Bahrain - Mix of المنامة

Man, that station for the Solomon Islands had some awfully intrusive car insurance commercials. Pinky despises the advertising for that company (he must not be named.) He'll never be giving Warren Buffet a monthly payment specifically because he hates that damn lizard so much. This rant is now over.

We haven't been to the Middle East for a good long while and you know how much we love it there. There was no sarcasm there. We really love it a lot. So, y'all want to tune in to Bahrain today?

it's dinky. you might have to squint.

Only three and a half times bigger than Washington D.C., Bahrain is the smallest nation in the Gulf. There's only about a million people there, but they get 8 million tourists a year. That's a pretty massive tourist base.

It's an oil-rich country with plenty of history and Gulf glitz; there's a lot to see there.

so pretty.

Perhaps you'd like to visit the Tree of Life? It's a 400 year old mesquite tree out in the middle of nowhere in a very harsh climate. There's nothing around it but sand, the closest vegetation is miles away, and there is no apparent water source. Nothing else is growing there. Nothing but a very old and very large mesquite tree. The locals think that it's a relic of the Garden of Eden. It's a pretty big tourist draw. We would like to go to there.

we are most fond of inexplicable phenomenons.

Michael Jackson lived in Bahrain for a while. He moved there after being cleared of charges to escape the public eye for a bit at the invitation of a prince. It didn't really work out and he left with some bad blood between him and his host.

wait a second... is this awkward?

So to recap:

Oil Oil Oil Oil Oil Gulf Glitz - giant American naval base - Gulf Glitz Oil Oil Oil Oil Oil Oil Oil

Let's cut the chit-chat and enjoy the Arab music rebroadcast from the capital, Manama (المنامة). We doubt we'll hear that damn gecko out here!

Abu Dhabi Radio

You can change the channels very easily from the navigation tool at the top of the page and we recommend you play around! Ellen's partial to the Holy Qur'an station.

.

Solomon Islands - Sunbathing Here We Come!

How'd you like that Chadian re-broadcast? Pretty good, eh? Ellen spent a lot of the day switching between the four channels trying to find the most ridiculous music or talk. It seemed to be a four-way tie.

OK, let's pack our bags full of sunblock and snorkel gear and head over to Oceania and tune in to the Solomon Islands-ish! It's Friday, so let's make this one last the weekend!

pardon the fuzziness... but we had to blow it up to make it relevant.

Full disclosure, this station isn't actually out of the Solomon Islands. It was made by some lady that grew up there and writes cliché poetry about it. Here's a stanza just to give you a taste:

Now the waves on the shore

Don't seem the same any more

Their stories full of grief

Are filled with a warning

About global warming and its consequences

For our people on the reef.

Wow. Annnnnnny way...

 Folks have been on the Solomon Islands since about 30,000 BCE. Wow! Imagine being a primitive human crossing all that water on just a canoe. Dang... mad props. The Europeans showed up in the mid-1500's with a Spanish crew sailing out of Peru, but the British eventually ended up in control.

warriors from the 1890's

Before Europeans brought Christianity and colonization, the indigenous population was notorious for headhunting and cannibalism. Independence came along in 1970, but a civil war erupted in the late 90's, and tensions have sporadically fired up since then.

Today, we remember the Solomon Islands mainly as a hot-spot of WWII. The battle of Guadalcanal took place there, as well as JFK's infamous torpedo boat war heroics. We hear he kept that coconut paperweight.

mmmhmm. that is one handsome dead president.

We recognize that we didn't have a lot to say about the Solomon Islands, but give us a break. It's Friday and y'all probably have better things to than sit back and relax on the beaches of the South Pacific. Hope to see you there!

Pacific Islands Radio

.

Chad - Dreaming of نجامينا

Before you say anything, you're welcome for that Costa Rican station. It was awesome! That's two great stations in a row. Let's see if we can make it three...

It's Thursday and it's already been a hateful long week. We think we're in the mood for African music. So, back to the continent we go! Y'all want to tune in to Chad?

even resembles an anatomical heart...

A landlocked country with a mainly harsh desert climate, Chad's apparently been stuck with the unfortunate moniker of The Dead Heart of Africa. Doesn't exactly have the same ring as The Sunshine State.

well, it is kind of stark...

Chad is a veritable Tower of Babel with all the languages spoken there. There are over 200 ethnic groups in a population of just 10 million folks, and over 100 languages are spoken among them! We suppose that's the result of arbitrarily drawn colonial borders and unrepresentative statehood. You're begging for problems with that mix and Chad has seen plenty of them. For example, in 2008, they built a moat around their capital to protect them from rebels! That should give you a good idea of the political discourse. And, while we're on it, who the fuck builds a moat anymore?! (editors note: not enough people, in my opinion)

we can't find a picture of the moat (trust us, we're crushed, too). but here is a little glimpse of life in the capital

So, from what we can parse out, Chad is one of the poorest and most corrupt nations in the world. About 80% of the population lives on less than a dollar a day farming in a land plagued with drought and the occasional locust horde (what up biblical prophecies). Oil and cotton are the main exports and are used to fund the corrupt government, helping them fend off the various rebel groups.

omg. barf.

Chad is surrounded by nations with desperate economies, authoritarian rulers, or roiling civil wars and internal conflicts. Needless to say that these peripheral conflicts often spill over the border. Hundreds of thousands of Darfur refugees are still in Chad, and there are warnings that a genocide may yet occur within their own borders. With increasing water scarcity (look what's happened to Lake Chad!), conflicts are bound to only increase.

one of the many darfur refugee camps in chad

Though the situation seems dire there, We're sure there's a lot to love about Chad. As is true in most places, only the bad stuff get's reported.

So, let's tune in and see what amazing things we can discover about Chad. There are only about a dozen radio stations in Chad. Some of those stations are rebroadcast from international stations, and that is the case here. We'll be tuning into Africa N1 out of Paris again - but boy is it a good one!

Africa N1

Listen Here

you have to press the play button

.