About
Contact: press@switchedonpop.com
Description: A podcast about the making and meaning of popular music hosted by musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding, produced by Rock Ridge Productions, Vox Media Podcast Network and Vox.com. We break down pop songs to figure out what makes a hit and what is its place in culture. We help listeners find “a-ha” moments in the music. Listeners will hear conversations with the best artists, songwriters, producers, and writers in pop: Lizzo, Mike Posner, Daveed Diggs, David Longstreth, Oak Felder, Jessica Hopper and Simon Reynolds. The show is consistently top 10 in the music podcast category and has been lauded by Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and NPR for its unique perspective that always focuses first on the music.
Socials: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
Network: Vox.com / Vox Media Podcast Network
Format: 30-50 minute explainer
Frequency: Weekly
Posted: Tuesdays 5AM EST
Record Location: Los Angeles
Est: Oct 2014
Starter episodes: Ariana Grande (ft. K. Flay), Kendrick Lamar (ft. Amber Mark), Camila Cabello, Janelle Monae (ft. Lizzo)
Team
Co-Hosts and creators
Nate Sloan - Nate is a professor of Musicology at the University of Southern California
Charlie Harding - Charlie works full-time as an executive producer of the show
Production
Brandon McFarland - Engineer
Jolie Myers - Editor
Hanna Rosin - Editorial Producer
Nishat Kurwa - Executive Producer
Assets
Photo credits: Ellyn Jameson
Sample Press Clippings
Coverage & Writing
WSJ - The Secret Sauce Behind Pop-Music Hits (12/19)
Paste - Switched On Pop Hosts Charlie Harding & Nate Sloan Tell You Why You Should Care About Pop Music in New Book (12/19)
Stereogum - The 15 Best Music Podcasts of 2019 (12/19)
WNYC - Breaking Down Pop Music (Audio only: 11/19)
NYT - The Glorious Return of Funk (11/19)
Esquire (UK) - Best podcasts of 2019 (10/19)
IndieWire - Best Podcast Episodes of 2019 (So Far) (10/19)
Library Journal - Switched On Pop Starred Book Review (10/19)
Discover Pods - Q&A with “Switched On Pop” co-host Charlie Harding (9/19)
Forbes - 8 Essential Podcasts For Music Creators (8/19)
RNZ - Switched On Pop: going deep on pop (Audio 4/19)
Vulture - 100 Great Podcasts Worth Listening To (3/19)
The Guardian - Best Podcasts of 2018 (6/18)
Quartz - The Mozart-like complexity of Carly Rae Jepsen’s biggest hits (7/17)
Rolling Stone - Culture Index (5/17)
BuzzFeed - 22 Podcasts That’ll Make You A More Interesting Person (1/17)
Entertainment Weekly - Best Music Podcasts (1/16)
Appearances & Sources
Time - How Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' Became the Holiday Gift That Keeps on Giving 11/19
NPR Ask Me Another - Weekly Wrap: Funk's Resurgence In Pop, The Future Of Title VII, Domestic Extremism (10/19)
The Verge - Charli XCX Explains How Streaming Is Changing Songs (Video: 9/19)
Vox - A jury said Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” copied another song. The $2.8 million verdict is alarming. (8/19)
Vox - How “Old Town Road” revealed a deep divide within country music (Audio 8/19)
Eater - How Restaurant Playlists Get Made — and Why So Many Sound the Same (7/19)
NPR Morning Edition - Alone Together: Robyn's 'Dancing On My Own' Opens The Corners Of Community (6/19)
CBC - Predicting this year's song of the summer (6/19)
The Wrap - ‘Switched on Pop’ Podcast Host on Whether You Should Still Listen to Michael Jackson and R Kelly Songs (3/19)
Slate Decoder Ring - Baby Shark (2/19)
RN - Yee-haw, trap and a new kind of popstar (2/19)
The Economist -In popular music, collaborations rock (2/19)