Listening to a very dumb song on the radio the other day, one which praised the medium of radio, I got to thinking about radio in my life, and came up with the following list of radio moments.

The list will date me (I was born in the mid-seventies), so I expect others will have different memories: share them with a comment! Anyway, in no particular order:

• Fall, 1989: On a shortwave, I was able to listen in live to massive anti-communist protests in Prague and elsewhere in what was then called Eastern Europe.
• February 1990: Nelson Mandela, recently released from prison, holds a speech. He is greeted by cheering crowds, who he thanks, but who don’t let the man speak for 15 minutes. The weight of the moment sticks with me to this day.
• Spring 2003: Americans invade Iraq. I hear a live report with soaring jets overhead being met with anti-aircraft fire. In a moment of still, I hear a sparrow chirping. I was the same kind of bird as in the bushes outside my own window at home, and that brought the fear of war to me, away from the thrill of action and technology.
• February 2008: Now I’m married and have a toddler. On the night of super-Tuesday, when the news-anchors said “Clinton” and “Obama” hundreds of times over, my son started saying “Mama!” whenever the eventual president’s name was mentioned.

Those are four memories of radio, what about yours?