Radio Survivor Podcast

Pamela Klassen, Professor of the Study of Religion, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto joins us on the podcast to chat about her book The Story of Radio Mind: A Missionary’s Journey on Indigenous Land. She shares the tale of Anglican Archbishop Frederick Du Vernet, who claims to have invented “radio mind,” in […] The post Podcast #195: Telepathy and Radio Mind appeared first on Radio Survivor.

First conceived in the 1930s, there is a type of tiny radio station that anyone can operate legally, without a license. Bill DeFelice of HobbyBroadcaster.net joins the show to tell us about how you can get on the air today, to broadcast around your house, or even your neighborhood with a so-called ‘Part 15’ radio […] The post Podcast #194: Build Your Own Tiny Radio Station appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Wave Farm Executive Director Galen Joseph-Hunter joins us to talk about transmission arts at Wave Farm and beyond. We discuss Wave Farm’s recently co-presented Reveil, SoundCamp’s live 24-hour broadcast of the sounds of daybreak, sourced from open microphones from around the world. Additionally, Joseph-Hunter gives us the scoop on the new Radio Artist Fellowship at […] The post Podcast #193: Wavefarm, Reveil and Transmission Arts appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Radio Preservation Task Force’s Director Josh Shepperd and Conference Director Neil Verma are our guests for a discussion about the work of the Library of Congress initiative. They explain the significance of 2020 for radio history, share some of the accomplishments of the Task Force, and preview the next Radio Preservation Conference Task Force Conference, […] The post Podcast #192: Saving Radio History with The Radio Preservation Task Force appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Every weekday an all-volunteer reporting staff produces an hour of original, hyper-local news for WOOC-LP’s “Hudson Mohawk Magazine,” serving the Troy, NY area. A focus on mission and a concentration of resources on journalism helps the station accomplish this daily feat. Steve Pierce is the Executive Director of Media Alliance, which operates WOOC inside the […] The post Podcast #191: How an LPFM Produces an Hour of Hyper-Local News Every Weekday appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Amanda Dawn Christie is an artist enamored with radios and radio waves. The Assistant Professor, Studio Arts at Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) joins us on the show to discuss her most recent transmission art project, Ghosts in the Airglow, in which she created work at the HAARP facility in Alaska. Christie also shares with us […] The post Podcast #190: Radio Spectrum and Transmission Art appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Jennifer, Eric and Paul sit down to review the latest research on podcasts from the Infinite Dial and Podcast Consumer reports, which leads to consideration of the transition between analog and digital media, inspired by Vinylthon. From 78s to CDs, and music memories to smooth jazz, just how great is this episode? Ask Dr. Science. […] The post Podcast #189: No Locked Grooves for Podcasts appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The Hip-Hop Radio Archive aims to digitize, preserve, share, and contextualize recordings of hip-hop radio from the 1980s and 1990s from commercial, college, community, and pirate stations of all sizes, telling the stories of the shows and the people that made them. Our guest is founder of the archive, Ryan MacMichael. This is a rebroadcast […] The post Podcast #188 – Hip-Hop Radio Archive (rebroadcast) appeared first on Radio Survivor.

This week our guest is Brian DeShazor, an independent radio researcher and founder of the Queer Radio Research Project. Formerly the Director of the Pacifica Radio Archives, DeShazor has taken a special interest in uncovering and highlighting the LGBTQ voices that have graced the community radio airwaves. On the episode, we discuss the history of […] The post Podcast #187 – Archiving LGBTQ Radio History appeared first on Radio Survivor.

On this week’s episode, scholar Lerone Martin shares with us the fascinating history of African-American preachers who distributed their sermons on 78rpm records during a time when they had limited access to the radio in the 1920s-1940s. Martin, Associate Professor in Religion and Politics at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at […] The post Podcast #186 – African-American Preachers on Wax appeared first on Radio Survivor.

A change in Ontario university funding rules threatens more than a dozen campus community stations in Canada. Barry Rooke, executive director of the National Campus and Community Radio Association is our guest to help explain the situation. He explains how the structure of Canadian community and college radio stations differs from those in the U.S. […] The post Podcast #185 – Funding Change Threatens Canadian Community Radio Stations appeared first on Radio Survivor.

We celebrated International Women’s Day by recording a fascinating interview about women’s radio history with University of Louisville Professor of History Christine Ehrick. Author of Radio and the Gendered Soundscape: Women and Broadcasting in Argentina and Uruguay, 1930-1950, Ehrick schools us on the hidden history of a pioneering women’s radio station in Uruguay. Founded in […] The post Podcast #184 – Hidden Women’s Radio History in Uruguay appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the “Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement Act,” but does it actually have a chance at putting a dent in unlicensed broadcasting? We review the provisions of the the bill – called the PIRATE Act for short – and wonder if an uptick in the war on pirates […] The post Podcast #183 – Can Congress Stop Pirate Radio? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Inspired by an episode of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, we travel all the way to Antarctica to learn about mysterious community radio station, Ice Radio. Sadly, we learned of Anthony Bourdain’s death on the day that we recorded this episode. Ice Radio is the latest iteration of a radio station that began more than 50 […] The post Podcast #182 – Volunteer Radio in Antarctica (rebroadcast) appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Julia Thomas visited over a dozen community radio stations over the course of a year. Stations in Nepal, India, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Ecuador “Often times by talking to community media makers,” Julia Thomas told Radio Survivor, “you’re meeting some of the most passionate, involved community members who have seen so much, who are so […] The post Podcast #181 – Visiting Community Radio Stations Around the World appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The Federal Communications Commission was back in court on Feb. 1, called on to defend its decision to overturn the 2015 Open Internet Order in December 2017. It seems like the FCC lawyers didn’t have the best day in front of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, and Prof. Christopher Terry from the University of […] The post Podcast #180 – Net Neutrality Back in Court Again appeared first on Radio Survivor.

This episode is dedicated to the compact disc. Paul recently published an article outlining 10 reasons why CDs are awesome, and it seems to have hit a nerve, turning out to be one of our most popular. So we dive into these reasons, and even talk to a Millennial, Jacob Choplin, who also loves CDs […] The post Podcast #179 – Don’t Throw Your CDs Away in 2019 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

For about a decade, ending in 1988, pirate stations dominated the Irish radio bands, exploiting a loophole in the law that made punishments for unlicensed broadcasting on par with a speeding ticket. Now the sounds and artifacts of this cultural movement are being preserved online in the Irish Pirate Radio Archive. Archive co-founders Brian Greene […] The post Podcast #178 – Irish Pirate Radio Archive appeared first on Radio Survivor.

In addition to co-hosting the show, Eric Klein edits most episodes, and is a professional freelance audio editor. He put some of his philosophies of editing radio and podcasts in writing for last year’s Grassroots Radio Conference, and for a recent post at Radio Survivor. On this episode Eric elaborates on his advice to “know […] The post Podcast #177 – Philosophies of Podcast & Radio Editing; Seattle’s Rich High School Radio Scene appeared first on Radio Survivor.

From the “Classical Radio Era” to today’s hottest podcasts, we’re here for the love of radio drama and fictional sound-art. Our guest is Neil Verma, author of a book and teacher of classes on the subject, although as he tells us on today’s episode, the class became a lot more popular with students after he […] The post Podcast #176 – Audio Fiction’s very long history of innovation appeared first on Radio Survivor.

What can a careful study of sound teach us about our listening? Listening to the media we choose as well as listening to the place where we live and the people who’s voices we encounter? Prof. Jennifer Stoever thinks about these questions, a lot. And so do a growing number of scholars working in a […] The post Podcast #175 – Awakening to Sound plus a tour of KDVS appeared first on Radio Survivor.

There are more unlicensed pirate radio stations in New York City than licensed stations. The borough of Brooklyn is a particular hotspot. Producer and journalist David Goren has been researching and recording these stations so that their ephemeral nature isn’t lost to history. To help preserve this legacy and make it accessible to a wider […] The post Podcast #174 – Preserving Brooklyn Pirate Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Zach Poff put a radio station inside a pond. Poff is a media artist, educator and maker-of-things, and he explains that project and talks about making art with radio technology and listening to sound art. This is a re-broadcast of our episode from April, 2018. Show Notes Zach Poff’s Pond Station is broadcasting live during […] The post Podcast #137 – Zach Poff Built a Radio Station Inside a Pond appeared first on Radio Survivor.

As 2018 draws to a close the FCC is poised to throw another death blow at radio, proposing to allow complete ownership monopolies in hundreds of radio markets. At the same time the Commission has to defend its decimation of network neutrality in court, even after the DC Court of Appeals ruled the earlier open […] The post Podcast #172 – The FCC at the End of 2018, with Prof. Christopher Terry appeared first on Radio Survivor.

At the end of 2018 all indicators are that radio is thriving. From community radio to podcasting, internet radio to college radio, we’re seeing new stations, new listeners and new ideas. It’s all more evidence that we’re in the post-‘radio is dead’ era. All four Radio Survivors join together to dig deeply into the year […] The post Podcast #171 – It’s the End of 2018 and Radio Is Thriving appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Paul shares a few more details of his trip to Brazil, and then he and Eric listen to a bandscan of the FM dial recorded on a Sunday night in São Paulo, the country’s largest city. Christian radio? Check. Bad 80s pop music? Yep. One takeaway is that commercial radio everywhere kinda sucks, in general. […] The post Podcast #170.5 – Bonus: São Paulo FM Bandscan appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Álvaro Burns is a community radio broadcaster in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, where he hosts a local sports show on Rádio Paraty FM and he produces the podcast “A Hora do Cafezinho.” Álvaro is a long-time friend of the show, and Paul recently traveled to Brazil and was able to meet up with him […] The post Podcast #170 – Community Radio in Brazil appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The Free Music Archive is shutting down. A website attached to the listener-sponsored radio station WFMU, the FMA expanded the role community radio played in the online space. It was a library of a huge and always growing amount of free mp3’s that spanned every genre of music. Cheyenne Hohman is our guest. Radio Survivor […] The post Podcast #169 – The Free Music Archive is Dead, Long Live the Free Music Archive appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Perhaps you are like me and you have wished that you could go back in time and spin a radio dial and just listen to and browse the full radio spectrum from another time and place. Our guest on the show, Radio Anthropologist Thomas Witherspoon, is building a website for just such a thing. It’s […] The post Podcast #168 – A Time Machine for All the Radio plus Shortwave appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Do you remember audioblogging? Prof. Andrew Bottomley does, and he’s here to tell some alternative histories of podcasting. From “Geek of the Week” to Odeo, he illuminates many more bygone shows and platforms from the 1990s and early 2000s that gave rise to what we’ve now settled on calling “podcasts,” for better or worse. Bottomley […] The post Podcast #167 – Alternative Histories of Podcasting appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The FCC has proposed to de-fund community media through an arcane rule that determines how contributions from cable companies to public-access, educational and government (PEG) stations are counted. Because it’s arcane, the effort is flying under the radar. But we have two community media advocates to help explain what’s at stake. Martin Jones is the […] The post Podcast #166 – The FCC’s Effort To Decimate Community Media appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Live from the College Broadcasters, Inc. Convention in Seattle we take on college radio’s place in the contemporary media landscape. After deciding not to sell its radio station 13 years ago, the University of Evansville administration said, “we are once again examining the relevancy of the medium and exploring opportunities to enhance our curriculum through […] The post Podcast #165 – College Radio Is Truly Local Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.

When Tipper Gore and the PMRC called rock and rap stars to testify in front of Congress about explicit lyrics, did this affect college radio? How could it not? Prof. Kate Jewell is examining the relationship between college stations and the culture wars as part of a new book project. Jewell is Associate Professor of […] The post Podcast #164 – College Radio and the Culture Wars appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Radio Survivor co-founder Matthew Lasar declares we’re in the post-“Radio Is Dead” era, during a time when audio media has survived and thrived, whether you listen over the broadcast airwaves, podcast, satellite or internet stream. Jennifer Waits and Paul Riismandel join Matthew live in San Francisco for a discussion about radio’s recent evolution, including the […] The post Podcast #163 – The Post-‘Radio Is Dead’ Era appeared first on Radio Survivor.

What will community radio sound like in 2023? Will the death of net neutrality make radio even important? Will analog FM radio even exist anymore? Two active and insightful community media activists joins us to tackle these questions and more, live from 2018 Grassroots Radio Conference held in the Native American Student & Community Center […] The post Podcast #162 – The Future of Community Radio, Live from Grassroots Radio Conference appeared first on Radio Survivor.

College Radio Day is October 5, and on this episode we reflect on the value of this special brand of radio, and Jennifer shares her tour of Vassar College’s station, WVKR. Radio Survivor is a listener-supported podcast. You can support us two ways: Make a monthly contribution through our Patreon campaign. Make a one-time or […] The post Podcast #161 – Happy College Radio Day 2018 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Internet radio is older than you think. In fact, it’s at least a quarter-century old… and maybe even a little older. That’s the history Dom Robinson uncovered, and he joins to tell the story. He’s the co-founder of online video company id3as and a contributing editor to Streaming Media, and he reveals how he discovered […] The post Podcast #160 – Marking a Quarter-Century of Internet Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Programming changes draw attention at one college station, while another might be close to the auction block, and a new San Francisco LPFM steps in to the spiritual space left behind by a beloved departed station. Team that with some big changes in the podcasting industry, and we’ve got a full episode. After hearing from […] The post Podcast #159 – Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes, in College Radio and Podcasting appeared first on Radio Survivor.

More than 600 community radio recordings from 1965 – 1986 are archived at the University of Maryland. These tapes were shared through a program exchange operated by the National Federation of Community broadcasters. The breadth of programming contained in these programs is remarkable, and underscores the still-active mission of the NFCB to support and promote […] The post Podcast #158 – Surveying Community Radio’s Deep Archives appeared first on Radio Survivor.

California is on the cusp of restoring net neutrality. The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Katharine Trendacosta explains how this will happens, and what the implications are for the rest of the nation. Then Jennifer, Eric and Paul run down our slate of live podcast recordings coming up at this year’s Grassroots Radio Conference in Portland, OR […] The post Podcast #157 – Restoring Net Neutrality, One State at a Time appeared first on Radio Survivor.

In the U.S. the copyright situation for music and sound recordings made before 1972 is a mess of different and conflicting state laws. That’s because there is no overarching federal law. The unintended consequence is that archivists, librarians and artists are often afraid to duplicate, distribute or repurpose very old recordings that – if they […] The post Podcast #156 – Can We Strengthen Audio’s Public Domain? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

This week Paul reflects on insights gained at this year’s Podcast Movement conference, focusing on the opportunity for more people to be served by community podcasting. Jennifer reports back from Radio Day by the Bay, which included a live radio drama performance that connects up to the present-day explosion in scripted fictional podcasts. And then […] The post Podcast #155 – Connecting Podcasting’s Future to Radio’s Past appeared first on Radio Survivor.

There are undiscovered musical treasures potentially fading away in closets, basements and storage units around the world. Seattle radio station KEXP teamed up with local universities and media organizations to help save a little of this cultural history with the Pop-Up Music Memory Digitization Lab. For one day members of the public were invited to […] The post Podcast #154 – One Tape at a Time: Preserving Music Memories appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Two interviews that cover the state of low power radio in the United States. Stations that are on the air without a license – also known as Pirate Radio – and the low power stations that have FCC permission to broadcast due in part to the hard work of the former pirates. This episode is […] The post Podcast #153 Licensed and Unlicensed Low Power Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The Eclipse Show on community radio station KGNU in Boulder CO is celebrating 40 years on the air, making it quite possibly the longest running hip hop radio show in the world. Radio Survivor has been examining the role that community and college radio has played in the development of hip hop culture, especially in […] The post Podcast #152 – The Longest Running Hip-Hop Radio Show in The World? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Radios in the trees, a transmitter in the pond, and a weather-driven synth. These are just some of what you’ll find on The Wave Farm, a 29-acre property in New York’s Hudson Valley dedicated to radio and transmission arts. It’s anchored by community radio station WGXC, accompanied by a cornucopia of additional tiny terrestrial and […] The post Podcast #151 – The Wave Farm Grows Transmission Arts appeared first on Radio Survivor.

What killed smooth jazz radio? Why aren’t there any commercial classical stations any longer? And, why do radio stations have a “format” to begin with? Matthew Lasar joins us to explore these questions about the fundamental organizing principle of most music radio. Matthew is a co-founder of Radio Survivor and the author of three important […] The post Podcast #150 – Sympathy for Kenny G appeared first on Radio Survivor.

How do I start podcasting? That’s one of the questions we field most frequently. So we answer it, in this second installment of our “Frequently Asked Questions” series. But first we do some follow-up about phone phreaker ‘Captain Crunch’ Draper (#147) and the nearly 1,000 challenges filed against applications for FM translator repeater stations (#144). […] The post Podcast #149 – How To Get Started Podcasting appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Did you know that upwards of 350 radio stations were established at summer camps across the United States? Dan Braverman, President of Radio Systems, Inc., joins us to share the history of summer camp radio, including his own experience setting up a camp radio station when he was just nine years old. Still involved with […] The post Podcast #148 – Solving the Mystery of Summer Camp Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.

On this week’s episode we venture to prison and to a very unusual high school radio station. Members of the artist collective Provisional Island (Heidi Ratanavanich, Eileen Shumate, and Michael McCanne) speak with us about their prison-radio-themed exhibit, An Electric Kite, which is on view at the historic site/museum Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia through […] The post Podcast #147 – Prison Radio Exhibit and a High School Station in a Band Room appeared first on Radio Survivor.