Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Vote for Mixtape to Win a Webby Award: wbby.co/57585N
Welcome back to Mixtape, my 4 part series about how cassette tapes changed the world. I’ve been listening to music exclusively on cassettes, and collecting stories about tapes, trying to figure out why they’re seeing a comeback. What I’ve found is mind blowing.
New technologies are just first drafts - what we actually DO with them is the real story.
Today I have two stories that push this idea in opposite directions. One shows how an art form built on cassettes settled into something simpler. The other shows how the same magnetic particles that captured “reality” ended up breaking it.
Cassette sales are at a 20 year high, but don’t call it a comeback - we live in a world reshaped by how we chose to use magnetic tape.
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PATREON
This series is made possible by the direct support of viewers like you through Patreon. Get behind the scenes videos, extended edits, and more by becoming a member at patreon.com/diggingthegreats
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CREDITS
Written and Produced by Brandon Shaw
Cinematography by Ace Barro
Animation by Jeriah Dunk
Illustration by Ace Barro
Story Editing by Simon Adler
Music by Andrew Reyes and Brandon Shaw
You can listen to “Jack and Bing”, Simon Adler's full Radiolab story that helped inspire this piece here: youtube.com/watch?v=xXd-KaYrpWU&pp=ygUWamFjayBhbmQgYmluZyByYWRpb2xhYg%3D%3D
To learn more about Simon’s work, check out windstarsolutions.com or my video where he sent me a very strange package: youtube.com/watch?v=gfRSBEqueL8&t=1115s
NOTE: The Reel to Reel player shown here is not a real Magnetophon, as those belong in museums!
__________________________________
THANKS TO
DJ Green Lantern, Zack Taylor, Kendon Shaw
We Are Rewind for making a great cassette player (not sponsored): wearerewind.com
Everyone who supports Digging The Greats on Patreon, especially Josh Nelson and Sam Deka in the Executive Producer Tier
patreon.com/diggingthegreats
__________________________________
FURTHER READING
Two books that were an incredible resource during the making of this series were:
"High Bias: The Distorted History of the Cassette Tape" by Marc Masters
"Do Remember!: The Golden Era of NYC Hip-Hop Mixtapes" by Evan Auerbach and Daniel Isenberg
#mixtape #cassette #musichistory
Vote for Mixtape to Win a Webby Award: wbby.co/57585N
Welcome back to Mixtape, my 4 part series about how cassette tapes changed the world. I’ve been listening to music exclusively on cassettes, and collecting stories about tapes, trying to figure out why they’re seeing a comeback. What I’ve found is mind blowing.
New technologies are just first drafts - what we actually DO with them is the real story.
Today I have two stories that push this idea in opposite directions. One shows how an art form built on cassettes settled into something simpler. The other shows how the same magnetic particles that captured “reality” ended up breaking it.
Cassette sales are at a 20 year high, but don’t call it a comeback - we live in a world reshaped by how we chose to use magnetic tape.
__________________________________
PATREON
This series is made possible by the direct support of viewers like you through Patreon. Get behind the scenes videos, extended edits, and more by becoming a member at patreon.com/diggingthegreats
__________________________________
CREDITS
Written and Produced by Brandon Shaw
Cinematography by Ace Barro
Animation by Jeriah Dunk
Illustration by Ace Barro
Story Editing by Simon Adler
Music by Andrew Reyes and Brandon Shaw
You can listen to “Jack and Bing”, Simon Adler's full Radiolab story that helped inspire this piece here: youtube.com/watch?v=xXd-KaYrpWU&pp=ygUWamFjayBhbmQgYmluZyByYWRpb2xhYg%3D%3D
To learn more about Simon’s work, check out windstarsolutions.com or my video where he sent me a very strange package: youtube.com/watch?v=gfRSBEqueL8&t=1115s
NOTE: The Reel to Reel player shown here is not a real Magnetophon, as those belong in museums!
__________________________________
THANKS TO
DJ Green Lantern, Zack Taylor, Kendon Shaw
We Are Rewind for making a great cassette player (not sponsored): wearerewind.com
Everyone who supports Digging The Greats on Patreon, especially Josh Nelson and Sam Deka in the Executive Producer Tier
patreon.com/diggingthegreats
__________________________________
FURTHER READING
Two books that were an incredible resource during the making of this series were:
"High Bias: The Distorted History of the Cassette Tape" by Marc Masters
"Do Remember!: The Golden Era of NYC Hip-Hop Mixtapes" by Evan Auerbach and Daniel Isenberg
#mixtape #cassette #musichistory
