{"id":66133,"date":"2026-05-23T07:03:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T11:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=66133"},"modified":"2026-05-23T07:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T11:03:19","slug":"bbc-radio-4-explores-shortwave-broadcasting-and-soft-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/bbc-radio-4-explores-shortwave-broadcasting-and-soft-power\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC Radio 4 explores shortwave broadcasting and soft power"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Today, BBC Radio 4 will air The Sound of Soft Power<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The documentary also revisits stations and programs remembered fondly by many DXers, including Radio Netherlands\u2019 Happy Station Show<\/em> and Radio Berlin International.<\/p>\n

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

For anyone interested in the history of shortwave broadcasting and international radio, this will be well worth a listen.<\/p>\n

The Sound of Soft Power<\/em> <\/strong><\/a>airs today on BBC Radio 4 and will also be available via BBC Sounds<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[960,3,305,288,7566,43],"tags":[1347,4111,11121,852,465,4082,11120],"class_list":["post-66133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international-broadcasting","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","category-radio-memories","category-shortwave-radio","tag-bbc-radio-4","tag-international-broadcasting","tag-josephine-mcdermott","tag-radio-4","tag-radio-documentaries","tag-shortwave-radio","tag-the-sound-of-soft-power"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-hcF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34312,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/ieee-spectrum-magazine-this-artist-made-a-radio-out-of-a-kitchen-sink\/","url_meta":{"origin":66133,"position":0},"title":"IEEE Spectrum Magazine: “This Artist Made a Radio Out of a Kitchen Sink”","author":"Thomas","date":"October 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source:\u00a0IEEE Spectrum via Ed C) Amanda Dawn Christie\u2019s work commemorates the fading glory of shortwave radio By\u00a0Stephen Cass Some artists work in oils, say, or marble. Amanda Dawn Christie works in radio. Not radio in the sense of performing on air. But radio in the sense of the giant cultural\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/art-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/SpectresOfShortwave.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/SpectresOfShortwave.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/SpectresOfShortwave.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/SpectresOfShortwave.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41213,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/australia-calling-abc-documentary-looking-at-the-impact-of-radio-australia\/","url_meta":{"origin":66133,"position":1},"title":"Australia Calling: ABC documentary looking at the impact of Radio Australia","author":"Thomas","date":"December 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post contributors who contacted me about a new documentary focused on the impact of Radio Australia. Peter Marks writes: The celebration of 80 years of international broadcasting from Australia continues. The ABC has published \"Australia Calling: A look at 80 years of Radio\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-12-16-at-06.32.10.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-12-16-at-06.32.10.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-12-16-at-06.32.10.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Screen-Shot-2019-12-16-at-06.32.10.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59963,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/video-afternoon-plus-documentary-on-the-bbc-world-service-1982\/","url_meta":{"origin":66133,"position":2},"title":"Video: ‘Afternoon Plus’ documentary on the BBC World Service (1982)","author":"Thomas","date":"June 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gary (W4EEY), who shares a link the following archived documentary on the BBC World Service from 1982: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JPqqXHMwqKQ Click here to view on YouTube.","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Hallicrafters-Dial-Green-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Hallicrafters-Dial-Green-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Hallicrafters-Dial-Green-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Hallicrafters-Dial-Green-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Hallicrafters-Dial-Green-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53226,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/bbc-radio-4-scotlands-lord-haw-haw\/","url_meta":{"origin":66133,"position":3},"title":"BBC Radio 4: “Scotland’s Lord Haw Haw”","author":"Thomas","date":"July 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: BBC Radio 4) Scotland's Lord Haw Haw Radio played a key role in the propaganda campaigns of Nazi Germany. The most notorious personality in this radio war was William Joyce, or 'Lord Haw-Haw' - who came to be known as the English voice of Nazi Germany. But he wasn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Dial.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Dial.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Dial.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35528,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/australia-international-broadcasting-soft-power-and-the-wisdom-of-the-crowd\/","url_meta":{"origin":66133,"position":4},"title":"Australia: International broadcasting, soft power and the wisdom of the crowd","author":"Thomas","date":"January 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Nigel Holmes, who writes: Here are a couple of interesting url following the joint Australian DFAT & DCA Review of Broadcasting Services in the Asia Pacific. [One] gives a good overview and the [other] is a concise assessment of HF and Radio Australia in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Kenwood-R-1000-Encoder-Dial-2-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Kenwood-R-1000-Encoder-Dial-2-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Kenwood-R-1000-Encoder-Dial-2-1024x678.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49333,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/comrade-africa-a-historic-look-at-the-gdrs-cold-war-era-shortwave-broadcasts-to-africa\/","url_meta":{"origin":66133,"position":5},"title":"Comrade Africa: A historic look at the GDR\u2019s Cold War era shortwave broadcasts to Africa","author":"Thomas","date":"June 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ulis (K3LU), who shares the following note via his Twitter feed: \u201cComrade Africa\u201d - a historic look at the GDR\u2019s (Radio Berlin International) Cold War era shortwave broadcasts to Africa via the BBC World Service: https:\/\/open.live.bbc.co.uk\/mediaselector\/6\/redir\/version\/2.0\/mediaset\/audio-nondrm-download\/proto\/https\/vpid\/p07zc40r.mp3 Click here to listen to the documentary at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/RadioBerlinInternationalFront-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/RadioBerlinInternationalFront-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/RadioBerlinInternationalFront-001.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/RadioBerlinInternationalFront-001.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66133"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66134,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66133\/revisions\/66134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}