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

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Episodes

How Zev Love X Became MF Doom 07.01.2021

Conversations about the legacy of the beloved rap figure’s early career, which set the table for the artist he would become. Guests: Stretch Armstrong, Bobbito Garcia and Dante Ross. 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 an...

Taylor Swift’s ‘Evermore’: Let’s Discuss 15.12.2020

A second album written and recorded during pandemic lockdown carries the singer and songwriter further from conventional pop. Guests: Joe Coscarelli, Caryn Ganz and Jon Pareles. 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 Best Albums of 2020? Let’s Discuss. 09.12.2020

An absence of live music refocused attention on records, and work by Fiona Apple, Taylor Swift and Run the Jewels spoke loudly. 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 a...

Saweetie, City Girls and the Female Rapper Renaissance 29.11.2020

Streaming, social media and the tireless work of trailblazers have helped change the hip-hop landscape. 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. Hoste...

Who Will Control Britney Spears’s Future? 18.11.2020

While her father remains the head of her estate for now, the pop star has signaled she’s ready for change. Guests: Joe Coscarelli and Vanessa Grigoriadis. 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, downlo...

Ariana Grande, a Pop Star for the Post-Pop Star Age 10.11.2020

A conversation about her unique route to the top of the charts — and what’s next. Guests: Lindsay Zoladz and Shaad D’Souza. 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 ny...

The Many Mariah Careys 22.10.2020

A conversation about her memoir, her range of contributions to pop music and her secret alt-rock album. Guests: New York's Allison P. Davis; Joe Coscarelli 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...

Luke Combs’s Country Stardom and the Remaking of the Bro 04.10.2020

The Nashville star learned from the genre’s past and carved his own path. Guest: Grady Smith. 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. Hosted by Simpl...

Will Pop Music of the Future Rely on Actual Musicians, or Avatars? 28.09.2020

The pandemic has sped up how digital look-alikes are reshaping stardom. Guest: The Ringer's Alyssa Bereznak. 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....

Is TikTok a Music Industry Friend or Troll? 17.09.2020

“Old Town Road” showed the app’s potential as a hit generator. But its relationship to the business is far more complex. Guest: Taylor Lorenz. 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 Y...

Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, Preserving Pop’s Old Guard 09.09.2020

Six albums into major-label careers with “Chromatica” and “Smile,” where do these two stars fit in? Guest host: Caryn Ganz. Guest: 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, download The N...

Remembering Riley Gale of Power Trip, a Thrash Titan 01.09.2020

The band’s 34-year-old frontman helped break down barriers between scenes, and was known for singularly wild live shows. Guests: Dan Franklin; James Khubiar; and Andy O’Connor. 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...

How Merchandise Bundles Undid the Album Chart 22.08.2020

For today’s biggest artists, an album release isn’t just about the music. 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 York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simpl...

The Music Lost to Coronavirus, Part 1 18.08.2020

Remembering Joe Diffie, Mona Foot and DJ Black N Mild. Guests: Hits' Holly Gleason; Jacob Bernstein; and Elena Bergeron. 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 nytim...

The Welcome Return of the Chicks 10.08.2020

How would Nashville be different if it hadn’t pushed the trio away? A conversation about “Gaslighter” and beyond. Guests: Jewly Hight and Slate's Carl 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 . For more podcasts and narrated articles, do...

Answering Your Questions About Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ 04.08.2020

Readers asked about Bon Iver, country music, Jack Antonoff and more. Guests: Northwestern University's Lauren Michele Jackson 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, download The Ne...

Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’: Let’s Discuss 28.07.2020

On an album made entirely in quarantine, the singer and songwriter embarks in a fresh direction. Guests: Jon Pareles, Caryn Ganz and Joe Coscarelli. 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...

Remembering Ennio Morricone, the Film Score Maestro 20.07.2020

His music was dynamic, bold and idiosyncratic, setting a high bar for composers connecting sound and vision. Guests: Jon Pareles and Joshua Rothkopf. 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 Th...

The Timely Agitation of Run the Jewels 09.07.2020

Killer Mike and El-P’s anti-government and pro-justice hip-hop feels like it anticipated the current moment. Guest: Pitchfork's Sheldon Pearce. 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...

Pop Superfans Are Getting Politically Active. What Happens Next? 30.06.2020

A subset of passionate listeners are asking for more of their heroes than simply music. Guest: Denisha Kuhlor. 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...

Lil Baby Is Warming Up to the Spotlight 21.06.2020

His protest song “The Bigger Picture” marks a high point in his evolution from reluctant up-and-comer to one of hip-hop’s reliable superstars. Guest: Joe Coscarelli. 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...

The Long, Complicated History of ‘Urban’ Music 15.06.2020

As the music industry reckons with racial inequality, one of the first old structures to fall has been a term that dates back to the 1970s. Guest: Nelson George. 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,...

How Did The Source Cover the 1992 Los Angeles Uprisings? 07.06.2020

Two former editors look back at the magazine’s on-the-ground reporting following the Rodney King verdict. Guests: James Bernard and Reginald Dennis. 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...

After Missteps, Pop Stars Apologize … and Sometimes Push Back 01.06.2020

Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat and how some in the limelight bristle at social media condemnation. 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 narrated articles, download The New York Times app at...

The Many Lives of Doja Cat 18.05.2020

The pop star took an extremely nonlinear path to No. 1, and continues to push the boundaries of online behavior. Guest: Lakin Starling. 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 Tim...

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