Coming Sunday: WMAL Celebrates 100 Years On The DCRTV Podcast

On October 12, 1925, WMAL signed on the air for the very first time. One hundred years later, on October 12, 2025, we will celebrate the station’s remarkable history on the DCRTV Podcast with three longtime fixtures: Midday host Tom Gauger, Chief Engineer David Sproul, and General Manager Tom Bresnahan.

In this special anniversary episode, they share what WMAL sounded like in its earliest days, the revolt that led to hiring Harden and Weaver, and how the foundation was laid for the station to become one of Washington’s great radio institutions. We revisit the personalities who defined WMAL through the decades, John Lyon, Trumbull and Core, Felix Grant, Bill Mayhugh, Ken Beatrice, and of course, Harden and Weaver.

You’ll hear the inside story of the FCC fine that Harden and Weaver received, the impact of Rush Limbaugh’s arrival on the lineup, how the station changed after Jackson Weaver’s passing, and the big move from AM to FM. It’s a lively and fascinating look back at a station that has been part of Washington life for a century.