Charlie Harding 9/23/25 Charlie Harding 9/23/25

Stockholm syndrome: Why we can't resist Swedish pop (ft. Zara Larsson)

Nate Sloan 9/22/25 Nate Sloan 9/22/25

The music theory behind K Pop Demon Hunters' chart dominance

Nate and Charlie break down the K Pop Demonhunters soundtrack to uncover the musical secrets behind its unprecedented success.

Charlie Harding 9/15/25 Charlie Harding 9/15/25

The architecture of the album with Djo (Joe Keery live at NYU)

Djo (Joe Keery) takes you on a tour of an imaginary musical hotel called The Crux

Charlie Harding 9/9/25 Charlie Harding 9/9/25

Finneas and Ashe want you to start a band

Charlie Harding 8/26/25 Charlie Harding 8/26/25

The classical rebel who infiltrated pop music

How does one violinist end up on every hit song?

Reanna Cruz 8/19/25 Reanna Cruz 8/19/25

All roads lead to Pharrell: Tyler, Clipse, Cardi

This summer, the party is happening in hip-hop, with a formidable leader in Pharrell.

Nate Sloan 8/12/25 Nate Sloan 8/12/25

A brief history of terrible lyrics (with Sam Sanders)

Why we love to hate bad lyrics

Nate Sloan 8/5/25 Nate Sloan 8/5/25

Summer Bummer (with Commotion’s Elamin Abdelmahmoud)

Every music critic seems to agree: 2025 has no true song of summer. Where are the bops?

Reanna Cruz 7/29/25 Reanna Cruz 7/29/25

Justin Bieber's Lo-fi Bedroom Swag

Bieber is back with his first album in four years – but does it matter?

Charlie Harding 7/22/25 Charlie Harding 7/22/25

How podcasting got its sound ft. Breakmaster Cylinder

Breakmaster Cylinder and the origin of the podcast theme

Charlie Harding 7/15/25 Charlie Harding 7/15/25

Is that new song you like AI? Here’s how you can tell

An AI generated song from a “band” called the Velvet Sundown fools millions of Spotify listeners

Nate Sloan 7/15/25 Nate Sloan 7/15/25

The Benson Boone-Doggle

In which we explore the unlikely rise, and surprising backlash against, one Benson Boone.

Charlie Harding 6/27/25 Charlie Harding 6/27/25

How Americana helped mainstream country find its soul

Sierra Ferrell, Billy Strings and Tyler Childers have their own take on country music.

Reanna Cruz 6/26/25 Reanna Cruz 6/26/25

Country music is Mexican (Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera)

Reanna Cruz 6/26/25 Reanna Cruz 6/26/25

The Ballad of Lainey Wilson and Jessie Murph

Reanna Cruz 6/26/25 Reanna Cruz 6/26/25

The hick hop renaissance (BigXthaPlug and Bailey Zimmerman)

Charlie Harding 6/23/25 Charlie Harding 6/23/25

Is Morgan Wallen the problem with country music?

How did country music's most problematic star turn his biggest flaws into his greatest commercial weapon?

Charlie Harding 6/20/25 Charlie Harding 6/20/25

Manchild and other songs about male incompetence

Looking for relationship advice? Skip the self-help books and turn to Sabrina Carpenter's latest single "Manchild" instead.

Charlie Harding 6/10/25 Charlie Harding 6/10/25

Frankly, Sinatra still matters (with Seth MacFarlane)

Frank Sinatra's influence on modern pop runs deeper than you think, from inventing the concept album to bridging jazz and rock, to leaving behind 1200 boxes of arrangements, the inspiration for Seth Macfarlane’s new album

Nate Sloan 6/6/25 Nate Sloan 6/6/25

Is the future of pop...heavy metal?!

Sleep Token merge pop and heavy metal, earning commercial success and a healthy dose of criticism

Mini Series

Featured

Listening 2 Madonna: Ray of Light

The third essential aspect of Madonna's holy trinity is her ever-shifting spirituality.

Listening 2 Madonna: Spanish Eyes

To understand Madonna is to see her music as a cultural melting pot.

Listening 2 Madonna: Who's That Girl?

The way Madonna communicates gender is integral to understanding her and her music.

Featured

Newcomers: Porter Robinson

The new sound of Porter Robinson

Newcomers: Jhayco

Jhayco moves from the background to the foreground

Newcomers: Magdalena Bay

Few pop groups are making music as imaginative as Magdalena Bay.

Featured

Listening 2 Daft Punk: Random Access Memories

The robots gain a heart and soul - and self-destruct in the process

Listening 2 Daft Punk: Human After All / Alive 2007

The French duo’s anti-utopian disco-rock record makes us question, are they robot, or are they human?

Listening 2 Daft Punk: Discovery

On their second album Discovery, Daft Punk fully lean into the artificial – singing through robotic vocoders that correspond with their now-iconic robot helmets.

Listening 2 Daft Punk: Homework

On their first album, Homework, Daft Punk stretched the boundaries of electronic music and began wiring the circuits that would become their robot alter-egos, asking a fundamental question: where does the human end and the machine begin?

Featured

Listening 2 Britney: Gimme More

Leave Britney’s (voice) alone

Listening 2 Britney: Toxic

How Bollywood strings, surf guitar, and Britney’s ethereal vocals add up to pop perfection

Listening 2 Britney: I’m A Slave 4 U

Enter The Neptunes – Britney’s Virginia Beach Era

Listening 2 Britney: ...Baby One More Time

Breaking down the unmistakeable voice of Britney Spears

Featured

Modern Classics: Carina del Valle Schorske on Cat Power's "Manhattan"

Why every song about Manhattan is a pop song

Modern Classics: Mark Ronson on Ginuwine's "Pony"

The "Uptown Funk" hitmaker breaks down the innovations behind pop's biggest smashes

Modern Classics: Yola on Childish Gambino’s “Redbone” and the Longevity of Soul

“I realized that Classic Soul can exist with everything and somehow not lose its potency.”

Modern Classics: Labrinth's "Sexy MF" (with Sam Sanders)

“They're all these little secrets and surprises that pop up...it's like bespoke, maximalist, power pop.”

Featured

THE 5TH — MOVEMENT IV, What Beethoven Would Have Wanted

When we listen closely to the Fifth, we hear that's it more than a museum piece, it’s a living testament to self-expression and determination.

THE 5TH — MOVEMENT III, Putting the Classism in Classical

Before Beethoven’s time, classical music culture looked and sounded quite different. In episode III we explore how Beethoven’s symphony was used to generate the strict culture of classical music — and the politics that undergird those norms of behavior.

THE 5TH — MOVEMENT II, From Struggle to Victory

In movements II , III and IV, Beethoven keeps trying to overcome his dark fate with bright major melodies, and keeps getting defeated.

THE 5TH — MOVEMENT I, A Battle Brewing

The first four notes of the piece are more than a modern meme, they’re the main character in a drama life and death.

Featured

ANTHEMS: Missy Elliott — Work It

Cultural critic Ivie Ani breaks down how Missy Elliott broke into the pantheon of anthems, and how she changed the scope of who could belong.

ANTHEMS: Smash Mouth - All Star

How “All Star” became an anthem played in sports arenas, soundtracked by Hollywood, and embedded into seemingly every internet meme.

ANTHEMS: Jock Jams — Get Ready For This

n 1995, ESPN launched Jock Jams Volume 1, a compilation record that would define the sound of sports for the next quarter century.

ANTHEMS: Queen — We Are The Champions

Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles’ album “Something To Say” makes you want to get up and dance as much as it makes you want to take action.