Charlie Harding 12/10/25 Charlie Harding 12/10/25

How Sombr’s bedroom recordings became his biggest hits

Sombr went from bedroom alt rock to pop radio

Charlie Harding 12/1/25 Charlie Harding 12/1/25

"It’s a Hail Mary every time" (with Marc Rebillet)

When it comes to improvisational loop jams, few have gone as viral as Marc Rebillet.

Charlie Harding 11/27/25 Charlie Harding 11/27/25

Quitting Spotify (ft. Deerhoof)

“would rather our fans steal our music than stream our music at this point”

Reanna Cruz 11/18/25 Reanna Cruz 11/18/25

Is there a Disney curse?: Demi, Selena, and Miley

This year, there were a few records that delivered less-than-optimal returns on either the Hot 100 or the Billboard 200 – and they all came from former Disney pop stars.

Reanna Cruz 11/11/25 Reanna Cruz 11/11/25

Rosalía's ‘LUX’ brings the symphony to the club

On Lux, Rosalía gives us a dense, maximalist opus

Charlie Harding 11/7/25 Charlie Harding 11/7/25

Lily Allen and Tate McRae revive the revenge anthem

Why you should never break up with a pop star

Nate Sloan 10/28/25 Nate Sloan 10/28/25

Can “professor” Charlie Puth pass our qualifying exam?

Charlie Puth breaks down his new single "Changes," a maximalist eighties production hiding a melancholy story about drifting friendships.

Reanna Cruz 10/21/25 Reanna Cruz 10/21/25

How D'Angelo changed music, in three songs

Charlie and Nate are joined by producer Reanna and engineer Brandon to celebrate D’Angelo’s life through his music

Charlie Harding 10/14/25 Charlie Harding 10/14/25

What do John C. Reilly and Taylor Swift have in common? The Great American Songbook

Why the Great American Songbook still matters

Nate Sloan 10/7/25 Nate Sloan 10/7/25

Taylor Swift’s showgirl sound: How to actually listen to the album

Everything you need to know about the singer’s most controversial album

Nate Sloan 10/3/25 Nate Sloan 10/3/25

The Power of the Trio (ft. Trousdale live at USC)

The band returns to their alma mater to break down their latest album Growing Pains

Reanna Cruz 9/30/25 Reanna Cruz 9/30/25

Doja Cat is the new Janet

This summer, one singular artist could be heard everywhere from the new Cardi B album to the TikTok charts: Janet Jackson.

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?

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.