Decoder Ring | Mailbag: Spooky Strings, Phone Menu Options, and Eye Rolls

Decoder Ring | Mailbag: Spooky Strings, Phone Menu Options, and Eye Rolls

From Slow Burn by Slate Podcasts

May 6, 2026 · 54 min

About this episode

This episode answers listener questions about eerie horror film music, phone menu options, and the history of the eye roll.

We are lucky to get fantastic questions from our listeners here at Decoder Ring, and in this episode, we’re going to open up our mailbag to answer three of them. What are the origins of an eerie horror film string motif? Why do companies insist on telling callers to “listen closely” to menu options that could not possibly have changed? And when did we start using the indispensable eye roll? In this episode, you’ll hear from historical musicologist Frank Hentschel , as well as Eli Spindel , artistic director of the String Orchestra of Brooklyn . We also speak with writer Nick Greene , Holdcom CEO Andrew Begnoché, and linguist Dr. Rebecca Clift . This episode was produced by Katie Shepherd and Evan Chung, our supervising producer. Decoder Ring is also produced by Max Freedman. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. Special thanks to Nicole Holliday, and to Leilehua Lanzilotti , whose website Shaken Not Stuttered is a fantastic resource about extended techniques for strings. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281. Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive…

People in this episode

Host: Decoder Ring

Guests: Frank Hentschel, Eli Spindel

Topics covered

  • horror film
  • phone menu options
  • eye roll
  • cultural mysteries
  • musicology

Keywords

  • horror film music
  • phone menu
  • eye roll
  • cultural mysteries
  • musicologist

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Slate, Holdcom, String Orchestra of Brooklyn, Acast, Slate Plus

More episodes of Slow Burn

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Slow Burn podcast page.