPR."
Hear the latest 5-minute newscast, updated every hour.

"Alexa, play [any public radio station's name or call letters]." *
You should be able to stream live from any public radio station in the country by saying the station name or call letters, i.e., "Alexa, play WUFT" or "Alexa, play WUFT Classic."

UPDATE (5/2/2019): for some unknown reason, these commands are working again, streaming WUFT via the third-party TuneIn app:

  • WUFT FM
  • 89.1 WUFT
  • 89.1 WUFT FM
  • Florida's 89.1
  • Florida's 89.1 WUFT
  • Florida's 89.1 WUFT FM
  • WUFT 89.1
  • WUFT 89.1 FM
  • WUFT HD
  • WUFT HD1
  • WJUF

UPDATE: After enabling the official WUFT Alexa Skill or NPR Alexa Skill, these are the commands that will play WUFT 89.1 / 90.1:

  • "Alexa, play WUFT"
  • "Alexa, enable WUFT"
  • "Alexa, open WUFT"
  • "Alexa, play NPR"
  • "Alexa, enable NPR"
  • "Alexa, open NPR"

After many months of close collaboration between NPR's product and platform teams and Amazon, the official NPR Alexa skill was released that enables listeners to access their local member station's stream directly, without relying on TuneIn. When a listener asks Alexa to "play NPR," they'll be asked to select their Member station. You can identify your station by brand or call letters or browse a list of stations by zip code or by city and state. On your second visit, Alexa will confirm your preference and set it as the default.

So, you can use either this official NPR skill or the two official WUFT skills referenced above. Thanks for listening and your support!

To Play WUFT Classic: Say "Alexa, play WUFT Classic" or "Alexa, enable WUFT Classic."

To find any NPR member station, check out npr.org/stations.

"Alexa, play [show or podcast name]."
Play the latest episode of a specific show or podcast, like Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! or All Things Considered.

Add NPR to your Flash Briefing

With Flash Briefings, you can get personalized updates from your favorite news, weather, sports, and entertainment sources by saying "Alexa, play my Flash Briefing" or "Alexa, play the news." To add NPR Hourly News Summary or Up First, NPR's 10-minute morning news podcast, to your Flash Briefing lineup, follow one of these three simple steps:

  1. Say "Alexa, enable NPR Hourly News Summary" or "Alexa, enable Up First"
  2. Go to the NPR Hourly News Summary and Up First pages on Amazon and click "Manage Flash Briefing" to enable the skills.
  3. Open your Amazon Alexa app. In the drop-down menu, go to Settings. Scroll down and tap the bar that says Flash Briefing. Tap Get more Flash Briefing content at the top and search for "NPR." Scroll down until you see the tabs for NPR Hourly News Summary and Up First. Tap either or both and on the next screen, tap the button that says Enable.

Add WUFT News to your Flash Briefing

Add hourly updates from WUFT News to your Flash Briefing by clicking here to access and enable the skill: http://amzn.to/2FCLIic

Maximize your Listening Experience with NPR One

NPR One is an audio app that connects you to a stream of public radio news, stories, and podcasts based on what you like. By enabling NPR One on Alexa, you can enjoy that same personalized flow of local and national stories while going about your daily routine.

To put the breadth of public radio in your control, just search for NPR One in the Alexa app's skill store. Or say "Alexa, enable NPR One" and she'll send a card to your Alexa app to help you get started. From there, follow the prompts to launch into your customized listening experience.

Below are all of the NPR One-enabled commands currently available on your Amazon Alexa or Echo smart speaker:

"Alexa, play NPR One"
Hear the latest local and national news, and a flow of thoughtfully hand-curated stories.

"Alexa, ask NPR One to play the latest news"
Hear the latest 3-minute newscast, updated every hour.

"Alexa, ask NPR One to play [show or podcast name]"
Play the latest episode of a specific show or podcast.

"Alexa, ask NPR One to recommend a podcast."
Listen to standout podcast episodes curated by our editors, and shows picked just for you.

"Alexa, skip."
Skip the current story and help inform future stories you get served. Read more about NPR One's personalization algorithm.

"Alexa, ask NPR One to mark as interesting"
Mark a story as interesting and help inform future stories you get served.

"Alexa, ask NPR One to [fast–forward or rewind]"
Rewind or fast-forward by seconds or minutes – however long you prefer.

"Alexa, ask NPR One for details"
Get details about the story currently playing.

Bam, you should be all set

Google Home

Please note that because Google Home streams WUFT via the third-party app TuneIn, results continue to vary (wildly). It will play/stream WUFT, but for some reason, it often erroneously announces it will play GHQ on NPR beforehand. Along with NPR Digital Services, we continue our attempts to get this straightened out with the folks responsible for this, TuneIn.

Speak clearly and say, “Okay Google, play…” or “Hey Google, play…” or “Okay Google, stream…” any one of the following (subject to change):

  • WUFT
  • WUFT 89.1
  • WJUF
  • NPR (may or may not work)

As of 11/8/2021, only the following command works to play/stream WUFT Classic, unfortunately: Speak clearly and say, “Okay Google, play…” or “Hey Google, play…” or “Okay Google, stream…” WUFT HD2. Ignore Google saying it'll play HD3 GHQ; it'll really play HD2 WUFT Classic.

Google is all kinds of messed up.

Some former commands have stopped playing WUFT using Google Home. Please do not try using them as you probably won't get what you're asking for:

  • WUFT 89.1 FM
  • 89.1 WUFT
  • 89.1 WUFT FM
  • 89.1
  • 89.1 FM
  • WUFT FM
  • 90.1

See more about Google Home smart speakers below.


The entire world of NPR is at your command. With a few simple utterances (hopefully), you should be able access all the latest news, podcasts, and discussions of the day. Give some of the commands below a try and hear NPR's critically-acclaimed, audio-rich stories come alive on your Google Home voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant.

Print or download a PDF with all the NPR-friendly commands currently available on Google Home.

Here are some general commands:

*Currently, Google Home still is having difficulty playing WUFT when requesting "Play NPR." However, "Hey Google, play 89.1 WUFT ," "OK Google, play WUFT 89.1 FM," or "Hey Google, play 89.1 " should work (as of 1/1/19). See below for more.

"Okay Google, play the latest news from NPR."
Hear the latest 5-minute newscast, updated every hour.

Saying "Okay Google, play..." or "Hey Google, play..." any one of the following should play WUFT:

  • WUFT 89.1 FM
  • 89.1 WUFT
  • 89.1 WUFT FM
  • 89.1
  • 89.1 FM

Currently, Google Home uses the third-party company TuneIn to stream live radio and results may vary depending on how TuneIn "brands" or identifies these streams. This is why some listeners have difficulty playing WUFT. Please let us know if you experience any difficulties with these or any other commands at: radio@wuft.org. Thank you!

To Play WUFT Classic: Try saying "Hey Google, play WUFT Classic," or "Okay Google, play WUFT HD2." Google Home and Google Mini were having difficulty finding WUFT Classic when requesting WUFT Classic, but it seems to work as of 2/12/18.

To find any NPR member station, check out npr.org/stations.

"Ok Google, play [show or podcast name]."
Play the latest episode of a specific show or podcast, such as Morning Edition or Hidden Brain.

Maximize your Listening Experience with NPR One

NPR One is an audio app that connects you to a stream of public radio news, stories, and podcasts based on what you like. By enabling NPR One on Google Home, you can enjoy that same personalized flow of local and national stories while going about your daily routine.

To put the breadth of public radio in your control, just search for NPR One in the Google Home app's skill store. Or say "Ok Google, enable NPR One" and Google will send a card to your app to help you get started. Then, when you're ready, just say "Ok Google, talk to NPR One" to hear a flow of 2-minute stories and launch into your customized listening experience.

Add NPR to your Default News Services

With Google Home's default news services, you can get personalized updates from your favorite news, weather, sports, and entertainment sources just by saying "Ok Google, tell me the news" or "Ok Google, catch me up." To add NPR Hourly News Summary or Up First, NPR's 10-minute morning news podcast, to your default news service, simply:

Open your Google Home app.
In the top left corner of the home screen, tap the Menu.
Tap More Settings > News. You should see a list of your current news sources.
Tap Add news sources >, then tap the check mark next to NPR Hourly News Summary and Up First.
Change the order of your lineup by tapping Change order > and holding down the hashmark next to the news source. Then drag the icon up or down.

Bam, you should be all set.

To add NPR updates in other categories like Business, Technology, or Politics, check out the other topics in Add news sources and tap the check mark next to those that interest you. Then, when you're ready for an update, just say "Ok Google, what's the latest in technology?" or "Ok Google, give me business news."

Google Home is a trademark of Google LLC.

Apple Homepod
Apple Homepod
NPR/Laundry

Print or download a PDF with all the NPR-friendly commands available for Siri (last updated March 2019).


Credits:
VIDEOS
CREATED BY NPR'S MARKETING CREATIVE TEAM
Creative Director: Billy Candela, Senior Copywriter: Sergio Romano, Senior Marketing Associate: Mina Tavakoli

With audio mix by Josh Rogosin and original music by Ramtin Arablouei

ANIMATION BY LAUNDRY
Creative Director: PJ Richardson, Managing Director: James Sweigert, Executive Producer: Garrett Braren, Producer: Meredith Panicara, Edit and Sound Design: Justin Freedman, Design and Animation: Yongmin Park, Yoojin Seol, and Xirui Liu

LANDING PAGE
Page Editor: Justin Lucas, UI Developer: Todd Welstein, Senior Copywriter: Sergio Romano, Designer: Erin Culliney, Smart Audio Consultant: Ha-Hoa Hamano, Artwork: Laundry