Twenty Thousand Hertz

The stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.

Whether you're a professional audio engineer with decades of experience, a fourth grader who loves sound and music, or anyone in between, Twenty Thousand Hertz will help unlock your sonic world… from the sound design secrets of hit movies, to the sonic craft of jingles and device sounds, to the forgotten backstories of classic theme songs, to linguistic mysteries, psychoacoustics, video game music, animal communication, and beyond. With moving human stories, immersive sound design, and the guiding voice of host Dallas Taylor, Twenty Thousand Hertz has grown into the world’s leading podcast about sound.


New to the show? Start here:

• I'm Lovin' It: How “Ba da ba ba ba” took over the world

• The Art of Foley: Bringing Slimer & Batman to life

• Tudum! The story behind the iconic Netflix sound

• The Legend of Zelda: A Beep to the Past

• Inside Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Studios

• A sonic journey through the Solar System

• Mind the Gap: NYC & London’s iconic transit voices

Design
Arts
Music Commentary
26
Inside Apple: Sonic Accessibility
How accessible design benefits everyone.
30 min
27
“In a World…” The epic evolution of movie trailers
The trends and tropes of movie marketing.
21 min
28
“The Autumn, She’s Been Hit!” The wish that cha...
The incredible story behind a single line of dialogue in Halo.
41 min
29
Solar Symphony: Listening to the Sun’s hidden “...
Hearing the universe through data sonification.
32 min
30
Speaker Terror Upper: When Bass Tapes shook the...
The rise and fall of the Boom Car phenomenon.
26 min
31
Radio Station Jingles: 80 Years of Earworms
How to keep radio listeners hooked.
32 min
32
Guess That Sound 2024: Sound Pro Smackdown
Three audio pros go head to head in our annual Mystery Sound game.
41 min
33
Dog Translation Guide: Decoding Barks, Howls, &...
How to decode your dog’s barks, growls, and wags.
37 min
34
Cat Translation Guide: Decoding Meows, Purrs, &...
How to decode your cat’s meows, chirrups, and chitters.
36 min
35
The Voices of Bluey w/ Uncle Stripe
The voices and real-life inspiration behind the hit series.
25 min
36
The Organic Sound of Bluey w/ Sound Designer Da...
The organic sound design of the hit series.
27 min
37
"Blah, blah, blah" and the Ungooglable Phrase
A linguistic deep dive into nonsensical phrases.
24 min
38
Lofi Girl: The story behind 📚 beats to relax/st...
How Lofi became the go-to genre for studying and relaxing.
28 min
39
How Doctors Listen: A sonic journey through the...
What sound can tell doctors about our health.
23 min
40
The Sound of Apple: Marimbas, Radars & Reflections
The design genius behind Apple’s ringtones, alarms, and more.
23 min
41
The Sound of Apple: Tritones, Chords & Origins
The design secrets behind Apple’s iconic sounds.
24 min
42
Listener Stories 2024: Auditory Hallucinations ...
A collection of six audience tales.
20 min
43
The dark history of nursery rhymes
Once you listen, you’ll never hear nursery rhymes the same way again.
41 min
44
Sounds of the Deep: Mysteries and threats benea...
The mysteries of aquatic sound, and the fight against underwater noise pollution.
22 min
45
Boom Bling: TikTok's sonic guerrilla marketing
The dog bark was a mistake.
20 min
46
Mixing Seth Meyers: Behind the sound of late ni...
Mixing Seth Meyers
24 min
47
Untranslatable Words: Guess That Meaning!
Je ne say what?
26 min
48
Inside Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Studios
Bringing an alien world to life through sound.
44 min
49
Hidden Sounds of America: NYC Hum & Underground...
You’ve gotta hear it to believe it.
25 min
50
All About That Bass: How pop became obsessed wi...
It’s time to bass the music.
24 min