KSBR signed on in 1975 as a Class D, 10-watt student-run station and a limited coverage area of only a few miles from the campus of Saddleback Community College. In 1979, with grants from CPB and NTIA, the signal was upgraded to a Class A, covering most of Orange County and the station signed on as Orange County's first National Public Radio affiliate with a staff of professional and student broadcasters. The program schedule at first employed an eclectic, free-form mix of rock music, drama and locally produced talk shows but, with a growing news and public affairs emphasis and a switch to an all jazz format, the station gained critical recognition and a growing audience. Budget cuts in 1984 returned KSBR to a student-run operation, most of the professional staff was laid off and the NPR membership was discontinued but the strong emphasis on jazz and public affairs continued. Since 1989, the station has hosted a fundraiser in May which they call the Birthday Bash. It draws top Jazz talent and has been held at various venues in Orange County over the years. For years, the station had a What's-playing-now page on the web. That contained a list of the previous 6 CDs played. As of December 2016, that service has been eliminated. The call letters were previously used by an FM station in San Bruno, California, which operated at 100.5 MHz, from 1947 to 1959. The station was owned and operated by Eitel-McCullough, which moved to San Carlos, California in 1959 and merged with Varian Associates in 1965.
"The New 88.5 FM"
On September 6, 2017, Saddleback College and California State University, Northridge, owner of KCSN, announced the merger of their respective radio stations. The combined operation adopted the branding "The New 88.5 FM". On September 12 at 10 a.m. PDT, the FM and HD1 signals of both stations began simulcasting KCSN’s pre-existing "smart rock" AAA format, while KSBR’s jazz programming would move to their HD2 channels. KCSN’s Latin Alternative relocated to both stations’ HD3 channels. On March 21, 2018, 88.5 FM announced that former KSWDradio personalityAndy Chanley would host afternoon drive, taking over for Sky Daniels who continued as General Manager and Program Director. Prior to this, Chanley had guest hosted in Daniels’ place for several weeks since January.
Weekend programming
On weekends, the current schedule breaks from jazz/smooth jazz and airs programs such as The Whole 'Nuther Thing, Kaleidoscope of Blues, Reggae Showcase, Folk Roots, bluegrass, old-timey, Celtic, The '80s Experience, and Making Your Memories. The Morning Breeze presents gentle, relaxing music on weekend mornings.
