Twenty Thousand Hertz

Over his long career, Gordon Hempton has mastered the art of truly listening. He’s known as the Sound Tracker. Some people call him an acoustic ecologist. His recordings and books have made him an international expert on the beauty and importance of undisturbed, natural soundscapes — and the ways human beings have changed them. Now, Gordon Hempton is losing his hearing. But with that loss has come an intense urgency to share his life’s work — and his passion — with as many people as are willing to listen.   Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound, and hosted by Dallas Taylor.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate.  If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org.  Check out the whole Sound Escapes series at BirdNote.org/SoundEscapes, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Check out Gordon’s work and buy recordings on

In the late '70s, NASA launched Voyagers 1 & 2 to explore the furthest reaches of our solar system and beyond. But something amazing was included on those space probes... a 90-minute time capsule of sounds, language, and music from Earth called The Golden Record. Its intended recipient? Any intelligent extraterrestrial life that might stumble upon it. What did Carl Sagan and his team put on the record to represent all of humanity? How would aliens decode it? For the first time ever, the album will be deconstructed track-by-track. Featuring Tim Ferris and Linda Salzman Sagan, two pioneers behind the record. Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound, and hosted by Dallas Taylor. Follow the show on Twitter & Facebook.  Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org. Get your copy of the Voyager Golden Record at ozmarecords.com. Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episod

When was the last time you stopped and really listened to birdsong? Ever wonder what they’re singing about? We chat to Kenn Kaufman and Dr. Irene Pepperberg about the extraordinary complexity to the avian arias, how they’re produced, what they mean, and how vocal acrobatics can reveal a surprising hidden intelligence.  Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound, and hosted by Dallas Taylor.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate.  If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org.  Check out The Growth Show wherever you get your podcasts.  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/birdsong  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We unpack how touch tone dialing changed communication forever. Join us on a deep, quirky dive into telephone history. We’ll also deconstruct these sounds and reveal their hidden brilliance. Featuring author Annabel Dodd and telephone aficionado Jim Hebbeln of the Telecommunications History Group.  20K is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound and hosted by Dallas Taylor.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate.  If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org.  Check out Pessimists Archive wherever you get your podcasts.  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/phonetones  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Movie trailers have undergone a huge evolution. They’ve gone from those cheesy voice-of-God narrators in the ‘80s and ‘90s, to boojes and bwaas. Professor James Deaville delivers the history of trailers, and Youtuber Craven Moorhaus offers a hilarious takedown of the sounds and dialogue that are common in the modern trailer style. After you hear this episode, you’ll never be able to watch a blockbuster trailer the same way again.  Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound and hosted by Dallas Taylor.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate.  If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org.  Check out more videos from the Auralnauts at youtube.com/Auralnauts.  Check out Song Exploder wherever you get your podcasts.  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/thebooj  Learn mo

Have you noticed how loud it gets in restaurants these days? Have you found yourselves shouting just to keep a conversation going? Architecture critic Kate Wagner explains how changing design trends have led to dining experiences that aren’t just antisocial, but are negatively impacting our health as well.   Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced at the studios of Defacto Sound and hosted by Dallas Taylor.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate.  If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org.  Contribute your local restaurant noise to the SoundPrint app at soundprint.co   Check out Hi-Phi Nation at hiphination.org or wherever you get your podcasts.  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/diningondecibels  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alarm sounds have been around almost as long as humans themselves. But as our world has transformed, so have they. Today’s alarms are having an unexpected effect on our minds and bodies, and can even be putting our lives at risk when we’re at our most vulnerable. Dr Judy Edworthy and Yoko Sen talk to us about our alarming sound environment, and how it can be improved.   20K is hosted by Dallas Taylor and made out of the studios of Defacto Sound.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate.  Visit mystery.20k.org to enter this week's mystery sound.  You can find HowSound at transom.org/topics/howsound or wherever you listen to podcasts.   Check out Moonshot at moonshot.audio or wherever you listen to podcasts.  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/donotdisturb  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, NFL strategy slowly evolved from each team running a dozen different plays, to rigid schemes with coaches sending in orders through codewords and secret signals. Then, one piece of audio technology revolutionized the game. Beginning in the early 1990's, the NFL allowed coaches to speak directly to their quarterbacks through radios in their helmets. What followed was an instant increase in excitement for the nation's most popular sport, spawning a high-scoring era of fast paced offenses. Featuring former Super Bowl winning coach, Dick Vermeil, current LA Rams Head Coach Sean McVay, Bose Senior Project Manager Matt Ruwe, and Bose Distinguished Engineer Dan Gauger. Twenty Thousand Hertz is hosted by Dallas Taylor and produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound. Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate. Visit mystery.20k.org to enter this weeks mystery sound. Sub

Our world is filled with sound. It exists in even the quietest corners of the planet. But what happens when all that sound is taken away? What is silence? There are very few places on Earth where silence actually exists, but in this episode, Dallas experiences it for himself thanks to a special room called an anechoic chamber. How do our brains process the complete nothingness of silence? Find out as Dallas locks himself alone inside the chamber. Featuring David Alvord and Nick Breen from the Georgia Tech Research Institute.  20k is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound and hosted by Dallas Taylor.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate.  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/silence  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when we leave Earth's thin blanket of atmosphere, and what do other planets sound like? In this special episode, we have completely remixed one of our favorite shows! It's been re-written, re-edited, re-narrated, has new music, and even some new additional content. If you've heard the original, you'll definitely want to check out this remixed and remastered version. Featuring Dr. Lori Glaze, Dr. Keith Noll, Dr. Scott Guzewich from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.  20K is hosted by Dallas Taylor and made out of the studios of Defacto Sound.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Sign up for Musicbed Membership music.20k.org.  Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate.  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/spaceremix Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beatboxing began as an imitation of a drum machine, but over the decades it has evolved as a means to emulate any number of percussive sounds. Now beatboxing is being studied by scientists who are fascinated by the vocal dexterity of artists. By examining beatboxing scientists are hoping to unlock mysteries behind language formation, brain function, and the capacity of humans to recreate sound. Featuring Hip Hop Artist and Beat Boxer, Baba Israel and USC Engineering Professor, Shri Narayanan.  Twenty Thousand Hertz is hosted by Dallas Taylor and produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound.  Check out Shri Narayanan and his SPAN team’s MRI videos of beatboxers at sail.usc.edu/span/beatboxingproject  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Set up a monthly, recurring donation at 20k.org/donate.  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/bootsncats  Learn more about your ad c

Hollywood films are huge internationally. But how are these films adapted for foreign languages? We delve into the not so talked about process of dubbing. Featuring the world's most popular voice actors, directors, and producers.  Featuring: Andre Sogliuzzo, John Ptak, Shaktee Singh, Debra Chinn, Martin Umbach, Tamer Karadagli, Francesco Pannofino, Detlef Bierstedt, Marco Antonio Costa, Paul Dergarabedian, Rajesh Khattar, Christian Brückner, Emanuela Rossi, Chiara Barzini, Irene Ranzato, Claudia Urbschat-Mingues, Alexandre Gillet, Ezra Weisz, Vanessa Beltran, Samuel Labarthe, Ashwin Mushran, Chuck Mitchell, Christoph Bregler, Gabrielle Pietermann, Luise Helm, Claudia Gvirtzman Dichter, Guilherme Briggs, Samuel Labarthe, Hester Wilcox, Malavika Shivpuri, Viraj Adhav, Mona Shetty, Sheila Dorfman.   20K is hosted by Dallas Taylor and made out of the studios of Defacto Sound.  A huge thanks to Director Paul Mariano for allowing us to create this adaptation of documentary!  Thanks to APM Music for all of the music

The Xbox startup sound is an audio logo that’s become synonymous with the game console. But its origins are rooted in solving a logistical problem; how to entertain gamers while they wait for their machines to finish booting up. Featuring Sound Designer and Composer Brian Schmidt and Sound Designer, Composer and Berklee Professor, Michael Sweet.  Twenty Thousand Hertz is hosted by Dallas Taylor and produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate.  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/xboxstartupsound  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The "golden age of radio drama" may have been a stellar period for storytelling -- but the stories weren't all golden bright. Sci-fi and horror radio dramas explored deep anxieties people felt from the Depression through the Cold War, and set the stage for later stories that couldn't be told yet without special effects. Eric Molinsky of the podcast Imaginary Worlds co-hosts this episode as we hear from historians like Neil Verma and Richard J. Hand, and radio drama veterans like Dirk Maggs and Richard Toscan. Plus Emory Braswell recalls the day he thought Martians invaded New Jersey.   20K is made out of the studios of Defacto Sound and hosted by Dallas Taylor.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/theaterforthemind Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've ever watched an old sci-fi or horror film, you've probably heard the hair-tingling, alien sounds of the Theremin. It's a spooky, strange instrument that's played without being touched, and has become a staple for classic horror movies. This is the story of the Theremin's mysterious journey. Featuring Thereminist Rob Schwimmer, Michelle Moog-Koussa, daughter of Bob Moog and Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation, and Albert Glinsky, courtesy of Moog Music.  20K is made out of the studios of Defacto Sound and hosted by Dallas Taylor.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Help us make 20k - become a sustaining, recurring contributor.   Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/leontheremin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cartoon sound effects are some of the most iconic sounds ever made. Even modern cartoons continue to use the same sound effects from decades ago. How were these legendary sounds made and how have they stood the test of time? Featuring Oscar-winning sound designer Mark Mangini of the Formosa Group, and Advantage Audio’s Heather Olsen.  20K is made out of the studios of Defacto Sound and hosted by Dallas Taylor.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Help us make 20k - become a sustaining, recurring contributor.   Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/cartoon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

50 episodes! When we launched this podcast two years ago, we never imagined our passion project would come this far. To mark the occasion, we’re taking a peek behind the scenes of the show. Join the Defacto Sound team as they take you into the inspiration, creation, and people behind Twenty Thousand Hertz.   Check out Defacto Sound, the studios that produced Twenty Thousand Hertz, hosted by Dallas Taylor.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. If you're looking for another great podcast, check out Moonshot.  Consider supporting the show at donate.20k.org.  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/50th Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Odds are if we asked you sing your favorite advertising jingle from when you were a kid, you’d be able to recall every single lyric. Yet we don’t hear many advertising jingles these days. Why is that? This is the story of the rise, fall, and brain science of the jingle. In this episode we talk to UCLA’s Timothy D. Taylor, author of The Sounds of Capitalism, and Durham University’s Kelly Jakubowski.  20K is hosted by Dallas Taylor and made out of the studios of Defacto Sound.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Consider supporting the show at donate.20k.org  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/jingles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are constantly exposed to sonic branding in television, radio, and web commercials. We deconstruct some of the most impactful audio logos in history and explain how the brain interprets them. Featuring Scott Simonelli, CEO of Veritonic and Walter Werzowa, founder of Musikvergnuegen.   Twenty Thousand Hertz is hosted by Dallas Taylor and produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound.  Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Consider supporting the show at donate.20k.org  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/sonicbranding Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Invisible actors create worlds of sound in everything you watch - from Jaws to The Wire. With special guests, Carl Gottlieb, screenwriter and author of "The Jaws Log"; Dann Fink, loop group director and co-owner of Loopers Unlimited; Stuart Stanley, Sound Supervisor; loop group members Eboni Booth, Dennis Carnegie, Axel Avin, Jr., Shannon Burkett, Daphne Gaines, and Rashad Edwards; and Will Ralston, supervising sound editor for The Wire, The Deuce, and Treme.  20K is made out of the studios of Defacto Sound and hosted by Dallas Taylor.  This episode was a feature of the incredible podcast Every Little Thing. Go subscribe!   Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Consider supporting the show at donate.20k.org  Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/loopgroups Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices