I’ve been thinking a lot about what radio used to be and how it inspired some really amazing things we still love today. Now that it’s December and everyone is settling into their holiday traditions, I keep coming back to the era before television, when radio wasn’t just background noise. It was an event. Families gathered around speakers the way we gather around screens now, waiting for someone with a good voice and a better imagination to guide them through a story.

One of the most replayed Christmas movies of all time is proof of how powerful that era really was. A Christmas Story didn’t begin as a film. It began as the radio stories of Jean Shepherd, a master storyteller who spent decades spinning tales for anyone willing to tune in. The movie’s writer even convinced Jean to narrate the film himself. So even if my generation never had the chance to grow up listening to him live, we still got to experience the magic. Watching A Christmas Story is like getting to hear one of Jean’s broadcasts leap into color. His voice shaped the movie, and the movie keeps his voice alive. Fun Fact: Aside from narrating, Jean also cameos in a small role as well!

Every December, when it plays on repeat, I’m reminded of what made me fall in love with radio in the first place. I wasn’t alive for that early era, but the echoes of it are everywhere. It’s in the way people still remember their favorite hosts. It’s in the way a good story can cut through noise and pull you closer. And it makes me wonder if we could bring that feeling back.

Could El Paso be the place to revive that kind of storytelling? Maybe. Maybe not. But I’d love to try. Whether it’s on air, online, or somewhere unexpected, I think people are hungry for stories again. The kind that make you lean in. The kind that make you feel like someone is sitting right there with you, talking only to you.

And if radio ever becomes that again, even just for a moment, I hope I get to be part of it.

I was even inspired to tell my own story of a wild Christmas Eve waiting for Santa with my cousins. Check out my story, Christmas Wizard!

Iris & Grizz Present: Cans for Christmas

Gallery Credit: Iris Lopez

LIGHT UP: El Paso’s Holiday Light Displays for 2021

El Pasoans showed us their beautiful light displays for a chance to win $1,000 from Light Up El Paso.

Gallery Credit: 93.1 KISSFM

Reasons Why It’s Never Too Early For Christmas Decorations

Gallery Credit: Canva