The Sound of Soft Power | The SWLing Post

The BBC World Service will rebroadcast The Sound of Soft Power—the excellent radio documentary exploring the enduring influence of international broadcasting and shortwave radio—via its shortwave service on the following dates:

First transmission: 18:00 GMT, Saturday, 1 August 2026
Final transmission: 11:00 GMT, Sunday, 2 August 2026

I’ll post the frequencies as soon as I’m notified, although I expect they’ll follow the BBC World Service’s normal shortwave transmission schedule.

I’d love to add a good off-air recording of this broadcast to the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. I’ll certainly try to make a recording myself, but I may not be in the best location for reception. If you’re able to capture the broadcast, please consider sharing your recording!

If you missed my original post about The Sound of Soft Power when it first aired on BBC Radio 4 in May, you can read it here: BBC Radio 4 explores shortwave broadcasting and soft power (May 2026)

Today, BBC Radio 4 will air The Sound of Soft Power, a documentary presented by Josephine McDermott exploring the history of international broadcasting and the role shortwave radio played as a tool of soft power during the Second World War and Cold War.

The program features a number of familiar voices from shortwave history, including Lord Haw-Haw, Mildred Gillars, Doris Maxina of Moscow Mailbag, and June Taylor.

The documentary also revisits stations and programs remembered fondly by many DXers, including Radio Netherlands’ Happy Station Show and Radio Berlin International.

I was pleased to play a small role in assisting with research for the program, and recordings from the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive were also used in the production.

For anyone interested in the history of shortwave broadcasting and international radio, this will be well worth a listen.

The Sound of Soft Power airs today on BBC Radio 4 and will also be available via BBC Sounds.