Podcasts permit a shift of listening time from a set appointment to virtually any convenient occasion. I do it while taking my daily (more or less) 3 mile walk, while I’m “plodding along”. While there are thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of great podcasts from other sources, the ones sponsored via public radio have been vetted through the worthy objectives of the medium. Here’s what I’ve been listening to recently. I hope you might find these suggestions — in roughly 90 minute bites -- helpful in enhancing your own enjoyment of radio, our favorite medium.
__ __ “The Music Man for Africa” SUNDAY FEATURE - BBC Radio 3 Leo Sarkisian (1921-2018), musicologist, musician, raconteur and radio man, spent decades traveling through South Asia and Africa with a half-ton Nagra tape recorder. An intrepid adventurer with 'a good ole American handshake,' he recorded hundreds of musicians in 39 African countries (including some, like Fela Kuti, who later became world-famous) at a time of tremendous energy and change. Working first for Hollywood's Tempo Records and then for the Voice of America, to which he was recruited by the legendary Ed Murrow, he also served Cold War America as a cultural ambassador and, occasionally, as its eyes and ears. Leo was born in New England to Armenian parents, refugees from persecution in Ottoman Turkey. He was steeped in the music of diasporas, and understood the importance of traditional culture and music as a unifying force. In 1965, he launched the Voice of America’s longest running show, Music Time in Africa, which remained on air until March 2025, when President Donald Trump's cuts effectively shut the network down. Irresistibly charming and infectiously enthusiastic, Leo loved music and musicians; his programme was hugely popular, attracting sacks full of fan mail from all over the world. Maria Margaronis immerses herself in Leo's life and adventures, his double life as broadcaster and US government 'ambassador'- and his extraordinary collection of African music, now archived at the University of Michigan. (44”) https://soundcloud.com/shortwaveology/music-man-for-africa-sunday “Who is Russell Vought? ON THE MEDIA - NPR and WNYC New York Public Media a conversation with Andy Kroll, a reporter covering justice and the rule of law at ProPublica, about the profile he wrote of Russell Vought, the director of a little-known, but powerful office inside the White House. Donald Trump calls him "Darth Vader," and Vought is behind thousands of federal layoffs. Hear why Kroll calls him Trump's "shadow president," and about Vought's goal to put federal workers "in trauma.” (23”) https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538775/on-the-media (Scroll to January 16, 2026) "With the Podcast “I’ve Had It,” Jennifer Welch Goes “Dark Woke” on Politics” THE NEW YORKER RADIO HOUR - NPR and WNYC New York Public Media Before becoming a podcaster, Jennifer Welch had a successful career as an interior designer and co-starred in a reality show on Bravo. But, since 2022, she and Angie Sullivan, her co-host on the podcast “I’ve Had It,” have gained millions of fans as a sounding board for left-leaning political frustrations. These aren’t only concerns about MAGA but also about the Democratic establishment that she views as captive to a corporate agenda. Welch talks with David Remnick about her contentious interviews with Cory Booker and Rahm Emanuel, her belief in “dark woke,” and how a white Oklahoma woman in her fifties emerged as one of the most provocative voices on today’s left. (33”) https://www.npr.org/podcasts/458929150/the-new-yorker-radio-hour (Scroll to January 16, 2026) — — A compendium of these suggestions, plus on occasion additional pertinent material, is published every other month in the CIDX Messenger, the monthly e-newsletter of the Canadian International DX Club (CIDX). For further information and membership information, go to www.cidxclub.ca John Figliozzi Editor, "The Worldwide Listening Guide” 11th EDITION, with comprehensive listings of radio programs on AM, FM, shortwave, satellite radio, internet-wifi radio and podcasts, available from universal-radio.com, amazon.com. amazon.co.uk, amazon.de, amazon.com.au PLEASE NOTE: Times change and some things just get passed by. Such is the case with THE WORLDWIDE LISTENING GUIDE. This 11th Edition will be its last. Once the current crop of issues is sold, the series is sold out for good. For 35 years, starting with THE SHORTWAVE RADIOGUIDE, it has been my pleasure to provide to select listeners a written record of some of the best programming available on public media radio everywhere. The media landscape is changing — much for the good, but some that’s concerning. This is especially true for the jewel that is public service media. But it’s also clear that radio — all its platforms — is de-emphasizing schedules and embracing the freeing capacity of podcasting. It’s also clear that — happily — there are some fine accessible and more timely resources for finding that piublic audio content available online. So for the next few weeks I will be compiling some of the best of those to share with you and provide places where you can still gain the information that the WWLG has tried to provide for these many years. On to the future! Happy Holidays! _______________________________________________ Swprograms mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to [email protected]?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL shown above.
