What is the origin of the word ‘bluetooth’? Which UK football ground is flanked by Bloemfontein & South Africa roads? When walking round Rondebosch Common, why is it wise not to go widdershins?

These are a few of the questions put to John Maytham by 567 CapeTalk listeners in the Rapid Fire insert on the late drive-time show. Join him on a tour of the oddest, arcane and most surprising questions – and be tickled by the weird and wonderful answers.

The media play a key role in post-apartheid South Africa and is often positioned at the centre of debates around politics, identity and culture. Media, such as radio, are often said to also play a role in deepening democracy, while simultaneously holding the power to frame political events, shape public discourse and impact citizens' perceptions of reality. Broadcasting Democracy: Radio and Identity in South Africa provides an exciting look into the diverse world of South African radio, exploring how various radio formats and stations play a role in constructing post-apartheid identities. At the centre of the book is the argument that various types of radio stations represent autonomous systems of cultural activity, and are 'consumed' as such by listeners. In this sense, it argues that South African radio is 'broadcasting democracy'. Broadcasting Democracy will be of interest to media scholars and radio listeners alike.

Guerrilla Radios in Southern Africa is a collection of essays on the histories of the different radios of the liberation movements in the region during the era of the armed struggle.

From Angola and Mozambique, to Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, the new technology of radio provided the liberation movements in exile with a platform to address their followers at home, to propagate their ideologies and to counter the propaganda of the oppressive white minority regimes. As the cheapest and most direct medium, guerrilla radios transcended the boundaries imposed by the settler regimes and were widely listened to, albeit within the realm of illegality.

Transnational in its approach, the book explores the workings of these radios from their areas of broadcast in exile, international solidarity, to reception at home where listeners often huddled around their receivers to listen to the messages from the liberation movements, often beyond the gaze of the state. These radios shaped the nature of resistance campaigns that the liberation movements embarked upon in the various countries in the region.

In the 1970s, '80s and '90s Britain witnessed what many in the business saw as the second great age of radio. It was a period when FM radio blossomed and local stations opened and broadcast across the land. It was a step away from the output of the national broadcaster, the BBC, which had held a monopoly on the airways since its inception. Broadcaster, station manager and regulator for over forty years David Lloyd was very much a part of this revolution and is, amongst his peers, well placed to tell that story. Lloyd describes the period as one of innovation, his aim to create a timeline of radio of this era through to the present day, to capture those heady days, the characters, the fun and heartache, life on the air, life off the air. And to revisit those station launches, company consolidations, the successes and the failures. Told with the insight of an insider, with his characteristic wit and a huge dollop of nostalgia, David Lloyd brings to life a unique age in broadcasting in this fascinating account.

The most successful weekend show on Radio 2, Sounds of the Sixties has over 3.5 million listeners every Saturday morning. Presented by Brian Matthew, the programme has become an institution. This new book contains fascinating facts about memorable hits from key Sixties artists, hard-to-find tracks alongside many hidden gems that have never before been made available on any CD or compilation album since their initial Sixties release plus fascinating stories and behind-the-scenes info from producer Phil The Collector Swern. This is a comprehensive collection that music fans and hardened Sixties collectors will cherish.

This is not a book of facts; it's a book of 'facts'. Should you finish it believing we became the planet's dominant species because predators found us too smelly to eat; or that the living bloodline of Christ is a family of Japanese garlic farmers - well, that's on you. Why are we here? Do ghosts exist? Did life on Earth begin after a badly tidied-up picnic? Was it just an iceberg that sank the Titanic? Are authors stealing their plotlines from the future? Will we ever talk to animals? And why, when you're in the shower, does the shower curtain always billow in towards you? We don't know the answers to any of these questions. But don't worry, no matter what questions you have, you can bet on the fact that there is someone (or something) out there, investigating it on your behalf. From the sports stars who use cosmic energy to office plants investigating murders, The Theory of Everything Else will act as a handbook for those who want to think differently.

As the candidacies of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have proven, Americans are mad as hell about the problems facing our country. George Noory hears these problems every night, all night, and this is how he would deal with them. This is Mad as Hell. --- I'm angry because sometimes I feel like a stranger in America. We live in a dangerous world that is sorely in need of an effective political system that deals with the ongoing destruction of the middle class, an aging population, permeable borders, technology out of control, and shocking, mindless violence and wars. But we can bring back the America that makes us proud. It will take hard work and pulling together as a society. People are stressed because they don't know where the world is heading or where it is taking them. With a radio show heard by millions, I consider myself not an entertainer or someone to dictate how we should live, but a facilitator who can help guide the path chosen. I have been called a voice in the darkness. The concepts I deal with are not only on the cutting edge of science and technology, but with subjects as provocative as aliens and angels, as challenging as supervolcanos and the fire and brimstone of the End Time. Join me by reading why I am mad . . . and maybe you will get as angry as I am about conditions in the country we love.

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Radio presents exciting new research on radio and audio, including broadcasting and podcasting. Since the birth of radio studies as a distinct subject in the 1990s, it has matured into a second wave of inquiry and scholarship. As broadcast radio has partly given way to podcasting and as community initiatives have pioneered more diverse and innovative approaches so scholars have embarked on new areas of inquiry. Divided into seven sections, the Handbook covers: - Communities - Entertainment - Democracy - Emotions - Listening - Studying Radio - Futures The Bloomsbury Handbook of Radio is designed to offer academics, researchers and practitioners an international, comprehensive collection of original essays written by a combination of well-established experts, new scholars and industry practitioners. Each section begins with an introduction by Hugh Chignell and Kathryn McDonald, putting into context each contribution, mapping the discipline and capturing new directions of radio research, while providing an invaluable resource for radio studies.