Radio is an incredibly versatile medium if done right. And it can be put to use for a host of things. Take the radio station that broadcasts in Moscow – in a notorious mental hospital. (I will try and refrain from any cracks about how most radio stations can easily be mistaken for insane asylums.)
 
Apparently this outlet uses patients as the announcers and DJs, and according to the article linked here, it’s good therapy. I wonder if they have to censor their playlists. I would imagine songs like “I Go Crazy” and “Crazy For You” would not make an appearance. It’s Russian, so you can bet on it, but I don’t make that observation just for the sake of telling a rather politically incorrect one-liner.
 
Because the second strangest radio station is in England – and it does censor what it plays, and in a way that almost resembles a satire. This one is called NPR, but it’s not National Public Radio. The “P” stands for Prison, and the inmates are literally in charge of the show. 

It sounds a lot like the BBC or the CBC at times, with authors, reading lessons, poetry recitals, and even "Face To Face," a show devoted to bringing prisoners and their victims together.   
 
But according to an article about this unusual non-profit broadcaster, which serves some 85,000 prisoners a day and received 10,000 requests from cons and family members last year, those in charge have begun cutting out swear words and lyrics they don’t think are appropriate. And it’s not just obscure songs. Queen’s classic “Bohemian Rhapsody” has the “Mama just killed a man” gun reference edited out.
 
It seems a bit ridiculous. As one inmate notes in the piece, “We all know the lyrics anyway - it had been played millions of times by the BBC.” And you can just imagine the kind of language that’s spoken behind bars, so cutting out four letter words seems illogical, too. (A poll finds Tupac Shakur is the #1 favourite artist, although they must absolutely butcher his stuff to play it on the station.)
 
Still, there IS one thing about NPR that must leave other stations envious - they always have a captive audience!
 
If you’re curious what radio behind bars sounds like, there are samples of it online here.

Last edited by RadioActive (August 29, 2016 8:22 pm)