Like many other hosts who have joined The Current, Nilufer Arsala’s passion didn’t start with radio: It started with music. And what drove her? The music she didn’t love.  

Each Monday-Friday, listeners can hear Arsala as The Current Morning Show’s new host/producer alongside host Jill Riley. She comes to Minnesota Public Radio by way of Dallas but is originally from a suburb of Oklahoma City. Growing up as the youngest sibling, Arsala found herself subjected to whatever her mom and sister were playing on the radio, which happened to be country pop.  

“As a young teen, you really start finding your own way and your music taste. Growing up in Oklahoma, my mom and sister were super into country,” says Arsala. At the time, it was artists like Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, and Vince Gill. “Don’t get me wrong, it was great music — but as part of my natural rebellious side, I wanted something else.”  

Discovering music 

She shaped her own music taste by watching shows like MTV’s 120 Minutes. During those formative years, she discovered and fell in love with artists like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Aaliyah and OutKast.  

“There was an AM station in Oklahoma City that played hip-hop at a certain time,” she recalls. “If our radio was in the right place in the window, with the antenna perfectly positioned, I could get the signal from this station because AM signals go so far.” 

To bolster her love for these artists, she spent time learning everything possible about a band, by reading magazines and CD liner notes, scouring CD stores until she had an artist's full catalog, watching music documentaries like Behind the Music on VH1, and learning all their lyrics.  

For someone who loves to learn so much about music, going into radio might feel like a natural progression. But Arsala describes it differently. Instead, a happenstance stop at the American Broadcasting School booth at the Oklahoma State Fair booth led to her 20-plus-year journey in radio.  

“Radio didn’t come to me by choice, but rather I feel like I was called to it,” she says. After enrolling and graduating from the American Broadcasting School, she got her first job at—of course—a country radio station. Since that first radio gig in McAlester, Oklahoma, she has worked in nearly every facet of radio, including producing, hosting, news, technical directing, and even teaching.  

Joining The Current 

Arsala most recently managed radio operations for North Texas Public Broadcasting and hosted middays and The Local Show at KXT in Dallas.  

Why did she decide to make the move from Texas to Minnesota after more than 15 years? “The Current’s in Minnesota,” she says with a laugh. “I had to find something really big to [make me want to] leave, and The Current is it.”  

To join a station like The Current was a dream job — big enough to brave the winters and permanently relocate up North.  

“I am so excited to be a part of such a legendary station,” she says. “I feel like I’m saying ‘everything is amazing’ a lot since I’ve come here, but The Current really is amazing. It’s just top-notch.” 

Listeners can get to know Nilufer Arsala by tuning in on Saturdays and Sundays from 5 — 7 a.m., as well as on The Morning Show with Jill Riley.  

As The Morning Show’s host/producer, Arsala’s tasked with supporting the iconic programming that listeners know and love, including coming up with themes for the 9:30 Coffee Break and writing its accompanying web feature, delivering daily music news, booking guests for the show, producing in-studio interviews and more. She'll also be an integral part of an update to The Morning Show coming this Fall, so expect to hear her more in the morning. 

“I’ve loved working with Jill,” Arsala says. “She's hilarious, super kind and very knowledgeable. I look forward to continuing to work with her and having a lot of fun in the morning.”  

Looking to the future 

Discovering what music Minnesota has to offer is Arsala’s newest mission. To do so, she’s been attending events with The Current, like Happy Hours and Grand Old Day, and listening to The Local Show on Sunday. And as an avid public radio supporter, she knows that radio is a great way to get ingrained in the local music scene.  

“When you work at a public music station, you are surrounded by people who love music as much as you do. You’re surrounded by people who live and breathe music discovery. There’s something so fresh and pure about that,” she says.  

As a new Minnesotan, Nilufer also looks forward to discovering what Minnesota has to offer outside of music with her son and husband. From finding new parks and restaurants to her kid starting a new school to learning about the must-dos in Minnesota, everything excites her.  

Her next big Minnesotan excursion is a quintessential Minnesotan experience: The Great Minnesota Get-Together. “I heard it’s a really great time — I even got one of those coupon books.”