Twenty Thousand Hertz
The stories behind the world’s most iconic and fascinating sounds.
151
What makes Stradivarius violins so special?
The story behind the most valuable violins in the world.
22 min
152
808: The drum machine that changed music forever
The story of the drum machine that (accidentally) changed music forever.
23 min
153
Soundmarks: AT&T, United Airlines, and inventiv...
How sonic branding shapes a brand.
26 min
154
Deaf Gain: The promise and controversy of cochl...
The story of how a revolutionary implant sparked a human rights movement.
22 min
155
Plants That Listen (and some that sing)
For plants and the people who love them.
20 min
156
Sonic Illusions: Can you really trust your ears?
Our hearing can be deceiving.
20 min
157
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
158
Sound Escapes: Nature’s untouched soundtrack
Sound Tracker Gordon Hempton gives us a masterclass on how to listen.
28 min
159
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
160
Bird Translation Guide: Decoding Tweets, Hoots,...
The story of how birdbrains produce the most complex sounds in the natural world.
24 min
161
Phone Tones: The hidden language of phone numbe...
The touch tone sounds from our phones might be slowly going extinct.
22 min
162
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
163
Dining on Decibels: Why are restaurants so noisy?
The story behind how restaurants became so darn loud.
21 min
164
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
165
Blue! 42! How helmet radio changed the NFL
How headsets revolutionized American football.
23 min
166
Silence: Dispatches from the quietest place on ...
Dallas is locked into an anechoic chamber to experience how our brains process complete silence.
21 min
167
A sonic journey through the Solar System
A completely remixed version of our favorite episode, where we explore what other plants sound like.
19 min
168
Boots ’n Cats: The scientific secrets of beatbo...
The evolution & science of beatboxing.
21 min
169
Being George Clooney: Dubbing Hollywood celebri...
Explore how Hollywood films are adapted for foreign languages.
30 min
170
The Xbox Startup Sound: Crafting a console classic
How the designers of the Xbox startup sounds overcame tight parameters to come up with an iconic audio logo.
21 min
171
Theater for the Mind: The Golden Age of radio d...
The stories behind the golden age of sci-fi and horror radio dramas.
29 min
172
Theremin: The instrument that defined classic s...
The story behind this infamous, spooky-sounding instrument.
25 min
173
Cartoon Sound Effects: From Steamboat Willie to...
How were old cartoon sounds made, and how did they become so iconic?
27 min
174
Behind the Mic: The making of Twenty Thousand H...
A behind the scenes look at the inspiration and creation of Twenty Thousand Hertz.
31 min
175
Jingles: How they hooked us and why they vanished
What is the story behind these unforgettable earworms?
28 min