Age of Audio: The Inside Story of Podcasting

Twenty Thousand Hertz

Dallas Taylor

Design, Music, Music Commentary, Arts

4.9 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2026

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The history of podcasting has rarely been told. But in this episode, the brightest minds in podcasting reveal the inside story of this medium: from the invention of RSS feeds, through the Gold Rush era of corporate investments, to the bubble bursting, and the rise of celebrity podcasts. Along the way, Ira Glass explains the origins of This American Life and Serial, Marc Maron recounts Obama visiting his garage, Roman Mars lays out his vision for indie podcasts, and so much more. This story was adapted from the feature documentary ⁠⁠Age of Audio⁠⁠. Learn about this year’s Listener Stories competition and submit your story at ⁠⁠20k.org/2026⁠⁠. For updates on Age of Audio, visit the ⁠⁠official website⁠⁠, or follow the film on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Tiktok⁠⁠. Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced by ⁠⁠⁠Defacto Sound⁠⁠⁠. Support the show and get ad-free episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠20k.org/plus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see our video series. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mystery.20k.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow Dallas on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Find out how you can get the iPhone 17 Pro at no cost with an eligible iPhone trade in at ⁠⁠att.com/iphone⁠⁠, or by visiting an AT&T store. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month Shopify trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠shopify.com/20k⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠quo.com/20k⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 20% of your first 6 months of business phone software. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey listeners, a reminder that there are less than two weeks left to enter this year's
0:05.3	listener story competition. I know that many of you have an incredible sound story just waiting to be
0:10.5	told, and I want to hear it. Just like last year, we'll collect the winning stories into a special
0:16.1	series of episodes starting this summer. The top creator will also get a $500 credit to our online store.
0:22.4	So you can wear a different Super Soft 20K t-shirt every day of the week if you so choose.
0:27.8	To see the rules and submit your story, visit 20K.org slash 2026. Submissions close on May 31st.
0:34.8	There's also a link in the show notes.
0:39.7	Summer is when we share more time, more memories, and more photos. At AT&T, the iPhone 17
0:46.2	Pro is your summer essential. Its center stage front camera auto-adjusts the frame to fit
0:51.4	everyone into group selfies. You don't even have to turn your phone.
0:55.4	And AT&T makes sharing those pictures with everyone easy. Right now at AT&T, ask how you can get iPhone
1:01.6	17 Pro on them with eligible iPhone trade-in, any condition. Requires trade-in of iPhone 15-plus or
1:08.4	higher, excluding iPhone 16E and 17E. Requires eligible plan.
1:14.2	Terms and restrictions apply. Subject to change, visit ATT.com slash iPhone or visit an AT&T store for details.
1:23.9	You're listening to 20,000 Hertz.
1:29.1	The stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.
1:34.5	I'm Dallas Taylor.
1:36.6	Well, Dallas, I've told this story before, but this is the first time I'm telling it to the person who is in the story.
1:46.0	I would love to hear it.
1:49.3	This is my friend Sean.
1:51.2	Hi, I'm Sean Michael Colon. I'm a director and a audio engineer and a filmmaker.
1:58.0	Sean recently made a documentary about podcasting called Age of Audio. How did
	...

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