The Torch
The Torch Podcasting Network is Biola University’s student-run, student-hosted podcast network. We exist for two purposes: 1) as the audio arm of The Chimes, Biola University’s online student newspaper, to inform Biola students of campus, state, national and international news and happenings, and 2) as a creative space for Biola students to host their own podcasts. Follow us on Instagram @KBR_the_Torch
In-house Podcasts
The Chimes Weekly
Before The Chimes became an all-digital news website, it was Biola’s student newspaper called The Chimes Weekly that published every Thursday. Listen to bite-sized podcast episodes curated for Biola students, by Biola students with top news stories from The Chimes, LA County, the nation and the world, with an interview with a Chimes writer or special guest to close out your week. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Chimes Weekly was previously known as KBR Daily News Updates and Chimes Rundown. Executive produced by Hope Li; produced, hosted and written by Reagan Glidewell and Thomas Rahkola; audio engineered by Jason Lee.
Biola Backstage
In Season 3 of Biola Backstage, get the story behind the scenes, behind the camera and behind the stage as hosts Hope Li and Jake Russo talk to Biola students from the Snyder School of Cinema Media Arts, the Conservatory of Music (and theatre!) and more.
Independent Podcasts
The Torch Podcasting Network is also a creative lab space for students to pitch and produce their own shows. Interested in hosting your own podcast? We’re looking for new shows for the 2025-2026 academic calendar! Fill our our interest form here.
did i talk too much?
GRIT is the women’s resource at Biola University that exists to empower women to step into their gifting, foster resilience, gain insight, and develop tenacity. Through thoughtful conversations about the female experience, the women of GRIT will empower and equip the women in our community. We won’t have all the answers, but we hope to stay long enough to learn from the questions.
Follow GRIT on Instagram @GRITatBiola
Archived Podcasts
Losing Our Minds with Micah Eastman
Sometimes you write the jokes and sometimes life writes them for you. Micah Eastman, a young man with way too much on his mind, talks about the irony of life and the ridiculousness that follows.
To Say the Least
Podcast hosts Jeff Woolson Jr. and Caleb Crawley dig into the sports world to discuss team picks, upcoming thoughts and more throughout this half hour episode series.
Kayleigh’s Korner
There’s scarcely anything that feels more intimidating than having an intelligible conversation surrounding music. My hope is to make that endeavor more digestible. Pull up a chair inside my brain! Hopefully you feel safe and learn a little something that you didn’t know before.
History and Legacy
Much of The Torch’s history has been documented in The Biolan, Biola’s yearbook, but not much has been recorded in official Torch files. Here’s what we know:
In February of 1978, KBBK Biola Radio began in an audio studio behind the Health Center. Students could tune in from their dorm rooms. Between 2000 and 2003, its name changed to KBR, because another station (a real one) had the same name and threatened to sue, according to Mark Spicer, director of studio operations at the Production Center.
Between 2007 and 2009, Biola Radio resurrected as KBR The Torch, and under Mark Nesbitt, got a new webshow and Instagram under @BiolaTorch.
The 2013-2014 staff resurrected KBR The Torch again under station managers Jackson Theune and Sky Dickinson, and went live for the first time in a while, according to a Twitter post and a Chimes article. The official website was radio.biola.edu, where students could tune in, and KBR The Torch even hosted an open mic show asking students to record their thoughts on Missions Conference.
In 2018-2019, our current Facebook and Instagram accounts were created, and The Torch had at least 15 shows published consistently on Soundcloud. During the pandemic, those shows dwindled to around three, and after the pandemic, KBR The Torch struggled to gain the momentum it once had. During this time, KBR hosted SGA’s “The Inbetween” podcast on its Soundcloud feed.
In fall of 2024, The Torch began to transition from KBR: The Torch to “The Torch Podcasting Network,” to highlight our focus on podcasting, since we don’t broadcast music 24/7 anymore.