While its educational goals were yet to be defined, the aims of the radio in the early 1920s included the social goal of cultural pluralism; the economic goal of profiteering; the military goal of communicating, training, and surveillance; and, the political goal of propaganda and morale building. In the end, like previous technological advances, the purpose of educational radio was concealed by the prominent role of the radio's usefulness as a tool of efficiency and entertainment. That is, the utility of an innovation for its consumers ultimately determines its survival. This paper seeks to uncover the actual uses of educational radio from its inception to the mid 1940s. The paper traces the development of radio, particularly educational radio, through the history of its initial decades. It focuses on the story of WKAR, the third oldest radio station in the state of Michigan. The paper tells the story in four parts: (1) the creation of WKAR in the 1920s; (2) WKAR during the golden age of radio in the 1930s; (3) the beginning of the end of educational radio in the 1940s; and (4) WKAR today. It concludes that the introduction and use of the radio in education and in society as a whole had a deep yet short impact. Appended are charts and information about programming on educational radio stations. (Contains 19 notes and 43 references.) (BT)