Episodes

Paul reports back from the Podcast Movement 2017 conference with some fresh facts about this growing medium, along with observations and advice from speakers and keynotes. There are definitely nuggets of information that will be useful to community and college podcasters and podcasters. Radio Survivor is a listener-supported podcast. You can support us two ways: Make a monthly contribution through our Patreon campaign. Make a one-time or recurring donation with any major credit card via PayPal...

The Princeton Review’s annual list of top college radio stations is out, and college radio expert Jennifer Waits joins to deconstruct the list, its methodology, and the notion of “best” college radio stations in the first place. Then Paul talks with Ed Hadley, who has been producing the overnight radio show “Incoming Wounded” on community radio WEFT for some 35 years. This leads to a reflection on the wildly creative and often weird radio heard on community radio, but rarely found on the rest o...

We catch up on news that’s important to podcasters and broadcasters. Soundcloud received emergency investment to keep running, but is it still a sustainable host for podcasts? The podcast patent troll is totally dead, finally. And, responding to reader and listener questions, Paul reviews the history of proposals to create a low-power AM radio service in the U.S. Radio Survivor is a listener-supported podcast. You can support us two ways: Make a monthly contribution through our Patreon campaig...

Anita Pouchard Serra traveled across Argentina helping to set up new community radio stations with the DTL! collective. A photojournalist, she also documented the building of these stations, that are officially unlicensed, but operate in the spirit of a communications law that passed, but never went into effect. Anita joins to tell us about this movement of Radio Comunitaria Alternativa y Popular, and its role in communities and the larger media environment in Argentina. Radio Survivor is a li...

Sally Kane, CEO of the National Federation Community Broadcasters, has a question for community media: How inclusive are we, really? That’s the jumping off point for our conversation with Sally and her colleague Ernesto Aguilar, as they report back from the NFCB 2017 Conference, held in Denver, CO July 17 – 19. We discuss the value of focusing on what’s working in community media—as opposed to what’s not and what resources are lacking—creating a platform for true community voices, and embracing ...

Racist Sandwich is a Portland, Oregon based podcast that tackles the intersection of food, race, class and gender. Started by journalist Zahir Janmohamed and chef Soleil Ho, both with no prior podcasting experience, the show has received recommendations from outlets like the CBC and The New York Times. Zahir joins us to talk about learning the ins and outs of podcasting, cultivating an audience and tackling a niche topic. Paul also has an update on the July 12 Day of Action to Save Net Neutrali...

The four Radio Survivors—Jennifer Waits, Matthew Lasar, Eric Klein and Paul Riismandel—come together to reflect on 100 episodes of the podcast, and 8 years of Radio Survivor, sharing some favorite moments, and some thoughts about the future of community media. Importantly, Matthew observes that “radio is dead” articles and think-pieces have subsided as of late, perhaps marking a new era where radio and audio media are as converged as video and TV. Radio Survivor is a listener-supported podcast....

Brazil is embarking on a grand experiment with the radio dial. AM stations have the opportunity to relocate to FM, and plans are afoot to expand the size of the FM dial. However, don’t be surprised that you haven’t heard about it. We hadn’t either until listener Álvaro Burns brought it to our attention. Álvaro is a community broadcaster and podcaster from São Bernardo do Campo, and he joins us to explain the AM migration, and what it means for community radio. Then we reflect on the implication...

With so much of the online discussion in podcasting seeming to focus on growing audiences and getting big, we thought it necessary to explore and celebrate “small” podcasting, shows that don’t break onto the charts, but have dedicated audiences. If we celebrate small business and small craft breweries, why not celebrate small podcasts? Eric talks with Richard Molina Weber and Kenna Conklin of the “Going Last” podcast, which covers table top gaming. The hosts explain why they produce the show, i...

Intrepid radio tourist Jennifer Waits reports back from her journey to PhillyCAM radio in the City of Brotherly Love, adding a low-power FM station, WPPM-LP, to an established public access TV operation. Following up on episode #96 we catch up on the latest smart speaker research and Jennifer shares news about two college stations sold off to the highest bidder. Radio Survivor is a listener-supported podcast. You can support us two ways: Make a monthly contribution through our Patreon campaign...

Amazon Echo. Google Home. And soon, Apple’s HomePod. Smart speakers are quickly taking up residence in homes. Taking voice commands to deliver news, weather, music and more, they play a very radio-like role in people’s daily routine. Radio journalist Brian Edwards-Tiekert joins to explain what these speakers can do, what they can’t, and what the implications are for community radio and podcasters. He recently completed a John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University where one of h...

After covering the comeback of the live streaming radio platform Live365 two episodes ago, listeners asked us to check out MixCloud, which offers free streaming of music radio shows, DJ sets, mixtapes and podcasts for anyone, including radio stations and independent producers. So this week we talk with Xanthe Fuller, Head of Community for Mixcloud. She explains the Mixcloud service, its community of creators and listeners, and how the company is able to offer its service for free. Then we talk ...

If you’ve heard of HD Radio it was probably in a spot on a major commercial station, not a high school station. KVCB-LP is the exception to that rule, a high school radio station that is likely the first and only low-power FM station to start broadcasting in digital HD Radio. Ralph Martin is the operations director for the station, owned by Vacaville Christian Schools. He explains how and why KVCB went HD, detailing the challenging trail he had to blaze. He also shares the station’s unique appr...

Independent internet radio was devastated in January 2016 when music royalty rates shot up and long-time webcasting company Live365 went out of business. Now Live365 is back under new ownership, and CEO Jon Stephenson joins the show to tell us how the company is ready to help small webcasters get back to broadcasting online affordably, despite the tremendously higher royalty rates. Community radio people: this is your last chance to score a $50 discount to attend this year’s National Federation...

Mae Brussell hosted radio shows focused on the JFK Assassination, fascism and other conspiracies on community radio stations KLRB an KAZU in the 1970s and 1980s. Brussell’s brand of broadcasting represents a strain of community radio show thatcontinues to be found, often to the chagrin of program directors and boards of directors. Matthew Lasar joins the show to share some of what he learned about Brussell in preparing for his own course on the history of conspiracy theories at UC Santa Cruz, le...

This one is for the podcasters, and for the radio producers. Eric is set to teach a class on podcasting, so he asks Paul for advice on what to include. Instead of focusing on microphones and recording gear, they tackle the hard questions that every podcaster should consider. Before heading into the course design, Paul has updates from the net neutrality front, including John Oliver anti-net-neutrality spam bots. Show Notes: Podcast #90 – FCC Chair Declares War on the Open Internet John Oliver...

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is serving up a big cup of you-know-what for net neutrality, declaring his intent to decimate the 2 year-old Open Internet Order and the Title II protections it bestows on the internet. Prof. Christopher Terry from the University of Minnesota joins to help us understand what Chairman Pai intends to do, why, and what the stakes are for all of us. He also tackles iHeartMedia’s desperate finances, and why the fate of the company formerly known as Clear Channel matters to all o...

Laura Schnitker is an archivist and curator at the University of Maryland who has been active in preserving the legacy of college station WMUC, along with co-chairing the Library of Congress Radio Preservation Task Force (with Radio Survivor Jennifer Waits). Laura recently gave a talk about her radio preservation and archiving work at the “College Radio: Then, Now and Next” symposium at the University of Virginia. We share that informative talk on this week’s episode. Before that, Paul reports ...

WRIR is a community radio station born from the first wave of low-power FM in the early 2000s. Yet the station has roots in the rich history of independent media in Richmond, VA. Intrepid radio tourist Jennifer Waits shares her tour of the station, uncovering obscure cable radio history along with some unexpected facts about her alma mater’s college station at Haverford College. First, Paul addresses recent inquiries that we’ve fielded about Corporation for Public Broadcast funding and about ou...

Community radio stations are not just transmitters and studios. Similarly, public access TV stations aren’t just cable channels with studios. They are community media platforms, with a privileged place and sense of permanence that comes from their FCC license or franchise agreement, respectively. This week we explore how community radio and public access TV can work together, and how both kinds of stations can grow beyond the traditional boundaries of their respective medium. We share audio fro...

“Hijacking airwaves, a secret network of DJs broadcast messages of hope to keep the memory of a former America alive,” reads the press release for a marketing campaign that has captured our imagination here at Radio Survivor. “Resistance Radio” was created to promote the Amazon television series “The Man in The High Castle.” Steve Coulson of the marketing agency Campfire is our guest on the podcast. “Resistance Radio” exists outside of the television program as a collection of fictional pirate ...

The president’s proposed budget would eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by 2018. Radio Survivor’s own Matthew Lasar joins to help us put this attack on public broadcasting in historical perspective. He analyzes the inherent weakness in the design of the CPB and proposes ways in which the system could be both stronger and more independent. Matthew also shares a couple of community radio nuggets he’s recently uncovered in the Internet Archive, including a bygone cable-...

LPFM, college and community stations are great, but because of low power many of them are also hard to hear, especially inside your house or office. Based on an inquiry from one of our Patreon supporters, we dedicate this episode to helping you improve your reception. Broadcaster and radio reviewer extraordinaire Jay Allen, the man behind the Radio Jay Allen website, joins to share his best advice for buying a new radio that will pull in those lower powered gems, and for optimizing reception wit...

Advice for LPFM stations and podcasters this week. A recent rule change at the FCC allows more AM stations to get repeaters on the FM dial, but may put unnecessary pressure on existing low-power FM stations. Paul and Eric discuss this situation and what LPFM stations may need to do in response, along with the new FCC Chairman’s public support for FM radios in smartphones. Then they talk about how new podcasters should be specific in choosing a topic and description for their shows, and why “mark...