As part of this year’s radio focus, curator and radio host Samantha Lippett joins the WORM airwaves for three “Radio Conversations.” Joined by researchers and practitioners who orbit the web radio field, together they will untangle questions related to the emotions, archives, and localities of the practice.

3. Emotion

Web radio has experienced a surge in interest over the last 10 years, leading to the emergence of numerous stations. In this conversation, author of Radiophilia, Carolyn Birdsall joins to explore this popularity and uncover the on-air “magic” that fosters human connection through listening and broadcasting together.

Carolyn Birdsall is a researcher at the Department of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam. Her research is situated in the fields of sound studies, radio and media studies, archival studies, and urban studies. Her recent monograph, Radiophilia (2023), proposes a transmedial and transnational approach to radio, both past and present. She recently completed the funded project TRACE (Tracking Radio Archival Collections in Europe, 1930–1960), and is now working on a collaborative, follow-up project AV-DATA (2024–2025).

Samantha Lippett is a curator and project manager based in Vilnius, specialising in community radio and public art. She is co-founder of the Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN) and is on the executive committee of Reset! Network. Together with artist James Prevett, she founded Out of Office Radio, which is a mobile radio and set of tools supporting the Helsinki arts community. Lippett regularly advocates for independent media and community radio at public events and festivals including Le Guess Who?, Nuits Sonores, and Linecheck Festival. Last year she was nominated as Keychange Leader in recognition of her work on gender diversity in radio.

The Independent Community Radio Network (ICRN) connects and supports like-minded stations from across Europe. Founded in the Baltic-Nordic region, ICRN responds to the challenges faced by its members and exists to support, hoist, and progress the knowledge and sustainability of its field. ICRN’s activities include in-person exchange, co-broadcasting, advocacy, and workshops, as well as collaborations with like-minded organisations such as Signals2Noise Festival, COSMOS, Le Guess Who?, and Reset! Network.