How a simple soundbite on America Online became one of the most recognizable sounds of the internet age, and look at the creation of a whole new musical instrument. This episode features Elwood Edwards, the man behind the famous AOL “You’ve Got Mail” soundbite, and Bosco and Maya Kante, inventors of the ElectroSpit.
Humans have been fascinated with acoustics since our earliest ancestors walked the Earth. From Roman amphitheaters to modern symphony halls, we’ve designed our spaces with sound in mind. But the relationship between acousticians and architects isn’t always smooth sailing. In this episode, we explore the way acoustics has shaped our history and what we might do to make our spaces sound better today. Featuring Emily Thompson, author of The Soundscape of Modernity and Professor of History at Princeton University, and Trevor Cox, author of Sonic Wonderland and Professor of Acoustic Engineering at the University of Salford.
Stradivarius violins are reputed to have an exquisite sound that cannot be replicated or explained. Why is that? And what, exactly, is a Stradivarius violin, anyway? This episode features interviews with The Strad magazine’s managing editor, Christian Lloyd, and violin maker Joseph Curtin.
The 808 is probably the most iconic drum machine ever made. Even if you’ve never heard of it, you’ve definitely heard it. It’s in dozens of hit songs -- from Usher to Marvin Gaye, Talking Heads to The Beastie Boys -- and its sounds have quietly cemented themselves in the cultural lexicon. In this episode, we try to understand how that happened and follow the unlikely path of the 808. Featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff and VP of Global Marketing for Roland, Paul McCabe.
Companies spend a lot of time and effort perfecting the look of their brands. But now what a brand sounds like matters just as much. We trace the history from songs to jingles to what's called sonic branding, following the creative process that led to AT&T’s iconic four-note sound logo. And we'll explore what comes next: multi-sensory marketing. Can sound change how beer tastes?
In the late '70s, NASA launched Voyagers 1 & 2 to explore the furthest reaches of our solar system and beyond. But something amazing was included on those space probes... a 90-minute time capsule of sounds, language, and music from Earth called The Golden Record. Its intended recipient? Any intelligent extraterrestrial life that might stumble upon it. What did Carl Sagan and his team put on the record to represent all of humanity? How would aliens decode it?
For the first time ever, the album will be deconstructed track-by-track. Featuring Tim Ferris and Linda Salzman Sagan, two pioneers behind the record.
As technology advanced rapidly over the course of the 20th century, the telephone industry went through several transformations. From Strowger switches to rotary dials, the Bell company continually experimented with inventive ways of making phone calls. In 1963, AT&T’s patented “Touch Tone” technology changed the telecommunications industry forever. The Dual Tone Multi Frequency signals used by these push button phones could make phone calls, control voicemail machines, and even insert local TV ads into national broadcasts. This episode features interviews with author Annabel Dodd and telephone aficionado Jim Hebbeln of the Telecommunications History Group.
For decades, NFL strategy slowly evolved from each team running a dozen different plays, to rigid schemes with coaches sending in orders through codewords and secret signals. Then, one piece of audio technology revolutionized the game. Beginning in the early 1990's, the NFL allowed coaches to speak directly to their quarterbacks through radios in their helmets. What followed was an instant increase in excitement for the nation's most popular sport, spawning a high-scoring era of fast paced offenses. Featuring former Super Bowl winning coach, Dick Vermeil, current LA Rams Head Coach Sean McVay, Bose Senior Project Manager Matt Ruwe, and Bose Distinguished Engineer Dan Gauger.
