In which Nate tries to convince Charlie that Lil Pump’s SoundCloud Rap hit “Gucci Gang” warps the perceptual present.

Lizzo and Janelle Monáe both collaborated with Prince, making Lizzo uniquely qualified to unwind his influence on Monáe’s song “Make Me Feel.” We also discuss Lizzo’s song “Truth Hurts” and her podcast “Good As Hell” where she talks to the queens of hip hop.

In Camila Cabello’s “Havana” we hear both her Cuban roots and the modern sounds of Atlanta. Though the singer and featured guest Young Thug reference these two geographic identities, the song says so much more through its core musical elements.

Gina Delvac of the Call Your Girlfriend podcast and Darryl W Bullock, author of David Bowie Made Me Gay, join Nate and Charlie to dig into the poetry of Troye Sivan’s “My My My!”, the history of LGBT pop music, and the songs we love to hate.

Today’s artists are reviving the new jack swing and vocal R&B, creating a wave of 90s nostalgia. Uncover how they trick us into somehow loving those days when we got beat up in the middle school parking lot.

Charlie talks laments, Baroque opera, and gender politics in Dua Lipa’s sleeper hit “New Rules” with writer Emily Bootle.

What’s up with Justin Timberlake? We listen deep to his latest, “Filthy,” to try and understand its creator’s conflicting musical worlds.

Charlie and Nate breakdown Mariah Carey’s classic “All I Want for Christmas is You” and revisit their favorite tracks of 2017. Sleigh bells abound.

Björk is uniquely both a pop star and avant-garde composer. Though her music often challenges our ears, underneath her records you’ll find more in common with today’s pop music than you’d expect.

Taylor Swift unveils a new, darker identity on her latest album “Reputation,” and many have read the lyrics on her latest as not-so-subtle volleys in an ongoing celebrity feud. Still, a question remains: how does Swift cast this dark personality in music?

At the top of the pop charts, Taylor Swift and Cardi B, two artists with seemingly little in common, exploit the same compositional technique to hook listeners in.

With Charlie off the grid, Nate sits down with singer/producer Amber Mark to explore the different levels of Kendrick’s hit HUMBLE.

Demi Lovato’s latest, “Sorry Not Sorry” is at once an unapologetic anthem of defiance and a super catchy mashup of multiple genres. As we’ll see, every small musical choice is here for a reason.

How does a song with nonsense lyrics capture our attention, making us want to move? It is called the groove. Enter Calvin Harris’ “Feels” (ft. Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams and Big Sean).

Kesha’s “Praying” and Imagine Dragon’s “Believer” are inverse anthems of resilience. Both tracks seek catharsis – one through prayer, the other through pain.

What has catapulted Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” to the top spot on the Billboard charts? Sorry, typo—to its status of the biggest song in the world? Your hosts explore the many worlds of “Despacito” in search of an answer.

Author, critic and podcaster Andrea Warner joins for a throwback episode exploring politics in Lilith Fair, harmonic anger in Alanis Morissette’s iconic “You Oughta Know,” and the blind spots in your host’s assessment of women in rock.

Selena Gomez’s “Bad Liar” stands out on the charts by doing things a little differently: it’s a subtle, at times even awkward, summer surprise. Breaking down this pop morsel reveals it has teeth, though—and not just because it borrows a bass line from the Talking Heads’ macabre “Psycho Killer.”

Your brain can only hear three things at the same time. What you may not know is that musicians use this cognitive limitation to guide your listening all the time.

DJ Khaled, Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper, Quavo from Migos and Lil Wayne have allied for a new smash hit: “I’m The One.” Despite the star power present, the resulting track is less than the sum of its parts—repetitive, derivative, uninventive