Best Podcasts for Sound Designers

Jack -

Need inspiration for doing sound design for a podcast? Here's a list of podcasts that push the envelope on sound design. Great sound design is rarely heard because when it's just right, it practically disappears. But when used properly it can aid in the storytelling and be an amazing tool for delivering additional emotions.

NPR Shows

It's obligatory to mention a few NPR shows. These shows combine great storytelling with rich sound design, which immerses you into a vivid world. Each of these podcasts make their own music from scratch every episode.

  • This American Life
  • Radiolab
  • Snap Judgment

Love + Radio

This show used to be on NPR but isn't any more. It's a storytelling podcast with great sound design. Try the episode "Jack and Ellen" and you'll hear distorted voices, robotic voices, glitches and humms that all work beautifully.

The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air)

Created by Julian Koster, a musician from the band Neutral Milk Hotel, all music is created by him for each episode. This fictional storytelling show paints a magical world for you to be sucked into. The music and sound here is amazing.

Awful Grace, or the Tolling of the Void Bell

This show is weird and amazing. Sometimes episodes are an hour long, extremely slow to get going, have a 7 minute long intermission, and have minimal dialog. But the sound is amazing, and it's worth the listen. Picture a movie or documentary where a reporter is on the streets trying to get the story. You hear kids playing in the background, cars driving by, conversations off mic, wind blowing, and more. It really submerses you in the world though. You feel like you're there.

Paper Radio

A storytelling podcast that spends a lot of time on sound design. Full of glitches, buzzes, speed up, speed down, even the same song played multiple times at the same time at different speeds. This show pushes the envelope on how to use sound in a podcast and can offer a lot of inspiration to others.

Here Be Monsters

Stories told with rich sound design and music experience.

The World According to Sound

A 90 second long podcast showcasing a single sound. Very odd.

Sound Matters

A show that goes around seeking to record unique sounds from unique places. Very well down and really is great listening with headphones on.

Everything Sounds

A podcast that explores the role of sounds in our every day lives.

Sound Design Academy

A podcast that attempts to educate about sound design.

Twenty Thousand Hertz

A podcast revealing the stories of the world's most recognizable sounds.

Wolverine

Wolverine: The Long Night, and The Lost Trail have incredible sound design. Sound design was done by Brendan Baker, who uses mics unlike any other show I've heard. He sometimes uses two mics stuck in the head of a mannequin to imitate how our ears hear.