Acoustic World

About Acoustic World

What makes music and language exclusively human? How do other animals communicate? Do they perceive melodies and rhythms as we do? Acoustic World explores the field of bioacoustics through the voices of scholars around the world. Its host, Marco Maiolini, will interview musicologists, biologists and ethologists to discover this interdisciplinary field that we meet every day without even noticing. Join us in this journey, and follow us on Instagram for the latest news about the podcast. https://www.instagram.com/acousticworldpodcast Because the world has always spoken; we just need to listen.

Publisher

Marco Maiolini

Category

science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 Oct 2025

Latest episode

10 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

22 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   10 Aug 2026

   Music and Language: two faces of the same coin? - Patrick Savage

   Are music and language really two sides of the same coin? A lullaby sung to a baby and a sentence whispered in the dark may seem like entirely different forms of expression—but could they share the same underlying structure? In this episode, Associate Professor Patrick Savage of Keio University and University of Auckland explores the deep connections between music and language, and how both evolve over time in ways that resemble biological evolution. Drawing on large cross-cultural datasets, we discuss what rhythm, melody, and speech reveal about human cognition, cultural evolution, and our shared history. Because the world has always spoken. We just need to listen. 🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Spreaker.

2. 

   27 Jul 2026

   The hidden rules of sound - Michelle Spierings

   Do humans and animals hear sound in the same way? In this episode of Acoustic World, host Marco Maiolini speaks with Dr. Michelle Spierings, Assistant Professor at Leiden University, about how humans and animals perceive, organize, and interpret sound. Our brains don't simply hear sounds, they automatically group them into patterns that shape how we experience speech, music, and the world around us. But are these perceptual rules uniquely human, or are they shared across other species? Drawing on research in bioacoustics, animal cognition, and auditory perception, Michelle explains how the brain organizes sounds into rhythmic structures, why language and early experience influence what we hear, and what studies on zebra finches, parrots, and rats reveal about the evolutionary origins of language, music, and animal communication. The conversation also explores how researchers study sound perception in animals, the challenges of comparing cognition across species, and why understanding how animals experience their acoustic environment is essential for both science and animal welfare. Topics covered in this episode: • Bioacoustics and auditory perception • How the brain groups sounds into patterns • The iambic–trochaic law • Language evolution and music cognition • Animal communication and vocal learning • Zebra finches, parrots, and comparative cognition • Sound perception across species If you're interested in bioacoustics, animal behavior, birdsong, language evolution, music cognition, or the science of how brains make sense of sound, this episode is for you. 🎙️ Subscribe to Acoustic World on Spotify to discover the latest research on bioacoustics, animal communication, and the hidden world of sound Because the World as always spoken, we just need to listen

3. 

   13 Jul 2026

   Following the echoes - Natacha Aguilar de Soto

   🐋 What can rapid clicks from the pitch-black depths of the ocean tell us? In this episode, Professor Natacha Aguilar de Soto (Oceanographic Centre, Tenerife) explains how deep-diving beaked whales and other cetaceans use echolocation to navigate and hunt where light cannot reach. Discover how life in the deep ocean has shaped remarkable acoustic adaptations—and how human-made underwater noise can disrupt them. The featured underwater recordings were made by the University of La Laguna and the Oceanographic Center of the Canary Islands under permit from the Spanish Government. Because the world has always spoken—we just need to listen. 🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Spreaker.

Contact Acoustic World

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.