There definitely is still a place for transistor radios. What your wife described is the exact reason why I and some other people own ham and GMRS handhelds.

There definitely is still a place for transistor radios. What your wife described is the exact reason why I and some other people own ham and GMRS handhelds. Even an off the shelf FRS radio from Wallmart or whatever is worth having around because they can receive signals from GMRS repeaters. And said repeaters by law are not supposed to be connected to the internet, so there's a good chance they'd continue working and relaying signals for tens of miles even if telecoms are down. Battery power is so ubiquitous now that I think actually owning a crystal radio is mostly obsolete, but knowing how to build one is a valuable skill. Every part can be made from junk. Even a piezoelectric speaker can be made using Rochelle salt.