Monte Belmonte

Monte Belmonte

Monte Belmonte 6am - 10am

Having grown up in the suburbs of Boston, I always thought Western Mass was a desolate wasteland. Now I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Well, I guess I can imagine it but I don’t WANT to live anywhere else. On this page you’ll find conversations with some of the people I find most interesting in our Valley. Authors, astronomers, astronauts and other people that start with letters other than “a.”

I got my start in radio impersonating Al Gore while off the air on Election Day 2000, and since that election dragged on and on, so has my radio career. I love bringing music and my “low minded humor for high minded people” (Wine Squirrel copyright 2017) to people of the Valley every weekday morning.

Thursday, September 30, 202109/30/2021

Placemaking and Pig-mending at The Mill District

In Podcasts

Meet Hannah Rechtschaffen and Andy Haase from the new Mill District General Store in Amherst. Learn about the burgeoning business…

Wednesday, September 29, 202109/29/2021

Kickshaw, Zugzwang & Ytterbium: More Winning Scrabble Words

In Podcasts

Word Nerd Emily Brewster, resident wordster, from Merriam-Webster gives us the meaning to these amazing Scrabble/Banagrams/Words with Friends words. https://soundcloud.com/939theriver-1/more-winning-scrabble-words-word-nerd?si=34341b7770114322814345d0e03a9d7f

Wednesday, September 29, 202109/29/2021

The Thing Itself with Christopher Janke

In Podcasts

Greenfield artist, Christopher Janke (full disclosure-husband of The Word Nerd) takes us through his enlightened exhibit at the UMass Fine…

Tuesday, September 28, 202109/28/2021

Does The Valley have a rabies problem? HEAVY PETTING

In Podcasts

Hear what Dr. Steve from Sunderland Animal Hospital has to say about the recent spate of rabies cases in the…

Tuesday, September 28, 202109/28/2021

Jamilla Deria and the 2021/22 UMASS FAC Season

In Podcasts

Meet the new(ish) director of the UMass Fine Arts Center, who was happy to return to her home haunts and…

Monday, September 27, 202109/27/2021

Two White Dwarves make a Snow White Supernova: Mr. Universe

In Podcasts

Hampshire College astronomer Dr. Salman Hameed on how astronomers solved a 900 year old mystery. https://soundcloud.com/939theriver-1/2-white-dwarves-make-a-snow-white-supernova-mr-universe

Monday, September 27, 202109/27/2021

The Weather Nut Theme Song

In Podcasts

J.J. O’Connell from the band SPOUSE and the meteorological legend, Dave Hayes The Weather Nut, join Monte to talk about…

Friday, September 24, 202109/24/2021

The Best Grape on Earth?

In Podcasts

Ringo at State Street thinks it is. Monte and The Wine Snobs taste through 3 great Rieslings. https://soundcloud.com/939theriver-1/the-best-grape-on-earth-wine-snob

Thursday, September 23, 202109/23/2021

Saving The Drake

In Podcasts

Gabrielle Gould from the Amherst Business improvement District and the Downtown Amherst Foundation is working to bring live performance back…

Thursday, September 23, 202109/23/2021

Why is it so hard to get Democrats to do the same thing?

In Podcasts

Congressman McGovern gives us his thoughts on the White House get-together about Biden’s infrastructure plans. Plus what is going on…

Recent Headlines

1 day ago in Entertainment, Music

Bruce Springsteen performs at New York Public Library gala

Bruce Springsteen was among six honorees Monday night at the New York Public Library's annual "Library Lions" gala, which pays tribute to "outstanding achievements" in arts, culture, letters and scholarship.

1 day ago in National, Trending

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Dick Cheney, the hard-charging conservative who became one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents in U.S. history and a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq, has died at age 84.

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2 days ago in Entertainment, Music

Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, Grateful Dead singer, dies at 78

Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, a soulful mezzo-soprano who provided backing vocals on such 1960s classics as "Suspicious Minds" and "When a Man Loves a Woman" and was a featured singer with the Grateful Dead for much of the 1970s, has died at 78.

2 days ago in Sports, Trending

After the $500 million Dodgers’ title repeat, what’s next for MLB?

The $500 million Los Angeles Dodgers' thrilling World Series win over the Toronto Blue Jays attracted record international attention for Major League Baseball, affirmed LA's status as the sport's best team and drew more attention to baseball's payroll disparity heading into what is likely to be contentious labor negotiations.