WCMU Public Radio broadcasts news and talk programming during the week, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, 1A, Fresh Air, Here and Now, and On Point.

During its early years, the station broadcast a wide variety of programming aimed at the campus population of the university, including classical, popular music, and progressive rock.

WCMU-FM moved to 89.5 with 100,000 watts of power in the mid-1970s, and in 1978 began to add a series of rebroadcaster stations around central and northern Michigan, beginning with WCML-FM in Alpena.

The classical service can be heard online, on the station's mobile app, on smart speakers, and on its HD-2 sub channel in the communities of Mount Pleasant, Alpena, Harbor Springs, and Bay City.

Previously aired programs include Nightside Jazz and Blues, Take Five, The Beat, Central Stage, Afternoon Classical and Mosaic.

Producers and Hosts including David Nicholas, Rick Westover, Mike Horace, Amy Robinson, Robert Barclay, Ben Thorpe, Brett Dahlberg, Jamie Lynn Gilbert, Sara Bingham and Eileen LaTarte have also won state awards.

96.9 WSTD in Standish was originally a satellite-fed oldies station and then moved to a full-service Adult Contemporary music format (with simulcasts of the evening news from WNEM-TV 5) until it went dark in November 1999.

WUCX-FM Bay City simulcasts WCMU-FM generally in the evening hours; that station is owned by CMU, which jointly run WUCX with Delta College.