Community radio is at the forefront of a new music video that bands together FM stations in New York state and South Africa.
The project is part of the “1WorldRadio” program. Co-founded in 2021 by 89.5 FM Bush Radio in Cape Town, South Africa, and 88.7 FM WRHU Radio at Hofstra University in New York, the initiative aims to connect community radio stations around the globe.
The concept for the music video began in the fall of 2024 and winter of 2025, when members of Bush Radio and broadcasters from community stations in Long Island and New York state performed a “radio exchange.” This exchange included visiting each other’s stations and sharing ideas on how to better their communities using the power of broadcasting, according to WRHU chief engineer and 1WorldRadio organizer Andy Gladding.
In an email to Radio World, Gladding said: “In November of 2024, Bush Radio sent five station members to New York to cover the U.S. presidential elections. The South African contingent had the opportunity to meet their American counterparts at WRHU and learn about American journalistic standards and practices. They also had the opportunity to visit major New York City media companies such as WNYC, WMCA, WNYM and Long Island News Radio. Response from the trip was overwhelmingly positive for both sides.”
“During our time together, we realized that although we hailed from places that were thousands of miles apart and were all from different backgrounds and cultures, we had the same goals, which were to spread peace, love and understanding using the power of FM radio and independent music,” Gladding wrote on his YouTube channel, promoting the video.
Titled “Starting All Over,” the music video was performed by all-female DJs Cold Flavor Repair (feat. Lydia Marwanqana), Katie Berghorn, MK Scully, Vitoria Rathbauer, Aaron Johnston and the Brooklyn-based “Brass Queens.” Gladding said the lyrics are about issues affecting women around the world, and how radio can be a positive force to bring people together.
“These visits and related dialogues inspired this original song and video dedicated to all of those who help brighten their communities every day using radio, audio and music,” wrote Gladding. You can watch the music video in-full below. It is also available on Spotify, released by local label Sturgeon Records.
[Related: “WRHU College Radio Brings Local Programming Worldwide“]
According to its website, the 1World Community Radio Network is the “first ever open-source community radio network designed to connect broadcast stations around the world.” Collaborators are invited to submit content to be featured on the international 1World Radio Community Radio Program, which is distributed weekly on the independent network.
The network’s motto is: “The world is a big place, but using the power of radio, we are bringing it right to your door.”
The show is hosted and produced by Andy Gladding, Cody Hmelar, Lydia Marwanqana and Ricky Hubert, and is produced and recorded weekly from the WRHU studios in Hempstead, NY, Bush Radio in Cape Town, South Africa, and 88.3 WRCT, broadcasting from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, Pa.
Since 2021, 1WorldRadio has produced nearly 70 weekly broadcasts featuring programming and voices from WRHU, Bush Radio and broadcast communities around the world. As of today, the network of stations includes 12 partners that air the show weekly.
For more information, visit 1WorldCommunityRadio.com.
