Twenty Thousand Hertz

A lovingly crafted podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.

Design
Arts
Music Commentary
26
The Booj Strikes Back
How to turn your trailers up to 11.
24 min
27
1-900-20K-HRTZ
The rise and fall of 900 numbers.
34 min
28
Tokyo Rose
How a Japanese-American radio host became one of the most despised voices of World War II.
24 min
29
TikTalk
Meet the voices of TikTok.
28 min
30
Ted Lasso's Dark Forest
The winning sound design behind Ted Lasso.
30 min
31
Handbook for Sonic Happiness
Practical tips for making your world sound better so that you feel better.
42 min
32
Shock Horror (A)
Dun dun duuun!
27 min
33
Sleight of Ear
Dallas reveals the tricks of the trade.
24 min
34
Breathe
A story from Dallas’ former life.
32 min
35
Relearning Boléro
Can we really trust our ears?
38 min
36
Ghosts in the (Hit) Machine
Inside the secretive world of ghostwriting and ghost producing.
27 min
37
Windows_Logon.wav
The death and rebirth of the Windows startup sound.
31 min
38
Ta-da! It’s Windows
Start me up.
26 min
39
Liquid Terror
The sound that haunts Hollywood.
24 min
40
Mind the Gap
Stand clear of the closing doors, please.
32 min
41
Hidden Hitmakers
Who writes the hits for the pop stars?
30 min
42
Happy Little Episode
How a soft-spoken, poofy-haired painter changed the world, one gentle word at a time.
41 min
43
Pirate Radio
How a group of scrappy radio pirates changed the course of music history.
33 min
44
Being Dallas Taylor
What’s in a name?
40 min
45
Sul Sul
The secrets of Simlish, the gibberish language of The Sims.
25 min
46
Welcome to Twenty Thousand Hertz
Uncovering the secrets of the sonic world.
2 min
47
Aural Exam
The hosts of Underunderstood go head to head in our annual Mystery Sound game.
37 min
48
HBO 2.0
How HBO reconciled its analog past with its digital future.
25 min
49
It's Not TV. It's HBO.
How HBO crafted two of the most iconic pieces of sonic branding in history.
23 min
50
Zzzzzzzzzzzrr...
If you live with a snorer, it can be tricky to roll out of bed after a night of little sleep.
40 min