# Do you listen to broadcast radio anywhere outside of a car? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 24, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456 "2012-01-24T01:37:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/1 "2012-01-24T01:37:56Z")
I listen to radio online, through my iPhone, and with Apple TV all the time. However, except for a mono radio with my alarm clock, I don’t have an actual radio which can pick up broadcast radio. Does anyone still listen to an actual broadcast radio outside of a car? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/2 "2012-01-24T01:43:09Z")
I still wake up to a clock radio, listen to radio while I’m working and prefer baseball on the radio to baseball on TV. ---
**Author:** ![NGC2024](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NGC2024](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NGC2024)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/3 "2012-01-24T01:44:31Z")
I do, in every waking moment in my house. I keep my iHome tuned to my local NPR station at all times. I turn the volume down to go to bed, and turn it right back up before I even feed my pets in the morning. I have maintained this relationship with my radio for at least the past fifteen years. I keep a television in only my bedroom and watch it only for a few moments before going to sleep. I like the dependability of the radio programs and I specifically make sure I’m in a location where I’m able to listen to certain programs. The broadcast of the Metropolitan opera every Saturday afternoon, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/4 "2012-01-24T01:45:39Z")
I listen to KQED on my bedside radio and the receiver in my entertainment center all the time. I used to listen to KGO as well, but I’m boycotting them after they dumped 75% of their hosts last year. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/5 "2012-01-24T01:48:23Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Does anyone still listen to an actual broadcast radio outside of a car? I have a radio in the kitchen. I listen to the news in the morning while I’m having breakfast. Ditto in the evening while I’m cooking dinner. I also listen to live concert broadcasts, the BBC World Service, Radio Deutsche Welle, NPR etc. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/6 "2012-01-24T01:54:20Z")
NPR while working. They play a variety of music and introductions are informative as it’s interesting to understand what I’m listening to. Talk radio is generally out for me while I’m working as it’s too distracting but music (classical and jazz) is fine as it seems to engage a different part of the mind. Fresh Air with Terry Gross is talk radio but that’s usually around lunch time anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/7 "2012-01-24T02:05:31Z")
I listen to baseball games on the radio. That’s pretty much it, in or out of a car. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/8 "2012-01-24T02:10:32Z")
My phone’s bluetooth is also an FM radio, so I listen to it all the time–walking places, on the way to the subway, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/9 "2012-01-24T02:44:08Z")
I don’t even listen in my car. i have an iPod. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/10 "2012-01-24T02:50:35Z")
I absolutely listen to broadcast radio outside the car. And in it, as well. I listen to CBC Radio One in the mornings, and if I were home all day, CBC radio would be on all day. After work, it’s either CBC or NPR, as I unwind, look at the web, make dinner, and so on. There is something rather nice about radio–you can move from room to room and do things while still being informed and entertained. You don’t have to sit there and stare at a box. Of course, you can move around and putter and do errands with the television on, but I always feel mildly irked by missing the visuals. Radio is meant for the ears, and gives the freedom to do something else while you listen. Radio doesn’t demand I sit there, like a lump. However, sometimes radio is so compelling that I do just sit there and listen! ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/11 "2012-01-24T02:52:09Z")
I don’t listen in a car anymore either (I listen to more NPR programming than I ever have - in the car, at work, around the house - but in podcast form). ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/12 "2012-01-24T03:20:32Z")
I have a little portable radio on which I listen to baseball from March (spring training) through October (just kidding! September). All other months it just collects dust. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/13 "2012-01-24T03:31:22Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > . . . I listen to more NPR programming than I ever have - in the car, at work, around the house - but in podcast form . . . I do that too, but L.A. has two NPR stations, so often for breaking news it’s just easier to turn on live radio, rather than download a podcast or use an app on the phone. In my case, it’s just a matter of switching the bluetooth from “phone” to “radio.” Plus, the broadcast over the air includes local news. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/14 "2012-01-24T04:06:34Z")
I listen to [XPN](http://xpn.org/music-artist/xpn-stream)streaming on my computer, does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/15 "2012-01-24T05:28:45Z")
Hmm. This thread has made me realize that the only place I listen to radio is in my car. I listen to NPR, and because I have a long commute to work, I have to change stations twice on the way. From home, I start out with WHYY (90.9). Around the 30 minute mark I switch to WNJT (88.1) for about 15 minutes, and then when the signal is strong enough I switch over to WNYC (93.9) for the last 30 to 40 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/16 "2012-01-24T05:38:41Z")
Yes, and no. I do listen to broadcast radio at home but only via web streaming. I have an app on my phone (TuneIn) that allows me to listen to both regular radio stations that stream onto the web as well as internet only stations. The phone is wirelessly attached to some Logitech Bluetooth speakers. Sometimes I will turn on the old fashioned analog radio in the car. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/17 "2012-01-24T05:51:49Z")
listen to talk on NPR. listen to old time radio on AM stations when that type of show is on. a variety of radios with a variety of antennas (loops, rods, yagi). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/18 "2012-01-24T06:37:28Z")
Just the car for me, where I flip between an AM station, and FM classical station and an NPR station I can pick up from Vermont. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/19 "2012-01-24T07:14:44Z")
Occasionally. Back when I worked in labs, most of them had a boombox, which would most likely be on any of the popular radio channels. You didn’t bring any tapes that you weren’t ok with your labmates playing, you didn’t take somebody’s tapes away. Nowadays, I don’t even own a radio other than the one in my car, but when I’m at Mom’s I’ll use the boombox while ironing or cooking. At home and during the same activities I listen to streamed radio channels, the programming is the same I’d get through a radio but minus yet-another-machine-to-drag-along (I move very often). I have a problem with the little radios in that I can’t use bud earphones, so I’d need to drag “real headphones” around anyway, plus anything involving headphones is not as comfortable for doing any kind of physical work as something “on the air”. I don’t need to have another cable in the way when I’m turning a sleeve around. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456/20 "2012-01-24T07:18:15Z")
Weekend mornings we listen to the NPR programs like Weekend Edition, Car Talk and Wait Wait Dont’ Tell me while doing the crossword puzzle. Also if the Giants game (baseball) isn’t on TV, I’ll listen to that on the radio. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-broadcast-radio-anywhere-outside-of-a-car/610456.md?page=2)