Switched on Pop

How podcasting got its sound ft. Breakmaster Cylinder

Listen Later

What if the entire sound of modern podcasting can be traced back to a single Grateful Dead song uploaded in 2001? We uncover the musical lineage that connects NPR's classical gravitas to dubstep wobbles, from the very first RSS feed experiment to the mysterious masked composer who's scored over 200 podcast themes and shaped what millions of people hear when they hit play. This deep dive reveals how podcast music evolved from classical public radio strings into today's signature blend of plinking pianos, breakbeats, and irreverent sampling—plus an exclusive interview with the enigmatic Breakmaster Cylinder, the "Hans Zimmer of podcasting" who's been hiding behind a robot helmet for over a decade.


MORE

Subscribe to our newsletter

SONGS DISCUSSED

  • Grateful Dead "Truckin'"
  • Adam Curry "Daily Source Code" theme
  • NPR "All Things Considered" theme
  • Don Voegeli "All Things Considered" original theme (1971)
  • Don Voegeli "All Things Considered" jazz funk version (1976)
  • NPR "All Things Considered" orchestral version (1983/1995)
  • The Daily theme
  • WNYC "On the Media" theme by Ben Allison "Disposable Genius"
  • Christopher Lydon "Radio Open Source" theme by Dafnis Prieto
  • Disparition "The Ballad of Fiedler and Mundt," (Welcome to Night Vale theme)
  • Serial theme
  • Joe Rogan Experience theme
  • Call Her Daddy theme
  • Snap Judgment theme
  • The Breakfast Club theme
  • WTF with Marc Maron theme by John Montagna "Lock the Gate"
  • Reply All theme by Breakmaster Cylinder
  • Breakmaster Cylinder "Outside In" theme
  • Breakmaster Cylinder "Bird Note" (Claire de Lune with loon calls)

    • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Switched on PopBy Vulture
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6

    4.6

    2,644 ratings

    More shows like Switched on Pop

    View all
    Pop Culture Happy Hour by NPR

    Pop Culture Happy Hour

    11,598 Listeners

    Song Exploder by Hrishikesh Hirway

    Song Exploder

    5,989 Listeners

    Explain It to Me by Vox

    Explain It to Me

    7,859 Listeners

    The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

    The Gray Area with Sean Illing

    10,704 Listeners

    All Songs Considered by NPR

    All Songs Considered

    3,148 Listeners

    Popcast by The New York Times

    Popcast

    1,509 Listeners

    Pivot by New York Magazine

    Pivot

    9,747 Listeners

    Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

    Gastropod

    3,660 Listeners

    Decoder with Nilay Patel by The Verge

    Decoder with Nilay Patel

    3,149 Listeners

    Twenty Thousand Hertz by Dallas Taylor

    Twenty Thousand Hertz

    4,206 Listeners

    Good One by Vulture

    Good One

    1,491 Listeners

    Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia by Slate Podcasts

    Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia

    2,063 Listeners

    Land of the Giants by Vulture

    Land of the Giants

    2,162 Listeners

    Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast by MKBHD

    Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast

    42 Listeners

    Culture Gabfest by Slate Podcasts

    Culture Gabfest

    448 Listeners

    Unlocking Us with Brené Brown by Vox Media Podcast Network

    Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

    23,587 Listeners

    A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe by Vox Media Podcast Network

    A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe

    743 Listeners

    Good Noticings by Vox Media Podcast Network

    Good Noticings

    6,488 Listeners

    Unexplainable by Vox

    Unexplainable

    2,323 Listeners

    Pop Pantheon by DJ Louie XIV

    Pop Pantheon

    549 Listeners

    Every Single Album by The Ringer

    Every Single Album

    780 Listeners

    Cover Story by New York Magazine

    Cover Story

    1,219 Listeners

    Search Engine by PJ Vogt

    Search Engine

    4,569 Listeners

    Not Just Football with Cam Heyward by Cam Heyward

    Not Just Football with Cam Heyward

    151 Listeners

    Vibe Check by Zach Stafford, Saeed Jones, Sam Sanders

    Vibe Check

    1,789 Listeners

    Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF by Vivian Tu

    Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF

    1,791 Listeners

    One Song by Hartbeat

    One Song

    1,225 Listeners

    Critics at Large | The New Yorker by The New Yorker

    Critics at Large | The New Yorker

    661 Listeners

    Culture Study Podcast by Anne Helen Petersen

    Culture Study Podcast

    717 Listeners

    Prof G Markets by Vox Media Podcast Network

    Prof G Markets

    1,467 Listeners

    The Sam Sanders Show by KCRW & Sam Sanders

    The Sam Sanders Show

    655 Listeners

    Bird's Eye View with Sue Bird by Sue Bird

    Bird's Eye View with Sue Bird

    428 Listeners

    Solutions with Henry Blodget by Vox Media Podcast Network

    Solutions with Henry Blodget

    31 Listeners