The Cassette tape was great in so many ways, but let’s be honest, they never really sounded great. But because the cassette was so much cheaper and easier to use and portable, a lot of people didn't care so much about the audio quality. They just wanted to be able to use something that they could carry around with them. The cassette’s other big advantage: it was easy to record on.
We talked to Marc Masters about his new book High Bias, about the history of the cassette. One chapter about concert bootleggers covers perhaps the greatest success story of the cassette: Grateful Dead live tapes.
Long Strange Tape
Plus we're featuring a bonus story that we produced in 2016 in collaboration with Benjamen Walker's Theory of Everything about a place where cassettes were of vital importance.
Roman Mars Describes Santa Fe As It Is
The Real Book [rebroadcast]
Significant Others: A Sneak Peek at the Woman Behind Benedict Arnold’s Betrayal
You Are What You Watch
The Power Broker #02: Jamelle Bouie
The White Castle System of Eating Houses
Between the Blocks
Don't Forget to Remember
Roman Mars Describes Chicago As It Is
The Double Kick
The Power Broker #01: Robert Caro
Imitation Nation
Mini-Stories: Volume 18
Another Visit from the Three Santas of Slovenia
Mini-Stories: Volume 17
Empire of the Sum
Breaking Down The Power Broker (with Conan O'Brien)
The Known Unknown [rebroadcast]
Home on the Range
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This Day in Esoteric Political History
The Allusionist
On the Media
Anne of Green Gables
The Story of Mankind
The Atlas Obscura Podcast
Unexplainable