On the Media — "The Power of Shortwave Radio. And, What Gets Lost with Voice of America?"

Date: August 22, 2025
Hosts: Brooke Gladstone & Michael Loewinger
Featured Reporter: Katie Thornton
Special Guests: Susan Douglas, Michelle Helms, Alsu Kurmasheva

Episode Overview

This episode critically examines the fading influence and ongoing battles over U.S. government-funded international broadcasters—Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Free Asia—while tracing the remarkable legacy and complex evolution of shortwave radio as a tool of soft power, propaganda, and, recently, a battleground for press freedom and truth-telling. Drawing from historical context and present-day crises, the episode investigates what is lost when government support for these broadcasters is slashed, especially as rival global powers ramp up their own propaganda efforts.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Voice of America Under Threat

• The episode opens with the Trump administration’s attempts to cut funding and restructure the Voice of America (VOA), notably firing its director and putting loyalists like Carrie Lake in charge.

• Quote:

  “We are going to be slimming this agency down. Way down. It’s going on an Ozempic diet.”
  — Susan Douglas & Katie Thornton (01:41)

• The politicization of VOA is put in historical context, likening it to Reagan-era interventions (01:56).

2. The Story & Power of Shortwave Radio

• Reporter Katie Thornton revisits the influential rise of shortwave radio, recounting a hands-on session tuning shortwave stations with radio enthusiast David Goran.
• Shortwave is described as a “global tussle for influence” broadcasting everything from official propaganda to music and conspiracy theories.
• Quote:

  “In just about an hour of surfing the shortwaves, we heard prayer and propaganda, news and conspiracy theories, so many languages and some really decent jams from all over the globe.”
  — Katie Thornton (05:23)

• Listeners were welcomed into an “ethereal global community,” connecting people before the internet and offering a century-long record of geopolitical soft power.

3. From Utopia to Information Warfare

• The episode details radio's transition from a medium of utopian hopes to a “weapon of war,” particularly in Nazi Germany’s use of shortwave for targeted propaganda.
• Key propaganda personalities (“Ex Sally,” Lord Haw Haw) and programming are discussed.
• Allies, in response, marshal counter-propaganda resources—most notably the BBC's World Service and the creation of VOA.
• Quote:

  “Every week, radio sleuth Rex Stout debunked enemy shortwave propaganda.”
  — Katie Thornton (22:32)

4. Shortwave & The Cold War

• Shortwave solidifies as a Cold War battleground, with both the U.S. and USSR investing massively in international broadcasts—each disseminating news, ideology, and music to influence foreign populations (27:10).
• Radio Free Europe’s secret CIA funding and subversive tactics (e.g., balloon drops of tuning instructions) are explored.
• Interference and violence are recounted: jamming stations, poisonings, and murder attempts against staff (27:49–29:29).
• Music shows, such as the VOA Jazz Hour, and the “jazz ambassador” program, are portrayed as soft power tools—despite the contradiction of simultaneous segregation and racism at home (29:50–30:27).

5. American Propaganda vs. Domestic Deregulation

• Reagan’s paradox: slashing domestic public broadcasting and deregulating AM/FM, while dramatically boosting budgets for VOA and Radio Free Europe abroad (32:59–33:27).
• Voices within his administration debated the appropriateness of “rebellious” American rock music for foreign broadcasts, ultimately keeping it on air as a symbol of soft power.
• Quote:

  “They decided to keep the rebellious racket going on the shortwaves.”
  — Katie Thornton (33:38)

6. After the Cold War: Shortwave for Extremists

• With the Cold War over, state-sponsored use of shortwave faded, creating room for right-wing extremists, hate groups, and militias to occupy the airwaves in the U.S. (35:27–36:13).
• Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing shine a spotlight on the medium’s new domestic dangers.

7. Present-Day Crisis: Cuts to Radio Free Asia & Radio Free Europe

• The episode shifts to the ongoing dismantling of U.S. international broadcasters.
• Bei Fong (President, Radio Free Asia) and journalists describe abrupt funding terminations and mass layoffs, imperiling reporting in authoritarian countries (39:40–41:24).
• Examples of high-impact journalism—such as exposing Uyghur detention camps in China—are highlighted alongside personal risks faced by reporters and their families.

8. Human Cost: Interview with Alsu Kurmasheva

• Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva recounts her experiences being imprisoned in Russia for her reporting for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), highlighting both the personal and societal stakes of vanishing American soft power.
• Kurmasheva reflects on her imprisonment (“288 days, 40 Fridays”), psychological coping, and the small comforts—like building a lighthouse in the snow to remember supporters on the outside (46:21–47:58).
• Memorable moment:

  “Actually, nobody's depressed in prison. It’s something beyond depression. It’s everything around you deprives you of dignity.”
  — Alsu Kurmasheva (47:11)

• She contrasts the U.S. government’s abandonment with the celebratory tone of Russian state media:

  “Millions of people will stop reading and watching our reporting. Russian and Chinese propaganda will fill in that empty space very quickly...”
  — Alsu Kurmasheva (50:33)

• Kurmasheva underscores that their work is not about advancing American interests but giving audiences objective information:

  “This is what I was doing. I was giving a voice to my people so they could take informed decisions for themselves.”
  — Alsu Kurmasheva (53:58)

• Cautions the long-term disaster if these institutions vanish.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On VOA’s fate:
  “It's not the first time the VOA has been explicitly politicized. Ronald Reagan did it back in the 80s. But in fact, over the past century, radio has played a vital role in much of the nation's engagements in soft power.” — Brooke Gladstone (01:56)

• On the magic of shortwave:
  “There was something magical about tuning into the world, training my ear to listen through the crackle, hearing the distance as it turns out.” — Katie Thornton (05:23)

• On Nazi propaganda reaching the US:
  “They'd take popular big band and swing songs and add or change lyrics to berate Roosevelt or denigrate Jewish people.” — Katie Thornton (20:47)

• On shortwave’s power during the Cold War:
  “Radio Free Europe was a flame throwing anti communist shortwave network... secretly it was funded by the CIA.” — Katie Thornton (27:53)

• On VOA Jazz Hour’s role:
  “The music of jazz parallels the freedom that we have in America, something that not every country has.” — Willis Conover, VOA Jazz Hour (29:29)

• On broadcasting American music despite reservations:
  “They decided to keep the rebellious racket going on the short waves.” — Katie Thornton (33:38)

• On new occupants of the airwaves:
  “The airways became a haven for right wing hate speech.” — Brooke Gladstone (36:13)

• On journalistic risk:
  “I received call from our neighbor's daughter...All my relatives arrested because of me, my work.” — Gulchera Hoja (40:48)

• On enduring imprisonment:
  “I set the routine to read. And, you know, as there was lack of books...I was reading ingredients on the food packages.” — Alsu Kurmasheva (46:40)

• On the cost of U.S. withdrawal from global broadcasting:
  “Russian and Chinese propaganda will fill in that empty space very quickly, very efficiently...” — Alsu Kurmasheva (50:33)

• On journalism’s true aim in restricted societies:
  “I wasn't thinking about being a soft power for somebody. This is what I was doing. I was giving a voice to my people so they could take informed decisions for themselves.” — Alsu Kurmasheva (53:58)

Timeline of Key Segments

• [00:09–01:56] Overview of VOA’s precarious state and renewed politicization.
• [02:31–05:23] History and present-day magic of shortwave radio.
• [06:00–14:57] Origins: Radio’s technical quirks and the discovery of skywave propagation.
• [19:21–24:24] Shortwave’s transformation for war propaganda.
• [27:10–34:48] Shortwave as Cold War battleground, U.S.-Soviet rivalry, musical diplomacy.
• [35:27–36:13] Shift to domestic extremism on shortwave post-Cold War.
• [39:40–41:24] Crisis at Radio Free Asia; risks and losses for U.S.-funded journalism.
• [42:44–55:13] Extended interview with Alsu Kurmasheva on imprisonment, press freedom, and the human price of abandoning international broadcasting.

Episode Takeaways

• Shortwave radio, once a dream of utopian connection, evolved into a fierce theater for state-backed information warfare, and later became a refuge for extremists when government broadcasting withdrew.
• Today, as U.S.-supported broadcasters are sidelined, autocratic powers rush to fill the void, threatening both global audiences’ access to reliable information and the safety of journalists who risk their lives to report.
• The episode closes with a warning: the infrastructure and trust built over decades can be lost in an instant, and its regrowth is far from assured in a world of intensifying propaganda.

For more history and context, the hosts encourage listeners to find the Divided Dial series in their podcast app of choice.