White House Tapes . Presidential Recordings Program

In June 1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt installed a recording device to ensure accurate records of presidential meetings were kept. While running for his third term as President in the fall of 1940, Roosevelt was worried about being misquoted by the press. The Secret Service installed the RCA Continuous-film Recording Machine which recorded approximately eight hours of meetings and conversations from the Roosevelt administration. These recordings consist mainly of fourteen press conferences and several accidentally recorded meetings held in the Oval Office between August 23 and November 8, 1940. By recording his dealings with the press, Roosevelt intended to ensure an accurate record of what was said.

Download Sound Files 

The sound files are available in the form of either individual conversations or as large tapes with multiple conversations, as released by the FDR Library. Each form includes the full collection.

Which Audio Format?

The sound files can be downloaded in two formats: FLAC and MP3. Each has benefits for different uses.

MP3: good sound reproduction, smaller files, universally compatible. Very good for telephone or Dictabelt recordings and for general listening. If in doubt, try the MP3 versions first.

FLAC: excellent sound reproduction, larger files, growing compatibility. Recommended for meeting recordings and transcribing where the highest sound quality is required. In terms of sound quality, FLAC files are identical to WAV or AIFF files.

More detailed information is available here.