Apparently, whoever thought up this promo-related radio station really did their homework. Experts say no detail in recreating an 80s sounding FM station was spared and many are saying it's a remarkable effort that is totally accurate, from the tunes to the sound itself. 

"The work demanded meticulous attention to detail. “The sound needed to feel like you’d just tuned a physical FM radio in Hawkins in the 1980s,” [Global U.K.'s James] Rea explains. That meant countless hours of A/B testing, bespoke processing chains, and deep dives into every plugin. Most music and sound-design elements came from genuine pre-Nineties libraries like Bruton; anything newly created was shaped to avoid anachronism.

ReelWorld dissected classic American jingle packages and rebuilt them to sound as though they’d aired on a Midwestern station for decades. Modern analog-emulating plugins were used sparingly and intentionally, then remastered through a final signal chain before broadcast.

For true period accuracy, the on-air signal passes through a vintage Inovonics FM250 processor — the same model found in thousands of U.S. stations in the mid-Eighties. “It gave us that period-accurate crunch and glue you just can’t fake,” Rea says.

The Stranger Things Radio WSQK "The Squawk" Lives On 

RadioActive wrote:

It's called WSQK, (short for The Squawk) and it re-creates radio from the 1980s, when the series is set. The station not only features music and DJs from the era, but lets listeners take part in "Stranger"-reality contests, promos and request dedications. And they've even had jingles done especially for the faux-station.

Nothing is overlooked - even how they produce the sound of the outlet. 

"To capture an authentic sound, the audio is being processed through a vintage Inovonics FM250 unit dating back to 1983, the same type used widely by radio stations during the decade. This approach gives WSQK a period-accurate tone that matches the Stranger Things setting."

You have to sign up to access their online player, and I'm even sure if it's available outside the U.K. And you need to hurry - the special station is only on until January 1st. But if you're game to give it a go, well, Stranger Things have happened. You can find the feed here. 

Global Radio U.K. launches WSQK The Squawk for Stranger Things fans

This pseudo radio station, which existed as a promo for the Nextflix show, is now gone. But if you're a fan of the show or 80s music, you can still hear it. A fan recorded the output of the "station" - from Nov. 24th, 2025 to Jan. 1, 2026 - while it was being streamed and has put up the entire thing online. 

You can listen to it in real time or pick a specific period to play back. 

The WSQK Archive