Mind the Gap: NYC & London’s iconic transit voices

Twenty Thousand Hertz

Dallas Taylor

Music, Design, Arts, Music Commentary

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 March 2022

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The voices of subway and train announcements are deeply ingrained in peoples’ lives. Many of us hear them every day, for years on end. And yet, hardly anyone knows who those voices belong to. In this episode, we uncover the human stories behind two of the most iconic transit systems in the world: the New York City Subway, and the London Tube. Featuring NYC Subway announcer Charlie Pellett and Tube announcer Elinor Hamilton. Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org. Subscribe to Tales from the Tannoy wherever you get your podcasts. Get 10% off your first month of BetterHelp online therapy at betterhelp.com/20k. Hiring? Sign up at Indeed.com/Hertz and get a $75 credit to sponsor your first job post for better visibility, more applications, and quicker hiring times. Get 83% off Surfshark VPN plus an extra 3 months free at surfshark.deals/20k, or use promo code 20K. Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/mindthegap Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to 20,000 Hertz.
0:07.0	I lived in Washington, D.C. for a big chunk of my adult life, so I'm really familiar with the sounds of that city.
0:13.8	At one point, I even created a poll asking Washingtonians what the most iconic sound in D.C. was.
0:19.9	And the overwhelming answer was this.
0:22.6	Doors opening, step back to allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the center of the car.
0:29.6	That's the friendly voice you hear on the DC Metro Trains. Those recordings were made in 2006, when the city decided to update their announcements.
0:39.0	To choose the new voice, they held a contest where people could submit recordings of themselves.
0:43.5	The person they chose was a native Washingtonian named Randy Miller, who beat out over
0:48.0	1,200 applicants from around the country. And once thousands of people started hearing Randy's
0:53.4	voice every day, she became
0:54.9	kind of a local celebrity. For me, those announcements were such a comforting, quintessential
1:03.4	part of living in D.C. Step back, doors closing. A few years ago, I was on another podcast
1:10.1	called The Big Listen, talking to host Lauren
1:12.4	Ober about the sounds of the city.
1:14.5	We met up in D.C.'s Union Station, went down into the metro, hopped on one of the brand
1:18.8	new trains, then heard this.
1:21.9	Step back.
1:23.1	Doors closing.
1:24.6	That's not the right voice.
1:25.7	No.
1:26.2	On the 7,000 series, they got rid of her.
1:28.4	That's a, that's a robot voice.
	...

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