Rayhan Hasan / blog

These are all sounds taken from my favorite radio program, WNYC’s Radiolab. Jad Abumrad does most of the sound design for the show, and some of these are absolutely astounding.

During the show, these are used to explain ideas and typically have a voice over them. The sounds are not the media the listener is supposed to analyze — they are a tool used to illustrate other ideas to the listener.

I love them in this context-free form. Alone, they stand more obviously as sound art. You can listen to how they were used in the episodes from the linked page as well.

I’m surprised that NYT/Radiolab didn’t include the sounds used to explain how cell mutation & cancer work on this page. To hear them, take a listen to the Famous Tumors episode; the sounds happen at 12’ 23”.