Editing Numbers station (section)

== In popular culture ==
{{Primary sources |section|date=December 2023}}

=== Film ===
* The British–American action thriller ''[[The Numbers Station]]'', released in 2013 and starring [[John Cusack]] and [[Malin Åkerman]], features a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]‑run numbers station in the British countryside.<ref name="Dowd2013">{{cite web |url=http://www.avclub.com/review/the-numbers-station-96938 |title=Movie Review: The Numbers Station |work=The A.V. Club |date=25 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312201645/http://www.avclub.com/review/the-numbers-station-96938 |archive-date=12 March 2016 |url-status=live |first=A.&nbsp;A. |last=Dowd |location=Chicago |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
* The 2013 American horror film ''[[Banshee Chapter]]'', starring [[Ted Levine]] and [[Katia Winter]], features a numbers station transmitting from the [[Black Rock Desert]] in [[Nevada]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-banshee-chapter-1201037926/ |title=Film Review: 'Banshee Chapter' |first=Dennis |last=Harvey |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=8 January 2014 |access-date=28 December 2023}}</ref>

=== Television ===
* In the British television spy drama ''[[Spooks (TV series)|Spooks]]'' episode "[[Nuclear Strike (Spooks)|Nuclear Strike]]", a Russian [[sleeper agent]] is awoken by a numbers station broadcast to detonate a nuclear suitcase bomb in central [[London]]. The radio broadcast states in Russian, "2.5.0.0.2.5, Finland Red, Egypt White, It is twice blest, It is twice blest, rain from heaven, rain from heaven."{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}
* The American science fiction series ''[[Fringe (TV series)|Fringe]]'' has an episode, "[[6955 kHz]]", featuring a numbers station that induces amnesia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/fringe-6995-khz-1798166505 |title=''Fringe'': '6995&nbsp;kHz' |first=Noel |last=Murray |work=The A.V. Club |date=12 November 2010 |access-date=1 October 2012}}</ref>
* In the British mystery series ''[[Endeavour (TV series)|Endeavour]]'' episode "[[List of Endeavour episodes#Series 5 (2018)|Quartet]]", a spy ring in [[Oxford]] communicates using a numbers station, which has a female voice that speaks German and uses "[[London Bridge Is Falling Down]]" as an interval signal.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Quartet |series=Endeavour |series-number=5 |number=5 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/episodes/endeavour-s5-e5/ |network=[[PBS]] |time=1:09:00 |time-caption=At}}</ref>
* In the 2020 British show ''[[Truth Seekers]]'', the protagonists listen to a parody of the [[Lincolnshire Poacher (numbers station)|Lincolnshire Poacher]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The truth is way, way out there: how Cold War radio signals inspired new series Truth Seekers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/amazon-prime-video-truth-seekers/2020/oct/30/the-truth-is-way-way-out-there-how-cold-war-radio-signals-inspired-new-series-truth-seekers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025074155/https://www.theguardian.com/amazon-prime-video-truth-seekers/2020/oct/30/the-truth-is-way-way-out-there-how-cold-war-radio-signals-inspired-new-series-truth-seekers |archive-date=25 October 2022 |url-status=dead |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 October 2020 |access-date=1 November 2020 }}</ref> <!-- Primary source (sponsored content) -->

=== Literature ===
* The first section of ''In the Dark'', a Chinese novel by [[Mai Jia]], focuses on a [[Cryptography|cryptographer]] in Special Unit 701, part of China's effort to track down and decode enemy number stations. The novel has been adapted into a TV series and a movie.<ref name="Forbes2016">{{cite web |url=http://www.pressreader.com/uae/the-national-news-the-review/20150829/281547994649041/TextView |title=Book review: Mai Jia's In the Dark shines a light on China's secret world |access-date=12 March 2016 |work=[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]] |date=27 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303153738/http://www.thenational.ae/arts-lifestyle/the-review/book-review-mai-jias-in-the-dark-shines-a-light-on-chinas-secret-world |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=live |first=Malcolm |last=Forbes |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

=== Music ===
* American band [[Wilco]] named its 2001 album ''[[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]]'' after a segment of a recorded numbers station transmission. Samples from E10, an Israeli numbers station, appear in the album's song "Poor Places".<ref name="Shachtman2004">{{cite magazine |url=http://archive.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2004/06/63952 |magazine=Wired |date=23 June 2004 |title=Wilco Pays Up for Spycasts |access-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421131324/http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2004/06/63952 |archive-date=21 April 2008 |first=Noah |last=Shachtman |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
* American musician [[Neil Cicierega]]'s 2014 [[mashup (music)|mashup]] album ''[[Mouth Silence]]'' includes the track "Transmission", which rearranges samples of the [[David Bowie]] song "[[Space Oddity]]" to resemble a numbers station broadcast.<ref>{{cite web |title=Neil Cicierega – Transmission Lyrics |url=https://genius.com/Neil-cicierega-transmission-lyrics |access-date=30 November 2017 |website=[[Genius (company)|Genius]]}}</ref> <!-- Better source? -->
* Icelandic composer [[Jóhann Jóhannsson]] sampled tape recordings of German numbers station broadcasts in the track "A Song for Europa" on his 2016 album ''[[Orphée (album)|Orphée]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Robertson |first=Derek |title=Jóhann Jóhannsson's Track By <!--sic--> Track Guide to Orphée |url=http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4150386-j-hann-j-hannssons-track-by-track-guide-to-orph-e |website=[[Drowned in Sound]] |date=15 September 2016 |access-date=28 December 2023 |language=en |archive-date=15 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215143940/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4150386-j-hann-j-hannssons-track-by-track-guide-to-orph-e |url-status=live}}</ref>
* American [[metalcore]] band [[Norma Jean (band)|Norma Jean]]'s 2016 album ''[[Polar Similar]]'' includes a track titled "II.  The People" that samples a recording of the Lincolnshire Poacher.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zorgdrager |first=Bradley |date=7 September 2016 |title=Norma Jean: Polar Similar |website=[[Exclaim!]] |url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/norma_jean-polar_similar |access-date=1 November 2020}}</ref>

=== Radio and podcasts ===
* Several [[BBC Radio 4]] dramas have incorporated numbers stations:
** The standalone 2015 drama ''Fugue State'', written by [[Julian Simpson]], focuses on a British government agent investigating a numbers station in a remote village, and features recordings of numbers stations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fugue State |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06kgvc4 |website=BBC Radio 4 |access-date=26 February 2016}}</ref> <!-- Primary source -->
** Numbers stations, including the Lincolnshire Poacher, feature in Simpson's 2019 adaptation of [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s ''[[The Whisperer in Darkness]]'', the second series of ''[[The Lovecraft Investigations]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Whisperer in Darkness |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06spb8w/episodes/downloads |website=BBC Radio 4 Podcasts |access-date=5 December 2019}}</ref> <!-- Primary source -->
** The 5-part 2022 drama ''Dead Hand'' by Stuart Drennan features a numbers station in [[Northern Ireland]] broadcasting the voices of individuals who have mysteriously disappeared.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dead Hand|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0015vls|website=BBC Radio 4 Limelight|access-date=1 April 2022}}</ref> <!-- Primary source -->
* In a 2015 episode of ''[[Welcome to Night Vale]]'', a numbers station called WZZZ begins broadcasting words along with its numbers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to Night Vale Recap: Numbers |url=https://www.themarysue.com/welcome-to-night-vale-recap-42/ |website=[[The Mary Sue]] |date=4 December 2015 |access-date=20 November 2020}}</ref>
* ''[[The Magnus Archives]]''' 2019 episode "Decrypted" features a numbers station that appears on an iPod, attached to the entity The Extinction.<ref>{{cite web |title=Magnus 144: Decrypted |url=https://play.acast.com/s/themagnusarchives/mag144-decrypted/ |website=Acast |date=11 July 2019 |access-date=1 July 2021}}</ref> <!-- Primary source -->
* A 2008 episode of ''[[Skeptoid]]'' discusses numbers stations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Skeptoid: Spy Radio: Numbers Stations |url=https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4107 |website=Skeptoid |access-date=12 February 2022}}</ref> <!-- Primary source -->

=== Visual art ===
* In 2005 at the [[Mattress Factory]], Noah Lang, in conjunction with- and invited by Akin Fernandez, presented several stand-alone sculptures based on numbers stations broadcasting antennas including [[the Buzzer]], [[the Lincolnshire Poacher]], and [[Cherry Ripe (numbers station)|Cherry Ripe]]. <ref>{{cite web |title=(secret) Messages and (cryptic) Communications |url=https://wavefarm.org/wf/calendar/yddpq8 |website=Wave Farm}}</ref>

=== Video games ===
* In ''[[Signalis]]'', the player uses in-game radio signals transmitting numbers to solve puzzles. Some frequencies feature samples from historical German number stations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Signalis Review: Numbers Stations and Numbing Dread |url=https://www.fanbyte.com/games/reviews/signalis-review-numbers-stations-and-numbing-dread/ |website=Fanbyte |date=26 October 2022 |access-date= 17 April 2023}}</ref>
* In ''[[Call of Duty: Black Ops]]'', the main character Alex Mason is brainwashed in the Soviet Gulag of [[Vorkutlag]], and receives orders from a numbers station broadcast in Cuba.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Milzarski |first=Eric |date=2018-06-27 |title=How numbers stations like the ones in 'Black Ops' worked |url=https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-gaming/numbers-stations-cod-black-ops/ |access-date=2024-02-20 |website=We Are The Mighty |language=en}}</ref>