SWillings: Dubious Statements Heard On Shortwave Radio


Abhor the Pope? I don’t, but if you do, you can find like-minded bigots on shortwave radio.

Major governments used to dominate shortwave radio: the Voice of America, Radio Moscow, BBC, etc. But in the USA there has been the rise of domestic broadcasters, stations funded by private enterprise. Some of these stations offer superpatriotic / superreligious views way outside the mainstream.

I caught one such broadcast last night – or I should say early yesterday morning, after 5 AM. I came in late to the broadcast. The reception sucked, fading and noise, but I was able to hear most of it.

The host was going on about one Pope who molested kids back in his home country when he was a younger man. Apparently this pre-Pope molester used to volunteer to watch the kids of fellow workers at a factory. But the word soon got out and the other workers threw oily rags at him.

The anti-papist host went on to imply that the Vatican was the Fountainhead of All Evil in the world. In fact, there are demons lurking with the Catholic Church.

You anti-Semitic? I’m not, if you tune around the shortwave dial, you will probably encounter a domestic SW program saying that the Great Jewish Conspiracy is the Fountainhead of All Evil. The Jews control the media (except for shortwave radio, apparently).

It’s all about God and conspiracies. Some program hosts rail on about the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), how it’s keeping cures for cancer and other killers from the public. But don’t believe the evil FDA; try one of the products being hawked by the program host, natural, God-Blessed cures.

If you like nostrums, you can buy a device that locks into the frequencies of each disease in your body, canceling each one out. Or put a patch on your arm that will give you renewed energy without puncturing your skin. Or try magnets: there are all sorts of magnets for all sorts of diseases, just order the right one for your ailment.

And if these cures don’t work? Well, you didn’t love God enough or the Conspiracy got to you too soon.

Sucker.