WGUC has radio studios in the same building as PBS Network affiliate WCET Channel 48, the Crosley Telecommunications Center on Central Parkway in Cincinnati.

[1] In the late 1950s, a group of Cincinnati-area residents launched a campaign for a radio station devoted to cultural and public affairs programming, particularly classical music.

This means that WGUC broadcasts almost exclusively classical music, while WVXU carries news and information programming, including both Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

WGUC also had one of the first NPR satellite uplinks, the first digital west-to-east transatlantic broadcast, and is the only U.S. public radio station with an ongoing program to commission new music.

The program, heard Saturday mornings and Sunday evenings, features a composer and his/her music, along with games, quizzes and curriculum materials for primary grade school students and teachers.

The show is heard on several other classical-formatted public radio stations in the U.S. WGUC's subcarrier signal has served the local blind and visually impaired community since 1985.

Through an agreement with the Cincinnati Association for the Blind, WGUC carries the audio broadcasts for the Radio Reading Service (RRS) on its alternate band.