American Radio Art and the Documentary Imagination: Breakaway and Castaway Emissions from Broadcast to Podcast

Listen Up is the world's first publication to take a look at American radio art as a distinct sound art practice. Analytical essays by leading media art historians and practitioners discuss how the field took shape in the context of changing broadcast environments and sociopolitical realities, while manifestos and other original documents provide vivid glimpses into the concerns of artists seeking to insert their alternative visions into the mass medium radio. The volume also elucidates the role of prominent artists who worked extensively for European broadcasters and considers the difference between sound works for broadcast radio and their internet incarnations.
This chapter by Virginia Madsen explores radio art in America as aligned with the documentary imagination as it evolved in sound broadcasting and electronic media. The chapter traces lines of development from the golden age of radio to the podcasting revolution, with an emphasis on the US and the international context. It asks questions concerning the nature of radio expression and audio art.