logo
episode-header-image
May 2024
37m 38s

Mixtapes to the Moon

Wnyc Studios
About this episode

They promised to change you. They ended up changing all of us.

 

On July 20, 1969 humanity watched as Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon. It was the dazzling culmination of a decade of teamwork, a collective global experience unlike anything before or since, a singular moment in which every human being was invited to feel part of something larger than themself. There was however, one man who was left out.   

This week on Radiolab we explore what it means to be together and - of course - the cassette tapes that changed it. 

Special thanks to WBUR and the team at City Space for having us and recording this event, all the other folks and venues that hosted us on tour, Sarah Rose Leonard and Lance Gardner at KQED for developing this show with us and Alex Overington for musically bringing it to life. 

EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by - Simon Adler
Produced by - Simon Adler
Original music and sound design contributed by - Alex Overington
Fact-checking by - Emily Krieger
and Edited by  - Soren Wheeler

EPISODE CITATIONS:

Videos - 

Check out Zack Taylor’s beautiful documentary CASSETTE: A Documentary Mixtape (https://vimeo.com/127216590)

Mall videos referenced in the episode - https://youtu.be/bPrZOk1DgGY?si=l8dE8_GUxHznuqHL

Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Up next
Oct 3
Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
This is the story of a three-year-old girl and the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court case Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl is a legal battle that has entangled a biological father, a heart-broken couple, and the tragic history of Native American children taken from their f ... Show More
45m 29s
Sep 26
Voice
Over the course of millions of years, human voices have evolved to hold startling power. These clouds of vibrating air carry crucial information about who we are–and we rely on them to push ourselves up and out into the physical world.This week, we’re on a journey to understand h ... Show More
1h 6m
Sep 19
The Spark of Life
In the 1920s, a Russian biologist studying onion roots made a surprising discovery: underground, down in the darkness, it seemed like the cells inside the onion roots were making their own … light. The “onion root experiment” went on to become something of a cult classic in scien ... Show More
36m 1s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
The Making of "Ways of Hearing"
Bonus to the Ways of Hearing podcast and bookA behind-the-scenes conversation with the creators of Ways of Hearing, the podcast and book. Hosted by author Damon Krukowski, with Radiotopia and Showcase executive producer Julie Shapiro, sound designer Ian Coss, MIT Press editor Mat ... Show More
1h 7m
Nov 2020
Space Audity: The challenges of space communication
We've all heard the iconic recordings from the Apollo missions. But how exactly does NASA manage to run live audio between Earth and the moon? And how might we chat with astronauts on Mars and beyond? Featuring Astronaut Peggy Whitson, NASA Audio Engineer Alexandria Perryman, and ... Show More
27m 9s
Aug 2018
Your Brain Doesn’t Want You to Lose Weight, The Moon Museum, Life Lessons from Runner Karl Meltzer, and Wolves Don’t Howl at the Moon
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:Your Weight Has a "Set Point" That Your Brain Thinks Is BestThe Most Exclusive Museum in the Galaxy May Be on the Mo ... Show More
9m 50s
Apr 2021
Where’s Our Climate Anthem?
Social movements are often bolstered by anthems, songs that help unite people and remind them of what they are fighting for. In this episode, we take a look at one of the most famous anthems in US history. We ask what lessons it holds for the climate movement. And we investigate: ... Show More
55m 26s
Mar 2022
Hal Walker: The Man Who Shot The Moon
In addition to flying, landing, and returning from the moon in 1969 — NASA's Apollo 11 crew helped with a series of scientific experiments. One of them was to leave a special instrument with lots of little reflectors on the surface of the moon. The goal of that experiment was to ... Show More
13m 15s
Aug 2017
Ways of Hearing 1 – TIME
Contemplate the way digital audio – in music recording, and in radio and television broadcast – employs a different sense of time than we use in our offline life, a time that is more regular and yet less communal. Guests include: Ali Shaheed Muhammed of A Tribe Called Quest; and ... Show More
23m 3s
Jan 2023
All Roads Lead to UFOs
In this first episode, Corbell and Knapp set the stage for what to expect this year from their investigative journalism. They will poke the bear - and break some news - as they discuss the winding road that has brought us all here: to a new consensus reality that includes the ack ... Show More
1h 24m
Jan 2020
Neil Maher, "Apollo in the Age of Aquarius" (Harvard UP, 2017)
Neil Maher talks about the social forces that shaped NASA in the 1960s and 70s, connecting the space race with the radical upheavals of the counterculture. Maher is a professor of history at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University, Newark. He is the author o ... Show More
33m 39s