Podcast #345 – Catching up with Community Radio at the Grassroots Radio Conference and NCRC

Jennifer Waits reports back from the Grassroots Radio Conference, held in Spokane Washington from September 11 to September 14, 2025. We recap FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez’s keynote address, in which she spoke forcefully about recent actions by the FCC that threaten freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Gomez talked about the importance of community radio, as a place that inherently provides a diversity of view points.

Also on the show, we hear a bit about the National Campus and Community Radio Conference, which was held in Nanaimo, BC, Canada in June 2025. Plus, Jennifer digs into the latest “best college radio stations” list from Princeton Review.

Show Notes:

• Grassroots Radio Conference 2025, hosted by KYRS in Spokane, Washington
• KYRS, Thin Air Community Radio
• FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez
• Gomez Sounds Alarm on Press Freedoms at Grassroots Radio Conference (Radio World)
• Podcast #267 – Live from the Grassroots Radio Conference: Community Radio and Protests (October 2020 virtual GRC)
• Podcast #162 – The Future of Community Radio, Live from Grassroots Radio Conference (October 2018 in Portland, Oregon)
• National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA) Conference in Nanaimo, BC, Canada
• Counterculture: 20 Years of CIVL Radio in the Fraser Valley documentary
• 35000 Watts documentary about college radio
• Campus and community radio stations that Jennifer visited in Canada (tour reports forthcoming): Radio Sidney, CFUV-FM (University of Victoria), CHLY-FM (Victoria Island University), Vancouver Co-Op Radio CFRO-FM, CiVL-FM (University of the Fraser Valley), CJSF-FM (Simon Fraser University), CiTR-FM (University of British Columbia)
• Nadwuar the Human Serviette
• On podcast #304, Lesbian Radio History in Canada, Stacey Copeland references some programming on Vancouver Co-Op Radio
• On podcast #330, Wetland Project and Slow Radio, we also discuss the Soundscape Collective at Vancouver Co-Op Radio
• 2026 “Best College Radio Stations” List from Princeton Review (Radio Survivor)

Show Credits:

• This episode was produced by Jennifer Waits
• Hosted by Jennifer Waits and Eric Klein
• Edited by Eric Klein

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