This paper surveys and analyzes two groups of memoirs to better understand mid-century Arabic radio broadcasting and its impact on the region, focusing on station employees’ and their experiences, and on audiences and their integration of radio listening into daily life. It provides insights that fit within mid-20th century Middle Eastern social history, media history, and political history. The mid 1930s were a significant era for state radio, in the Middle East and in Europe, and especially for stations influenced by the British broadcasting model. The launch of the Egyptian State Broadcasting Service in 1934 established a state-run broadcasting station with strong regional pull. The launch of the Palestine Broadcasting Service in 1936 added a second strong state-run, regionally-influential broadcasting station operating in three languages (Arabic, English, and Hebrew). The launch of the BBC’s Arabic-language radio broadcasting service in 1938 opened a new era in international broadcasting: that of large nation-states looking to influence public opinion in targeted language communities around the world. Listeners tuned in for the news, but also for the extensive musical, literary, educational, and religious broadcasts that made up most of these stations’ airtime. They also switched from station to station, depending on their understanding of each station’s political outlook, the quality of the reception, and the quality of the musical and other non-news broadcasting. While these stations and their broadcasts have attracted a growing sub-field of Middle East history and media history scholarship, scholars know relatively little about the daily experiences of broadcasters at these stations, or about how audiences integrated radio listening into their daily lives. This paper examines two groups of memoirs and presents insights drawn from a qualitative analysis of each. The first includes memoirs written by Arab and British station employees from the BBC’s Arabic service, Radio Cairo, and Radio Jerusalem. It offers insights that clarify, complicate, and enrich the understanding of station operations gleaned from station and government archives. The second includes memoirs written by Arab residents and citizens of Palestine and the region. It offers insights that situate radio listening, including news and entertainment listening and practices of cross-listening, within the political and social context as well as within other news-gathering, entertainment, and social practices.