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The Deterrent Tone

The Long-Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, was developed for the military for long-range communication at sea. But this ear-splitting device has also been fired on protesters across America, resulting i

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I'm Lovin' It

Since its introduction in 2003, the McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle has become one of the most recognizable melodies in the world. This is the story of how a catchy five-note jingle conquered the pl

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Sound 101 with Bill Nye

Whatissound, on a fundamental level? How did animals evolve to hear? And what happens when you go faster than sound itself? In this episode, we explore the physics of sound with the legendaryBill Nye.

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Synesthesia

Synesthesia is a neurological condition where one sensory experience gets combined with another, meaning someone might hear sounds when they eat, or see colors when they listen to music. So what exact

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Sing Gently

After composer Eric Whitacre finished Virtual Choir number 5 in 2018, he thought the project might be done for good. But 2020 was just around the corner, and the Virtual Choir was far from over. For o

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Sounds Worth Saving

Alan Lomax believed that the culture of poor Americans was important and worthy of saving. So he spent decades traveling the American South and recording obscure musicians on their front porches, in c

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Conlang

Sci-fi and fantasy creators often use constructed languages (or conlangs) to help us believe that the characters come from ancient times or distant galaxies. But what happens when a fictional language

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Space Audity

We've all heard the iconic recordings from the Apollo missions. But how exactly does NASA manage to run live audio between Earth and the moon? And how might we chat with astronauts on Mars and beyond?

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Sonic Utopia

Technology has the power to transform the way our world sounds. It could even give us entirely new ways to experience our surroundings. In this episode, we explore the sounds of the future, and how ca

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Sound and Silence

Sound surrounds us, even in the quietest moments. But depending on how we hear, the world can be a different auditory experience for each of us. This episode features four stories from the TED Radio H

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Dies Irae

For hundreds of years, composers have been using a specific four-note melody to evoke death. It's appeared in dozens of famous movies, and you probably never even realized it. But once you hear it, yo

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Perfect Pitch

People with perfect or absolute pitch hear every single sound as precise musical notes. Is this extraordinary talent a blessing or a curse? In this episode, we dive into the neuroscience, pluses and

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Tyrannosaurus FX

When you imagine the sound of a dinosaur, you probably think of a scene from the Jurassic Park movies. How do sound designers make these extinct creatures sound so believably alive? And what does mode

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Napster

In less than two years, Napster became a global sensation... and then record labels and multi-platinum artists brought it crashing down. But in its short lifespan, Napster transformed our ideas about

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Vocal Discords

Musicians like Justin Timberlake, Adele, Björk and Rod Stewart have all had surgery to treat vocal nodes. Nodes are so widely discussed, they've almost become a boogeyman in the singing community. But

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Deepfake Dallas

Using artificial intelligence, someone can make an algorithm that sounds just like you. And then they can say... whatever they want you to say. We're entering a brand new era: One where you can no lon

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The City That Never Sleeps

When writer Paige Towers moved to one of the loudest cities in the world, she found herself overcome with anxiety and depression. She came to realize that the noise of the city itself, and the inabili

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Tudum! It's Netflix

The Netflix ta-dum sound has quickly become one of the most iconic sound logos of our generation. I bet you can hear it in your head right now. This sound is heard countless times, every single day, a

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Ta-dum! It's Netflix

The Netflix ta-dum sound has quickly become one of the most iconic sound logos of our generation. I bet you can hear it in your head right now. This sound is heard countless times, every single day, a

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McElroys, Mysteries and Me

Join Dallas and the McElroy brothers(hosts of My Brother, My Brother and Me) as they compete to see which brother has the best ear. We dust off our old mystery sounds to test the McElroy's on their kn

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Hamilton Remix

Broadway’s award-winning, smash hit, Hamilton, is a musical unlike any other.In this special episode, we have re-voiced, remixed, and remastered one of our shows about our favorite br

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Stop... Collaborate & Listen

Can you steal from yourself? Can you copyright a mood? We look back on some important copyright cases that could have an impact on the entire future of music making. Featuring Adam Neely and Sandra Ai

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Copyrights & Wrongs

Most western music is built on the same 12 notes. Sometimes the arrangement of those notes sounds similar, which raises the question: Theft or Inspiration? We listen to some famous copyright disputes

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Makin' Whoopee!

Farts have been funny to humans for thousands of years. This basic bodily function has countless nicknames around the world, but our fascination with farts is probably best illustrated by the simple w

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Pew Pew

When you think about Star Wars, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Lightsabers? Spaceships? Alien creatures? What about all of the sounds that go with those things? How were those sounds made,

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That's All Folks!

Mel Blanc is a legendary voice actor who voiced more than 400 distinct characters. But in 1961, Mel was involved in a potentially fatal car accident. In this episode, we discover the unlikely source t

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Ehh... What's Up, Doc?

Bugs Bunny, Barney Rubble, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, and many more were all voiced by one man, Mel Blanc. Discover the incredible life and talent that helped to elevate the animation industr

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Twenty Parts Per Thousand

The stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting history, humans have gone to great lengths to indulge their sense of smell. We explore the contemporary scent industr

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Cremona

There’s a town in northern Italy that’s home to the most famous violin makers in history. The museum there holds some of the most unique and prized violins in the world - but we’re in danger of losing

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Satanic Panic!

From the sixties to the nineties parents worried messages hidden in rock albums would make their children do drugs and worship the devil. The truth could only be revealed if these records were played

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Noise R Us

From See n Say to Speak & Spell, and beyond, toys provide the soundtrack of our childhoods. Huge advancements in computer technology in recent decades mean that today’s toys can make a wider variety o

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Good Vibes

Whatissound, on a fundamental level? How did animals evolve to hear? And what happens when you go faster than sound itself? In this episode, we explore the physics of sound with the legendaryBill Nye.3