Transported

The Everyday Magic of Musical Daydreams

By: Elizabeth Margulis

Narrated by: Holly Adams

A revelatory work—grounded in the author's own pathbreaking research—that explores the capacity for meaning-making and connection through "musical daydreams."

We've all had the experience: a song comes on, and suddenly we're not where we were. We're back in the past, or living out a future that never happened, or imagining a scene that never existed. In Transported, Elizabeth Margulis explores the phenomenon of musical daydreams—the vivid, spontaneous, emotionally redolent scenes, stories, and memories we lapse into while listening to music—and argues that these everyday reveries offer a powerful and underappreciated window into how we think and feel. Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience, psychology, ethnography, and revelations from her own teaching and research, Margulis debunks oversimplified myths and illuminates music's true potential to alleviate anxiety, reignite creativity, and foster connection.

At a time when distraction dominates, Transported makes a powerful case for music as one of the last realms where the mind is still free to wander.

©2026 Elizabeth Margulis

Genuinely transporting — a must-listen!

I often find myself thinking differently about how I think, and hear music, since listening to this book. I'd never realized what was unfolding in my mind as I let myself drift to music—and I think that's the point. By letting myself pay attention to my inattention, I've come to learn that the images, scenes, and sensations conjured by music are visceral, and it's genuinely shocking to be told how broadly they're shared. Beyond this revelation, this book illuminates so many surprising facts and scientific research that redefine our everyday experience of music that I am still processing many of them today. This is genuinely one of those books you simply must experience, and you may never think about how you listen the same way again.

Boring

Totally uninteresting and absolutely not what I expected. Too much focus on the music itself and not the lyrics.