The theme song to Reading Rainbow has been delighting kids (and nostalgic grown-ups) for over 40 years. But how did this instantly iconic track come to be? In this episode, composer Steve Horelick ...
Every New Year’s at midnight, we raise our voices to sing a song that few of us understand: “Auld Lang Syne.” So when and why did this become the anthem of the holiday? In this episode, our friends...
For our sixth annual Mystery Sound game show, we’ve invited three guests from our video series to test their sonic knowledge on 18 sounds, including production logos, video game FX, bird calls, str...
Behind Fallout’s apocalyptic sci-fi and retro nostalgia is a masterclass in sound design. In this episode, we explore how the audio teams behind both the video games and the TV series built Fallout...
In movie musicals, the vocals are almost never recorded live on-set. Instead, the actors pre-record their songs, then lip sync to those recordings while filming. But on Wicked, they threw out the r...
In the ‘60s and ‘70s, world-class musicians gathered in smoky studios to record tracks that you couldn’t buy in a store… but ended up everywhere. In this episode, Dallas and the TTH crew dive into ...
Sound is a crucial part of what makes Disney parks feel magical… and it all starts inside the closely-guarded rooms of Walt Disney Imagineering. In this episode, Imagineers John Dennis and Greg Lho...
Behind Saturday Night Live, there’s a small army of audio professionals making the whole thing sound effortless. In this episode, Dallas goes behind the scenes at Studio 8H to meet Robert Palladino...
When a quiz show host asked a simple question about nursery rhymes, it seemed like harmless fun. But that moment triggered a lawsuit that would threaten to bring down one of Australia’s most iconic...
We’re proud to present the winning entries from our Listener Stories competition: five listener-made shorts that rose to the very top. From clever tinnitus tonics to melodic subway signals, from mi...
It’s one of the quirkiest, most iconic sonic logos ever: a four-note vocal flourish that defined the early internet. In this episode, we follow the Yahoo Yodel on its unlikely journey from the snow...
From the springy jump sound to the iconic Overworld Theme, the sound of Super Mario Bros. is instantly recognizable. With just five lo-fi audio channels and 40 kilobytes of space, composer Koji Kon...
Presenting the second collection from our Listener Stories competition, featuring five short pieces written and produced entirely by our audience. From the sonic evolution of pinball to reused clas...
When Vulfpeck played a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden, the performance looked effortless. But behind the scenes, their Front of House Engineer and Tour Manager Jake Hartsfield was juggling ...
It’s the most recognizable TV theme in America. But Jeopardy’s “Think Music” wasn’t originally written for a game show… It was written for a toddler. In this episode, we trace the unlikely journey ...
Twenty Thousand Hertz is proud to present the first collection from our Listener Stories competition, featuring six bite-sized pieces written and produced entirely by our audience. From the dawn of...
Your name isn’t just a label. It’s a signal to everyone who meets you, filled with meaning that you may not fully understand. In this story, Dallas revisits one of the most surreal experiences of h...
Behind every incredible sound in a movie or TV show is a creative person with a unique story. In this episode, Dallas heads to the legendary Sony Pictures lot during Mix Magazine’s “Sound for Film ...
What happens when one of history’s greatest composers begins to lose the very sense he relies on most? In this episode, we explore how Ludwig van Beethoven continued to create groundbreaking music ...
After 10 years and 400 episodes, our friends at Switched on Pop decided it was finally time to revamp their outdated theme song. In this episode, they take us inside the chaotic, hilarious, and sur...
