On alternate Monday evenings, Biosciences Area administrative supervisor Michael Lubenow wraps up his work tasks and heads to the KALX radio station on the University of California, Berkeley campus, where his time slot as DJ Cuppa Joe begins at 6 p.m. For the next two hours, Lubenow graces the airwaves with an eclectic collection of music that meanders from West African griot to Delta blues to punk rock—and everything in between.

Listen to Lubenow pronounce his name and describe his role at Berkeley Lab.

“I play both kinds of music: good and bad,” Lubenow joked. “If you don’t like what you’re hearing, just hang around; it’ll be completely different in ten minutes.”

Person is photographed in a relaxed pose on a cloudy day, with trees in the background.
Lubenow outside of his work site on the grounds of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Credit: Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab)

Lubenow’s administrative and supervisory roles at Berkeley Lab provide a similar sense of variety, one that has kept him engaged in his work with the Lab for over 24 years. As the travel lead, he oversees the process for getting scientists and other Biosciences staff where they need to go—whether to attend conferences or conduct experiments with specialized equipment only available at select locations around the world. He also manages procurement, which involves ensuring that everyone in the Area has the appropriate equipment and materials to do their work. 

Between handling the systems that field travel and procurement requests, staying on top of the ever-evolving Department of Energy guidance, and the wide range of other concerns that crop up along the way, no two days are alike. That’s a huge appeal for Lubenow, whose favorite band changes every 45 minutes. 

People and Purpose

Lubenow found his way to the Lab in the mid-1990s, around the time he welcomed his first child. After over a decade working in the food service industry, he sought an alternative to working nights and weekends. He went back to school for accounting and landed a job in a Berkeley Lab pilot program that recruited administrative assistants to rotate through various departments. “The program appealed to me because I got the chance to work in different areas of the Lab and see how they operated,” said Lubenow.

Lubenow easily built connections with his peers and superiors; by his fourth assignment, the team he was serving requested he stay on permanently. “I lucked out in that it was a supportive environment and I loved the people I was working with, and that still carries through today.” 

Just as his colleagues made all the difference in helping him feel at home at the Lab, Lubenow cites the bonds he formed with other KALX volunteers over their shared enthusiasm for music as the key ingredient that anchored him at the station long-term. 

“The common factor between the Lab and KALX is the strong connection I feel to the people,” he reflected.

From Punk Rock Deadhead to KALX DJ

Lubenow’s appetite for diverse musical styles and his general passion for the world of music goes back to his roots growing up in San Francisco’s North Beach district in the late 1970s.

“I guess you could say I got the bug early,” he said. “Music is such an integral part of my experience; I don’t remember being separate from it.”

Lubenow’s parents always had something playing on the stereo. Their home was eight blocks from Mabuhay Gardens, an iconic nightclub which served as the nexus for the emerging punk rock scene. Lubenow started seeing hardcore punk shows there several times a week starting at about age fifteen. Between those exploits and catching local Grateful Dead shows at the height of their following, Lubenow found plenty of room to experience the energy of live music and the subcultural pockets it could carve out.

Lubenow got his first taste of the world of radio while at Chico State University, where he played bass in a local band and picked up a slot as a DJ at the school’s broadcasting station. His time at Chico marked the end of his career performing music, but the beginning of a four-decade journey on the side of curating music for community broadcasting. There, he discovered a love for celebrating artists on the fringe of the mainstream that he felt deserved a wider audience. When he moved back to San Francisco, Lubenow built up his radio chops with stints at KPFA (a public station based in Berkeley), KUSF (University of San Francisco’s station), and KCSF (City College of San Francisco’s radio station). After joining Berkeley Lab, working at KALX, the largest community-run radio station in the area, felt like the natural choice.

Each week, volunteers like Lubenow pick through multiple mail bins of CD submissions and select a handful of albums to review, often writing colorful descriptions like the one pictured here. A lucky dozen or so records with glowing praise make it into KALX’s permanent collection each week.  (Credit: Maritte O’Gallagher)

Between the mountain of music that pours in from around the Bay Area and the world each week and what he discovers organically, Lubenow has quite a trove to choose from when crafting his show. Over the years, he’s found creative ways to filter his selections while cultivating a level of diversity that verges on total chaos. In one recurring segment, he plays a track by an artist whose birthday happens to be the day of the show, be that a classical composer, Miles Davis, or a Norwegian black metal artist.

Every show Lubenow has done over the last 20 years also includes songs from four records his kids picked out. Now 26 and 23, his kids have developed strong opinions about what Lubenow plays on their segment. But back when they were toddlers, this strategy created some fun challenges. “Obviously they had no idea what was going on,” said Lubenow. “I’d have them choose something absolutely random from the record collection, and then need to segue from bluegrass to heavy metal.”

Person sits with their chin on their hand behind a microphone in a small room.
Lubenow behind the mic at the KALX Berkeley headquarters. (Credit: Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab)

Devising those unconventional transitions often happened on a tight timeline, as Lubenow has always essentially improvised the sequence of his musical journeys.

“Some DJs go in there with their whole show mapped out. My plan has always been to go into the air studio with at least three times as much music as I could possibly play in my allotted slot, put on the first song, and see what happens,” he said. “There have been times I’ve looked at the CD players knowing I’ve got 30 more seconds and I don’t know what I’m going to do next.”

Bolstering the Arts and Sciences

Lubenow’s comfort thinking on his feet and going with the flow has worked for him in his working life, too: he didn’t painstakingly plan out his professional path or grow up envisioning his current role, but he’s fully embraced the way things have turned out.

“I like doing my job well,” he said. “I feel like I’m good at it, and that I’m where I’m supposed to be. My philosophy has always been to do whatever isn’t science for scientists, so that scientists can do science,” he said. 

That attitude makes all the difference in helping researchers promote their work at conferences around the world and keep their laboratories running smoothly while acting as good stewards of public funds. Lubenow sees his commitment to excellence and support as an ongoing collaboration between administrators and scientists. “We’re all colleagues working side by side to make the world a better place.”

In a sense, Lubenow’s work at KALX occupies a similar niche: clearing roadblocks and connecting dots in service of a broader mission that he cares about. From fishing obscure records out of the review bin to arranging ticket giveaways for local shows, his efforts promote artists and venues to KALX’s avid listeners while helping fans discover music that they wouldn’t find with their Spotify algorithms.

“I want people to know about talented bands,” he said. “Helping that happen has always been the most rewarding part for me.” ⬢

Written by Maritte O’Gallagher. As a communications specialist for Berkeley Lab’s Biosciences Area, O’Gallagher spotlights the people and stories behind our latest research.

Read other profiles in the Behind the Breakthroughs series.