logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
34m 14s

Long Strange Tape

ROMAN MARS
About this episode
A band that was never meant to be recorded and a personal recorder that was never designed to capture music came together and were somehow perfect for each other. 
Up next
Oct 13
The Problem With Football Helmets
Football helmets can prevent devastating injuries, but they may also help make an inherently violent game feel safer than it really is. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podca ... Show More
43m 19s
Oct 6
(Not Just) Another Brick in the Wall
A closer look at the messy, beautiful bricks hiding across Chicago. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, ... Show More
28m 18s
Oct 2
100 Objects #20: AA Sobriety Chip
Comedian, writer, and podcaster Jamie Loftus has always known about Alcoholics Anonymous. As a kid, she loved the album where her dad kept all his AA chips — that little piece of plastic that marks a day, a month, a year of sobriety. Now as an adult, Jamie wanted to understand wh ... Show More
52m 57s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2025
Short Stuff: 8 Track Cartridges
8 tracks were during vinyl, but preceded cassettes. Why? So people could listen to their music on the go. Check out this antiquated medium today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
13m 47s
Jun 2024
Music on the move
Many of us remember the first portable music device we owned: a transistor radio, a boombox, a Walkman or perhaps an iPod. We might even recall the songs we played on it. But we might be less aware of how profoundly audio technology developments from the 1950s to 2000s changed th ... Show More
49m 25s
Nov 2022
The Bizarrely Xenophobic Origins of Scotch Tape
There's no two ways about it: tape is a pretty handy, amazing thing -- and one we often take for granted. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max dive deep into the origin story of Scotch tape, uncovering the weird prejudice behind the name, as well as the journey of the young man ... Show More
49m 20s
Dec 2024
joELLE
Recording on a cassette player with light saturation sorry buddies 
53m 4s
Apr 2019
Making Media Personal: Mix Tapes
The development of the magnetic recording process changed the entertainment industry. In this episode, we look at the rise of tape, including the 8-track and the compact cassette. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener ... Show More
43m 38s
Feb 2022
Mixtape
Our story tonight is called Mixtape and it’s a story about a box of memories tangled up with songs. It’s also about the messages we send with the tracks we pick out, new batteries in an old Walkman, and finding the music that helps you find yourself. Purchase Our Book: https://bi ... Show More
37m 12s
Aug 2019
What’s the Point of Album Covers in the Post-Album Era?
What was once a large canvas for grand statements is now a tiny digital mark. Guest: Chips's Teddy Blanks. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/a ... Show More
55m 37s
Apr 2024
Lo-Fi: A History
For the first 60 years of the recorded music industry, things sounded awful…the quality of the recordings people had to put up with were terrible…the old 78 rpm records played on gramophones were no match when it came to hearing music live…we just didn’t have the technology to ca ... Show More
31m 58s
Nov 2021
Mixtape: Help?
<p>In tape five, three stories: first, a tale of how the cassette tape supercharged the self-help industry. Second, cassettes filled with history make an epic journey across Africa with a group of Lost Boys. And finally, Simon meets up with fellow Radiolabber David Gebel to dig t ... Show More
48m 29s
Apr 2019
Rise of the CD
The compact disc was a big hit for the music industry. Cheap to produce with a high profit margin, the CD promised to deliver high fidelity sound to an eager audience. Here's the story of how the CD hit the big time. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastne ... Show More
50m 31s