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

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 bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts.

You can listen to Decoder Ring - Mailbag: Spooky Strings, Phone Menu Options, and Eye Rolls online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Decoder Ring - Mailbag: Spooky Strings, Phone Menu Options, and Eye Rolls is an episode from Culture Gabfest.

This episode is 47:53 long.

This episode was published on May 6, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Culture Gabfest when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.