20th Century Radio: The Listening Years

General Douglas MacArthur signs Japanese surrender instrument

You are There The Listening Years

This short program includes several brief You are There segments, originally put together to commemorate a CBS radio anniversary.  The focus of the program is on historic 20th century events that people could hear firsthand through the advent of radio.   This program is an enjoyable, quick overview of some of radio’s news highlights from the 20th Century.

The program begins with a broadcast about the surrender of the Japanese at the end of World War 2.

The next excerpt is from   a horse race at the Kentucky Derby.

Kentucky Derby, 1931, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike Germany 3.0 license

The third excerpt is King Edward abdicating his throne for love, December 11, 1936.

The fourth segment is about a 1930’s fire within the walls of the Ohio State Penitentiary.

The next segment highlights FDR’s first inaugural address, the Great Depression and World War 2, followed by FDR’s address to congress asking for a declaration of war.

D-Day, June 6, 1944, Normandy

The next segment is about the Allied landing in France on D-Day.

Next, the program highlights the Howard Hughes trial.

Finally, You are There covers a November 6, 1947 discussion in the United Nations.

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