NUMBERS STATIONS. Not a relic of the past. Intelligence agencies use shortwave to communicate with spies, agents and assets in the field. Right now. Today. Let's listen to a few and learn how to tune in from home -- for free.

Since World War One, numbers stations have been transmitting coded messages to spies around the world using shortwave radio. And they're still transmitting right now. We're going to listen to a few in this episode.

These transmissions sound strange to casual listeners. But to the right set of ears, they contain information that could change the course of history. In fact, numbers stations have changed the course of history.

Countless numbers stations are on the air right now -- for what purpose, few really know. And the people that do know? They aren't talking. They're essentially pirate stations -- operating illegally. But, nobody shuts them down. And no government acknowledges they even exist.

Let's find out why.

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CONTENTS 00:00 - Numbers Stations Exist, Listen Now 00:44 - Logo 00:49 - Welcome to The Why Files 01:03 - Shortwave, Tools of Spies 01:42 - The Lincolnshire Poacher, Cyprus 02:14 - Swedish Rhapsody 02:44 - Yosemite Sam Station Located 04:16 - What Are Numbers Stations? 06:19 - Old Technology Still Valid 06:39 - Skywave, Skip Propagation 06:52 - Global Transmission 07:43 - Broadcasts Vary 08:11 - Cherry Pie Number Station 09:13 - Encryption and Codes 09:45 - How a "One Time Pad" Works 11:40 - Illicit Uses of Shortwave 12:25 - Recent Spies Caught 13:27 - Listen to Numbers Stations Online 14:55 - Future of Numbers Stations 15:51 - Thanks for watching!

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LIST OF NUMBERS STATIONS https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php?board=7.0

NUMBERS STATIONS LIVE https://priyom.org/number-stations/station-schedule

ONLINE TUNERS http://jp7fso.proxy.kiwisdr.com:8073/?f=17451cw http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/

MORSE CODE DECODER https://morsecode.world/international/decoder/audio-decoder-adaptive.html

CONET PROJECT ONLINE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIH7cG3YmIo

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SOURCES and FURTHER READING http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/15/married-pair-russian-spies-germany http://www.radioworld.com http://lifehacker.com/5961035/how-to-listen-to-real-spy-broadcasts-right-now https://archive.org/details/ird059 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3202088 http://www.salon.com/1999/09/16/numbers_2/ http://users.telenet.be/d.rijmenants/papers/cuban_agent_communications.pdf http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35647-2004Aug2.html http://web.archive.org/web/20010221161138/http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2001-02-08/kulchur.html http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24910397 http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/spying_by_numbers/

#urbanlegend #history #espionage #coldwar #mystery