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Twenty Thousand Hertz

A lovingly crafted podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interes

Episodes

Total: 208

Ta-da! It’s Windows

2022/4/27

Over the years, Microsoft has made at least ten iconic startup sounds for Windows—from the triumphan

Liquid Terror

2022/4/13

For nearly half a century, one eerie sound has been showing up again and again in movies and TV show

Mind the Gap

2022/3/30

The voices of subway and train announcements are deeply ingrained in peoples’ lives. Many of us hear

Hidden Hitmakers

2022/3/16

The names of pop and rock stars are known by millions of people around the world, but the people who

Happy Little Episode

2022/3/2

In the forty years since The Joy of Painting first started airing, Bob Ross has become a cultural ic

Pirate Radio

2022/2/16

In the 1960s, the BBC had a vise grip on British radio, and rarely played the pop and rock music tha

Being Dallas Taylor

2022/2/2

Your name is so much more than the sound that people call you by. It’s an entire human identity, dis

Sul Sul

2022/1/19

When The Sims was first being developed, the creators faced a problem. They knew they wanted these c

Aural Exam

2021/12/15

For our second annual Mystery Sound competition, we’ve rounded up the 20 best sounds from the past y

HBO 2.0

2021/12/1

In part 2 of our series on HBO, we explore the tough questions that the company faced in the digital

It's Not TV. It's HBO.

2021/11/17

In the 1980s, every movie that aired on HBO began with a truly epic theme song—a sweeping orchestral

Zzzzzzzzzzzrr...

2021/11/10

If you’re a human being, chances are, you know someone who is a big time snorer. You're falling asle

Creature Speakers

2021/10/27

To give voices to the frightening monsters in movies, TV shows, and video games, sound designers oft

Video(less) Games

2021/10/13

In the past, video games were largely inaccessible to people with visual impairments. But these days

Blind Sports

2021/9/29

Playing a sport without sight might sound impossible. But it turns out, there are blind athletes all

Listening to the Movies

2021/9/15

When Matthew Shifrin was growing up, his blindness meant that trying to enjoy a movie or TV show was

Sonic Bubbles

2021/9/1

For over a century, humans have been using technology to shape our sonic environment. White noise ma

Domestic Symphony

2021/8/18

Not long ago, our home appliances made nothing but abrasive beeps and harsh buzzes. In recent years

The Windsor Hum

2021/8/4

In 2011, residents of Windsor, Ontario started experiencing a strange rumbling hum that rattled dish

The Buzzer

2021/7/21

Since World War I, countries around the world have been broadcasting mysterious numerical messages v