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WSQK “The Squawk” was a temporary radio station created by Global and Netflix for Stranger Things 5. Rather than offer only an ’80s playlist, it paired period hits with American-style DJs, fictional Hawkins advertisements, listener participation and audio processing intended to evoke an old FM broadcast. Its announced run was November 24, 2025, through January 1, 2026, and has ended.
What WSQK was—and what listeners could hear
In Stranger Things, WSQK is Hawkins’ radio station, identified as 94.5 FM. The real-world WSQK was a Global and Netflix promotional pop-up tied to the fifth season, not a permanent station listeners could tune into indefinitely. Global described it as a broadcast from the show’s world, built around 1980s hits and a fictional local-radio atmosphere.
The programming included American-style DJs Vance Goodman and Mindy Flare, alongside retro American-style advertisements presented as coming from Hawkins. That combination made the station feel more like an imagined slice of local broadcasting than a playlist with a show logo attached.
How the station made the fictional world interactive
Listener messages and shout-outs
Global promoted “Dial-A-Dedication,” a way for fans to register a message for an on-air shout-out. Listeners without a landline could submit one through GlobalPlayer.com, according to Global’s launch announcement.
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Features built around the Hawkins setting
“Rewind at 9: Turning Hawkins Upside Down” challenged listeners to identify a track played backwards. “Talk to Tammy” was billed as a no-nonsense agony aunt. These segments gave the station its own recurring bits and invited listeners to play along, rather than simply treating the show’s setting as decoration.
How to listen—and when the broadcast ran
During its announced run, WSQK was available through Global Player and smart speakers, as well as on DAB across London. Global’s announcement supplied voice commands for Alexa and Google Assistant. The pop-up was scheduled to run from November 24, 2025, through January 1, 2026; that period is over, so those access details describe the original activation, not a current broadcast.
How Global created the period-style sound
Global said it processed WSQK’s audio with a vintage Inovonics FM250 to help reproduce the sound of an ’80s broadcast. The company noted that FM250 units were released in 1983 and used by thousands of stations around the world in the latter part of that decade. It did not give an exact station count.
The show’s fictional station also had a visual reference point. Time reported that WSQK 94.5 FM was designed to resemble an Art Deco radio station from the Duffer Brothers’ hometown. Production designer Chris Trujillo described the station as “another touchstone of Americana” in the magazine’s production feature. That account concerns the station’s design within the show; it does not establish who designed or produced Global and Netflix’s real-world radio activation.
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A pop-up experience, not a permanent station
Global’s Chief Broadcasting and Content Officer, James Rea, said: “In Stranger Things, Netflix has created one of the most iconic worlds on television, so bringing WSQK ‘The Squawk’ to life has been a joy.” The line captures the activation’s central idea: use the conventions and texture of radio to make Hawkins feel as if it continued beyond the screen.
Netflix later included a WSQK Radio Station LEGO set in a limited-time promotion. The company described it as a gift with qualifying Creel House set purchases from January 1 through January 7, 2026, while supplies lasted. That offer has expired; Netflix’s announcement documents the promotion, but does not establish the set’s current availability.
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