Brooklyn, NY has one of the densest populations of unlicensed pirate radio stations in the U.S. As he explained on episode #133 of our radio show, journalist David Goren has been tracking and recording these stations for two decades. Now you can sample his archive of pirate airchecks with the interactive Brooklyn Pirate Radio Map, which just went online.
You can click on neighborhoods to get a list of stations you can hear, or you can use the tuner section to scan stations across the virtual dial. If you stumble across a station you like, you can dig into additional archives.
As Goren explained to us, he records these broadcasts because they represent cultural expressions that are otherwise ephemeral, created by communities that don’t have access to communicate through mainstream channels. They form an historical record of the diasporas settled in Brooklyn.
Nicolas Niarchos from The New Yorker recently visited Goren in his third-floor listening room for a short profile piece. I appreciate this little anecdote:
Goren counted thirty-three pirate stations in all, that day, including a new one, on 94.9. Two women were discussing International Women’s Day: “You know what, this is a day—it’s not bashing men. It’s not about you, actually. It’s about us.”
“I am surprised,” Goren said. “Stations are still finding ways to come on the air.”
