The Lao Peoples Democratic Republic Radio Stations

Lao National Radio broadcasts from Vientiane in Lao plus ethnic-minority languages like Hmong and Khmu, carrying the state's voice across a mountainous, largely rural country. Provincial stations extend coverage, and Thai radio drifting across the Mekong is an open secret of Lao listening habits, the two languages being mutually intelligible. Morlam — the driving khene-pipe folk genre shared with northeast Thailand — and Lao pop dominate music programming, with Buddhist observances marking the calendar.