Prior to the 1970s, WSRN operated as a carrier signal broadcast to the campus of Swarthmore College only.
[1] Following efforts by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to encourage as many Class D stations as possible to increase power, a campaign was raised by the students of the college, and in the late 1970s, the FCC granted a license for a 110-watt, directional, transmission.
Station programming is diverse; music spans "world," hip hop, blues, folk, rock, pop, R & B, and classical.
In 1986, the main on-air studio was completely refurbished, with a new control panel, turntables, microphones, and wiring installed.
During the 2021–2022 academic year, a significant effort by students, faculty, staff, and community members was successfully carried out to get the station back up to an operational state.