Christopher Hoff

Christopher Hoff

Chris Hoff

Lecturer

Website

Chris Hoff is the co-founder of The World According to Sound, a 90-second podcast all about sound. Before that he was the senior audio engineer with KALW News’ Crosscurrents. The road to radio and audio was a circuitous one: Hoff’s undergraduate classics career left him aimless, professionally speaking. His zeal for Pindar, Homer, Thucydides, and Virgil could not earn him a living, so in 2002 he floated around, first to Weimar, Germany, then to Berlin. It was in Berlin that Chris uncovered his enthusiasm for the then-burgeoning internet radio phenomenon known as podcasting. In 2015, he launched the World According to Sound with fellow audiophile Sam Harnett. It’s a podcast and touring live show with a radical approach to audio that’s been featured on WBEZ, and in The Washington Post and The New York Times. The podcast segments have been played on NPR, and they have toured their live show at more than 50 venues, including Cornell, UVA, and WNYC’s Greene Space. They recently received a grant to create a new live event that captures the world from the perspective of the blind. Sam and Chris were recently artists-in-residence at Cornell University, exploring the intersection of sound, journalism, and aesthetics.

EDUCATION

  • Cornell University, BA in Classics

EMPLOYERS

  • KALW, Senior Sound Engineer

  • KQED, Operations Technician

  • Self-Employed, Podcast Sound Designer

  • Co-Founder, The World According to Sound

AWARDS & HONORS

  • National Edward R. Murrow Award, 2021

  • Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, 2020

  • California Humanities Documentary Project Production Grant, 2019

  • “Unsung Hero,” Society of Professional Journalists, Northern CA, 2009

TEACHING SCHEDULE:

Sec. Title Time Location
004 J219 MINI: Sound Design
Fall 2024 		Tue, 5pm-8pm 101 North Gate (Production Lab) — 101 North Gate (Production Lab)
001 J219 MINI: Sound Design (10/10 – 11/14)
Fall 2023 		TU 6–9pm 106 North Gate (Upper News) — 106 North Gate (Upper News)
008 J219 MINI Sound Design for Audio Capstone
Fall 2022 		W 5-8pm 209 North Gate (Greenhouse) — 209 North Gate (Greenhouse)
003 J219 MINI: Sound Design 9/15 – 10/20
Fall 2021 		W 5:00 - 8:00 142 North Gate (LMC) — 142 North Gate (LMC)