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

A New Flood of English-Spanish Pop Is Here. Is It Opportunism or Progress? 29.09.2019

Collaborations have flourished in the wake of “Despacito,” some sounding natural, some sounding forced. Guest: Remezcla's Eduardo Cepeda. 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...

How Does Post Malone Sound Like Everything and Nothing? 22.09.2019

A conversation about his rapid rise and the questions — about genre and race — glossed over along the way. Guests: Pitchfork's Jayson Greene and The New York Times Magazine's Jonah Weiner. 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 podc...

Young Thug Gets His Due, But Is It Too Late? 07.09.2019

One of the decade’s most copied rappers finally reached No. 1 on the album chart, years after his aesthetic rubbed off on hip-hop. Guest: Andrew Nosnitsky. 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, downl...

What’s the Point of Album Covers in the Post-Album Era? 29.08.2019

What was once a large canvas for grand statements is now a tiny digital mark. Guest: Chips's Teddy Blanks. 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. Ho...

Is Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’ the Beginning or the End of an Era? 27.08.2019

Breaking down the sounds, the themes, the obscure (and not-so-hidden) messages and more on her seventh album. 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 narrated articles,...

A Tribute to David Berman, Who Never Hid His Truth 16.08.2019

Conversations about his songwriting, his struggles and his striking sweetness outside of music. Guests: Jeff Johnson; The New Yorker's Amanda Petrusich; and Nick Weidenfeld. 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 narrat...

Funkmaster Flex and Tyler, the Creator’s Unlikely Buddy Comedy 02.08.2019

The Hot 97 D.J. and the hip-hop disrupter shared the wildest interview of the year. Guests: Rolling Stone's Charles Holmes and 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, downl...

How Many Streams Is a T-Shirt Worth? Breaking Down Chart Dilemmas. 26.07.2019

There’s more data about music consumption than ever before. That doesn’t mean we understand who’s the most popular. Guests: The New York Times's Joe Coscarelli 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 nar...

The Loudness of João Gilberto, Bossa Nova’s King of Quiet 19.07.2019

A look back at the Brazilian musician’s innovations as one of the genre’s primary architects. Guest: Ben Ratliff 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/a...

How Hootie & the Blowfish Inspired Both Love and Hate 08.07.2019

Critics who were writing about the band at the peak of its fame look back at how the group became so bitterly divisive. Guests: Jim DeRogatis and Danyel 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, d...

The Unexpectedly Deep Musical Roots of Hootie & the Blowfish 01.07.2019

“Cracked Rear View” catapulted the band to superstardom. But the group made great music long before — and after — anyone paid attention. Guest: former A&R representative Tim Sommer 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...

Why Are the Movies So Obsessed With Pop Stars? 21.06.2019

From “Rocketman” to “Her Smell,” “Blaze” to “Vox Lux,” the film industry seems to think all musicians have the same ups and downs. Guests: The New York Times's A.O. Scott; Vanity Fair's K. Austin Collins; Kristen Yoonsoo Kim. 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/au...

Can Record Labels Be Trusted to Preserve Music History? 13.06.2019

A 2008 fire destroyed master recordings for a who’s who of popular music. A new investigation explores the damage done. Guest: The New York Times Magazine's Jody Rosen 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...

Bob Dylan’s Excellent Adventure 11.06.2019

The Rolling Thunder Revue was more than a tour: It was a chance for the songwriter to play with the truth. Guest: The New York Times's 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 narrated articles, download The N...

Megan Thee Stallion and Rap’s Rising Generation of Women 25.05.2019

Hip-hop has historically been inhospitable to female performers. A new class is finding fresh paths to break through. Guests: The Atlantic's Hannah Giorgis and Vulture's Hunter Harris. 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...

Are AirPods Worth the Costs? 20.05.2019

Apple’s wireless earbuds have led to questions about personal tech as environmental scourge and punch line. Guests: The New York Times's Brian X. Chen and Motherboard's Caroline Haskins. 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 podcas...

Vampire Weekend, Indie Rock Heretics Turned Anxious Jam Band 13.05.2019

Ezra Koenig’s literate group has returned, sparking questions about how it was received in the past, and where it stands in the current climate. Guests: The New York Times's Jon Pareles; The Ringer's Rob Harvilla 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 Return of Bikini Kill and the Long Tail of Riot Grrrl 05.05.2019

A movement of punk-powered feminism that began in the early 1990s has a fresh urgency in 2019. Guests: Evelyn McDonnell, Elisabeth Vincentelli 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, dow...

How Gospel and Pop Learn From Each Other 30.04.2019

From Kanye West to serpentwithfeet to the Stellar Awards returning to BET, the genres’ dialogue has been evolving. Guest: The New Yorker's Briana Younger 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...

Is Billie Eilish the Future of Pop? 19.04.2019

The 17-year-old musician has been revising the rules of young stardom. But she may be more of a classicist than her aesthetic would suggest. Guests: The New York Times's Joe Coscarelli; Meaghan Garvey 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...

Lil Nas X and the Long History of Country-Rap 07.04.2019

“Old Town Road” is the latest flash point in the two-decades-long dialogue between Nashville and hip-hop. Guest: Average Joes Entertainment's Shannon Houchins 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...

Boy Bands, Now Featuring Grown Men 29.03.2019

Backstreet’s back, the New Kids put out a new single and groups in the K-pop ecosystem are thriving. Why are boy bands so central to pop music? Guests: Jezebel's Maria Sherman and Billboard's Andrew Unterberger 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=podc...

How a Viral Rap Star Rocketed From Meme to Hit 21.03.2019

Blueface’s “Thotiana” is a nearly perfectly engineered hit of the social media age. Guests: The Fader's Ben Dandridge-Lemco and 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, down...

Can Michael Jackson’s Legacy Ever Really Be Derailed? 07.03.2019

The documentary “Leaving Neverland” details devastating allegations of sexual abuse. How do fans process them, and Jackson’s body of work? Guests: The New York Times's Joe Coscarelli, Aisha Harris 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=po...

Behind the Ryan Adams Investigation 18.02.2019

The musician has been accused of dangling career opportunities while pursuing female artists for sex, then turning domineering and vengeful. He denies the claims. Guests: The New York Times's Joe Coscarelli and Melena Ryzik. 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/aud...

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