White House Recordings on the Web

Tip 'o the nib to the C.A.R. Reporrt for the pointer to WhiteHouse Tapes, which is making 5,000 hours of presidential recordings available online. The site's at http://www.whitehousetapes.org/ .

Nav's on the left, with information grouped by president and by topic (transcripts, recordings, etc.) The front of the page also links to items of popular interest, like Janet Leigh's FBI Background Check and LBJ ordering custom-made pants (LBJ ordering custom-made pants?) At the moment only transcripts from some of the Kennedy tapes are available.

I went to the quicklinks for the Roosevelt Tapes and got an overview of what was available and how much of it was available, as well as an overview of the technology behind the recording. Links to listen to the tapes are under the Listen menu; audio is available in Windows Media, FLAC, and Ogg Vorbis format.

The tapes on this page are also divided into virtual exhibits, including civil rights, the space race, and politics. The site also includes research and classroom resources for the tapes. Good stuff. I can't help but wonder if some mashup DJ out there is going to get a hold of this stuff and have a grand time.

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