“We want to be the go-to place for people who are interested in knowing what’s going on in the Lansing area, in mid-Michigan,” Bashore said. “That’s why we cast such a wide net as far as our topics. We definitely want to cover issues, policy, front-page news.”

The former host of WKAR show “All Things Considered” said he’s excited to return to broadcasting.

“There’s a spontaneity to live broadcasting that we’re trying to bring,” he said. “We want it to be fun, we want it to be spontaneous, we want it to be loose.”

The first show opened with an interview with Gov. Rick Snyder, who talked about his upcoming State of the State address. The rest of the show included an array of discussion topics, ranging from business and the economy to Spartan basketball and football.

“It’s important to note it’s a magazine show,” said WKAR producer Joe Linstroth. “Which essentially means that we’ll do whatever we want. How it sounds today will sound different a month from now, it will sound different three months from now, a year from now.”

Linstroth, who previously worked for WBEZ in Chicago, arrived at WKAR a little more than a week ago. He sees his new opportunity as a chance to make “Current State” a “community meeting place.”

“In a community this size, there isn’t a reason why we shouldn’t be able to penetrate every nook and cranny,” he said. “Public radio has a tendency to have this image of being only for white, educated, older people. One of my goals coming in here is to try and change that, to make this everyone’s show and have something for everyone.”

The show is a product of research that suggested local citizens craved more local programming, said Bashore. He believes that the variety of content on “Current State” will appeal to not only college students, but a wide age set.

“Presumably, college students are interested in the news and issues,” he said. “But we are going to cover performance (and) we are going to cover theater and music.”

“We’re not really ruling any age demographic out. We think there’s going to be something for everybody of every age group eventually on ‘Current State.’”

Journalism senior Scott Peceny said the new radio show should be a hit with the student demographic.

“From the students’ perspective, students care about more than one thing,” Peceny said. “It’s important for students to have an outlet where they have a wide variety of topics. There’s different platforms for the students and the listeners.”