History Unfolds With Re-Imagined Radio’s D-Day Stories (Photo) -06/03/25
VANCOUVER, Wash. – When Allied forces invaded Europe to repel German invaders on June 6, 1944—a turning point in World War II—radio listeners heard history as it happened. War reporting of the day is the basis of Re-Imagined Radio’s “D-Day Radio Stories,” which commemorates the 81st anniversary of the invasion. “D-Day Radio Stories” premieres at 1 p.m. June 16 over KXRW-FM (99.9), Vancouver, and KXRY-FM (91.1 and 107.1), Portland. Subsequent broadcasts and streams will be provided by local, regional and international broadcast partners.
Part documentary and part sound collage, “D-Day Radio Stories” features some of the earliest instances of using recorded material in radio news broadcasts, allowing listeners to experience events as if they were there. This approach was pioneered by Edward R. Murrow during the London Blitz. Samples in the episode were recorded in the air, on the land and at sea.
Reporting “live” from active combat scenes was far more challenging then than it is today. Portable recording machines weighed 40 pounds. There were shortwave radio links, but no global communication satellites, internet or mobile phones. Recorded disks had to be brought back to London before they could be broadcast to radio listeners.
“Despite these challenges, the radio news correspondents featured in this episode provided compelling radio stories for their listeners,” said John Barber, producer and host of Re-Imagined Radio. “We are present at the locations of their stories. Radio storytelling put us there.”
Re-Imagined Radio premieres episodes on the third Monday of the month on community radio stations KXRW-FM and KXRY-FM. Each episode is streamed globally and is then available as a podcast and on YouTube. Previous episodes are also released on YouTube each month. Information and listening opportunities are available at reimaginedradio.fm, where all episodes are archived.
The website also features “Re-Imagined Radio EXTRA,” additional content between regular monthly episodes, presenting sound-based storytelling from different places and in different genres.
Community Partners
Re-Imagined Radio draws on community voice actors, Foley artists, musicians, sound artists and engineers. Partners include KXRW-FM, KXRY-FM, the Electronic Literature Lab at WSU Vancouver, Marc Rose of Fuse Audio Design, Rylan Eisenhauer and Holly Slocum Design, with Evan Leyden.
About Re-Imagined Radio
Barber created the program in 2013 to explore sound-based storytelling. “We select, produce and perform classic and contemporary stories across a spectrum of genres, from dramas to comedies, from oral to aural histories, from documentaries to fictions, from soundscapes to sonic journeys, from radio to sound art, using a variety of media, including performances, radio broadcasts, streaming, podcasts and social media, especially YouTube,” Barber said.
About WSU Vancouver
As one of six campuses of the WSU system, WSU Vancouver offers big-school resources in a small-school environment. The university provides affordable, high-quality baccalaureate- and graduate-level education to benefit the people and communities it serves. As the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington, WSU Vancouver helps drive economic growth through relationships with local businesses and industries, schools and nonprofit organizations.
WSU Vancouver is located on the homelands of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and Peoples of the Lower Columbia Valley. We acknowledge their presence here. WSU Vancouver expresses its respect towards these original and current caretakers of the region. We pledge that these relationships will be built on mutual trust and respect.
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