On a crisp November afternoon, I marveled at the autumnal beauty at Bard College in New York’s Hudson Valley. Bright red leaves clung to the trees within view of Ward Manor, a gorgeous 1916 mansion that is now a residence hall and home to college radio station WXBC. Tamar Faggen, WXBC’s General Director enthusiastically greeted […]
To say that my visit to college radio station WRUC 89.7 FM at Union College in Schenectady, New York was eagerly anticipated is an understatement. Rumored to be the “first” commercial college radio station, its predecessor stations have a fascinating history, making Union College an important stop for every college radio historian. Lucky for me, […]
Catch Alice’s Restaurant on the 2023 radio dial. See our latest listening guide. Thanksgiving is nearly upon us and for radio fanatics like myself, that means another year tracking the radio stations that play Arlo Guthrie’s seasonally appropriate “Alice’s Restaurant.” Especially with the strangeness of the last few years in light of COVID, nostalgia is […]
We welcome new contributor Martin Butera, reporting from Brasilia DF, Brazil. In his first article, he examines the growing crackdown on free radio in that country. Readers should note the parallels between unlicensed radio there and in the US, where stations in dense urban areas are often employed by communities and populations not well served […]
It seems that social distancing has made unlicensed Part 15 radio a bit more popular. “Part 15” refers to the part of the US broadcast regulations that cover unintended transmissions and radio frequency interference. Essentially, this means tiny radio signals whose transmission can’t be avoided or are negligible. It also covers tiny radio transmitters, like […]
On last week’s Radio Survivor show, my colleague Eric Klein did a fascinating interview with Eric Nuzum about the podcasting landscape. In the wide-ranging conversation, Nuzum talks about his college radio past at Kent State University in the mid-to-late 1980s. I love a college radio origin story, so it was fun to hear about his […]
On the edge of a funky beach town in Maui lies magical community radio station KOPO-LP, whose broadcasts are filled with youthful voices. Since 2006, thousands of kids and teens from the Pa’ia Youth and Cultural Center (PYCC) have taken to the FM airwaves from its seaside perch. (more…)
Catch Alice’s Restaurant on the 2023 radio dial. See our latest listening guide. In fall, 1967, Arlo Guthrie released “Alice’s Restaurant,” unintentionally launching a Thanksgiving radio tradition that persists more than 50 years later. The Thanksgiving-themed 18+ minute story-song is beloved by folkies and classic rock fans who continue to search the radio dial for […]
We had a fun chat about college radio’s Vinylthon at the start of this week’s Radio Survivor show. On Saturday, April 13, 2019, more than 140 radio stations played vinyl in celebration of the College Radio Foundation tradition. At Foothill College’s radio station KFJC-FM, where I’m Publicity Director, we ended up playing vinyl for 7 […]
High school radio station KASB-FM in Bellevue, Washington was my second stop during a hectic day of radio station tours in the Seattle area in October, 2018. Bellevue High School’s Career and Technical Education Department Chair Brad Conger reached out to me awhile back, encouraging more coverage of high school radio on Radio Survivor. I […]
