A new podcast from Everything Sounds' George Drake, Jr. Coming December 2, 2019 In 2008, a family in Dayton, Ohio was remodeling an original bathroom of their 1927 house. During the process, they unearthed a letter and two envelopes in near perfect condition dating back over 90 years. The letter, from a man simply named "Will" is vague, secretive, and mysterious. The envelopes paint an even more confusing picture. Fifth and Ludlow tells the story of 1920s Dayton through the lens of the letter, and aims to expose the answers to the countless questions it raises.

Steam trains have been around for hundreds of years and devoted people with a lot of passion, patience, and strong work ethic are keeping the culture alive at volunteer-run organizations across the world. The Monticello Railway Museum in Illinois, and the Chelmsford Society of Model Engineers in England are two organizations doing their parts to help the culture make it through to the next generation.

When we stumble, misspeak, or fill our speech with um, er, and uh sounds, we are speaking with disfluencies. Michael Erard wrote a book on the subject called Um…: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean. Learn about what disfluencies are, their cultural perception, and why they may not be such a bad thing from Michael and Katie Gore of Speech IRL. Music in the episode was contributed by Podington Bear.

A listen back to some of the stories we featured in 2014. Music: Podington Bear - "Frosted Glass" Thank you for listening, sharing, enjoying and taking part. It's been an incredible year. All our best, @georgedrakejr and @CraigShank Episodes featured (in order): https://soundcloud.com/everythingsounds/48-from-here-to-ear https://soundcloud.com/everythingsounds/51-zappa-dummy https://soundcloud.com/everythingsounds/54-shapenote https://soundcloud.com/everythingsounds/49-mad-genius https://soundcloud.com/everythingsounds/46-dr-blankenstein https://soundcloud.com/everythingsounds/55-restaurant-sound-design https://soundcloud.com/everythingsounds/45-sounds-of-skateboarding https://soundcloud.com/everythingsounds/50-jukebox-collector

The sounds of a commute are the soundtrack to a morning. It could be car horns while stuck in traffic, the screeching of the train skidding along a curve, or in this case, a man named Marvin. Marvin goes to the same spot each morning. It doesn't matter what the weather's like or what day it is, he's there trying to make people's days better, by doing something that makes him feel better, too. He's a part of the soundtrack to people's commutes and he sees the commuters as his friends and family. Music in this episode by Podington Bear (http://podingtonbear.com)

In the 2013 Zagat Dining Trends Survey, diners shared information about their tipping habits, favorite cuisines, and even their top complaints about restaurants. Not surprisingly, high prices, poor service, and crowded restaurants were some of the biggest gripes, but the number one complaint was noise. How much of the sound is there by design and how can restaurant owners use sound to make dining out a more pleasant (and less noisy) experience? Clark Wolf has consulted to restaurants, hotels, and just about every type of venue where people gather to enjoy food. Part of his job is to think about the ways in which sound can be used to enhance dining experiences. Learn more about the best and the worst of sound and music in restaurants with Clark Wolf on this episode of Everything Sounds.

Shapenote singing is a tradition developed in the late 1700's and early 1800's that helped everyday people sing music even if they couldn't sight-read standard musical notation. Shapenote and the Sacred Harp songbook are still allowing people to share a musical experience until this day. Learn more about this tradition from Anne Heider, Robert from the Chicago Shapenote Singers, and Ruth Reveal. You can learn more about Shapenote, the Sacred Harp, and find singings in your area at http://fasola.org. Also, thanks to Kate Lumpkin for her help with this episodes.

Individuals can share a common language, but it can sound different due to accents and regional dialects. In some cases, there are profound differences between areas that are in close proximity to one another. The Black Country, an area of the West Midlands in England, is known for a unique dialect that can be difficult for modern English speakers to clearly understand. In this episode, Alex Adey shares stories of the history and torchbearers of the Black Country dialect. More from Alex Adey: https://soundcloud.com/alexmadey The Black Country Museum: http://www.bclm.co.uk

Jack Chuter's interest in experimental sounds began with a trip to his local record store. He listened to a Sunn O))) record at a listening station and went away completely bewildered by the experience. The music stuck with him and over time helped change his approach to listening and music criticism. Jack founded ATTN:Magazine to explore music from a standpoint of curiosity and discovery. Download the compilation at: https://archive.org/details/livingvoid-flac

NPR's Protojournalist published a list of 6 odd college courses in America. On the list is a course on the music of Frank Zappa. The course was developed by Andy Hollinden at Indiana University. Holliden's interest in Zappa first manifested itself while he was in high school. Beyond listening to the music and poring over linear notes, Andy constructed a dummy of Frank Zappa that would later provide him with more insight and memories than he had ever imagined.

Jukeboxes have fallen out of favor as time and technology marches on, but they still serve as reminders of a different time with respects to music and culture. Berry Bell shares information about jukeboxes and walks us through his collection on this week's show. Put a few quarters in the machine and listen to learn more about the "jutebox" confusion, the Gullah roots of the machine's nickname, and how jukeboxes changed radio programming forever. Find photos of Berry's collection at: http://www.everythingsounds.org/50/