WELCOME TO RADIO FREE INTERNATIONAL

Radio Free International

     There is a long history of Radio Free International DBT shortwave broadcasting from Asia. DBT first came to Asia in 1979. It was out of necessity when their station was shut down in New York by the FCC. In 1978, one of their broadcasters was accused of having sex over the airwaves. The FCC shut them down for public obscenity. It was at that time that DBT concentrated on their signal in San Francisco.

They don’t just play the music that other radio stations play. They play interesting stuff you hear on non-commercial stations. There are no commercials; Radio Free is a listener sponsored station. There are no government funds that find their way to this station. All their funding comes from membership dollars and donations.

Radio Free came to Asia is 1979 when they were thrown out of New York, taken off the air by the Federal Communication Commission. They went to Hong Kong in the years before the Chinese take-over, and established a real rock and roll station there. For five years, from 1984 to 1989, DBT International broadcasted locally on FM and internationally on shortwave radio. In 1991, the Chinese government told them to get out.

WDBT became “Radio Free-International” in October 2013 because the FCC was on the verge of terminating the DBT license in New York City.

In 1979, WDBT had two pirate-radio ships; one on the east coast and one on the west coast; they were prepared to transmit great rock n’ roll to America. It wasn’t easy.

“This is Radio Free International, Taiwan. If you are within the sound of my voice, it means you clicked on the icon to re-broadcast the last musical blog transmission. 

 Before we begin, let me remind you that Radio Free International is a commercial free listener-sponsored radio station. We take no contributions from government or corporate sponsors; organization and company donations are limited to $10,000 U.S. a year. We are not beholden to any sponsor. There is no member ship fee; becoming a friend and follower is all it takes. 

     But Radio Free International isn’t just about music. They are the sole providers of UPS News, that’s Underground Press Syndicalism news.

     UPS News, which originated in the 60’s in such underground newspapers as The East Village Other, Rat Magazine, and Black Panther, became the spoken word producers of DBT programming. Nowadays, it produces news programs for American FM affiliates WDBT in New York and KDBT in San Francisco. Internationally, the news broadcasts are a half hour long.

There are two types of news UPS News broadcasts; reports and what they call “shadow news.” In “shadow news,” they take a corporate news report and read between the lines to explain to listeners how corporations twist the truth and add propaganda with loaded presumptuous wording that they expect listeners to believe verbatim.

     In addition to news reports, UPS News produces an “activist hotline” of demonstrations and protests its listeners are advised to join. They also produce “The Drug Report” which discusses prices, quality, and availability of psychedelic and mind-expanding drugs such as cannabis and peyote. Furthermore, there are daily reports about Asia (Sketches of China) the Middle East (Farewell Israel) the former Soviet Republics (Mother Russia) and general progressive news about Latin America, Africa, and Europe (Indy-media Report, Radical Guardian) and workers international news (Industrial Worker Report, Workers World Report.)

“    “You are tuned to the world of rock and roll and revolution. This is Radio Free International, Taiwan.”