Twenty Thousand Hertz

The stories behind the world’s most iconic and fascinating sounds.

Design
Arts
Music Commentary
101
Domestic Symphony: Why your dryer has a theme song
What happens when dryers and dishwashers get the sound design treatment?
22 min
102
The mysterious “Windsor Hum” is finally solved!
Cracking the case of a sonic mystery.
13 min
103
The Buzzer: Are there secret spy messages on th...
Tuning in to spy radio.
31 min
104
Stay Tuned: The new voices of the Looney Tunes
The new voices of the Looney Tunes.
25 min
105
Inside the Foley Prop Room: Frozen, Jurassic Pa...
The secret tools of Foley Artists.
21 min
106
The Art of Foley: Bringing Slimer & Batman to life
The secrets behind the subtle art of Foley.
20 min
107
Leaky Pipeline: The fight that revolutionized c...
A story within a story about pioneering women in audio.
25 min
108
Auditory Icons: Credit card beeps to driverless...
Why are some device sounds pleasing, while others stress us out?
16 min
109
Progression Obsession: Pop music’s most used ch...
From Pachelbel's Canon, to the Ice Cream Changes, to the Four Chords, we examine the most-used chord changes in pop music.
25 min
110
SM7: The mic that shaped sound and culture
How the Shure SM7 became one of the most game-changing vocal microphones of all time.
22 min
111
The Sound of Minecraft: A melancholy masterpiec...
Crafting the music and sounds of Minecraft.
24 min
112
20th Century Fox Fanfare: A family legacy
The history and future of the 20th Century Fox fanfare.
24 min
113
Sonic Weapons: How “sound cannons” are used for...
What happens when you get hit with a “sound cannon?”
20 min
114
I'm Lovin’ It: How “Ba da ba ba ba” took over t...
Ba da ba ba ba.
23 min
115
The Physics of Sound w/ Bill Nye the Science Guy
Listen up! It’s time to go back to basics on the physics of sound.
22 min
116
Seeing Sounds, Tasting Names: The world of syne...
What’s it like to see sounds and taste names?
25 min
117
Sing Gently: Singing together, even when apart
How an internet choir connects singers around the world at a time when they can't sing together.
33 min
118
The Song Hunter: How Alan Lomax saved the sound...
Legendary music archivist Alan Lomax made it his life's work to preserve and promote the sounds of local culture.
24 min
119
From Klingon to Dothraki: How sci-fi languages ...
From Klingon to Elvish, what makes a good constructed language?
26 min
120
Space Audity: The challenges of space communica...
The mind-boggling technology behind space communication.
21 min
121
Sonic Utopia: Can we build a better sounding wo...
What can we expect the future to sound like, and how can we build a sonic utopia?
25 min
122
The Cyborg, The Scientist, and the Death of Sil...
The way we each experience sound depends on so many unique factors, from tiny receptors in our ears to the way we were taught to communicate.
48 min
123
Dies Irae: The death melody haunting Hollywood
How a four-note melody from the 13th century became a movie soundtrack superstar.
26 min
124
Perfect Pitch: Unlocking Jacob Collier’s musica...
What's it like when every sound you hear—from the whir of the coffee grinder to the beep of the microwave—all sound like musical notes?
27 min
125
Tyrannosaurus FX: What dinosaurs really sounded...
The sound design wizardry behind the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, and how these sounds compare to what dinos REALLY sounded like.
23 min