[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":458},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored":3},{"slug":4,"path":5,"title":6,"description":7,"publishedAt":8,"updatedAt":9,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":12,"featureImage":15,"ogImage":21,"canonical":26,"seoTitle":27,"seoDescription":28,"keywords":29,"readingTimeMinutes":37,"wordCount":38,"bodySegments":39,"hasMath":147,"headings":252,"mediaClips":286,"showFeatureImage":147,"leadFigureHtml":123,"relatedPosts":349,"citations":457},"pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored","/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/","The day after Pearl Harbor, in Americans' own voices: 1941 street interviews, restored","On December 8, 1941, the Library of Congress asked fieldworkers across the US to record what ordinary people thought of the war. Twelve excerpts from those discs, original and restored.","2026-11-04T22:13:33Z","2026-11-05T06:54:57Z","Nathan Harmon","restoration",[13,14],"Audio restoration","History",{"src":16,"alt":17,"widthPixels":18,"heightPixels":19,"srcset":20},"/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/card.webp","Spectrogram of Rev. W. J. Faulkner's December 1941 recording in Nashville, original above and restored below with Diffio AI",1300,696,"/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/responsive/card-480w.webp 480w, /media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/responsive/card-800w.webp 800w, /media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/card.webp 1300w",{"src":22,"alt":17,"widthPixels":23,"heightPixels":24,"srcset":25},"/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/feature.webp",1400,800,"/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/responsive/feature-480w.webp 480w, /media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/responsive/feature-800w.webp 800w, /media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/responsive/feature-1200w.webp 1200w, /media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/feature.webp 1400w","https://diffio.ai/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/","Pearl Harbor 1941 man-on-the-street interviews, restored","Hear Americans react to Pearl Harbor in December 1941: Library of Congress street interviews from across the US, original and restored side by side.",[30,31,32,33,34,35,36],"Pearl Harbor man-on-the-street interviews","After the Day of Infamy","December 1941 oral history","Alan Lomax field recordings","American Folklife Center","Dear Mr. President 1942","historical audio restoration",8,1775,[40,117,120,148,150,165,167,174,176,183,185,193,195,203,205,213,215,222,224,232,234,241,243,250],{"kind":41,"comparison":42},"audio-comparison",{"passageName":43,"originalSourceNote":44,"originalSrc":45,"restoredSrc":46,"originalWaveformPeaks":47,"restoredWaveformPeaks":93},"Rev. W. J. Faulkner, Nashville, December 1941","AFS 6361A, Nashville, December 1941","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/nashville-original.mp3","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/nashville-restored.mp3",[48,49,50,51,52,53,54,48,55,56,56,55,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,55,62,63,64,65,50,66,48,67,68,64,69,55,70,58,71,52,55,72,70,73,48,74,75,76,62,55,77,78,64,71,79,48,80,81,82,55,55,83,51,62,64,69,60,55,84,85,79,55,58,72,55,86,87,81,88,55,89,87,74,55,55,90,91,55,87,86,77,55,59,59,66,52,92,60,76,62],0.07,0.49,0.71,0.28,0.41,0.17,0.36,0.08,0.72,0.75,0.35,0.52,0.18,0.5,0.09,0.89,0.59,0.62,0.42,0.06,0.95,0.23,0.83,0.51,0.14,0.56,0.82,0.48,0.84,0.45,0.22,0.29,0.65,0.44,0.25,0.91,0.68,0.57,0.77,1,0.37,0.81,0.47,0.26,0.21,[67,81,94,95,96,97,58,67,67,80,98,67,67,80,56,99,75,100,101,67,67,102,59,73,98,103,67,67,63,59,78,67,86,104,101,105,67,106,56,107,67,57,96,108,67,67,96,100,61,107,109,67,85,88,110,67,67,74,69,67,111,92,106,67,64,75,82,67,51,55,67,65,87,66,104,67,112,87,113,67,67,81,69,67,87,114,101,67,111,107,101,115,69,116,74,67],0.61,0.3,0.4,0.13,0.64,0.32,0.15,0.43,0.78,0.38,0.31,0.33,0.11,0.46,0.67,0.24,0.2,0.55,0.76,0.79,0.69,0.39,0.16,{"kind":118,"html":119},"html","\u003Cp>On December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor, Alan Lomax of the Library of Congress asked fieldworkers in ten places to record what ordinary people were saying. For the 85th anniversary we restored twelve excerpts with Diffio AI, each beside its original.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Part one, December 1941:\u003C/strong> \u003Ca href=\"#denver-im-going-to-enlist\">Denver\u003C/a> · \u003Ca href=\"#nashville-too-long-have-we-been-divided-at-home\">Nashville\u003C/a> · \u003Ca href=\"#dallas-hatred-is-death-but-love-is-life\">Dallas\u003C/a> · \u003Ca href=\"#austin-the-out-fightin-ist-people-on-earth\">Austin\u003C/a> · \u003Ca href=\"#buffalo-a-radio-stations-microphone\">Buffalo\u003C/a> · \u003Ca href=\"#madison-when-a-sneak-hits-us\">Madison\u003C/a> · \u003Ca href=\"#new-york-a-shoemaker-hears-the-president\">New York\u003C/a> · \u003Ca href=\"#washington-outside-the-palace-theater\">Washington\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Part two, early 1942, \u003Ca href=\"#weeks-later-dear-mr-president\">"Dear Mr. President"\u003C/a>:\u003C/strong> \u003Ca href=\"#minneapolis-keep-up-the-good-work-pop\">Minneapolis\u003C/a> · \u003Ca href=\"#detroit-you-can-count-on-us\">Detroit\u003C/a> · \u003Ca href=\"#tucson-my-fighting-blood-up\">Tucson\u003C/a> · \u003Ca href=\"#pittsburgh-a-good-friend-of-ours\">Pittsburgh\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cdetails class=\"blog-details\">\u003Csummary>Every recording, with its date and disc\u003C/summary>\u003Cdiv class=\"blog-details__body\">\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Part one, December 1941: the first days\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv class=\"blog-table blog-table--wide blog-table--fit\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Table 1: City, Recorded, Disc\" tabindex=\"0\">\u003Ctable>\n\u003Cthead>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Cth>City\u003C/th>\n\u003Cth>Recorded\u003C/th>\n\u003Cth>Disc\u003C/th>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003C/thead>\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>\u003Ca href=\"#denver-im-going-to-enlist\">Denver\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>December 9, 1941\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>AFS 6453A\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>\u003Ca href=\"#nashville-too-long-have-we-been-divided-at-home\">Nashville\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>December 1941\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>AFS 6361A\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>\u003Ca href=\"#dallas-hatred-is-death-but-love-is-life\">Dallas\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>December 1941\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>AFS 6373A\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>\u003Ca href=\"#austin-the-out-fightin-ist-people-on-earth\">Austin\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>December 9, 1941\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>AFS 6370A\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>\u003Ca href=\"#buffalo-a-radio-stations-microphone\">Buffalo\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>December 1941\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>AFS 6454A\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>\u003Ca href=\"#madison-when-a-sneak-hits-us\">Madison\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>December 9, 1941\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>AFS 6367A\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>\u003Ca href=\"#new-york-a-shoemaker-hears-the-president\">New York\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>December 8, 1941\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>AFS 6362A\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>\u003Ca href=\"#washington-outside-the-palace-theater\">Washington\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>December 8, 1941\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>AFS 6357B\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003C/tbody>\n\u003C/table>\n\u003C/div>\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Part two, January and February 1942: \u003Ca href=\"#weeks-later-dear-mr-president\">"Dear Mr. President"\u003C/a>\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv class=\"blog-table blog-table--wide blog-table--fit\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Table 2: City, Recorded, Disc\" tabindex=\"0\">\u003Ctable>\n\u003Cthead>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Cth>City\u003C/th>\n\u003Cth>Recorded\u003C/th>\n\u003Cth>Disc\u003C/th>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003C/thead>\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>\u003Ca href=\"#minneapolis-keep-up-the-good-work-pop\">Minneapolis\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>Early 1942\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>AFS 6416A\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>\u003Ca href=\"#detroit-you-can-count-on-us\">Detroit\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>January 13, 1942\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>AFS 6415A\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>\u003Ca href=\"#tucson-my-fighting-blood-up\">Tucson\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>Early 1942\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>AFS 6446A\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>\u003Ca href=\"#pittsburgh-a-good-friend-of-ours\">Pittsburgh\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>Early 1942\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>AFS 6458A\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003C/tbody>\n\u003C/table>\n\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/details>\n\u003Cdetails class=\"blog-details\">\u003Csummary>About the collection and how the pairs are matched\u003C/summary>\u003Cdiv class=\"blog-details__body\">\u003Cp>Lomax sent the request by telegram. The fieldworkers carried disc recorders to theater fronts, campuses and radio studios, and within days they had about four and a half hours of Americans reacting to a war that had just begun.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The discs survive at the Library's American Folklife Center, published as \u003Ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/collections/interviews-following-the-attack-on-pearl-harbor/about-this-collection/\">After the Day of Infamy\u003C/a>. They are extraordinary, and they are hard to listen to: a shooting gallery bangs behind the interviewers in Washington, car horns cut across answers, and surface noise sits on all of it.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Eight excerpts come from those first days, and four from a second series recorded weeks later. Each pair is matched for loudness, so neither file wins by being louder. More than the noise can change: some restored voices are measurably brighter than the original, so listen to both. The pair at the top is the Reverend W. J. Faulkner in Nashville; the other eleven follow below.\u003C/p>\u003C/div>\u003C/details>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"denver-im-going-to-enlist\">Denver: "I'm going to enlist"\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Howard Belker, 27, a taxi driver, Duncan Emrich's first interviewee on December 9, 1941.\u003C/p>",{"kind":41,"comparison":121},{"passageName":122,"originalSourceNote":123,"originalSrc":124,"restoredSrc":125,"originalWaveformPeaks":126,"restoredWaveformPeaks":139,"passage":145,"nameRepeatsHeading":147},"Howard Belker, Denver, December 1941",null,"/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/denver-original.mp3","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/denver-restored.mp3",[67,87,112,127,128,96,105,91,67,67,51,67,67,129,110,53,130,67,67,67,131,87,67,48,77,67,69,51,64,79,95,97,88,132,133,51,132,86,134,52,60,67,115,135,67,67,50,67,67,75,77,52,110,77,129,115,103,81,116,85,136,94,137,130,87,76,96,104,104,96,67,64,58,81,53,101,88,103,99,78,60,67,138,67,96,50,79,67,79,67,67,115,104,129,72,111],0.58,0.6,0.27,0.19,0.86,0.54,0.7,0.88,0.34,0.63,0.74,0.1,[67,87,127,77,71,95,91,78,67,67,107,67,67,75,58,58,135,48,67,67,140,63,67,141,108,67,135,90,142,52,101,130,51,101,111,109,101,94,143,105,72,67,58,51,67,67,87,67,67,137,144,80,95,50,103,108,127,114,130,132,111,73,84,60,87,74,135,104,51,80,48,85,54,52,72,94,73,128,71,58,51,67,67,67,115,108,78,67,96,55,67,94,101,81,92,127],0.73,0.12,0.97,0.8,0.66,{"quoteHtml":146,"transcriptSummaryHtml":123,"transcriptHtml":123},"\u003Cp>"I had a good night sleep last night and I ate well today and I'm going to continue to do so."\u003C/p>",false,{"kind":118,"html":149},"\u003Cp>Then: a plan to enlist and fly, and a hope that "we never have another one."\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"nashville-too-long-have-we-been-divided-at-home\">Nashville: "Too long have we been divided at home"\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>The Reverend W. J. Faulkner, Nashville NAACP president, on "stupid and costly racial discriminations."\u003C/p>\n\u003Cfigure class=\"blog-figure blog-figure--image\">\u003Cdiv class=\"blog-figure__frame\">\u003Cimg src=\"/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/spectrogram-original-restored.webp\" srcset=\"/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/responsive/spectrogram-original-restored-480w.webp 480w, /media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/responsive/spectrogram-original-restored-800w.webp 800w, /media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/spectrogram-original-restored.webp 1300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 40px), 720px\" alt=\"Spectrograms of Rev. W. J. Faulkner's Nashville recording, the original disc above and the restoration with Diffio below\" width=\"1300\" height=\"692\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\">\u003C/div>\u003Cfigcaption>Faulkner's Nashville pair: noise fills the original even between words; restored, the gaps go dark\u003C/figcaption>\u003Ca class=\"blog-figure__full\" href=\"/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/spectrogram-original-restored.webp\">View full size\u003Cspan class=\"blog-visually-hidden\">: Spectrograms of Rev. W. J. Faulkner's Nashville recording, the original disc above and the restoration with Diffio below\u003C/span>\u003C/a>\u003C/figure>\n\n\u003Ch2 id=\"dallas-hatred-is-death-but-love-is-life\">Dallas: "Hatred is death, but love is life"\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Lena Jameson, 80, visiting her children; recorded by John A. Lomax, Alan's father.\u003C/p>",{"kind":41,"comparison":151},{"passageName":152,"originalSourceNote":123,"originalSrc":153,"restoredSrc":154,"originalWaveformPeaks":155,"restoredWaveformPeaks":160,"passage":163,"nameRepeatsHeading":147},"Lena Jameson, Dallas, December 1941","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/dallas-original.mp3","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/dallas-restored.mp3",[77,67,48,67,138,113,137,156,75,49,55,60,63,62,67,87,83,112,133,48,50,78,48,72,157,87,89,129,48,69,62,60,87,53,137,129,49,97,58,53,67,48,55,95,55,132,73,107,144,95,55,67,110,60,55,62,106,67,101,110,52,48,48,48,158,67,48,48,90,71,115,106,50,127,91,113,127,67,67,67,108,67,48,159,88,58,97,56,115,81,96,55,48,55,127,67],0.87,0.9,0.53,0.85,[107,67,67,67,67,86,74,161,64,158,67,67,87,62,67,63,68,140,56,67,143,109,67,67,162,87,74,91,67,109,67,60,87,53,137,51,59,106,96,60,67,67,67,99,67,65,73,61,133,58,67,67,60,53,67,67,55,67,96,110,58,67,67,67,71,67,67,67,71,77,66,106,57,85,91,86,81,67,67,67,114,67,67,86,88,79,141,144,58,96,88,67,67,67,59,67],0.96,0.92,{"quoteHtml":164,"transcriptSummaryHtml":123,"transcriptHtml":123},"\u003Cp>"I find myself at the age of eighty, an old woman, hanging on to the tail of the world, trying to keep up. I do not want the driver's seat."\u003C/p>",{"kind":118,"html":166},"\u003Ch2 id=\"austin-the-out-fightin-ist-people-on-earth\">Austin: "The out-fightin-ist people on earth"\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>J. C. Brodie, drawn out by John Henry Faulk on December 9, 1941.\u003C/p>",{"kind":41,"comparison":168},{"passageName":169,"originalSourceNote":123,"originalSrc":170,"restoredSrc":171,"originalWaveformPeaks":172,"restoredWaveformPeaks":173},"J. C. Brodie and John Henry Faulk, Austin, December 9, 1941","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/austin-original.mp3","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/austin-restored.mp3",[67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,81,61,132,104,97,67,48,144,48,67,62,107,51,88,105,49,133,106,67,48,52,64,81,96,106,113,67,67,143,69,104,65,82,67,67,115,56,69,48,67,67,67,111,105,87,77,85,97,51,110,67,67,109,66,116,67,51,110,78,75,138,55,67,81,67,138,137,74,67,116,87,80,53,137,136,67,67,159,91,104,66,138,67,87,61,127,67],[67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,48,85,75,103,78,100,67,67,98,67,67,67,136,78,71,54,103,111,55,67,67,158,114,128,103,48,113,67,67,114,95,51,49,53,67,67,52,98,91,67,67,67,67,105,116,156,71,94,100,58,95,67,67,107,52,67,67,99,67,78,111,67,67,67,66,67,55,133,102,67,110,87,80,91,74,85,67,67,87,109,49,106,67,67,87,111,136,67],{"kind":118,"html":175},"\u003Ch2 id=\"buffalo-a-radio-stations-microphone\">Buffalo: a radio station's microphone\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>William Patterson, 22, just out of Brown University, at station WBEN.\u003C/p>",{"kind":41,"comparison":177},{"passageName":178,"originalSourceNote":123,"originalSrc":179,"restoredSrc":180,"originalWaveformPeaks":181,"restoredWaveformPeaks":182},"William Patterson, Buffalo, December 1941","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/buffalo-original.mp3","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/buffalo-restored.mp3",[67,87,57,105,156,50,77,73,107,136,144,97,60,81,67,67,87,140,74,72,135,66,61,67,67,67,56,100,156,55,74,69,127,55,66,67,116,71,133,91,62,90,144,59,67,67,67,109,96,67,115,96,97,129,104,67,141,128,67,67,67,67,67,111,67,67,67,67,129,62,135,99,91,67,158,109,62,67,137,103,99,67,67,116,159,54,87,112,85,136,115,77,88,67,97,88],[67,87,108,95,113,108,88,59,90,108,65,97,82,90,67,67,87,65,143,141,135,52,75,67,67,67,140,100,83,55,70,69,127,48,107,48,60,85,86,51,138,111,56,127,67,67,67,91,101,67,77,101,72,99,88,67,141,98,67,67,67,67,48,80,67,67,67,67,79,106,88,135,129,67,85,79,138,67,74,101,115,67,67,116,159,115,87,89,61,98,58,101,135,67,62,95],{"kind":118,"html":184},"\u003Ch2 id=\"madison-when-a-sneak-hits-us\">Madison: "When a sneak hits us"\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>The director of a private business school, December 9, 1941; the Library lists the name as unknown.\u003C/p>",{"kind":41,"comparison":186},{"passageName":187,"originalSourceNote":123,"originalSrc":188,"restoredSrc":189,"originalWaveformPeaks":190,"restoredWaveformPeaks":192},"Business school director, Madison, December 9, 1941","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/madison-original.mp3","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/madison-restored.mp3",[67,67,58,75,61,116,129,95,141,67,67,67,67,48,116,132,67,67,108,116,133,111,96,58,48,67,138,129,72,62,115,97,48,72,95,96,97,67,67,100,112,87,59,70,85,103,115,87,52,85,55,55,76,48,134,67,52,79,69,99,78,67,67,67,141,191,136,102,108,60,96,129,103,67,67,84,70,98,59,106,55,95,66,97,62,138,87,143,107,51,69,48,106,104,67,67],0.99,[67,67,129,75,158,92,91,91,106,67,67,67,67,67,106,127,67,67,65,100,140,127,101,115,67,67,106,129,72,55,115,55,67,97,104,66,97,67,67,116,159,87,64,74,94,103,52,87,77,94,67,67,134,67,89,67,75,95,109,54,69,67,67,67,138,68,140,74,114,116,52,91,90,67,67,114,83,133,73,62,67,104,66,106,67,48,87,128,88,78,110,67,62,91,67,67],{"kind":118,"html":194},"\u003Ch2 id=\"new-york-a-shoemaker-hears-the-president\">New York: a shoemaker hears the president\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Luis Andrew, a shoemaker, just after the president's speech: small nations as a laborer afraid of the boss.\u003C/p>",{"kind":41,"comparison":196},{"passageName":197,"originalSourceNote":123,"originalSrc":198,"restoredSrc":199,"originalWaveformPeaks":200,"restoredWaveformPeaks":201},"Luis Andrew, New York, December 8, 1941","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/new-york-original.mp3","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/new-york-restored.mp3",[67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,91,161,116,53,141,67,128,67,81,59,109,69,95,130,67,79,108,135,67,95,53,101,141,65,67,67,67,67,87,74,78,106,131,61,100,98,72,67,67,113,87,159,135,52,52,67,104,87,100,88,67,67,140,78,67,67,67,67,112,137,67,72,144,67,67,67,92,61,71,77,130,107,128,67,56,97,158,97,62,138,143,48,112,67,67,137,67,135],[67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,51,87,100,130,97,67,98,67,96,75,82,130,95,60,67,79,144,54,67,95,116,52,106,144,67,67,48,67,161,63,104,62,134,59,72,133,141,67,67,68,87,161,54,90,49,67,105,87,109,101,67,67,159,91,67,141,67,67,202,161,67,116,140,67,67,67,69,73,73,71,109,132,98,67,76,141,80,72,62,97,142,55,202,67,67,76,67,54],0.94,{"kind":118,"html":204},"\u003Ch2 id=\"washington-outside-the-palace-theater\">Washington: outside the Palace Theater\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>A man classified 1-A for the draft, at 13th and F Streets, about 9 p.m. on December 8. Names are withheld, as the Library withholds them.\u003C/p>",{"kind":41,"comparison":206},{"passageName":207,"originalSourceNote":123,"originalSrc":208,"restoredSrc":209,"originalWaveformPeaks":210,"restoredWaveformPeaks":212},"Unnamed man, Washington, December 8, 1941","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/washington-original.mp3","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/washington-restored.mp3",[110,60,98,87,54,112,113,51,60,90,87,138,100,63,53,110,58,61,80,58,48,75,101,79,53,53,97,141,135,95,158,97,82,135,108,99,100,78,88,138,51,132,97,61,211,76,92,60,72,104,87,88,59,104,91,62,51,80,77,132,106,105,59,61,67,138,130,138,109,91,129,106,95,54,104,55,55,116,110,106,72,100,65,75,88,130,100,104,140,97,129,97,78,88,81,60],0.98,[67,67,84,83,49,56,98,91,138,96,87,67,67,87,67,67,101,94,132,81,67,59,85,135,109,91,100,67,77,61,107,67,67,110,57,54,67,109,59,67,67,52,67,77,87,156,82,92,92,135,161,132,65,59,66,67,75,156,128,56,106,52,80,137,67,55,99,110,88,81,77,130,66,61,66,67,55,67,130,67,67,67,113,128,59,67,67,75,83,55,66,67,129,49,73,116],{"kind":118,"html":214},"\u003Ch2 id=\"weeks-later-dear-mr-president\">Weeks later: "Dear Mr. President"\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>In early 1942 a second series asked people to speak directly to President Roosevelt.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3 id=\"minneapolis-keep-up-the-good-work-pop\">Minneapolis: "Keep up the good work, Pop"\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>John Leo, a University of Minnesota janitor, days from his draft answer.\u003C/p>",{"kind":41,"comparison":216},{"passageName":217,"originalSourceNote":123,"originalSrc":218,"restoredSrc":219,"originalWaveformPeaks":220,"restoredWaveformPeaks":221},"John Leo, Minneapolis, early 1942","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/minneapolis-original.mp3","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/minneapolis-restored.mp3",[67,67,67,67,67,67,141,67,67,67,67,87,52,162,55,86,107,113,71,67,67,87,87,114,67,81,56,70,84,136,67,67,67,61,67,67,67,87,67,90,67,67,67,64,67,67,85,135,67,96,67,67,128,114,67,67,94,67,67,67,133,57,76,128,67,67,52,88,59,67,131,84,67,67,95,67,67,65,159,137,65,67,67,90,140,144,67,51,49,51,99,67,67,67,67,67],[67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,87,52,157,55,86,77,137,75,67,67,87,191,50,67,49,86,113,50,136,67,67,67,111,67,67,67,142,67,132,67,67,67,98,67,67,127,91,67,77,67,67,144,102,67,67,84,67,67,67,102,113,161,98,67,67,75,81,71,67,87,102,67,67,58,67,67,50,202,113,133,67,67,80,157,102,67,81,98,99,96,67,67,67,67,67],{"kind":118,"html":223},"\u003Ch3 id=\"detroit-you-can-count-on-us\">Detroit: "You can count on us"\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Robert Clark for Detroit's radio industry, January 13, 1942, a new aviation cadet.\u003C/p>",{"kind":41,"comparison":225},{"passageName":226,"originalSourceNote":123,"originalSrc":227,"restoredSrc":228,"originalWaveformPeaks":229,"restoredWaveformPeaks":230},"Robert Clark, Detroit, January 13, 1942","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/detroit-original.mp3","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/detroit-restored.mp3",[67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,98,62,67,57,54,67,49,63,105,66,115,67,109,102,56,77,49,84,67,96,75,67,67,87,85,107,111,96,67,161,87,134,108,133,67,111,81,98,104,98,98,73,130,67,67,95,59,67,113,102,140,67,67,53,137,67,84,81,96,67,88,87,132,90,67,158,159,100,67],[67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,136,138,67,63,103,67,73,157,54,66,135,67,53,76,143,61,158,144,67,79,115,67,67,161,158,66,75,115,67,87,87,231,56,84,67,90,90,108,51,75,65,132,53,67,67,129,90,67,231,76,143,67,67,72,132,67,137,58,88,67,104,87,132,96,67,101,144,106,67],0.93,{"kind":118,"html":233},"\u003Ch3 id=\"tucson-my-fighting-blood-up\">Tucson: "My fighting blood up"\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Carlos Lopez, about to enlist in the Marines, for "the Spanish people born in the United States."\u003C/p>",{"kind":41,"comparison":235},{"passageName":236,"originalSourceNote":123,"originalSrc":237,"restoredSrc":238,"originalWaveformPeaks":239,"restoredWaveformPeaks":240},"Carlos Lopez, Tucson, early 1942","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/tucson-original.mp3","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/tucson-restored.mp3",[67,67,67,67,67,67,55,110,55,48,48,55,67,80,134,96,63,48,159,76,85,103,71,72,202,103,85,132,77,103,48,130,87,94,103,54,80,66,141,127,72,67,48,130,102,108,133,77,78,79,106,138,102,66,54,84,103,110,132,67,109,144,87,94,211,94,85,109,69,59,115,107,91,53,62,58,87,96,111,103,55,135,142,132,136,59,140,62,110,159,84,58,116,48,191,130],[67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,67,64,156,52,56,67,231,113,77,90,107,67,131,132,64,64,90,77,67,67,87,136,81,79,80,107,97,73,67,67,67,67,134,143,143,61,105,95,67,67,57,90,132,85,90,67,73,67,100,134,87,84,87,73,85,110,67,56,115,73,82,97,67,79,87,158,90,71,67,110,131,80,140,59,98,67,109,87,50,91,106,67,161,67],{"kind":118,"html":242},"\u003Ch3 id=\"pittsburgh-a-good-friend-of-ours\">Pittsburgh: "A good friend of ours"\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. William Houghton, a mother of two, thanks the president for a job, a home and a training course.\u003C/p>",{"kind":41,"comparison":244},{"passageName":245,"originalSourceNote":123,"originalSrc":246,"restoredSrc":247,"originalWaveformPeaks":248,"restoredWaveformPeaks":249},"Mrs. William Houghton, Pittsburgh, early 1942","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/pittsburgh-original.mp3","/media/blog/pearl-harbor-1941-man-on-the-street-restored/pittsburgh-restored.mp3",[67,131,94,71,106,60,95,67,156,128,90,67,67,50,106,128,127,80,80,67,112,211,138,48,64,67,67,89,158,84,55,67,67,87,128,75,75,67,67,76,66,75,71,67,75,87,67,64,71,67,67,115,87,127,133,58,55,57,134,78,85,71,67,67,80,50,77,67,104,67,83,132,143,67,67,91,50,134,57,64,132,48,67,114,91,76,143,110,85,82,127,56,67,59,96,67],[67,89,108,86,53,82,66,67,191,134,128,48,67,191,116,162,157,113,74,48,63,211,60,55,112,67,67,102,131,137,55,67,67,87,56,65,73,67,67,162,59,73,94,67,102,87,67,137,108,67,67,101,191,114,131,49,67,134,74,51,108,49,67,67,144,108,114,97,52,67,211,112,156,67,67,105,102,87,50,140,65,62,67,162,88,161,74,129,56,54,50,89,67,56,158,67],{"kind":118,"html":251},"\u003Cdetails class=\"blog-details\">\u003Csummary>The speakers and interviewers, in full\u003C/summary>\u003Cdiv class=\"blog-details__body\">\u003Cp>Duncan Emrich, who later headed the Library's folklore archive, set up a microphone in Denver on December 9, 1941, the day after Congress declared war on Japan. The first interviewee was Howard Belker (the Library's spelling), 27, a taxi driver who had spent most of those years in Denver.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Belker then tells Emrich about years of flying, a plan to enlist and fly in this war, and a hope that afterward "we never have another one."\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The Nashville series was made by Charles S. Johnson and Lewis Jones. The Reverend W. J. Faulkner, a Congregational minister and president of the Nashville branch of the NAACP, used the moment on the disc to name what the attack had exposed: "practices of stupid and costly racial discriminations," and the hope of uniting all people and resources "on a basis of equality." In the spectrograms, time runs left to right, pitch rises from bottom to top, and brighter means louder.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>John A. Lomax, Alan's father and a collector of American song, recorded Lena Jameson of Redondo Beach, California, while she was visiting her children in Dallas. She was 80.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The interviewer here is John Henry Faulk, later a radio host who was blacklisted in the 1950s and won a landmark libel case over it. On December 9, 1941 Faulk was collecting opinions around Austin, and drew this out of J. C. Brodie.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>In Buffalo the interviews went through "the facilities of WBEN, the Buffalo Evening News station," with Charles Harrell asking the questions. William Patterson, 22, had just finished at Brown University.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Leland Coon's Madison series, recorded December 9, 1941, has an announcer introducing each speaker by role. The Library lists these speakers' names as unknown. This one is the director of a private business school.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Charles Todd and Robert Sonkin recorded New Yorkers on December 8, 1941. Luis Andrew, a shoemaker, had just heard the president's speech. Andrew compares the small nations of the world to a laborer afraid of the boss.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Alan Lomax and Philip Cohen worked the sidewalk themselves. This man spoke to them in front of the Palace Theater at 13th and F Streets, about 9 p.m. on December 8, with traffic behind him. He was classified 1-A for the draft.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The interviewers told some Washington speakers that their words would not be broadcast, and the Library removed interviewee names from its Washington recordings for that reason. Our excerpt leaves his name out too.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>In January and February 1942 a second series went out, under the Office of Emergency Management: people were asked to speak directly to President Roosevelt. A selection became a radio program, "Dear Mr. President," broadcast that May.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>John Leo, a janitor at the University of Minnesota, was days from learning whether the next uniform would be khaki.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>On January 13, 1942, Robert Clark spoke for Detroit's radio industry, and mentioned having just been accepted as an aviation cadet.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Carlos Lopez, recently discharged from the Army and about to enlist in the Marines, spoke for "the Spanish people born in the United States" as well as for himself.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. William Houghton, a housewife with two small children, thanked the president for what the government had meant to one family: a job after repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment, a place in a government housing project, a defense training course.\u003C/p>\u003C/div>\u003C/details>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"what-these-are-and-what-they-arent\">What these are, and what they aren't\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Excerpts chosen for clarity; hear the full collection with the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/collections/interviews-following-the-attack-on-pearl-harbor/\">Library's transcripts\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cdetails class=\"blog-details\">\u003Csummary>How we restored and checked these excerpts, and what didn't pass\u003C/summary>\u003Cdiv class=\"blog-details__body\">\u003Cp>These are excerpts, chosen for clarity and for what the speakers say. The full collection should be heard whole, and the Library's transcripts are the place to start.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Not everything passed. An Indiana University student discussion recorded in Bloomington on December 10, 1941 did not meet our bar for keeping the voices faithful, so it isn't here.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The full collection holds a wider range of opinion than this page, including racial slurs and anger that were common in December 1941.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Diffio restores recorded speech. It separates the voice from everything around it and takes the noise away, and it is built to keep the same person, the same voice and the same words. We checked each excerpt here with a speech recognizer against the original and measured how close the voice stayed to the source. Automated checks are not proof, so treat these files as listening copies and check any quotation against the original disc and the Library's transcript.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The Bloomington recording has several voices around one microphone. You can \u003Ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1941004_sr04/\">hear the original at the Library\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\u003C/div>\u003C/details>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"using-these-recordings\">Using these recordings\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Free for newsrooms, teachers and stations. Credit: American Folklife Center, Library of Congress; restored with Diffio AI.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cdetails class=\"blog-details\">\u003Csummary>Rights, the full credit, and your own archive\u003C/summary>\u003Cdiv class=\"blog-details__body\">\u003Cp>Newsrooms, teachers and stations are welcome to use our restored excerpts.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv class=\"blog-table blog-table--notes\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Table 3: Reuse, Details\" tabindex=\"0\">\u003Ctable>\n\u003Cthead>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Cth>Reuse\u003C/th>\n\u003Cth>Details\u003C/th>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003C/thead>\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>Rights\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>The Library of Congress says it \u003Ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/collections/interviews-following-the-attack-on-pearl-harbor/about-this-collection/rights-and-access/\">is not aware of any U.S. copyright protection\u003C/a> or other restrictions on this material apart from a few listed songs, none of which are used here\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>Credit\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, for the recordings; Diffio AI for the restoration\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd>Your own archive\u003C/td>\n\u003Ctd>To have a recording restored for the anniversary, write to \u003Ca href=\"mailto:nathan.harmon@diffio.ai\">nathan.harmon@diffio.ai\u003C/a>\u003C/td>\n\u003C/tr>\n\u003C/tbody>\n\u003C/table>\n\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/details>",[253,256,259,262,265,268,271,274,277,280,283],{"id":254,"text":255,"label":255},"denver-im-going-to-enlist","Denver: \"I'm going to enlist\"",{"id":257,"text":258,"label":258},"nashville-too-long-have-we-been-divided-at-home","Nashville: \"Too long have we been divided at home\"",{"id":260,"text":261,"label":261},"dallas-hatred-is-death-but-love-is-life","Dallas: \"Hatred is death, but love is life\"",{"id":263,"text":264,"label":264},"austin-the-out-fightin-ist-people-on-earth","Austin: \"The out-fightin-ist people on earth\"",{"id":266,"text":267,"label":267},"buffalo-a-radio-stations-microphone","Buffalo: a radio station's microphone",{"id":269,"text":270,"label":270},"madison-when-a-sneak-hits-us","Madison: \"When a sneak hits us\"",{"id":272,"text":273,"label":273},"new-york-a-shoemaker-hears-the-president","New York: a shoemaker hears the president",{"id":275,"text":276,"label":276},"washington-outside-the-palace-theater","Washington: outside the Palace Theater",{"id":278,"text":279,"label":279},"weeks-later-dear-mr-president","Weeks later: \"Dear Mr. President\"",{"id":281,"text":282,"label":282},"what-these-are-and-what-they-arent","What these are, and what they aren't",{"id":284,"text":285,"label":285},"using-these-recordings","Using these recordings",[287,292,295,298,300,303,305,308,310,313,315,318,320,323,325,327,329,332,334,337,339,342,344,347],{"kind":288,"src":45,"name":289,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":290,"durationSeconds":291},"audio","Original (AFS 6361A, Nashville, December 1941), Rev. W. J. Faulkner, Nashville, December 1941","original",77.5,{"kind":288,"src":46,"name":293,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":294,"durationSeconds":291},"Restored with Diffio, Rev. W. J. Faulkner, Nashville, December 1941","restored",{"kind":288,"src":124,"name":296,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":290,"durationSeconds":297},"Original recording, Howard Belker, Denver, December 1941",46,{"kind":288,"src":125,"name":299,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":294,"durationSeconds":297},"Restored with Diffio, Howard Belker, Denver, December 1941",{"kind":288,"src":153,"name":301,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":290,"durationSeconds":302},"Original recording, Lena Jameson, Dallas, December 1941",53,{"kind":288,"src":154,"name":304,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":294,"durationSeconds":302},"Restored with Diffio, Lena Jameson, Dallas, December 1941",{"kind":288,"src":170,"name":306,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":290,"durationSeconds":307},"Original recording, J. C. Brodie and John Henry Faulk, Austin, December 9, 1941",58,{"kind":288,"src":171,"name":309,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":294,"durationSeconds":307},"Restored with Diffio, J. C. Brodie and John Henry Faulk, Austin, December 9, 1941",{"kind":288,"src":179,"name":311,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":290,"durationSeconds":312},"Original recording, William Patterson, Buffalo, December 1941",28.5,{"kind":288,"src":180,"name":314,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":294,"durationSeconds":312},"Restored with Diffio, William Patterson, Buffalo, December 1941",{"kind":288,"src":188,"name":316,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":290,"durationSeconds":317},"Original recording, business school director, Madison, December 9, 1941",31.5,{"kind":288,"src":189,"name":319,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":294,"durationSeconds":317},"Restored with Diffio, business school director, Madison, December 9, 1941",{"kind":288,"src":198,"name":321,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":290,"durationSeconds":322},"Original recording, Luis Andrew, New York, December 8, 1941",62,{"kind":288,"src":199,"name":324,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":294,"durationSeconds":322},"Restored with Diffio, Luis Andrew, New York, December 8, 1941",{"kind":288,"src":208,"name":326,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":290,"durationSeconds":302},"Original recording, unnamed man, Washington, December 8, 1941",{"kind":288,"src":209,"name":328,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":294,"durationSeconds":302},"Restored with Diffio, unnamed man, Washington, December 8, 1941",{"kind":288,"src":218,"name":330,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":290,"durationSeconds":331},"Original recording, John Leo, Minneapolis, early 1942",67,{"kind":288,"src":219,"name":333,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":294,"durationSeconds":331},"Restored with Diffio, John Leo, Minneapolis, early 1942",{"kind":288,"src":227,"name":335,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":290,"durationSeconds":336},"Original recording, Robert Clark, Detroit, January 13, 1942",62.5,{"kind":288,"src":228,"name":338,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":294,"durationSeconds":336},"Restored with Diffio, Robert Clark, Detroit, January 13, 1942",{"kind":288,"src":237,"name":340,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":290,"durationSeconds":341},"Original recording, Carlos Lopez, Tucson, early 1942",56,{"kind":288,"src":238,"name":343,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":294,"durationSeconds":341},"Restored with Diffio, Carlos Lopez, Tucson, early 1942",{"kind":288,"src":246,"name":345,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":290,"durationSeconds":346},"Original recording, Mrs. William Houghton, Pittsburgh, early 1942",69.5,{"kind":288,"src":247,"name":348,"caption":123,"posterSrc":123,"comparisonRole":294,"durationSeconds":346},"Restored with Diffio, Mrs. William Houghton, Pittsburgh, early 1942",[350,378,401,426],{"slug":351,"path":352,"title":353,"description":354,"publishedAt":355,"updatedAt":356,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":357,"featureImage":358,"ogImage":364,"canonical":365,"seoTitle":366,"seoDescription":367,"keywords":368,"readingTimeMinutes":376,"wordCount":377,"relatedNote":123},"pershing-1918-battlefields-of-france-restored","/blog/pershing-1918-battlefields-of-france-restored/","Hear General Pershing's 1918 message from the battlefields of France, restored","A 33-second disc General John J. Pershing recorded in France in March 1918, restored for Veterans Day, with the original alongside.","2026-11-02T08:40:45Z","2026-11-05T23:08:28Z",[13,14],{"src":359,"alt":360,"widthPixels":361,"heightPixels":362,"srcset":363},"/media/blog/pershing-1918-battlefields-of-france-restored/feature.webp","Waveform of Gen. John J. Pershing's 1918 recording \"From the Battlefields of France,\" restored with Diffio AI",1280,720,"/media/blog/pershing-1918-battlefields-of-france-restored/responsive/feature-480w.webp 480w, /media/blog/pershing-1918-battlefields-of-france-restored/responsive/feature-800w.webp 800w, /media/blog/pershing-1918-battlefields-of-france-restored/feature.webp 1280w",{"src":359,"alt":360,"widthPixels":361,"heightPixels":362,"srcset":363},"https://diffio.ai/blog/pershing-1918-battlefields-of-france-restored/","General Pershing's 1918 message from France, restored","General Pershing's 1918 Nation's Forum disc, recorded in France while he led the American Expeditionary Forces, restored beside the original.",[369,370,371,372,373,374,375],"John J. Pershing recording","From the Battlefields of France","Nation's Forum records","World War I audio","American Leaders Speak","Veterans Day","acoustic recording restoration",4,827,{"slug":379,"path":380,"title":381,"description":382,"publishedAt":383,"updatedAt":9,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":384,"featureImage":123,"ogImage":385,"canonical":389,"seoTitle":390,"seoDescription":391,"keywords":392,"readingTimeMinutes":399,"wordCount":400,"relatedNote":123},"early-presidents-voices-restored","/blog/early-presidents-voices-restored/","Hear six early presidents in their own voices, restored (1908-1922)","Taft in 1908, Roosevelt, Wilson and Taft in 1912, Coolidge and FDR in 1920, Harding in 1921: public domain phonograph speeches, each original next to its restoration.","2026-11-01T04:34:22Z",[13,14],{"src":386,"alt":381,"widthPixels":23,"heightPixels":387,"srcset":388},"/media/blog/early-presidents-voices-restored/victor-31709-taft-label.webp",1408,"/media/blog/early-presidents-voices-restored/responsive/victor-31709-taft-label-480w.webp 480w, /media/blog/early-presidents-voices-restored/responsive/victor-31709-taft-label-800w.webp 800w, /media/blog/early-presidents-voices-restored/responsive/victor-31709-taft-label-1200w.webp 1200w, /media/blog/early-presidents-voices-restored/victor-31709-taft-label.webp 1400w","https://diffio.ai/blog/early-presidents-voices-restored/","Six early presidents' voices restored (1908-1922)","Taft, Roosevelt, Wilson, Coolidge, FDR and Harding: public domain phonograph speeches from 1908 to 1922, each original next to its restoration.",[393,394,395,396,371,397,398,375],"presidential voice recordings","William Howard Taft 1908","Calvin Coolidge Law and Order","Franklin D. Roosevelt Americanism 1920","Victor campaign records","National Jukebox",6,1292,{"slug":402,"path":403,"title":404,"description":405,"publishedAt":406,"updatedAt":407,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":408,"featureImage":409,"ogImage":414,"canonical":415,"seoTitle":416,"seoDescription":417,"keywords":418,"readingTimeMinutes":424,"wordCount":425,"relatedNote":123},"1912-election-roosevelt-wilson-taft-voices-restored","/blog/1912-election-roosevelt-wilson-taft-voices-restored/","Hear the 1912 election in the candidates' own voices, restored","Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and William Howard Taft recorded their 1912 campaign speeches for Victor. Hear the Library of Congress discs before and after restoration with Diffio AI.","2026-11-01T03:31:44Z","2026-11-05T22:42:17Z",[13,14],{"src":410,"alt":411,"widthPixels":412,"heightPixels":412,"srcset":413},"/media/blog/1912-election-roosevelt-wilson-taft-voices-restored/victor-35250-roosevelt-label.webp","Victor record label for Theodore Roosevelt, Why the Trusts and Bosses Oppose the Progressive Party, Victor 35250-A",1200,"/media/blog/1912-election-roosevelt-wilson-taft-voices-restored/responsive/victor-35250-roosevelt-label-480w.webp 480w, /media/blog/1912-election-roosevelt-wilson-taft-voices-restored/responsive/victor-35250-roosevelt-label-800w.webp 800w, /media/blog/1912-election-roosevelt-wilson-taft-voices-restored/victor-35250-roosevelt-label.webp 1200w",{"src":410,"alt":411,"widthPixels":412,"heightPixels":412,"srcset":413},"https://diffio.ai/blog/1912-election-roosevelt-wilson-taft-voices-restored/","1912 election speeches restored: Roosevelt, Wilson, Taft","Roosevelt, Wilson and Taft's 1912 campaign speeches on Victor records, from the Library of Congress National Jukebox, before and after restoration.",[419,420,421,422,397,398,423],"1912 presidential election","Theodore Roosevelt voice recording","Woodrow Wilson voice recording","William Howard Taft voice recording","Progressive Party 1912",5,1107,{"slug":427,"path":428,"title":429,"description":430,"publishedAt":431,"updatedAt":9,"author":10,"category":432,"tags":433,"featureImage":435,"ogImage":441,"canonical":445,"seoTitle":446,"seoDescription":447,"keywords":448,"readingTimeMinutes":376,"wordCount":456,"relatedNote":123},"save-a-loved-ones-voice-recording","/blog/save-a-loved-ones-voice-recording/","How to save a loved one's voice from a voicemail or old family video, and clean it up","A practical guide to saving a loved one's voice from a phone voicemail, a cassette or an old family video, keeping the original safe, and making the voice easier to hear.","2026-11-04T09:00:00Z","guides",[13,434],"Family history",{"src":436,"alt":437,"widthPixels":438,"heightPixels":439,"srcset":440},"/media/blog/save-a-loved-ones-voice-recording/lead-diagram.webp","Diagram of four steps: save the recording to a file, keep the original in two places, clean up a copy and compare it by ear, share the clean copy with family.",1440,810,"/media/blog/save-a-loved-ones-voice-recording/responsive/lead-diagram-480w.webp 480w, /media/blog/save-a-loved-ones-voice-recording/responsive/lead-diagram-800w.webp 800w, /media/blog/save-a-loved-ones-voice-recording/responsive/lead-diagram-1200w.webp 1200w, /media/blog/save-a-loved-ones-voice-recording/lead-diagram.webp 1440w",{"src":442,"alt":429,"widthPixels":412,"heightPixels":443,"srcset":444},"/media/blog/save-a-loved-ones-voice-recording/social-card.png",630,"/media/blog/save-a-loved-ones-voice-recording/responsive/social-card-480w.webp 480w, /media/blog/save-a-loved-ones-voice-recording/responsive/social-card-800w.webp 800w, /media/blog/save-a-loved-ones-voice-recording/social-card.png 1200w","https://diffio.ai/blog/save-a-loved-ones-voice-recording/","How to save a loved one's voice from a voicemail or video","How to save a loved one's voice from a voicemail, cassette or old family video, keep the original safe, and make the voice easier to hear.",[449,450,451,452,453,454,455],"save a voicemail","save voicemail from iPhone","export voicemail on Android","digitize cassette tapes","transfer VHS family videos","back up family recordings","clean up old voice recordings",1028,[],1794173866912]