It’s so easy to listen to a brilliant podcast and not think about how important the actual sound of it is, and the same is true of in our everyday lives. If you’re walking around without earphones in (I know, scary thought) are you noticing the sounds that surround you? The chances are that you haven’t thought too much about it, but even the seemingly mundane noises can have fascinating stories behind them.
Luckily, podcasts and audio geekiness go hand in hand of course – and so there’s a plethora of brilliant shows out there about sound. Here are five podcasts that will make you listen to the world differently.
Reasonably Sound
Reasonably Sound is a show that’s unapologetic about getting into the nitty gritty of all things sound. It’s presented by Mike Rugnetta, a writer, sound designer and audio engineer. Each episode zeroes in on a very specific theme – the one I listened to most recently is called ‘The Braaam’, and traces the history and science behind a very specific sound that seems to feature in every action movie trailer.
Mike delves deep into the detail, all the while peppering each episode with casual, tongue-in-cheek humour and weird and wonderful sound effects. He’s got a nice, approachable style – like a friend who’s excitedly sharing their favourite subject with you. Listen here >>
The Sound Detectives
Ostensibly a kids’ show, The Sound Detectives follows Detective Hunch and his new sidekick Audie the Ear – literally an ear – as they track down sounds that have mysteriously gone missing. LeVar Burton is involved too, playing the founder of the new Museum Of Sound. The podcast takes you along on the detectives’ hunt for missing sounds – like the barking of dogs, or the banging of fireworks.
What I love about The Sound Detectives is that it caters to kids and adults alike. There’s clearly an educational element – the first episode features Beth Taylor, Yellowstone Youth Education Program Manager, playing herself, celebrating the return of a mud pot sound and teaching us about her National Park in the process. As well as clever cameos like this, there’s an interactive side to it, too – kids (and maybe adults) get the opportunity to ‘guess the mystery sound’ at the end of each episode.
But also, it’s genuinely funny – whatever your age. The humour is very dry and I feel like Vinny Thomas (Hunch) and Jess McKenna (Audie) are riffing and improv’ing together quite a lot. The result is really nice – you follow the pair into some quirky conversations that you don’t really want to end. It’s not the type of humour I’d expect in a children’s show – offbeat in a really charming way. Listen here >>
99% Invisible
99% Invisible covers all sorts. They’re a podcast about ‘all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about’ – mostly, all things design and architecture. While the whole podcast isn’t about sound, the specific episode ‘The Sound Of Sports’ has to be included in this article.
This episode really took me aback with how much it taught me about how sound is used in sports programming. Among other things, the episode covers the imaginative ways microphones are used to capture sounds in live play, the way pre-recorded samples can be used when the ‘real’ sounds aren’t available, and even how sounds are used in video games like FIFA, and how that in turn then inspires the audio production for live sports games.
‘The Sound Of Sports’ is a wonderfully thorough episode. In one hour the team delves into an eclectic mix of sports, sounds and production techniques. They get a great range of guests, and these guests’ passion for such a niche subject shines through in a brilliant way. Listen here >>
Twenty Thousand Hertz
Another podcast that offers listeners an unprecedented level of access is Twenty Thousand Hertz, a show that reveals the stories behind the world’s most recognisable and interesting sounds. They’ve explored everything from Minecraft to our ‘inner voices’.
The episode I listened to most recently was called ‘TikTok’s Boom-Bling’, and it featured interviews with the production team behind TikTok’s sonic branding – that small noise that ends every one of their videos.
This was a fascinating listen because of how open the team was. They play a selection of old demos for the TikTok sound, and even share a story about a small mistake that was deliberately left in the finished product. That small mistake made a huge difference – and the fact that the Twenty Thousand Hertz team understands that, shows that they truly get sound. Listen here >>
Song Exploder
Whilst more specifically about music than sound as a whole, this one has a lot for the audio-nerd to appreciate. Produced and edited by host and creator Hrishikesh Hirway, Song Exploder describes itself as a show where ‘musicians take apart their songs, and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made’. It’s this ‘piece by piece’ element that places Song Exploder on my list today.
Each episode sees a producer or artist unpack the creation of a song, to a really granular level of detail. Their stories are accentuated by different solo instrument stems, or old song demos; (which, if you’re a music geek like me, are wonderful things to hear). It gets you thinking about all the different sounds that go together to make a song. I want to mention the back catalogue, too. A hugely varied list of artists is featured: from Hans Zimmer, to alt-J, to KT Tunstall. Listen here >>
