Twenty Thousand Hertz+

The stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds.

Hosted by Sound Designer Dallas Taylor, Twenty Thousand Hertz unlocks the stories, secrets and science behind what you hear.

Whether you’re a professional audio engineer with decades of experience, a fourth grader who loves sound and music, or anyone in between, you’ll find something to love: the sound design secrets of hit movies, the forgotten backstories of classic theme songs, the sonic craft of jingles and device sounds, linguistic mysteries, psychoacoustics, video game music, animal communication, and beyond. With moving human stories, immersive sound design, and non-stop ear candy, 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
151
Deepfake Dallas: How AI learned to speak like me
Is your voice your own? Maybe not anymore.
22 min
152
The Weight of Noise: One writer’s struggle in ...
The link between chronic noise and chronic anxiety may be closer than we realize.
23 min
153
Tudum! The story behind the iconic Netflix sound
The never-before-told story behind the iconic Netflix sound.
21 min
154
Guess That Sound 2020: My Brother, My Brother & Me
The McElroy brothers, hosts of My Brother, My Brother and Me, compete in a heated and hilarious game of mystery sounds.
41 min
155
Hamilton’s Sonic Secrets: Behind the Broadway p...
How the sound design of Hamilton draws the audience into the story.
28 min
156
Stop, Collaborate and Listen: Can you copyrigh...
Theft or inspiration? Part two of a deep dive into the complicated world of copyright, sampling and the ability to own a song.
23 min
157
Copyrights & Wrongs: Musical Inspiration vs. P...
Theft or inspiration? Part one of a deep dive into the complicated world of Copyright.
24 min
158
Makin’ Whoopee: The hilarious history & scienc...
The history and science behind our favorite fart sound-maker, the whoopee cushion.
26 min
159
Pew Pew! The making of Star Wars’ iconic sounds
The story behind the sound design of Star Wars: How legendary Sound Designer Ben Burtt helped transport audiences to a galaxy far, far away.
29 min
160
That’s All Folks! Mel Blanc’s curtain call
The story of Mel Blanc, Part 2. The accident, recovery, and passing of the torch.
20 min
161
What’s Up, Doc? Mel Blanc and the magic of Loon...
The early life and career of Mel Blanc.
24 min
162
Twenty Parts Per Thousand: Designing with smell
The stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting smells.
21 min
163
Cremona: Saving the world’s most prized violin ...
The story of a town that stayed quiet to preserve an instrument they love.
23 min
164
Satanic Panic: Backwards messages and '80s hyst...
Warning: Listening to this episode might entice you to worship the devil.
28 min
165
Noise “R” Us: The evolution of noisy toys
A nostalgic history of toy sounds.
25 min
166
Good Vibes: Unlocking music’s hidden power ove...
We know music can affect our moods, but its influence over us goes even deeper, and has the power to heal, harm, and manipulate us.
25 min
167
4’33”: John Cage’s revolutionary “silent” musi...
The story behind one of the most controversial, and influential, pieces of music of the 20th Century.
31 min
168
The Seinfeld theme song w/ Composer Jonathan Wolff
A theme song about nothing: how it was created, what makes it so unique, and how it became one of the most iconic theme songs in TV history.
26 min
169
Sonic Wonderland: The world’s most incredible ...
Take your ears on a mini vacation as we celebrate the sonic wonders of the world.
18 min
170
Historically Speaking: How language & accent s...
How we shape language to our needs, and how it shapes us in return.
26 min
171
Vroom Vroom: The symphony of high-performance e...
A song of fuel and fire - what’s happening inside your car engine?
26 min
172
Baby Shark: From summer camp song to viral ear...
The history and future of one of the biggest viral sensations ever.
36 min
173
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
174
The Price is Right: The drama behind TV’s catc...
The story behind one of the most recognizable TV show themes ever.
18 min
175
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