Twenty Thousand Hertz

Twenty Thousand Hertz, hosted by Dallas Taylor, is a narrative series about sound itself: a noise you recognize and have never thought about.

An episode might be a warning tone, a piece of film audio, the voice of a machine. Taylor interviews the people who designed the sound or were changed by it, and he scores the explanation with the thing being explained.

The show made a niche feel obvious. Once you hear how a sonic logo was built, ordinary rooms get louder. That is the trick, and it is also the reporting.

Episodes are short and self-contained. Headphones change the show. Speakers will still work, but you will miss the differences Taylor is pointing at.