View a version with extended audio description: Audiobooks and the accessibility revolution | EAD

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Accessible Descriptive Transcript available for download:  Curb Cut Effect-Audiobooks Downloadable Descriptive Transcript (11.4 KB)

Audiobooks are a billion-dollar industry, a staple of modern entertainment. But what most people don’t realize is that their roots trace back to a community that desperately needed them—the blind.

We uncover how the desire for accessibility sparked a revolution in storytelling. Featuring Tony Stephens of the American Foundation for the Blind, Tamera Rorie from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, and Diana Dapito of Audible, the film takes audiences on a journey through history, technology, and the power of the spoken word.

From Thomas Edison’s first recorded books to a groundbreaking government initiative in the 1930s, the film reveals how advocacy and innovation brought audiobooks into the mainstream. A newly unearthed 1930s time capsule offers a rare glimpse into the early days of recorded storytelling, while today’s industry leaders reflect on how audiobooks have evolved from a necessity to a global phenomenon.