During World War II, allied soldiers would often spend their time listening to the radio. They could, at least for a little while, be transported back home by listening to popular music with the soothing sounds of a female radio host with a flawless American accent. Along with the music, the troops would also get a healthy dose of enemy propaganda. Learn mor ... Show More
Nov 24
The Paraguayan War (Encore)
In the 1860s, one of the bloodiest wars in the Western Hemisphere took place….and it wasn’t the US Civil War.
It was a war between Paraguay and an alliance of Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil, and it was one of the bloodiest ever fought in Latin America.
It was a conventional wa ... Show More
15m 50s
Nov 2023
E132 Petit éloge de la radio française
Depuis que je suis rentré en France, j’ai redécouvert le plaisir d’écouter la radio.
À en croire les sondages, je suis loin d’être le seul. Environ 70% de mes compatriotes le font quotidiennement.
À l’heure d’internet et des plateformes de streaming musical, pourquoi la rad ... Show More
19m 10s
Feb 2021
Abandoned Russian Radio Station
Since the 1970s, a strange radio signal has broadcast from somewhere in Russia. Listeners can hear rhythmic buzzes, and occasionally, a speaker reciting a nonsense string of letters and numbers. Nobody knows what the messages mean, but the ongoing broadcast may be the only thing ... Show More
49m 11s
Apr 2017
Rebecca Scales, “Radio and the Politics of Sound in Interwar France, 1921-1939” (Cambridge UP, 2016)
What did sound mean to French people as radio and other listening technologies began to proliferate in the early twentieth century? What was the nature and significance of French auditory culture in the years between the two world wars? These are two of the central questions that ... Show More
1 h