The Transformational Power of the Cassette Tape

When the Sony Walkman arrived in 1979 it not only changed the way we experience audio, it also changed the way we experience the world. Suddenly listening was a private experience and everyone with headphones on was experiencing their surroundings with a different soundtrack.  Radiolab senior producer Simon Adler created a five part series for the podcast and a new live performance about the transformations spawned by that easy access to audio through the cassette tape and Walkman. We talk with Adler about the impact of the cassette tape across the globe – from opening communist China’s ears to rock and roll through our exported plastic trash to delivering hypnotic self help messages straight to listeners’ souls. What’s a cassette tape that changed your life?