The New York Times

Popcast

Music EN ↓ 560 episodes

The Popcast is hosted by Jon Caramanica, a pop music critic for The New York Times. It covers the latest in popular music criticism, trends and news. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Author

The New York Times

Category

Music

Podcast website

www.nytimes.com

Latest episode

Jul 10, 2026

Where to listen?

Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soon

Podcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts

Get it on Google Play Install for free Android 5M+ downloads · 4.8 rating iOS soon

Episodes

Is Drake Tired of Drake? 14.09.2021

“Certified Lover Boy” dominated the charts, but something seems to have shifted in the most influential pop star of the past decade. Guests: The Ringer's Charles Holmes and Rolling Stone's Jeff Ihaza. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. Fo...

Miss the Old Kanye? Try the New Kanye. 07.09.2021

West has always been dreaming big, speaking loudly, courting controversy and channeling all of that into music. But one thing has changed. Guests: Vibe's Datwon Thomas and The Ringer's Justin Charity. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. Fo...

Lorde Steals Her Sunshine Back 30.08.2021

How successful is a sunny new phase of her career, and what does it mean to choose to move away from the expectations of superstardom? Guests: Joe Coscarelli and Lindsay Zoladz. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and nar...

The Style of Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ Era 24.08.2021

How West has used fashion to signify musical evolution, how he’s been regarded by the fashion industry and how other musicians are following in his footsteps. Guests: GQ's Rachel Tashjian and Vogue's Steff Yotka. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=po...

The Lox, Triumphant at Verzuz 16.08.2021

A conversation about New York hip-hop in the 1990s and early 2000s, and a night that brought the spirit of battle back to the pandemic-era staple. Guests: Jayson Rodriguez and Jayson Buford. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more pod...

Billie Eilish’s New Pop Perspective 09.08.2021

How has the teenage phenomenon’s songwriting, and her relationship to the larger music machine, evolved between albums? Guests: Joe Coscarelli and Lindsay Zoladz. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles,...

Lil Nas X in the Pop Stratosphere 23.07.2021

A conversation about his unconventional path to success, his unconventional methods of maintaining it and his possible futures beyond it. Guest: Jazmine Hughes. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, d...

When Pop Music Trolls Grow Up 19.07.2021

New albums from Doja Cat and Tyler, the Creator place their makers — children of the internet with a taste for friction — in a new light. Guest: The Ringer's Justin Charity. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrate...

The (Not So?) Tentative Return of Live Music 12.07.2021

A look at the challenges touring musicians faced over the last year, and how the industry is adjusting to the new normal. Guest: Ben Sisario. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New Yor...

Britney Spears Takes On Her Conservatorship 01.07.2021

An exploration of how the arrangement has intersected with her work, the latest legal updates and what might come next. Guests: Joe Coscarelli, Liz Day and Samantha Stark. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated...

In the Weeds of ‘In the Heights’ 18.06.2021

A conversation about bringing musicals to the big screen, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s artistic choices and the critical blowback to the film’s casting. Guests: Sandra Garcia, Isabelia Herrera and Lena Wilson. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. F...

Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’ Breakthrough 04.06.2021

Few artists making pop music have risen to the top in the past several years. What made this Disney star click with listeners? Guests: Olivia Horn and Lindsay Zoladz. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated artic...

J. Cole, Triumphant (at His Own Pace) 29.05.2021

The rapper’s sixth No. 1 album is here. Listen to a conversation about his career, and the long exchange between hip-hop and basketball. Guests: The New York Times's Elena Bergeron and Rap Portraits' Yoh Phillips. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=p...

The Beatific Re-emergence of Beverly Glenn-Copeland 14.05.2021

A conversation about his winding path to a receptive, ready audience — and how music can be a bulwark against cynicism and trauma. Guests: Taja Cheek and Mina Tavakoli. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated art...

Where Is Country Music Making Room for Women? 09.05.2021

Nashville remains challenging for women artists. But some rising performers are breaking through on radio — and TikTok. Guests: Marissa Moss and Natalie Weiner of the Don’t Rock the Inbox newsletter. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For...

The Sing-Rap Generation Branches Out 26.04.2021

How melody has continued to reshape hip-hop via the work of Polo G, Rod Wave, Lil Tjay and more rising artists. Guest: Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The N...

The Telling of DMX’s Life Story 11.04.2021

A conversation about the intense potency of the rapper’s music and religious fervor, and what it was like to interview him. Guest: Smokey Fontaine, the co-author of the 2002 book “E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX.” Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?sourc...

Taylor, Billie, Demi, Blackpink: The Pop Star Documentary Boom 02.04.2021

A conversation about the influx of films made about (and by) current stars and its implications for the format. Guests: The Observer's Simran Hans; and Caryn Ganz. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles...

The Grammys, Improbably, Made It Work 16.03.2021

The show navigated a year of crisis, minted a new generation of stars and didn’t fixate on boomers. Guests: Jon Pareles, Joe Coscarelli, Ben Sisario, Lindsay Zoladz and Caryn Ganz. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and...

TikTok and the Pop Music Rough Draft 13.03.2021

The wildly popular platform has reshaped pop during the coronavirus pandemic, and changed how record labels grapple with unpredictable virality. Guest: Caryn Ganz. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles...

New Jazz That Agitates for Change 02.03.2021

A conversation about strong recent debuts, and how canon and community can be in tension. Guests: Giovanni Russonello and Marcus J. Moore. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York T...

Remembering Sophie, Architect of Future Pop 15.02.2021

Exploring the legacy of a producer and performer who imagined an approach to music without borders. Guests: Sasha Geffen and Pitchfork's Philip Sherburne. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, downloa...

The Music Lost to Coronavirus, Part 2 05.02.2021

Remembering Fred the Godson, Adam Schlesinger and Cristina. Guests: Kurt B. Reighley; Complex's Shawn Setaro; and Ben Sisario. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at...

Olivia Rodrigo and ‘Drivers License’ Aren’t Going Anywhere 31.01.2021

A conversation about the year’s first genuine pop phenomenon, and the long arc of the Disney machine. Guests: Joe Coscarelli; Vulture's Justin Curto; and Larisha Paul. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated arti...

Inside the Bull Market for Songwriting Rights 19.01.2021

The emergence of Hipgnosis has helped turn the battle for catalogs into an arms race that shows no signs of slowing down. Guest: Ben Sisario. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New Yor...

Listen to the Popcast podcast in Replaio

Radio and podcasts in one app - free, with no sign-up. Install today and do not miss the launch

Get it on Google Play

Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.