In Global Radio: From Shortwave to Streaming, Shaheed Nick Mohammed provides an ambitious survey of about 100 years of radio broadcasting. . . . the variety of examples from around the globe provides a fascinating set of case studies. . . . this book works best as a survey of the topic and introduces the reader to literally dozens of areas which could (and sometimes do) fill entire books on their own. As a historical survey, it is useful for researchers and teachers of media globalization, history of radio or broadcasting, local radio around the globe, or the way radio has been and is used to spread propaganda and hate speech, as well as the more socially positive uses of radio including news, music, culture, and information.

International Communication Research Journal

If someone wants to fully understand radio’s earliest origins and its recent transition to online platforms, this book is essential reading. Shaheed Mohammed provides a rich and detailed analysis that compellingly explains the complexity of radio’s technical and cultural underpinnings. This research also offers an outstanding overview of how radio has been profoundly influential on an international scale. This project is unique, thoughtful, and enlightening.

Robert C. Trumpbour, Pennsylvania State University

Through original archival research and exhaustive review of the secondary literature from India to the West Indies, Algeria to Sri Lanka, Shaheed Mohammed demonstrates persuasively that “radio has been a globalizing force since well before the advent of networked digital technologies.” This books makes the case for the centrality of radio to understanding the braided histories of globalization and the local, colonialism and post-colonialism, and liberalism and neoliberalism.

Jason Loviglio, University of Maryland, Baltimore County