The Crystal Ship T-Shirt

The Crystal Ship and many other pirate radio stations operate because we believe that free speech, including broadcast free speech, should not be limited to only those with very deep pockets who can ante up millions of dollars just to start a station.  Unfortunately, licensing requirements in the United States and many other countries stipulate that one must prove they have a HUGE bank account to be licensed to do what WE are technically able to do for under four figures.  We think this is wrong.  Thus, pirate radio broadcasting is a form of civil disobedience.

The Crystal Ship was founded in 1982, disappeared after 1984 and returned to the airwaves twenty years later in 2004. Since then, TCS, with hosts The Poet and The Radical, has been logged by shortwave pirate radio enthusiasts in over 30 US states and 8 countries.  In 2011, The Crystal Ship was inducted by unanimous vote into the North American Pirate Radio Hall of Fame.