Confirmations of 1700 (AM)
Thanks to our intrepid and loyal readers I’ve learned a bit more about the mystery signal I reported on last week. To recap, I DX’d a station at 1700 AM – a frequency with very few stations assigned across the continent – that simply played 80s pop music, with station IDs that were difficult for […]
DX Adventures at 1700
Before going to bed I often enjoying scanning the radio dials, listening for signals that don’t come through while the sun is out. A couple of weeks ago the AM band was particularly fertile, especially at the upper end of the dial. These frequencies north of 1600 kHz are known as the “expanded band” because […]
Podcast #254 – The Intertwined History of the Radio and Recording Industries
On this week’s show, we take a trip back to the early 20th century to learn about the recording industry’s intertwined relationship with radio and music culture. Our guest is Kyle Barnett, Associate Professor of Media Studies in the Department of Communication at Bellarmine University. Barnett’s forthcoming book, Record Cultures: The Transformation of the U.S. […]
Podcast 253 – Sound Streams: Dissecting the History of Internet Radio
Internet radio was born more than 25 years ago, yet, according to Edison Research, only in the last month has the medium garnered just 10% of all broadcast listening time in the US. We might lay at least some blame on the commercial radio industry, which didn’t embrace it until well into the 2000s, long […]
Podcast # 252 – Exploring the Seeds of Public Radio in Educational Radio Archives
This week, we explore the ancestor of public radio in the United States: educational radio. Our guest, Stephanie Sapienza, helps to bring educational radio archives to life through her work on the multi-institution “Unlocking the Airwaves” project. As Digital Humanities Archivist at the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities at University of Maryland, Sapienza […]
Podcast #251 – The Global Queer Read-In
Our guest on Radio Survivor is producing The Global Queer Read-In: A Virtual Pride Event; a 12 hour long webcast to celebrate LGBTQ literature. Brian DeShazor is the brand new CEO of Overnight Productions, which produces the radio show This Way Out. This Way Out has been on the air for 31 years, a weekly […]
Podcast #250 – Aimee Semple McPherson and the Early History of Radio Evangelists
One of the biggest celebrities in Los Angeles in the early part of the 20th century was Aimee Semple McPherson. She inspired scandalous headlines and fictional depictions, including the character Sister Molly on the current Showtime series, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. Yet the story that is less frequently told is McPherson’s embrace of radio. […]
The case for a Spotify wild card widget
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could plug a little widget into your playlist that allowed Spotify to pick just one tune based on its AI take on your choices? Maybe. Or maybe not.
Podcast #249 – Documenting & Preserving Radio at HBCUs
Scholar Jocelyn Robinson says about one-third of Historically Black Colleges and Universities have radio stations. Her mission is to survey them and help preserve their histories and recorded legacies through the HBCU Radio Station Archival Survey Project, which she directs. On this episode Robinson tells us about this project, and explains why it’s important to […]
More than 100 Community Radio Stations to Honor George Floyd on June 9
The National Association of Community Broadcasters has organized a nationwide observance of the life of George Floyd. Mr. Floyd will be laid to rest at a private ceremony on June 9 at 2 PM CDT in Houston, Texas. At that time over 100 community radio stations will play Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come.” […]