Phantom Power podcast

Phantom Power

Sound is all around us, but we give little thought to its invisible influence. Dr. Mack Hagood explores the world of sound studies with the world's most amazing sound scholars, sound artists, and acoustic ecologists. How are noise-cancelling headphones changing social life? What did silent films sound like? Is listening to audiobooks really reading? How did computers learn to speak? How do race, gender, and disability shape our listening? What do live musicians actually hear in those in-ear monitors? Why does your office sound so bad? What are Sound Art and Radio Art? How do historians study the sounds of the past? Can we enter the sonic perspective of animals? We've broken down Yoko Ono's scream, John Cage's silence, Houston hip hop, Iranian noise music, the politics of EDM, and audio ink blot tests for blind people. Phantom Power is the podcast that both newcomers and experts in sound studies, sound art, and acoustic ecology listen to--combining intellectual rigor and great audio.

Sound is all around us, but we give little thought to its invisible influence. Dr. Mack Hagood explores the world of sound studies with the world's most amazing sound scholars, sound artists, and acoustic ecologists. How are noise-cancelling headphones changing social life? What did silent films sound like? Is listening to audiobooks really reading? How did computers learn to speak? How do race, gender, and disability shape our listening? What do live musicians actually hear in those in-ear monitors? Why does your office sound so bad? What are Sound Art and Radio Art? How do historians study the sounds of the past? Can we enter the sonic perspective of animals? We've broken down Yoko Ono's scream, John Cage's silence, Houston hip hop, Iranian noise music, the politics of EDM, and audio ink blot tests for blind people. Phantom Power is the podcast that both newcomers and experts in sound studies, sound art, and acoustic ecology listen to--combining intellectual rigor and great audio.

 

#77

African Music Technology: Branding, Identity, and the Global Music Market w/ Kingsley Kwadwo Okyere,...

Today host Mack Hagood is joined by three remarkable scholars whose work sits at the inter... more

28 Nov 2025

1 HR 01 MINS

1:01:36

28 Nov 2025


#76

Irv Teibel’s Environments, AI Audio, and the Future of Listening w/ Machine Listening

How did we humans become so dependent on white noise machines, noise-canceling headphones,... more

31 Oct 2025

54 MINS

54:38

31 Oct 2025


#75

Horror Film Sound Designer Graham Reznick on Crafting the Uncanny

[Graham Reznick] (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1657200/__;!!PDi... more

26 Sep 2025

1 HR 01 MINS

1:01:07

26 Sep 2025


#74

Maurice Rocco: Race, Queerness, and Thai Music Culture w/ Benjamin Tausig

With movie star looks and a raucous piano style, Maurice Rocco made a splash in the 1940’s... more

29 Aug 2025

1 HR 21 MINS

1:21:06

29 Aug 2025


#73

Phantom Power Trailer

Sound is an invisible force that most people rarely notice and barely understand. Dr. Mack... more

13 Aug 2025

03 MINS

03:43

13 Aug 2025


#72

Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier on Critical Listening (Ciritcal Listening By Liz Pelly, and Max Alper)

This month, we have a guest pod in the feed: It’s the debut episode of Critical Listening,... more

27 Jun 2025

1 HR 16 MINS

1:16:06

27 Jun 2025


#71

Radio Opera Redefined: Immersive Sound, Improvisation, and Sonic Freedom w/ Yvette Janine Jackson

[Yvette Janine Jackson] (https://www.yvettejackson.com/about) is a composer and sound arti... more

30 May 2025

53 MINS

53:31

30 May 2025


#70

The Global History of Cassette Culture: Bootlegging, Indie Rock, and the Media of the Masses w/ Elea...

Today we present a cassette theory mixtape. Three excellent scholars help us understand co... more

26 Apr 2025

53 MINS

53:06

26 Apr 2025


#69

How Music Became an Instrument of War: Military Music, Morale, and the American War Machine w/ David...

University of Delaware historian [David Suisman] (https://www.davidsuisman.net/) is known ... more

28 Mar 2025

53 MINS

53:46

28 Mar 2025


#68

Remembering Jonathan Sterne (1970-2025)

The sound studies community is reeling from the death of Jonathan Sterne this past Thursda... more

23 Mar 2025

12 MINS

12:24

23 Mar 2025


#67

The Perfect Playlist Problem: Advertising, Ghost Musicians, and the Manipulation of Listeners w/ Liz...

[Liz Pelly] (https://lizpelly.info/) is our foremost journalist/critic on the Spotify beat... more

28 Feb 2025

50 MINS

50:28

28 Feb 2025


#66

Navigating the Age of AI Noise: Art, Datasets, and the Cultural Impact of Generative Models w/ Eryk ...

In this episode, host Mack Hagood dives into the world of AI-generated music and art with ... more

29 Jan 2025

1 HR 09 MINS

1:09:10

29 Jan 2025


#65

Why We’re Obsessed with Podcasts: Genre, Intimacy, and Narrative Audio w/ Neil Verma

Today we discuss how narrative podcasts work, the role they’ve played in American culture ... more

24 May 2024

53 MINS

53:04

24 May 2024


#64

Second Line: Footwork in New Orleans (Lowlines by Petra Barran)

Today we feature the first episode of a new podcast called [Lowlines] (https://low-lines.c... more

10 May 2024

33 MINS

33:23

10 May 2024


#63

On the Borderlands of Sound: Loudness, Affect, and the Multisensory Experience of Listening w/ Micha...

There are sonic experiences that can’t be contained by the word “listening.” Moments when ... more

26 Apr 2024

1 HR 00 MINS

1:00:45

26 Apr 2024


#62

Beyond Unwanted Sound: Noise, Affect Theory, and the Limits of Acoustic Ecology w/ Marie Thompson

Feminist sound scholar and musician [Marie Thompson] (https://www.open.ac.uk/people/mt9289... more

12 Apr 2024

49 MINS

49:20

12 Apr 2024


#61

How Computers Found Their Voice: Film Sound, Computer Science, and Text-to-Speech w/ Benjamin Lindqu...

Today we learn how computers learned to talk with [Benjamin Lindquist] (https://history.pr... more

29 Mar 2024

51 MINS

51:27

29 Mar 2024