dublab team members inside dublab ‘s home base in Los Angeles, CA

Hyper-Locality Meets Global Reach:
Internet Radio as a Living Archive of Identity and Resistance

Welcome to 2025—a time when stories echo far beyond the borders of where they begin. When the small, intimate, hyper-local moments shared are often what connect us most, stirring something in the faraway listener that can’t quite be articulated. 

The ways we intake and share information are evolving, and rightfully so. Journalists are in protest against large media outlets and their apparent biases. Movement organizers continue to emphasize the importance of sharing learnings from hyper-local perspectives. It has become clear that if we don’t question and change the way we gather information, we accept being fed propaganda and are at risk of becoming disconnected from our communities and from the world. 

In the current environment, internet radio emerges as a crucial medium living in the “both, and”—personal and global. Originating in 1993, internet radio offered the first opportunity to broadcast live audio across the world. Today, it remains a bridge—an accessible way to share the live pulse of a specific community with a worldwide audience.  

This exploration features the voices of Diego Aguirre (Radio Nopal), Eddie Jr. (NTS), Rachel Day (dublab), and Radio AlHara—four internet radio practitioners who highlight the importance of internet radio today and the necessity of preserving its archives for the future.

Internet radio resists the polished edit of mainstream media. It showcases raw, unfiltered points-of-view and allows communities to shape their own narratives in a time when corporations and governments are trying to shape them for their own benefit.

Based in Mexico City, Radio Nopal is a collective internet radio station broadcasting via mensajito.mx, a free-tech device that allows users to create internet radio without a computer.

Radio Nopal’s founder, Diego Aguirre aims to encourage people to share their voices, freely stating, “with mensajito.mx, you don't have to ask for permissions.”

Diego Aguirre teaching how to build a mensajito.mx at Radio Nopal in Mexico City, MX 

mensajito.mx device

dublab’s Program Director, Rachel Day agrees, “there's a lot more flexibility that comes with internet radio. Without FCC regulation, there's more room for different kinds of radio programs.”

Free from restraints, and with over 180 programs aired monthly and listeners spanning all seven continents, Los Angeles-based dublab exemplifies its mission of fostering local cultural ecosystems with global reach.

“Internet radio is at its best when you feature distinct programming from people who represent who they are or what their community stands for as authentically as possible.”

- dublab’s mission statement

Rachel Day with dublab collaborators inside dublab studio

Screenshot of dublab’s online archive - www.dublab.com/archive

dublab’s programming ranges from interview broadcasts like Democracy and Vulnerability that showcases students exploring “the various threats to democratic institutions and principles worldwide, as well as strategies to potentially overcome these threats” to audio-history broadcasts like Deep Routes that hosts “multimedia dives into the various intersecting musical histories embedded into the streets, buildings, and neighborhoods of Los Angeles.”

One of the defining aspects of Internet radio is that through archiving, it becomes an auditory time capsule of now. Reflecting on Mexico City, currently at risk with the rise of gentrification and government exploitation,  Diego views Radio Nopal as a way to preserve soundscapes stating:

"I’ve seen so many changes in the city’s sounds and identities. We’re losing or transforming the sounds of the city, from the language we use to the way we speak and the topics that interest us. Right now, we’re living through a unique soundscape. To me, Radio Nopal is like a map of this time."

Radio Nopal broadcast at Radio Nopal in Mexico City, MX

Radio Nopal field broadcast on a a boat in Mexico City, MX

Diego envisions the station as a future resource where people can reference Radio Nopal’s archive “to understand what Mexico City was like in the early 2020s—how electronic and trance music evolved, how fashion and partying were intertwined. It’s like writing the city’s history through sound."

And he’s right, Internet radio has the ability to create a snapshot of what it means culturally to be present. It is unedited, live, not a podcast. It exists in the moment.

Screenshot of Mixed Fruit show page on NTS.live

Eddie Jr., host of NTS’s Mixed Fruit broadcast, shares this perspective stating that "there’s something powerful about doing [radio] live—what comes out is what comes out. There’s no edit button, no rewind. It’s the real world."

Eddie Jr. recalls broadcasting the day after the USA 2024 election when he “didn’t want to let that energy linger in the archives” and “didn’t talk about it much because [he] didn’t want to echo more hurt.” 

“History is written by winners, but through radio, we can resist that narrative. That day my broadcast wasn’t a win for U.S. imperialism or anti-feminism. Doing radio is part of creating a living history, one that says, ‘We’re still here. We’re still fighting’."
—Eddie Jr.

Screenshot of radioalhara.net

Radio AlHara is an internet radio station broadcasting live from Bethlehem in the State of Palestine that, as their Mixcloud states, “emerges in…a time where the future of the world as we know it remains unknown.” After over a year of conflict and unmeasurable loss of Palestinian identity, Radio AlHara’s broadcasts resist this culture erasure, preserving a history and identity through sound.

As part of their programming, Radio AlHara airs on-the-fly, code-generated broadcasts entitled Drift Conditions every night from 3am to 7am Bethlehem time. Drift Conditions promises “an uncanny symphony… of static, whispers, and forgotten melodies” and “invites listeners to explore soundscapes where chance forms haunting harmonies.” Anyone can submit sounds to be included within the broadcast encouraging a conversation to unfold between Bethlehem and the world.

Screenshot of drift conditions instagram post 

Also focused on creating conversation within their community, dublab maintains a comprehensive archive of its 25-year broadcast history, searchable by artist, genre, year, and keyword. According to Rachel,

“Maintaining the archive is a gift to dublab’s listeners, as well as our DJs. We make sure to include tags, details, and descriptions that communicate to listeners that there has been care put into the show. And I think that creates a really positive feedback loop. The archive becomes an invitation for exploration.”

Scans from dublab’s "Future Roots" Radio book

The act of practicing internet radio is one of care and resilience. It has the potential to broadcast crucial information live, without the control or influence of mainstream media. It is a platform that shares unscripted, hyper-local perspectives globally. It can be used as a tool for the resistance now, and if archived, become a collective resource for the future.

“Last year, a local legend - super hardcore, radical guy - had an accident and died. He had a show on Radio Nopal and we were able to celebrate his life on Día de los Muertos. It was amazing to be able to listen to him. It was like listening to his spirit. Wow. And that feels radical. That is the beauty of an archive.”—Diego Aguirre 

When I'm playing on my radio show, part of the fun is trying to publish rare mp3s because there’s just one copy of them out there. There are bands who put out demos on Myspace and I ripped them back in the day. And I’ve told musicians, “I feel like I have versions of your song that you might not even have anymore.” And I play it in front of them, and they are like “holy sh*t, I thought we lost this.”—Eddie Jr

"As the world gets more globalized, the work that we can really do is here. The best we can do is try to work for the community that's in this place. And, at the same time, Los Angeles is a global city and many of our DJs have ties to other parts of the world. Through internet radio, we’re able to connect with people in distant places who share our values."—Rachel Day

Archiving internet radio is more than the preservation of audio files; it is a commitment to safeguarding our shared humanity—our voices, stories, and cultural expressions. Through preserving these specific points-of-view, Internet radio archives provide a map of now and a guide for the future.

As Diego stated during our conversation for this piece, “if you listen to Radio Nopal in the present, it will make sense. But if you listen to Radio Nopal in the future, it will make more sense.”

Acid Free

Editors 
Akosa · Catherine Falls · Jenny Galipo · Lisa Kahn
SL Leimbach · Vern Molidor · Kelli Yakabu

Editor-in-Chief
Jen Neville

Design
Zaira Torres

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