Radio Garden Lets You Tune Into A World Of Global Broadcasts
DEEPAK SINGH
Katherine Streeter for NPR
Before my family bought a television set, it was radio that I stayed glued to. I must have been 10 years old, or maybe 9. My grandfather, uncle and I would sit close to a massive analogue radio. One of them delicately held the dial between the thumb and the index finger, fine-tuning, ear close to the speaker, listening carefully for a clear sentence of English amid the sizzle and the crackle of radio signals. A clear signal that lasted for barely a minute put a huge smile on our faces.
Back in the late 1970s, the rectangular machine was our window into the world, a world we had never been to.
Sometimes I listened to a cricket commentary for a game played in New Zealand, Or the news from BBC London. Every once in a while the radio caught a station that wasn't English, but I listened anyway. A foreign language from thousands of miles away — how exotic!
This week I stumbled upon a new website on the Internet called redio garden Curious, I clicked on it and a globe started spinning before my eyes. It looked similar to Google Earth. Then I zoomed into the northeast part of the United States. And then a radio station started playing. On the bottom left side of the screen it said, Lewiston, United States. This is about 30 miles from Brunswick, Maine, where I now live. On the bottom right side, it said WRBC. The Bates College radio station was playing.
I planned to move the cursor halfway around the world to my homeland but first I dropped in on Tehran, Iran. My screen now said Radio Hamdam. I couldn't understand a word of the song, but the rhythm was upbeat, the kind of music you'd listen to while running on a treadmill. After two songs, I then wandered to Ghana. Highlife Radio Ghana, Kokrokoo FM 90.5 was on my screen. This seemed to be a talk show. Two guys were talking in a language unknown to me, but one of them was speaking in an animated voice, the other was laughing hysterically. They reminded me of Tom and Ray Magliozzi from Car Talk.
DEEPAK SINGH
Katherine Streeter for NPR
Before my family bought a television set, it was radio that I stayed glued to. I must have been 10 years old, or maybe 9. My grandfather, uncle and I would sit close to a massive analogue radio. One of them delicately held the dial between the thumb and the index finger, fine-tuning, ear close to the speaker, listening carefully for a clear sentence of English amid the sizzle and the crackle of radio signals. A clear signal that lasted for barely a minute put a huge smile on our faces.
Back in the late 1970s, the rectangular machine was our window into the world, a world we had never been to.
Sometimes I listened to a cricket commentary for a game played in New Zealand, Or the news from BBC London. Every once in a while the radio caught a station that wasn't English, but I listened anyway. A foreign language from thousands of miles away — how exotic!
This week I stumbled upon a new website on the Internet called redio garden Curious, I clicked on it and a globe started spinning before my eyes. It looked similar to Google Earth. Then I zoomed into the northeast part of the United States. And then a radio station started playing. On the bottom left side of the screen it said, Lewiston, United States. This is about 30 miles from Brunswick, Maine, where I now live. On the bottom right side, it said WRBC. The Bates College radio station was playing.
I planned to move the cursor halfway around the world to my homeland but first I dropped in on Tehran, Iran. My screen now said Radio Hamdam. I couldn't understand a word of the song, but the rhythm was upbeat, the kind of music you'd listen to while running on a treadmill. After two songs, I then wandered to Ghana. Highlife Radio Ghana, Kokrokoo FM 90.5 was on my screen. This seemed to be a talk show. Two guys were talking in a language unknown to me, but one of them was speaking in an animated voice, the other was laughing hysterically. They reminded me of Tom and Ray Magliozzi from Car Talk.
