A look at the invention of radio, the first step on the road to modern electronics and modern mass media, a revolution in information, news, and entertainment.
Playlist:
Fanfare
Opening Theme
Symphony No. 5 in C minor
Composed in 1808 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.
Morse code sound effect created by Wikipedia user Horsten, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details.
Edison Phonograph advertisement is public domain and/or fair use. Source.
Recording of Kaiser Franz Josef is public domain. Source.
Closing Theme
Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.
I had always figured that Mr Marconi’s first name would be pronounced like gee-YER-moe, with the two “L”s contributing to the “Y” sound.
I believe you are thinking of Spanish. The Spanish name cognate with William is Guillermo, and it is usually pronounced as you say: gee-YER-mo, the Spanish ll pronounced like a y although in some places, especially in Spain, it is pronounced more like ly, which I believe comes across in Spanish as a classier way of speaking, akin to BBC English.
Signor Marconi’s first name is the Italian cognate of William, which is Guglielmo. The gl in Italian is roughly equivalent to the ll in Spanish, so I pronounced it goo-LYEL-mo, which I’m sure is not perfect Italian, but is the best I can do.