Tune-in From 8000 Miles Away

When you move away, there are little things you’ve learn to appreciate over the years that you must leave behind. Perhaps it’s the coffee shop around the corner. Maybe it’s the neighborhood park you used to visit, or a hardware store that carried your favorite supplies. For me it was a radio station I used to listen to.

KQED Radio: 88.5FM

NPR – national public radio – is a network of radio stations that broadcast quality shows.  The station in the San Francisco Bay Area is KQED: 88.5FM on your radio dial. Those of you who ever listened to KQED know what I’m talking about. Hallmark shows like ‘Morning Edition’, ‘Fresh Air’ and ‘Car Talk” are few of my favorites.

There is no NPR in Israel, and I couldn’t find any similar radio ‘talk shows’ per se. Well, there are the ones who discuss today’s news, but who wants to listen to the news all day long? I pretty much succumbed to the idea that I have lost NPR forever…

But this is 2012 and SmartPhones and Tablets rule the earth. Why didn’t I think of that? Fortunately my brother did… During a recent visit I confessed my longing to 88.5. “Why don’t you use an App on your SmartPhone?” my brother asked. “Well, I don’t have a SmartPhone, but could my iPad help?”

My brother pulled out his SmartPhone and quickly launched an application called “Tune-in”. He showed me how to search for radio stations from virtually all over the globe. I pulled out my iPad, went to the Apple AppStore and downloaded the ‘Tune-in’ App. Within minutes I located the KQED channel. A few clicks and I heard the familiar sound: “This is KQED public radio…”

All of a sudden I was listening to my old favorite radio station as if I was driving in my car near San Francisco… Even though I can fully grasp the underlying technology, I must confess that I felt quite surprised. Sounds naïve, but the fact that I could “tune in” to a radio station from 8000 miles away felt like a small miracle. And there is more! The Tune-in app actually allows you to listen to radio shows that have been archived. So even if you “miss” a favorite show due to the time difference, you can replay it from their archive.

It is funny how these little things “transform” your life. I am writing this blog with KQED playing in the background. They happen to broadcast one of their “fund raising campaigns”, asking for contributions from loyal listeners. I wonder if they accept contributions in Israeli Shekels?