A 10-second recording recreates about 10 minutes of seismic sound and harmonic tremor from Alaska's Redoubt Volcano in 2009, sped up 60 times.

RedoubtScream

A one-minute recording condenses about an hour of volcanic activity at Alaska's Redoubt Volcano in 2009. The "drumbeats" are more than 1,600 small earthquakes that occur at an ever-faster pace until they blend into a continuous harmonic tremor that preceded an explosion.

RedoubtDrumbeats

Sounds made by a blue whale, sped up 10 times to make it within the range of human hearing.

Blue Whale recorded in Indian waters

A parent speaks baby talk ("parentese") with her child. Provided by the University of Washington's Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences

Baby Talk

This short clip is a series of four sounds from the English language. The clip was used in a study by researchers at the University of Washington's Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. The study looked into how baby brains process sounds from language. The first three sounds in the clip like “da” to English speakers. This sound is used both in English and Spanish. The fourth sound -- "ta" -- is something English but not Spanish speakers should be able to distinguish from the earlier sounds in the clip. 

PNAS Example 3standard English

This short clip is a series of four sounds from the Spanish language. The clip was used in a study by researchers at the University of Washington's Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. The study looked into how baby brains process sounds from language. The first three sounds in the clip is "da," which is a standard sound in English and Spanish. The fourth sound is only used in Spanish, not in English. Spanish listeners should have no difficulty hearing the sound change in the fourth sound.

PNAS Example 3standard Spanish

This recording is a group of Cook Inlet beluga whales vocalizing near the mouth of the Susitna River just west of Anchorage, one of two locations where audio was recorded for the study. 
Credit: Arial Brewer/University of Washington

Beluga Multi Calls

KOMO Radio's Carlene Johnson interviews Dan Chirot, professor of Russian and Eurasian studies and international studies at the UW about the situation in Brussels. Originally aired March 22, 2016. (Part 1)

KOMO Radio | Dan Chirot on radical ideology in Brussels | Part 1

KOMO Radio's Herb Weisbaum talks with UW President Ana Mari Cauce about the university's Population Health Initiative and a $210 million gift from the Gates Foundation in support of the effort. 

Originally aired Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016

KOMO Radio | UW president discusses Population Health Initiative, Gates Foundation gift

An audio representation of the best-fit waveform for the GW170104 signal

KOMO Radio's Herb Weisbaum interviews Aaron Katz, principal lecturer of health services at the UW, about President Trump's decision to "let Obamacare fail."

KOMO Radio | The uncertainty of the US health insurance industry

KOMO Radio's Herb Weisbaum interviews Shuyi S. Chen, professor of atmospheric sciences at the UW, about why Hurricane Harvey dumped a record amount of rain on Texas.

KOMO Radio | Why was Hurricane Harvey so devastating?

Brian Calvert of KOMO Radio interviews Aimee Chou, a media and communications specialist at Forefront Suicide Prevention at the UW, about the positive public health impact of Logic’s suicide prevention album, video and performance at the 2017 MTV VMAs. Aired Sept. 7.

TRANSCRIPT: 

Brian: If you were in the car with your child, and you let them choose the music, what would you do when you heard the lyric: 

🎵"i don't wanna be alive, i just wanna die." 🎵
 
Would you turn it off? Would you tell your child they shouldn't be listening to this. Or would you consider that maybe the song is actually meant for you.
 
🎵"I've been running low. I've been taking my time. I feel like I'm out of my mind."🎵
 
The song is burning up on social media and music charts. It's performed by an artist named Logic.
 
Aimee: Because I'm hard of hearing, the first thing I did was read the lyrics. I just wanted to know, what are the lyrics about?
 
Brian: And what she heard the words, Aimee Chou wanted more.
 
Aimee: I just had to see the video. It's much more visual, so I could understand the context beautifully, with the music and the visuals. 
 
Brian: The video is viewed 28 million times in a week, and takes on the topic of teen suicide. Amy is with Forefront, a center based at the UW focused on suicide prevention. She's deeply touched by the name of this song.
 
Aimee: 1-800-273-8255. 
 
Brian: The name of the hit by Logic is also the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention hotline. 
 
Aimee: I think I speak for all suicide prevention advocates, but you know the phrase, "this is the moment we've been building up to"? In a way, it is. It is. This has been a huge boost in visibility and we got the combined platform with Logic, Alessia Cara, Khalid, [correction: The artists were
standing on stage with attempt survivors at the VMA Awards] which is huge.
 
Brian: And while the song begins, 🎵"I don't wanna alive, I just wanna die,"🎵 it resolves.
 
🎵"I just wanna be alive, I don't wanna die today. I don't wanna."🎵
 
Sunday is national suicide prevention day, and this year, there's an anthem. It's name?
 
Aimee: 1-800-273-8255.
 
Brian: Call that number and you're connected with local groups that save lives daily. Aimee Chou, and Forefront, are hoping the song fuels conversation, and something else just as important...
 
Aimee: There's not adequate funding for all these call centers, so, we need more advocates, we need more volunteers. It's a great time to get involved.
 
Brian: Brian Calvert, KOMO News.

Aimee Chou of UW’s Forefront on Logic’s hit rap song about the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

A single iteration of what researchers called “bowhead song #2” from the 2013-14 season, recorded Nov. 9, 2013, in Fram Strait.

Fram2013 - 2

A single iteration of what researchers called “bowhead song #28” from the 2013-14 season, recorded Dec. 30, 2013, in Fram Strait.

Fram2013 - 28

Teresa Ward, a sleep specialist and professor in the University of Washington School of Nursing, talks about sleep related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teresa Ward, sleep specialist, discusses sleep during a pandemic

A 100-second recording of the sound of the Big Bang, created by University of Washington physicist John Cramer. For more detail, see http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/04/04/listening-to-the-big-bang-in-high-fidelity-audio/.

BigBangSound100

A fin whale call and earthquake recorded in September 2010 by a seismometer on the continental shelf off Vancouver Island in about 1,200 meters depth. The recording was originally 5 minutes long but has been sped up by a factor of 10 so that human can hear it. The rumbling that begins at the 18-second mark is an earthquake. Credit: Michelle Weirathmueller, Univ. of Washington

FinWhale and Earthquake

Research and administration news from the University of Washington. 

UW News

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