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
Listener Stories 2025 (Bronze): Siren Calls & M...
The first collection of listener-produced stories from annual competition.
28 min
27
I interviewed 5 other Dallas Taylors and things...
An odyssey into the power of names.
41 min
28
Mix Notes: Dumb Farts, Alien Crickets & Junkyar...
Hollywood’s sound masters share their best sonic stories.
26 min
29
The Deaf Composer: How Beethoven wrote music he...
The fact and fiction around one of the greatest composers in history.
26 min
30
The Sonic Brand Makeover We Didn’t Know We Needed
How Switched on Pop changed their theme music after 400 episodes.
39 min
31
Inside Apple: Sonic Accessibility
How accessible design benefits everyone.
30 min
32
“In a World…” The epic evolution of movie trailers
The trends and tropes of movie marketing.
21 min
33
“The Autumn, She’s Been Hit!” The wish that cha...
The incredible story behind a single line of dialogue in Halo.
41 min
34
Solar Symphony: Listening to the Sun’s hidden “...
Hearing the universe through data sonification.
32 min
35
Speaker Terror Upper: When Bass Tapes shook the...
The rise and fall of the Boom Car phenomenon.
26 min
36
Radio Station Jingles: 80 Years of Earworms
How to keep radio listeners hooked.
32 min
37
Guess That Sound 2024: Sound Pro Smackdown
Three audio pros go head to head in our annual Mystery Sound game.
41 min
38
Dog Translation Guide: Decoding Barks, Howls, &...
How to decode your dog’s barks, growls, and wags.
37 min
39
Cat Translation Guide: Decoding Meows, Purrs, &...
How to decode your cat’s meows, chirrups, and chitters.
36 min
40
The Voices of Bluey w/ Uncle Stripe
The voices and real-life inspiration behind the hit series.
25 min
41
The Organic Sound of Bluey w/ Sound Designer Da...
The organic sound design of the hit series.
27 min
42
"Blah, blah, blah" and the Ungooglable Phrase
A linguistic deep dive into nonsensical phrases.
24 min
43
Lofi Girl: The story behind 📚 beats to relax/st...
How Lofi became the go-to genre for studying and relaxing.
28 min
44
How Doctors Listen: A sonic journey through the...
What sound can tell doctors about our health.
23 min
45
The Sound of Apple: Marimbas, Radars & Reflections
The design genius behind Apple’s ringtones, alarms, and more.
23 min
46
The Sound of Apple: Tritones, Chords & Origins
The design secrets behind Apple’s iconic sounds.
24 min
47
Listener Stories 2024: Auditory Hallucinations ...
A collection of six audience tales.
20 min
48
The dark history of nursery rhymes
Once you listen, you’ll never hear nursery rhymes the same way again.
41 min
49
Sounds of the Deep: Mysteries and threats benea...
The mysteries of aquatic sound, and the fight against underwater noise pollution.
22 min
50
Boom Bling: TikTok's sonic guerrilla marketing
The dog bark was a mistake.
20 min