Old Time Radio. I was doing some research on the events leading up to the declaration of war in 1939, and found this page, which contains files of news reports (in English) on the Anchluss, as well as a chilling recording of live reportage on shortwave radio of Hitler's appearance at the Heldenplatz in Vienna (in English and German-- link goes direct to the .rm file). Other news pages on the site include the bulletin announcing the bombing of Pearl Harbour (which breaks into a football game), as well as Chamberlain's declaration of war, among others. Files play in Real or mp3. Previously mentioned on Metafilter is Radiolovers which offers downloads of various shows and which is free, unlike RUSC.com, which charges for a monthly subscription. Old Time Radio was also the subject of this thread from 2002, but the post was concerned the drama and comedy shows rather than the news pages from the site.
posted by jokeefe on Apr 7, 2006 - 11 comments

The John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection from the University of Arkansas. "John Quincy Wolf began collecting Ozark ballads while an undergraduate at Arkansas (now Lyon) college. His first serious professional interest in Ozark folksongs dates from his attendance at the Old Settler's folk music festival at Blanchard Springs in 1941. He and his wife Bess began to seek out folksingers in the White River and surrounding areas, often placing advertisements in local newspapers for people who knew 'old songs'. Wolf recorded hundreds of Ozark folksingers between 1952 and 1963, including Almeda Riddle, Neal Morris, Oscar and Ollie Gilbert, and Jimmy Driftwood. [...] The Wolf Folksong Collection at Lyon College contains hundreds of recordings." Site contains the field recordings of Ozark Folksongs, as well as sections for Memphis Blues, Sacred Harp Singing, and more. The folk song recordings are indexed by song title and singer. Music files play in Windows Media or Real.
posted by jokeefe on Jun 7, 2005 - 10 comments

Social Explorer. "Social Explorer is dedicated to providing demographic information in an easily understood format, data maps. We serve hundreds of interactive data maps of United States. Here, you can visually analyze and understand the demography of the U.S., explore your neighborhood and learn about the people that live around you."
posted by jokeefe on Mar 25, 2005 - 14 comments