How about a book called Cram Me with Eels, or a newspaper article with the headline “How to Measure Lard”? Both are real yet absurd and from the erratically surreal mind of J.B. Morton, a writer with the Daily Express for many decades of the 20th century. He worked under the pen-name of Beachcomber. His … Continue reading Impossible headlines: Part 1 of a series of jokes
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When a human worries about AI in broadcast radio… (Part 2) Still…
... And if you’re a bot, please stop scraping. Now. The piece is based on a presentation for an online academic seminar on World Radio Day 2026, organised by the “Radio and Audio Studies Section” of the UK Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association. You can read part one of my talk here: https://prefadelisten.com/2026/04/14/when-a-human-writes-about-ai-in-broadcast-radio-part-1/ And, … Continue reading When a human worries about AI in broadcast radio… (Part 2) Still…
When a human worries about AI in broadcast radio… (Part 1)
I am that human. I'm both an academic and a broadcaster based in the UK. After a spell in student and hospital radio I joined the BBC. I spent twenty years as a journalist, radio presenter and news editor. I then moved to academia, where I taught 18 year-old undergraduates the craft of radio and … Continue reading When a human worries about AI in broadcast radio… (Part 1)
Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models and the Radio Industry…
Earlier this year, February the 13th to be exact, I joined some festivities to mark annual World Radio Day. What is World Radio Day? Click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Radio_Day. And there’s the UNESCO site – which explains a bit more… https://www.unesco.org/en/days/world-radio. In case you’re wondering, everyone has their day. For example, May the 4th is International Firefighters' … Continue reading Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models and the Radio Industry…
Analogue* radio’s uneasy relationship with protest songs
I’m writing here about pop music that makes a political statement – and tunes that call out bad decisions by leaders and politicians. Later in this piece I’ll recall the Pistols, The Clash, The Specials, and Robert Wyatt. Gems from my formative years. A pop star writing and singing about what’s going on around them … Continue reading Analogue* radio’s uneasy relationship with protest songs
Encouragement… for writers and radio stars like us in these straightened times
"College bans students from listening to the radio." Read on for news of how one venerable and ancient international place of learning in the East Anglian region of England has banned radios from its grounds. Shock. Clickbait: you won’t believe what happened next. (Not much, really, but there is a picture to look at.) I … Continue reading Encouragement… for writers and radio stars like us in these straightened times
Radio & ideas – all our scrapbooks (Part 3)
Ideas are the lifeblood of what we do as writers and broadcasters. I'll have more about them in a moment, but first some things to avoid. Especially if you're a big beleaguered British public service broadcaster in the mid 2020s with a reputation to defend, with the right-wing press baying for your blood, and with … Continue reading Radio & ideas – all our scrapbooks (Part 3)
Radio & ideas – all our scrapbooks (Part 2)
In which I discuss W. H. Auden's habit of cultivating ideas and how writers like us need desperately to generate and hold on to our good ones. Just to be clear, this comes under a headline (above) that in itself is not 100% accurate. Perhaps that admission is poignant given the fragile state of public … Continue reading Radio & ideas – all our scrapbooks (Part 2)
Radio & ideas – all our scrapbooks (Part 1)
Here for you: a piece of writing about the process of writing… In the doing of it I'll write about - and reflect upon - er, the writing of it. With examples of pieces by E. M. Forster and other Eng. Lit. heavies. Post Modern maybe but I think all writing - good writing that … Continue reading Radio & ideas – all our scrapbooks (Part 1)
Radio speak (Part 2) Bots and AI on air… what could possibly go wrong?
I’m considering how radio-speak – the inane gabble of a mindless jock – is a constant danger for us presenters and DJs. In a previous article I wrote about the foot-in-mouth escapades of DJs who forgot to engage brain before opening the microphone fader. Yes, dear reader, it’s happened to me on many occasions. I … Continue reading Radio speak (Part 2) Bots and AI on air… what could possibly go wrong?
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