Welcome…

For the past one-hundred years some great radio has provoked extraordinary reactions.

I’m Martin Cooper – both a broadcaster and a listener. Every month I publish a new article here about radio. Subscribe by clicking the “Follow Pre-fade Listen” button below.

My new book, Radio’s Legacy in Popular Culture, is published by Bloomsbury Academic (click on the book cover to read a sample and order a copy for yourself).

The book tells the story of radio through pop songs, movies, novels, poetry, art and sculpture. What’s your favourite radio song?

This companion site also thinks about radio – and how we’ve been listening to it. Mostly the good bits. Use the Search button to find more, or browse the archives.

Here you can read about radio culture. You can find industry analysis. You can give in support of this project. And you can share your own radio memories.

This is a world of radio culture, radio history, radio technology, and… er, more radio. From a broadcaster’s point of view a lot of time and creative energy is expended in making radio programmes – and it’s easy to forget (or not pay attention to) all the utterances we hear, which end up disappearing into the ether.

Try asking someone what they heard in the eight o’clock news on this morning’s breakfast show and they’ll probably struggle to recall any details.

However some listeners have been paying attention.

Read on – by either clicking here: Articles, or click the Topics below on this page, or try the Archives link to read the stories in date order.

The archives are on the right of this page if you’re using a PC or laptop, or further on down this page – below here – if you’re on your mobile device of some description. I look forward to your support.