Music Popcast

With a blockbuster LP and a smash tour, the genre-melding superstar set a new bar for himself, and expanded the possibilities for Spanish-language pop worldwide. Guests: Billboard's Leila Cobo and The New York Times Magazine's Carina del Valle Schorske.

Answering reader queries about the state of the music video, Morgan Wallen, SZA and Ethel Cain and more. Guests: Joe Coscarelli and Caryn Ganz.

You asked, we answered your queries about Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, the state of indie rock and more. Guests: Joe Coscarelli and Caryn Ganz.

Let’s talk about tracks by Ice Spice, Cardi B, Ethel Cain and many more of the 70 picks on our critics’ lists. Guests: Jon Pareles and Lindsay Zoladz.

Our critics debate their year-end lists (and agree on Beyoncé and Rosalía!) in a wrap-up of the year in LPs. Guests: Jon Pareles and Lindsay Zoladz.

The country’s most influential hip-hop scene has weathered a period of extraordinary upheaval. A look back at happened, and what’s next. Guest: Joe Coscarelli.

The film about a renowned and embattled conductor puts a fresh spin on conversations about art, power and misdeeds. Guests: Vulture's Alison Wilmore and Zachary Woolfe.

A conversation about the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s studio innovations, and melding of social consciousness and musical creativity. Guest: Jon Pareles.

The New York Times pop music team had its say; now a new panel answers questions about the blockbuster album. Guests: Madison Malone Kircher and Pitchfork's Quinn Moreland.

The blockbuster singer-songwriter’s 10th studio album finds her at a crossroads: Will she continue to reckon with her past, or forge another new path forward? Guests: Joe Coscarelli, Caryn Ganz, Jon Pareles and Lindsay Zoladz.

A conversation about the country music titan’s sly radicalism and the many readings and misreadings of her work. Guest: Jewly Hight.

Songwriters who have found success on the app via emotional catharsis have expanded its range, and piqued the music industry’s interest. Guest: Stereogum's Rachel Brodsky.

The breakout country-folk singer and songwriter has found an audience for his old-fashioned artistry largely on a newer platform: streaming. Guest: Grady Smith.

Blondshell, Central Cee, Ethel Cain and more: a conversation about what’s breaking through, plus questions from the audience at our first live taping. Guests: Joe Coscarelli and Caryn Ganz.

The rapper’s rise has been accompanied by outside noise. How has she grown on record, and how have extra-musical narratives shaped her career? Guests: Rolling Stone's Mankaprr Conteh and Pitchfork's Heven Haile.

Firestorms over the “virtual rapper” FN Meka and faceless artists on Spotify have sparked conversations about alienation and creative agency. Guests: Joe Coscarelli; Garbage Day's Ryan Broderick; and Music Business Worldwide's Tim Ingham.

A conversation about the band’s return, its evolving message and the nature of comeback tours. Guests: Rolling Stone's Andy Greene and the writer and "Summer of Soul" producer Joseph Patel.

The conversation continues about one of the year’s most ideologically provocative pop albums, its queer inspirations and its credits. Guests: Naima Cochrane, Vulture's Jason P. Frank, Resident Advisor's Kiana Mickles and Patrik Sandberg.

A look at the recent burst of bands and how the scene operates as music, ethic and feeling. Guests: Stereogum's Tom Breihan and The Ringer's Chris Ryan.

A deep dive on “Renaissance,” her relationship to queer music communities and her framing of authorship. Guests: Joe Coscarelli, Wesley Morris, Jon Pareles and Salamishah Tillet.

The singer, rapper and songwriter’s peppy empowerment songs have made her an outlier in a field dominated by melancholic music. Guests: The Ringer's Justin Charity; Lindsay Zoladz; and William Robin.

How much do fantasy and imagination play into how we remember pop culture heroes? Guests: A.O. Scott and Alanna Nash.

He’s one of hip-hop’s biggest emerging stars, and he’s cutting a very different path than the white rappers who came before him. Guests: Hunter Harris, Larisha Paul and Peter Rosenberg.

The genre has long been filled with tension between mainstream outlets and the spaces in which the music is most likely to grow. Guests: Giovanni Russonello and WBGO's Nate Chinen.

How did the rapper arrive on the dance floor? And what subcultures and expectations might he experiment with next? Guests: Joe Coscarelli and The Baltimore Banner's Lawrence Burney.