The document provides a history of radio from its discovery by Heinrich Hertz in 1888 to its current and future states. It traces the key developments from Hertz's discovery of radio waves to Marconi's experiments with wireless telegraphy. By the 1920s, commercial radio broadcasts were transmitting information, music, and comedy to widespread audiences. The radio has since evolved with technologies like XM radio while maintaining its role as a mobile source of information and entertainment, currently listened to by 94% of Americans. Questions remain around radio's future as technologies like smart phones integrate its functions.