Twenty Thousand Hertz

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

Music
Society & Culture
Arts
126
Mother of Dragons(ounds)
Hear from the sound designer who gave a voice to the dragons, direwolves, white walkers, and more in Game of Thrones.
19 min
127
Sound Escapes
Sound Tracker Gordon Hempton gives us a masterclass on how to listen.
28 min
128
Voyager Golden Record
The most epic album of all time isn’t even on Earth. It’s over 11 billion miles away.
31 min
129
Birdsong
The story of how birdbrains produce the most complex sounds in the natural world.
24 min
130
Phone Tones
The touch tone sounds from our phones might be slowly going extinct.
22 min
131
The Booj
The story of the sounds you always hear in movie trailers, but never noticed... until now.
22 min
132
Dining on Decibels
The story behind how restaurants became so darn loud.
21 min
133
Do Not Disturb
The story of how alarms and alerts came to rule, and endanger, our lives.
24 min
134
Blue! 42!
How headsets revolutionized American football.
23 min
135
Silence
Dallas is locked into an anechoic chamber to experience how our brains process complete silence.
21 min
136
Space Remix
A completely remixed version of our favorite episode, where we explore what other plants sound like.
19 min
137
Boots 'n Cats
The evolution & science of beatboxing.
21 min
138
Being George Clooney
Explore how Hollywood films are adapted for foreign languages.
30 min
139
Xbox Startup Sound
How the designers of the Xbox startup sounds overcame tight parameters to come up with an iconic audio logo.
21 min
140
Theater for the Mind
The stories behind the golden age of sci-fi and horror radio dramas.
29 min
141
The Theremin
The story behind this infamous, spooky-sounding instrument.
25 min
142
Classic Cartoon Sound Effects!
How were old cartoon sounds made, and how did they become so iconic?
27 min
143
Twenty Thousand Hertz
A behind the scenes look at the inspiration and creation of Twenty Thousand Hertz.
31 min
144
Jingles
What is the story behind these unforgettable earworms?
28 min
145
Sonic Branding
The story behind audio logos and what makes them so powerful.
24 min
146
Loop Groups
We go behind the scene with the actors responsible for bringing your TV and film backgrounds to life.
25 min
147
Slot Machines
The sound design and science behind today's slot machines.
16 min
148
Misophonia
The hatred of sound.
16 min
149
THX Deep Note, Part 2
What happened after THX lost its iconic "Deep Note"?
25 min
150
THX Deep Note, Part 1
What was the point of the THX "deep note" and why do we love it so much?
23 min