Why do some audio files have gaps or duplicated portions?

Most of the audio files on this site were made from lacquer disc recordings made at the time of broadcast. Depending on the length of the program, multiple discs might be needed to hold the entire recording.

The small gaps you may hear between segments of a particular recording correspond to the different discs.

Some programs have not only gaps, but also a repetition of some of the recording from the previous segment. This is a remnant of the recording technology. It involved two turntables, so that longer programs could be recorded onto multiple discs by switching between turntables. Sometimes the second turntable was set to record while the first turntable was still recording, yielding a few seconds of duplicate content.

If you have problems to report about the audio files, contact edowell [at] indiana [dot] edu.