Radio History

Freedom of speech. It is our most cherished privilege as Americans, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution since 1791. But our current presidential administration threatens to sharply curtail or silence altogether the freedom of expression that distinguishes America from the...

While not dead, radio's familiarity has made it seem a bit mundane, but people shouldn’t think of it that way. In fact, the airwaves have always been a place of mystery, a battleground of competing ideologies, and a source of anonymous voices. Radio has been used to support war efforts, topple governments, communicate secretly, and even attempt to communicate with the dead. These strange stories will make this familiar medium seem a bit less familiar and far more interesting.

First broadcast in 1948, Sports Report is the longest-running radio sporting programme in the world and one of the BBC’s hardy perennials. Pat Murphy has been a reporter on the programme since 1981 and here he sifts comprehensively through the experiences of his contemporaries and those who made their mark on Sports Report in earlier decades. Drawing on unique access from the BBC Archives Unit, he highlights memorable moments from Sports Report.

Shortly after taking office in 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered the first of his radio broadcasts to the American public. In simple, plain language, he took pains to explain the basic mechanics of the banking system, the causes of the present banking crisis, and the steps he was taking to stabilize the system. It was an extraordinary moment, the first time an American President had bypassed the traditional channels of communication (newspapers largely owned by conservative Republicans) and taken his message directly to the people.

And now, the Shipping Forecast issued by the Met Office… Often described as a litany, mantra or lullaby, the Shipping Forecast has long been a favourite of cosy homes on chilly evenings. Its practical use as a precise reading of the marine weather around the British Isles has been largely...

Former Secretary of State, and first generation American, Colin Powell explains the importance of remaining an open and welcoming nation for NPR's This I Believe series. This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the...

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

General U.S. Grant and General Sherman are caught off guard by the entire Confederate Army, with their backs to the Tennessee River! Confederate General Johnston's plan was to attack Grant's left and separate the Union army from its gunboat support (and avenue of retreat) on the Tennessee River, driving it west into the swamps of Snake and Owl Creeks, where it could be destroyed.

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, historian Arnold Toynbee describes how relating to others, even when it causes us to suffer, makes us human, in "I Agree With A Pagan", his contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series. This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features...

How can you search for oldies you want to hear when you've forgotten them? Radio doesn't play a lot of those oldies anymore, even though you would enjoy hearing them again. This audiobook offers you access to over 150 links to YouTube videos for lost or forgotten oldies as well as history about the artists and their songs.

Bei einer Familienfeier versteckt sich Emilia mit ihrem besten Freund Joschi unter der Festtafel. Von dort unten aus gesehen ist die Welt eine lange schmale Höhle, die von Tisch- und Menschenbeinen begrenzt wird. Die Gespräche klingen dumpfer, aber Emilia und Joschi hören genau, worüber die Erwachsenen sich unterhalten: über die Mauer. Für die Kinder ist vieles unerklärlich. Es fängt schon bei Begriffen an, die sie merkwürdig oder sogar gruselig finden und im Spiel, für sich, zu begreifen versuchen.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

What a time it was. Suddenly, all across Nottingham, the UK's ninth biggest city, transmitters were crackling into life with another kind of voice, another kind of sound. In a way, we were back to the '60s. And in a way, we weren't. It all happened in the city of Robin Hood; but it could have been anywhere in the UK, where similar stories were being played out by like-minded individuals who were starting to realize that something was very, very wrong.... Make no mistake. This is the story of a revolution.