Twenty Thousand Hertz

The Buzzer: Are there secret spy messages on the radio?

Jul 21, 2021
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
ANECDOTE

Andrus Aaslaid's Early Fascination

  • Andrus Aaslaid, an Estonian computer engineer, grew up listening to shortwave radio with its strange sounds in the 1970s.
  • He was fascinated by the mysterious voices and numbers broadcasted, which piqued his lifelong passion for shortwave radio.
INSIGHT

Shortwave Radio's Global Reach

  • Shortwave radio signals can travel thousands of miles by reflecting off the ionosphere.
  • This ability makes shortwave ideal for vital global communications and covert messages across continents.
INSIGHT

Purpose of Numbers Stations

  • Numbers stations broadcast coded numeric messages believed to be intelligence communications for spies.
  • These messages are often played with monotone voices and are deciphered using one-time pads by their intended recipients.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app