Most radio listening takes place in the car or while doing other things that allow freedom for the ear, but not the eyes and hands. Podcasts permit a shift of listening time from a set appointment to virtually any convenient occasion. I do it while âpower walkingâ (most) every other day (when itâs not cold and wet or I havenât succumbed to laziness). The âartâ of putting one foot in front of the other can be pretty monotonous and by âpodding alongâ while plodding along the mind also gets something useful to do.
Some of the best radio comes from the public networks of the UK, Australia, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and the U.S. Apart from the originating programâs web site, most programs are made available through any number of other amalgamation sources such as iTunes and TuneIn.
Admittedly, these are thoroughly subjective recommendations, but my interests and tolerance for incompatible views are pretty wide-ranging. Hereâs another in a continuing series of small samplings, offered in a 90 minute scope (more of less):
ââ
âWe don't belong to anywhereâ
EARSHOT - ABC RN
When Mozhgan and her family fled Iran they nearly drowned trying to get to Australia by boat. Now theyâre stuck in Indonesia, living with no rights, and little hope of getting out. Mozhgan is a tiny ball of fiery determination. Her friend Jafar is charming and playful. The pair met in Indonesia, and after five years, they have a close friendship thatâs born out of shared experiences and tough times. UNHCR has established that they're both genuine refugees but they're still just hanging on to life by a thread, with little hope of ever finding a home again. Together they established The Refugee and Asylum Seeker Information Centre (RAIC), a volunteer refugee-led initiative to support asylum seekers who are struggling with the basics. There are almost 14 000 asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia and UNHCR is now informing them that they will probably never be resettled. So how do refugees and asylum seekers live in Indonesia, without rights or hopes for the future? (29â)
âBanning Plastic may not be good for the futureâ
FUTURE TENSE - ABC RN
Across the world, governments are moving to ban all types of non-reusable plastic. The wonder product of the 20th century has now become a byword for thoughtless consumption and looming environmental disaster. But even those who campaign against the overuse of plastic, argue for a more nuanced understanding of its role in our lives. Demonising plastic, they argue, risks throwing the baby out with the bath water. (29â)
âThe Great Strike of 1917â
LATE NIGHT LIVE - ABC RN
The Great Strike of 1917 began on the 2nd August. In a strike that lasted almost two months 100,000 workers around Australia walked off the job to protest changing workplace conditions. The source of consternation was the introduction of time cards, designed to monitor worker productivity. The time cards were seen as an unreasonable step to monitor workers. As part of the new workplace systems, foremen began watching over labourers, counting the time it took them to do certain tasks. The strikers called it 'Americanising work' or 'robotism'. The managers, 'scientific managementâ. This program was originally broadcast on 2 August 2017. (54â)
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A monthly (well, mostly monthly) compendium of these newsletters, plus on occasion additional pertinent material, is now published in The CIDX Messenger, the monthly e-newsletter of the Canadian International DX Club (CIDX). For further information, go to www.cidx.ca
John Figliozzi
Editor, "The Worldwide Listening Guideâ
192 page 8th edition now available from Universal Radio [universal-radio.com] and Amazon [amazon.com]
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