Calling on in transit Radio Free Europe. Lyrics made famous by American rock band R.E.M., they refer to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a private, international communications service that operates in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central and Southwestern Asia. The service is funded by the United States government and provides daily news, analysis and current affairs programming related to the region. Its programming is designed to bolster democratic development and aid the market economies of countries in which a peaceful evolution into a civil society is of national interest to the U.S. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was established in 1949 to combat communism behind the Iron Curtain. It has headquarters in Washington, D.C., and operates more than 20 bureaus throughout Europe and the former Soviet Union. The service is governed by a board of directors appointed by the U.S. president.