Twenty Thousand Hertz

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

Design
Arts
Music Commentary
151
Sonic Wonderland: The world’s most incredible s...
Take your ears on a mini vacation as we celebrate the sonic wonders of the world.
18 min
152
Historically Speaking: How language & accent sh...
How we shape language to our needs, and how it shapes us in return.
26 min
153
Vroom Vroom: The symphony of high-performance e...
A song of fuel and fire - what’s happening inside your car engine?
26 min
154
Baby Shark: From summer camp song to viral earworm
The history and future of one of the biggest viral sensations ever.
36 min
155
Virtual Choir: 8,000 Voices, One Song
The story of the internet choir connecting people from around the world to share the joy of singing.
25 min
156
The Price is Right: The drama behind TV’s catch...
The story behind one of the most recognizable TV show themes ever.
18 min
157
The Loudness War: Can streaming finally end it?
We take a deep dive into the Loudness War, and look for signs of hope in the modern age.
32 min
158
The [COMPRESSED] history of music mastering
A look at the mystical art of mastering from its analog beginnings to the digital world of today.
27 min
159
You’ve Got Mail: The voice behind AOL
The most recognizable 3 words of the early internet age + the birth of a whole new musical instrument.
20 min
160
From Spinal Tap to The Simpsons: Voice acting w...
How to find your voice.
18 min
161
Hear Here: The messy history of architectural a...
The story of how acoustics changed our history, and how we might use it to better our world today.
19 min
162
What makes Stradivarius violins so special?
The story behind the most valuable violins in the world.
22 min
163
808: The drum machine that changed music forever
The story of the drum machine that (accidentally) changed music forever.
23 min
164
Soundmarks: AT&T, United Airlines, and inventiv...
How sonic branding shapes a brand.
26 min
165
Deaf Gain: The promise and controversy of cochl...
The story of how a revolutionary implant sparked a human rights movement.
22 min
166
Plants That Listen (and some that sing)
For plants and the people who love them.
20 min
167
Sonic Illusions: Can you really trust your ears?
Our hearing can be deceiving.
20 min
168
Mother of Dragons(sounds): Game of Thrones’ bit...
Hear from the sound designer who gave a voice to the dragons, direwolves, white walkers, and more in Game of Thrones.
19 min
169
Sound Escapes: Nature’s untouched soundtrack
Sound Tracker Gordon Hempton gives us a masterclass on how to listen.
28 min
170
The Voyager Golden Record: Humanity’s message t...
The most epic album of all time isn’t even on Earth. It’s over 11 billion miles away.
31 min
171
Bird Translation Guide: Decoding Tweets, Hoots,...
The story of how birdbrains produce the most complex sounds in the natural world.
24 min
172
Phone Tones: The hidden language of phone numbe...
The touch tone sounds from our phones might be slowly going extinct.
22 min
173
The Booj: The secret sound formula behind block...
The story of the sounds you always hear in movie trailers, but never noticed... until now.
22 min
174
Dining on Decibels: Why are restaurants so noisy?
The story behind how restaurants became so darn loud.
21 min
175
Do Not Disturb: The unseen impacts of alarms an...
The story of how alarms and alerts came to rule, and endanger, our lives.
24 min