Age of Audio: The Future of Podcasting (and 20k)

音频时代:播客的未来(及20k)

Twenty Thousand Hertz

2026-05-25

28 分钟
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单集简介 ...

After making Age of Audio, a feature documentary about the history of podcasting, filmmaker Shaun Michael Colón sat down with Dallas for a revealing conversation about the state and future of this industry. Together, Dallas & Shaun unpack the shift toward celebrity chit chat shows, what gets lost in video, the real economics of making Twenty Thousand Hertz, and why highly crafted audio storytelling still matters. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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单集文稿 ...

  • You're listening to 20,000 Hertz, the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.

  • I'm Dallas Taylor.

  • Our last episode was an adaptation of a documentary about podcasts called Age of Audio.

  • It covered the creation of podcasting through the gold rush era of about five to ten years ago to the bubble bursting

  • and the mass layoffs that followed.

  • It ended at the strange place the whole podcasting industry is in now, where there are more podcasts than ever,

  • but it's much harder for narrative shows like ours to get the funding we need to survive.

  • Age of Audio was directed by my friend Sean Michael Colon.

  • And after spending years interviewing many of the brightest minds in podcasting,

  • Sean has this unique front row seat into the state of the industry and where it might be headed.

  • Meanwhile, I've been hosting this independent podcast for close to a decade now.

  • So I also have a lot to say about it because these things have very real consequences for 20,000 Hertz.

  • When I interviewed Sean about his documentary, our conversation was so fascinating

  • that I felt it deserved its own standalone episode.

  • Let me just gush over the film.

  • I don't think I've got this on tape.

  • So what Sean made is incredibly important to everything that I've been experiencing since I started 20,000 Hertz.

  • He has documented it with all of my heroes and all of my inspiration.

  • And I've seen the cut many years, like early cuts, late cuts.

  • And I've been able to watch this thing transform into the defining podcast movie in my mind.