Despite all the proof that we basically live in a sci-fi future, there's still something a little magical about flipping a switch and hearing a story or a song wafting out of a box. Radio is sort of steadfast that way, but that also means people are prone to taking it for granted.
Enter the Public Radio, a Kickstarter project developed by two guys in Brooklyn that both celebrates and severely limits the traditional FM radio. To call this thing minimalist is an understatement par excellence. There's just one antenna, one knob, one station, and not a speck of wood grain to be found -- just a tiny mason jar to house it all.
$48 will net you a fully assembled unit that's pre-tuned to a station of your choice, but really -- where's the fun in that? There are slightly cheaper DIY models to be had, and you can peer at the team's CAD files on Github in case you want to try building your own from scratch.
You'll need that same sort of can-do attitude to change that one preset station, too, though creators Zach Dunham and Spencer Wright have promised to walk you through the promise in the event of a radio station divorce. In the end, the Public Radio is plenty silly (some would accuse it of being downright hipster), but it's just a bit wonderful too.
