Maybe it’s a hand-me-down from an elderly relative. Maybe you found it at a flea market, or it has been hidden in the attic for far too long. It could be an anonymous-looking black box with big dials ...

Radios were a pivotal 20th century phenomenon. Developed initially for wireless telegraphy, they carried voice and music after 1920. Although radios faded in home status as television took hold in the ...