Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Presenting: Twenty Thousand Hertz

Episode Theme:
"The Bizarre History and Science of Backmasking, Satanic Panic, and Subliminal Messages in Rock Music"
Originally aired: November 18, 2025
Host: Dallas Taylor (20,000 Hz) with contributions from Brian Gardner and Ashley Hamer

Episode Overview

This episode is a special presentation of the 20,000 Hz podcast, exploring the cultural hysteria around "backmasking"—the supposed hidden messages embedded in popular music when played backwards. The narrative weaves through history, psychology, science, and court drama to reveal how fears about subliminal messaging in rock music peaked in the 1980s’ "satanic panic," culminating in a court case accusing Judas Priest of embedding deadly messages in their songs. Along the way, expert voices clarify what backmasking is, why we think we hear secret messages, and why there's nothing to fear from these allegedly subversive sounds.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The 1980s: Panic, Tragedy, and the Lawsuit

• Reno Tragedy & Judas Priest Lawsuit

  • In 1985, two young men in Reno attempt suicide; one dies instantly, the other years later.
  • Their families sue Judas Priest, alleging that their cover of "Better by You, Better Than Me" contained suicide-inducing messages only "audible" when played backward.
  • (03:34-03:55)

• Secret Messages & the Rise of Panic

  • Fear grows around hidden, backward "satanic" messages in rock music and a supposed power to influence listeners’ minds or souls.
  • Quote, Brian Gardner:

    "The ability to capture and preserve sound also gave people the ability to manipulate it." (05:05)

2. The Origins and Spread of Backmasking

• Technical Definition

  • Backmasking is a deliberate studio technique: recording a sound backward and embedding it within a forward-playing track.
  • Often obvious (gibberish or reversed vocals), sometimes subtle.
  • (05:10-05:48)

• Early Uses in Pop Music

  • The Eligibles’ "Car Trouble" (late 1950s) features what may be the first example of backmasking.
  • Beatles popularize the technique in the 1960s, especially on "Rain" and "Revolution 9."
  • Fan culture latches onto supposed backward messages, particularly the "Paul is dead" myth.
  • Quote, Brian Gardner:

    "Fans of rock and roll music were aware of this, at least the sort of geeky audiophile ones." (08:10-08:26)

3. The Satanic Panic Peaks

• Religious Hysteria & Media Sensationalism

  • Conservative pastors and talk show hosts ignite fears that bands like Led Zeppelin, ELO, The Eagles, and Styx have stored satanic or drug-promoting orders in their records.
  • "Praise the Lord" TV show and Pastor Gary Greenwald's "backmasking tours" become spectacle.
  • Quote, Brian Gardner:

    "He would travel around the United States... and would hold basically what are record listening parties, where he would play these things for the audience, pointing out every time what the back mask message supposedly was. And people would freak out. Often they would be followed by album burning parties." (13:08-13:42)

• Legislative Overreach

  • Hearings, proposed warning labels, and national legislation surface—despite lack of evidence about the dangers or influence of backmasking.
  • Led Zeppelin's label wryly states:

    "Our turntables only rotate in one direction." (15:26-15:43)

4. The Science of Backmasking and the Power of Suggestion

• Pareidolia & Linguistic Priming

  • Our brains are wired to find patterns—often "hearing" messages in static or garbled sound if told what to listen for (pareidolia).
  • Demonstrated with examples: Queen’s "Another One Bites the Dust" backward is gibberish until prompted to hear "It's fun to smoke marijuana."
  • Quote, Dallas Taylor:

    "When someone tells you that a bunch of noise actually is saying 'it's fun to smoke marijuana', you're gonna hear it because your brain is using that higher order information that has already told you that this is language to hear the thing that you're told to hear." (25:41)

• Scientific Testing

  • Controlled studies reveal backward messages are not subconsciously processed to influence behavior—if not consciously primed, listeners don't recognize or act on them.
  • Quote, Dallas Taylor:

    "People have done studies on this... it just doesn't work. People who hear backward messages have no idea what those things are saying. It doesn't communicate any subliminal message to anybody." (27:59)

5. Intentional vs. Unintentional Backmasking: The Musical Joke

• Musicians’ Sense of Humor

  • Some bands—most famously Weird Al—plant clear, backward jokes in their songs to poke fun at the controversy.
  • Example: "Wow, you must have an awful lot of free time on your hands." (20:08-21:35)

• Accidental Gibberish

  • Accidental backmasking, if it appears, usually sounds like nonsense; listeners stretch to find patterns.
  • Quote, Dallas Taylor:

    "When it's intentional, you hear a very clear voice saying something. But when you hear these unintentional ones, it sounds like a ghost...” (22:03-22:20)

6. Cultural Shifts, Digital Music, and the Decline (and Return) of Backmasking

• CDs and Decline of Backmasking Fears

  • The panic fades in the 1990s as CDs prevent playing music backwards easily.
  • Quote, Dallas Taylor:

    "The whole Satanism scare in backward music kind of died down when CDs became more popular because you can't really play CDs backwards...” (29:53)

• Digital Era: The Resurgence

  • Digital music and editing software allow new generations to play with backwards audio.
  • Recent intentional backmasking by bands like 21 Pilots, along with the perennial internet rumors about Lady Gaga and others, mark the return of the trend.
  • (30:14-31:24)

7. Why Backmasking Fascinates (and Alarms) Us

• Music’s Power in Culture

  • The fear around backmasking springs from concerns about music’s cultural influence—mixing science, myth, and emotion.
  • Quote, Dallas Taylor:

    "The idea that someone is putting in secret messages to hijack the way that we interact with our music is so scary because it’s so important to us." (31:24)

• Legacy—A Cautionary Tale Indeed

  • The episode’s conclusion is that backmasking controversy says more about human pattern recognition and cultural fears than any real threat hidden on records.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The ability to capture and preserve sound also gave people the ability to manipulate it." — Brian Gardner (05:05)
• "Praise the Lord" show playing Led Zeppelin’s 'Stairway to Heaven' backwards:

  “Listen for 'here’s to my sweet Satan.' Did y’ all hear that?” (12:10-12:30)

• On scientific studies:

  “People who hear backward messages have no idea what those things are saying. It doesn’t communicate any subliminal message to anybody.” — Dallas Taylor (27:59)

• On the decline of backmasking panic:

  “The whole Satanism scare in backward music kind of died down when CDs became more popular...” — Dallas Taylor (29:53)

Important Timestamps

• 03:34 – Introduction of the 1985 Reno tragedy and the lawsuit against Judas Priest
• 05:10 – Explanation of backmasking (Brian Gardner)
• 08:44 – The "Paul is Dead" controversy and the Beatles' role
• 12:10–13:50 – Christian media and album-burning parties
• 15:06–15:43 – Legislative responses and industry pushback
• 18:50–20:08 – Outcome of the Judas Priest trial
• 21:46–24:26 – Discussion of pareidolia and the psychology of hearing messages backward
• 25:08–26:54 – Queen’s "Another One Bites the Dust" backwards experiment
• 27:59–29:53 – Why backward messages don’t influence listeners, results from scientific studies
• 29:53–31:24 – CD era’s impact and the digital resurgence of backmasking lore

Flow and Tone

The episode balances historical reportage, dry humor, cultural critique, and psychological insight with frequent use of spooky sound samples and playful asides.

• Tone: Inquisitive, skeptical, sometimes playful (“If you own or manage your business... They can, with help from iHeartradio...”—skipped in this summary as ad content).
• Concludes with an invitation to listeners to find their own backmasking “discoveries”—keeping the spirit of curiosity alive.

Final Thoughts

This episode is a masterclass in separating melodrama from science in pop culture, skewering the hysteria while offering fascinating facts about audio tricks, how our brains process language, and why we love to see patterns—whether or not the devil had anything to do with it.

For further exploration, listeners are encouraged to contribute their own backmasking finds to 20,000 Hz for a playful pan-cultural experiment.