100 Objects #22: AOL Disc

In 1998, the recording industry was thriving. But the company pressing more compact discs than anyone else in America wasn't a record label…it was an internet company: America Online. The AOL Disc was a marketing coup—hugely successful. It’s not an overstatement to say that it’s the campaign that introduced America to the internet. Because of how well it worked, for a while the internet was AOL. And then… it felt like AOL just disappeared. So what happened? Alex Goldman (Reply All, Hyperfixed (https://www.hyperfixedpod.com/) ) finds out. A History of the United States in 100 Objects (https://99pi.org/100) is a production of 99% Invisible (https://99percentinvisible.org) and BBC Studios (https://www.bbcstudios.com/) . Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus (http://siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.) .