Ghosts in the Hit Machine: The secrets of musical ghostwriters
Many of today’s biggest songs are written and produced by people whose names don’t appear anywhere in the credits. They’re called ghostwriters and ghost producers, and they’re a huge part of the music...
25 Touko 202229min
Why Windows Got Rid of Startup Sounds
Part 2 of our series on the Windows startup sounds picks up when Microsoft made the radical decision to kill the startup sound in Windows 8. In this episode, we explore the forces that led to that dec...
11 Touko 202234min
Ta-da! The history of Windows’ classic startup sounds
Over the years, Microsoft has made at least ten iconic startup sounds for Windows—from the triumphant “Ta-da!” of Windows 3.1, to the ambient chime that Brian Eno crafted for Windows 95, to the orches...
27 Huhti 202228min
The Waterphone: Hollywood’s spookiest sound effect
For nearly half a century, one eerie sound has been showing up again and again in movies and TV shows. It’s typically used when something spooky or mysterious happens—and it can be heard in Poltergeis...
13 Huhti 202226min
Mind the Gap: NYC & London’s iconic transit voices
The voices of subway and train announcements are deeply ingrained in peoples’ lives. Many of us hear them every day, for years on end. And yet, hardly anyone knows who those voices belong to. In this ...
30 Maalis 202234min
Hidden Hitmakers: The unsung heroes behind pop’s biggest hits
The names of pop and rock stars are known by millions of people around the world, but the people who actually write their music often stay in the shadows. In this episode, we peel back the curtain on ...
16 Maalis 202233min
Happy Little Episode: The soothing voice of Bob Ross
In the forty years since The Joy of Painting first started airing, Bob Ross has become a cultural icon. His gentle, soothing voice is instantly recognizable, and still gives comfort to millions of peo...
2 Maalis 202244min
Pirate Radio: Britain’s AM rebels of the ’60s
In the 1960s, the BBC had a vise grip on British radio, and rarely played the pop and rock music that was all the rage. So a group of rebellious radio DJs decided to give the people what they wanted, ...
16 Helmi 202235min
