American Public Radio

Despite its old-school reputation, amateur radio is on the rise, and the airwaves are busier than ever. That's no surprise: Being a ham is a lot of fun, providing an independent way to keep in touch with friends, family, and new acquaintances around the world. Hams are also good in a crisis, keeping communications alive and crackling during extreme weather events and loss of communications.

A charming and funny look at the golden years of radio broadcasting in post-war Australia that celebrates the extraordinary but unseen women who captivated a nation with their authentic stories of ordinary lives.

Empathy Machines identifies This American Life as a cultural institution in the evolution of empathy as a "liberal feeling" central to podcast storytelling and the neoliberal era in which it developed. The book explores sound studies, and podcasting more specifically, through the lens of "empathy" and a kind of affective feeling that can be seen in the history of radio, and focusing specifically on the centrality of This American Life as a focal point.