Radio Garden: How to Listen to Any Radio Station from Anywhere in the World

What began as an academic curiosity has now become one of the most remarkable digital media experiences available anywhere in the world, where users can listen live to tens of thousands of radio stations all around the globe with a swipe or click.

Born as a research project, the platform has captured audiences by transforming traditional broadcast radio into an exploratory global journey.

Developed between 2013 and 2016 as a non‑profit initiative, Radio Garden was a collaborative effort by the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, the Transnational Radio Knowledge Platform, and five European universities under the supervision of Golo Föllmer.

Its purpose was research‑driven: to help understand how radio connects people and identity across borders.

The site first gained international attention in late 2016 when it offered access to nearly 8,000 live streams and went viral at The Radio Conference 2016: Transnational Encounters.

By 2024, Radio Garden had amassed a collection of over 40,000 stations from every inhabited continent.

Exploring Sound Across Continents

The basic idea behind Radioscape is quite simple, yet surprisingly powerful: a 3D globe that you can rotate and adjust, covered in little green dots.

Each of those dots represents one or more radio stations broadcasting somewhere on the globe.

Clicking on any dot instantly streams live audio from that location, whether a music mix in Johannesburg, a talk show in Tokyo, or a community broadcast in Rio de Janeiro.

This interactive map was designed by Dutch creative studios, Studio Puckey and Studio Moniker, who partnered with the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision to build a spatial‑audio experience.

As more stations appear in a region, clusters of green spheres grow in size, visually highlighting areas with richer radio diversity.

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Features, Growth, and Tech Evolution

Radio Garden is more than just a map of radio stations; it is evolving.

In 2018, the project introduced native mobile apps for both iOS and Android devices, followed by the introduction of a search feature in 2019, which enabled users to find radio stations by name or location.

But that’s not all, of course. There are some premium features available, such as advertising-free listening and some audio tweaking, but the basic product is available to all for free.

While other music apps rely on algorithms to serve up personalized playlists, Radio Garden relies on serendipity.

Visitors often stumble upon genres and cultures they’d never otherwise hear, from Scandinavian folk to underground hip‑hop in Lagos.

Because the platform depends on internet streams rather than terrestrial radio waves, stations must already offer an online broadcast to appear on the globe.

Tech tracking analysis shows Radio Garden uses modern web technologies such as HTML5 and cloud delivery networks to manage millions of monthly users and adapt the globe interface to virtually any browser or device.

Web traffic generally exceeds 6 million branded monthly visits, suggesting that Radio Garden remains popular worldwide.

Challenges and Controversies

Despite the popularity of the platform, there have been some challenges.

Some users experience geo-restriction problems, especially in the UK, where the copyright contract restricts access to foreign stations.

Others complain about the intrusive ads in the free version of the app and request the inclusion of more features, especially genre-based listening.

One of the major confrontations involving the government occurred in January 2022, when the Radio and Television Supreme Council of Turkey (RTÜK) asked Radio Garden to either pay the fees for the national broadcast license or remove the app.

In the end, the platform was removed within the borders of Turkey, illustrating the tension between global digital media and the government.

Also Read: How Youth Started a Radio Station Inside a Bedsitter Room

A Global Listening Movement

Nowadays, Radio Garden is an achievement in technology and culture, as it allows people to listen to the world as it speaks, sings, debates, and broadcasts in real time.

It began as a research project to explore the world of transnational encounters of radio listeners.

Radio Garden has become a living repository of human soundscapes, where ordinary broadcasts become gateways to far-off lands, histories, and cultures.

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Broadcasting equipment in a radio station. PHOTO/Courtesy.