9 Jul 2024

Shower Thoughts: Why are our voices different?

From Nights, 9:15 pm on 9 July 2024

It's in peaceful places like the warm steam of the shower where the noise in your brain clears and, in its place, appears the perfect thought.

That's a Shower Thought, and here on Nights we're aiming to answer those unshakeable questions lurking in the back of your mind.

Tonight's question: Why do humans' voices all sound different - and what determines how we sound?

To help us with the conundrum Nights is joined by Sasha Calhoun, an associate professor at Victoria University of Wellington's School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies.

Illustration of chat bubbles against coloured background. (Photo by FANATIC STUDIO / SCIENCE PHOTO L / FST / Science Photo Library via AFP)

Photo: FANATIC STUDIO / SCIENCE PHOTO L