logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2019
38m 47s

Decoder Ring: Baby Shark

Slate Podcasts
About this episode

Baby Shark is an megaviral YouTube video, an unstoppable earworm, a top 40 hit, a Eurodance smash, a decades old campfire song, and the center of an international copyright dispute. This month on Decoder Ring we explore the strange history and conflicted future of the song, what makes it so catchy, and how it came to be.  

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Today
ICYMI | Podcaster Theo Von Is A Manosphere Mystery
On today’s episode, hosts Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by culture writer Aja Romano to try to make sense of Theo Von. Von was one of the podcasters credited with helping Donald Trump win the election, but in recent months, he’s deviated from the administration when it ... Show More
48m 16s
Oct 9
Care & Feeding | A Tooth Fairy Fail
On this episode: Slate senior producer Cheyna Roth joins Zak Rosen and Elizabeth Newcamp to debate wedding ceremony etiquette. A listener’s kid is the flower girl at a friend’s wedding. But now it turns out the flower girl is NOT invited to the wedding reception. Is this fair? Th ... Show More
34m 12s
Oct 8
ICYMI | Taylor Swift Is Rewriting Her Internet History
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim wade through the negative reactions to Taylor Swift’s album The Life of a Showgirl. From outdated meme references to clunky shots at other female artists, Swift’s album indicates an oddly distant relationship with the internet. However, is she a devio ... Show More
45m 42s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2019
Baby Shark
Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work.Baby Shark is an megaviral YouTube video, an unstoppable earworm, a top 40 hit, a Eurodance smash, a decades old campfire song, and the ... Show More
38m 47s
Nov 2019
Baby Shark: From summer camp song to viral earworm
Baby Shark is a mega viral YouTube video, an unstoppable earworm, a top 40 hit, a Eurodance smash, a decades old campfire song, and the center of an international copyright dispute. In this episode from the podcast Decoder Ring, we explore the strange history of the song, what ma ... Show More
41m 31s
Sep 2019
The “Baby Shark” Phenomenon (with Andrea Silenzi)
For most parents, “Baby Shark” is the nightmare that will not end. Ever since the South Korean educational company Pinkfong released the song earlier this year, it’s almost impossible to avoid. The infectious children’s tune has more than 2.3 billion views on YouTube and made it ... Show More
36m 52s
Oct 2016
The Most Popular Song In The World
The Nokia ringtone used to be heard more than a billion times per day, making it one of the most popular songs in the world. We tend to consider cellphone rings as somewhat antithetical to music. There is a whole subset of YouTube videos dedicated to the perverse thrill of watchi ... Show More
40m 46s
Apr 2018
Jaws: the Music (Part I)
Our "deep dive" into the music, sound and story of Jaws begins as we look closely at the first half of the movie. What we find are fascinating surprises, interesting stories, the terror of the shark, a moving family bond ... and even a dark sense of humor. Learn more about your a ... Show More
47m 31s
Apr 2018
Jaws: the Music (Part II)
Ahoy! Our look at Jaws concludes with the sea voyage of the Orca, as our characters attempt to hunt the hunter. The score focuses on the human spirit, and resurrects the swashbuckling film scores of classic Hollywood. Take a listen to how Jaws ushers in a renaissance of classic o ... Show More
55m 29s
Oct 2020
Scary Music
In our unsettled moment, people will find ways to mark an unusual Halloween this weekend. It's a time when music - scary music - comes to mind, as WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us in this episode of Fishko Files. Psycho is streaming on Amazon Prime, and Rosemary's Baby airs on Showtim ... Show More
6m 46s
Jul 2022
ICYMI: The 90s’ Most Unlikely Hit (with Baz Luhrmann)
In 1999 filmmaker Baz Luhrmann released the song “Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen,” a 7-minute-long graduation speech set to downtempo electronic music. It was a highly unlikely hit that made its way across continents and eventually into the ears of a young Avery Trufelman via ... Show More
53m 2s
Jan 2016
Lady Gaga and Diane Warren - 'The Hunting Ground'
The music icon and the seven-time Oscar nominee discuss fame, the music business and the sexual assaults they both suffered years ago, which inspired them to collaborate on the original song 'Til It Happens to You' for an acclaimed new doc about the epidemic of the crime on colle ... Show More
1h 2m