More great radio! Where have I been?
I've known David Barsamian because he's the interviewer on a large number of Chomsky interviews I've heard. Little did I think that all along these interviews of Chomsky were actually radio programs on Alternative Radio, which could have been (though never in my locales, it would appear) radio programs on Public Radio affiliates or other noncommercial stations. Alternative Radio is a one hour weekly program with great speakers like Chomsky, Scahill, and Alperowitz.
The website immediately brings you to the page where you can purchase past programs. Dig a bit deeper and you can get find a fairly large number of free programs, often featuring David Barsamian himself. Then you can find the Affiliate Stations. One of those I can just barely get over the air (need better antenna anyway). And it occurs to me that I might be able to get many of them over internet radio.
The problem is not so much that great radio isn't available. People sometimes talk about The Media in that sort of sense. The problem is that you have to dig just a little to find the good stuff, and most people don't. They expect to be able to hear all they need by just turning on their radio to the loudest station (likely Fox), or if their taste is a bit more refined, NPR. Often NPR is hailed as "the liberal voice" when in reality it has been at least as much controlled by Republicans as Democrats, and simply doesn't present leftist views at all (though it gives much attention to right wing views…). NPR only goes so far to the left, maybe 1pm on the clock face. It's just slightly better than the others, on which even centrist views are forbidden.
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