One day, Ethan had an unfortunate bathroom incident. Then, he found an entire collection of songs online with his name in the title… And they all seemed to be about that embarrassing moment. That experience sent Ethan and his sister down a bizarre rabbit hole involving AI music, lots of poop jokes, and possibly the world’s most prolific songwriter. This story comes from the Hyperfixed podcast.
What makes the music of Bluey feel so warm and alive? In this episode, Dallas travels to Brisbane, Australia to visit the studio of Bluey’s composer Joff Bush. There, Joff reveals the quirky instruments, musical easter eggs, and songwriting philosophy behind this beloved series. Along the way, he breaks down the music of two iconic Bluey episodes, “Sleepytime” and “The Sign.”
Before Radiolab became a cultural phenomenon, it was an experiment… one that Jad Abumrad built voice by voice, sound by sound. In this episode, Jad walks Dallas through his journey with the show, from its scrappy beginning in a New York basement, to leading a massive team, and ultimately stepping away. Along the way, he breaks down his signature sound design and storytelling techniques, and how he’s carried those into newer projects like More Perfect and Dolly Parton’s America.
Last year, we ran three full episodes of listener-produced stories. But one beautiful story was just a little too long for the final cut… and we couldn’t leave it behind. In this episode, sound designer Jesse Herrera tells the story of his grandfather, who lived in silence for 35 years before receiving a cochlear implant, and the overwhelming, joyful process of learning to hear again. Afterwards, Dallas and Casey reflect on last year’s Listener Stories and kick off this year’s competition.
David Jeffers has always understood the world through sound. As a kid, he bounced beats between tape decks and built speaker boxes from spare parts. After college, he founded an underground hip hop label. Then came the day that split his life in two. And in the quiet that followed, David started listening more deeply… and piece by piece, he built a new life, guided not by what he lost, but what he could create.
What happens when a podcast about sound gets into video? In this special behind-the-scenes episode, producer Grace East flips the script and interviews Dallas about his leap into visual storytelling, and how the different pieces of the Twenty Thousand Hertz Extended Universe all fit together. From backstage at SNL, to Disney Imagineering’s archives, to real-life Bluey locations, Dallas reveals the anxieties, lucky breaks, and human connections behind our new video series.
What does a time machine sound like? Or a magic carpet? For the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, that was just another day at the office. For 40 years, this oddball collective of engineers and composers pushed the boundaries of sound design, crafting eerie atmospheres, quirky jingles, and the iconic audio of Doctor Who. In this episode, we explore the rise and fall of this pioneering studio with composer and archivist Mark Ayres, and uncover how these sonic wizards shaped the future of sound.
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 reveals the unlikely story of its creation, from its empowering lyrics, to its “fluttering butterfly” synth sound, to how Chaka Khan and a mystery drummer helped shape one of its later versions.
