The Affective Power of Sound: Oral History on Radio

Abstract

Using illustrative audio clips, this article offers insights into the historical symbiosis between oral history and radio and the relationship between orality, aurality, and affect that makes radio such a powerful medium for the spoken word. It does so through a discussion of the concept of affect as it applies to oral history on radio and through a description and analysis of crafting oral history for the radio documentary form. This article features audio excerpts from radio documentaries produced by the author. Listening to the audio portions of this article requires a means of accessing the audio excerpts through hyperlinks. See “Instructions for Multimedia Reading of the OHR,” which follows the Editor’s Introduction at the front of the journal, for further explanation on how to access this article online.