As a hobby, I host and produce a music show broadcast internationally on shortwave radio. I feature a mix of popular hits from the 1960s through the mid-2000s, along with lesser-known “deep cuts” – overlooked gems from well-known artists. I place a strong focus on Canadian bands and musicians, highlighting their contributions to the music landscape.

You can tune in to WRMI-Radio Miami International on 9395 kHz every Saturday at 19:00 ET. New episodes air fortnightly, with WRMI rebroadcasting the previous week’s show on alternating Saturdays. The show also airs on WTND 106.3 FM in Macomb, Illinois, on alternating Tuesdays at 19:00 Central time. The show is currently on hiatus.

Most people are familiar with AM and FM radio, but shortwave is less well known. Shortwave radios pick up stations from countries far beyond your location, broadcasting between the AM and FM bands. Like AM signals that travel farther at night, shortwave transmissions use a similar phenomenon to reach thousands of kilometres away.

Though shortwave played a major role in 20th-century broadcasting, modern technology has largely overtaken it. Many North American stations offer religious programming, but there is still a wide range of other broadcasts available to explore. News and cultural programming from other countries, though less abundant than in the past, can still provide valuable insight into global perspectives – or at least the narratives governments choose to present. All you need is a radio – no internet or mobile data required.

My broadcasting journey began in the late 1990s when I discovered Tom and Darryl, two independent radio producers from Macomb, Illinois. They were part of a group of layman broadcasters who leased time on C-Band satellite, and I joined their channel in 1999, alternating weeks with Bill Allen Jr., a broadcaster from Alpena, Michigan.

In 2011, I worked as a DJ and IT technician for The Eagle, a radio station near Sarnia, Ontario. By 2015, I was recording shows for WQNA, a campus radio station in Springfield, Illinois. A shortwave listener since 1987, I often imagined being a shortwave broadcaster – an ambition realized in 2019 when I began broadcasting on WRMI.