The Sound Barrier #3: What does silence sound like?
Unexplainable10 Nov 2025

The Sound Barrier #3: What does silence sound like?

A scientist asked people to sit in a silent room for 15 minutes. Almost half of them decided to give themselves a painful electric shock instead. What is it about our brains that makes our relationship with silence so strange? And should we learn how to listen to it? This is the third episode of our new four-part series, ⁠The Sound Barrier⁠. Guests: ⁠Erin Westgate⁠, assistant professor at the University of Florida; ⁠Rui Zhe Goh⁠, doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University; ⁠Melody Baglione⁠, professor at Cooper Union For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unexplainable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And please email us! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠unexplainable@vox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We read every email. Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/members⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(275)

Your moments of silence (The Sound Barrier #5)

Your moments of silence (The Sound Barrier #5)

This episode is a follow-up to The Sound Barrier series, which explores our brain's relationship to sound. In our third episode of the series, we asked listeners to try to experience silence and recor...

15 Des 202531min

Diary of a teenage brain, part 2

Diary of a teenage brain, part 2

As our brains develop throughout our childhood and teens, they form connections and then prune back the ones that aren't used. What can we learn from them? Guests: Alison Barth, professor in the life...

10 Des 202527min

Diary of a teenage brain

Diary of a teenage brain

What's going on in teens' heads? Scientists working on a country-wide study following thousands of young people have spent the last decade trying to answer that question. Guests: Raul Gonzalez Jr....

8 Des 202528min

The trees of death

The trees of death

Way back when forests first evolved on Earth... they might have triggered one of the biggest mass extinctions in the history of the planet. (Originally aired in 2024) Guests: Charles Ver Straeten, ...

3 Des 202526min

That's no moon...

That's no moon...

It's a quasi-moon. Or, a quasi-satellite. Whatever you want to call it, it's hanging out near Earth. And it could be the source of some fascinating new science. Guests: Nick Moskovitz, astronomer a...

1 Des 202521min

Lost on the road to enlightenment

Lost on the road to enlightenment

So many of us have been told that meditation can make us less stressed, more productive, and happier. But for a small group of people, it has a dark side. What’s going on? Guests: Willoughby Britton,...

19 Nov 202535min

Is animal grief real?

Is animal grief real?

A dog on its owner’s grave. A killer whale carrying around its dead calf. A goose that isolates when its mate dies. These behaviors in animals may look like human mourning, but should scientists call ...

17 Nov 202526min

The Sound Barrier #4: Listen to the universe

The Sound Barrier #4: Listen to the universe

When Wanda Diáz-Merced lost her sight as a college student, she thought her dreams of becoming an astronomer were over — until she learned to listen to space instead. Wanda is one of several pioneeri...

12 Nov 202537min

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