Ruth Seymour (née Epstein; February 17, 1935 – December 22, 2023)[1] was an American broadcasting executive known for her innovative work with public radio.

[11] Seymour joined the staff of KCRW at Santa Monica College in 1977 as a consultant and was named manager a few months later, in 1978.

[12] She retired from there in February 2010[13] after having helped the station "transcend its basement location to shape the culture in Los Angeles".

[14] During her tenure, the station grew from being based in a playground at a middle school and having an old transmitter to covering much of southern California with its broadcasts.

While the area's then-most-significant public radio station ran the two-hour program before 6 a.m., Seymour decided to run it three times each morning from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. on KCRW.

[5] Seymour also brought other programs to KCRW, such as Le Show (hosted by Harry Shearer), Left, Right & Center, Morning Becomes Eclectic, The Politics of Culture, To the Point, and Which Way L.A.?

[6] In 1996, KCRW became the first station other than Chicago's WBEZ to air This American Life,[6] and she pushed host Ira Glass to rename the show from its original name, Your Radio Playhouse.

[12] Seymour spearheaded fundraising efforts not only for KCRW, including a $1 million pledge drive in 1995,[5] but also for the network program Weekend All Things Considered in 1985 and for NPR in 1991.

Without blanket licensing agreements, such as those that apply to over-the-air broadcasts and streaming of programs, a separate contract with each record label used in the podcast was required.