Twenty Thousand Hertz+

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

Design
Arts
Music Commentary
151
The Loudness Wars
We take a deep dive into the Loudness War, and look for signs of hope in the modern age.
32 min
152
The [COMPRESSED] History of Mastering
A look at the mystical art of mastering from its analog beginnings to the digital world of today.
27 min
153
You've Got Mail!
The most recognizable 3 words of the early internet age + the birth of a whole new musical instrument.
20 min
154
Speak Easy
How to find your voice.
18 min
155
Hear Here!
The story of how acoustics changed our history, and how we might use it to better our world today.
19 min
156
Stradivarius
The story behind the most valuable violins in the world.
22 min
157
808
The story of the drum machine that (accidentally) changed music forever.
23 min
158
Soundmarks®
How sonic branding shapes a brand.
26 min
159
Deaf Gain
The story of how a revolutionary implant sparked a human rights movement.
22 min
160
Plants that Sing
For plants and the people who love them.
20 min
161
Sonic Illusions
Our hearing can be deceiving.
20 min
162
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
163
Sound Escapes
Sound Tracker Gordon Hempton gives us a masterclass on how to listen.
28 min
164
Voyager Golden Record
The most epic album of all time isn’t even on Earth. It’s over 11 billion miles away.
31 min
165
Birdsong
The story of how birdbrains produce the most complex sounds in the natural world.
24 min
166
Phone Tones
The touch tone sounds from our phones might be slowly going extinct.
22 min
167
The Booj
The story of the sounds you always hear in movie trailers, but never noticed... until now.
22 min
168
Dining on Decibels
The story behind how restaurants became so darn loud.
21 min
169
Do Not Disturb
The story of how alarms and alerts came to rule, and endanger, our lives.
24 min
170
Blue! 42!
How headsets revolutionized American football.
23 min
171
Silence
Dallas is locked into an anechoic chamber to experience how our brains process complete silence.
21 min
172
Space Remix
A completely remixed version of our favorite episode, where we explore what other plants sound like.
19 min
173
Boots 'n Cats
The evolution & science of beatboxing.
21 min
174
Being George Clooney
Explore how Hollywood films are adapted for foreign languages.
30 min
175
Xbox Startup Sound
How the designers of the Xbox startup sounds overcame tight parameters to come up with an iconic audio logo.
21 min