Music Popcast

Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce and Kacey Musgraves have reacted to breakups — and found freedom — in song. Guest: Marissa R. Moss.

How Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus’s side project has become a major part of their music — and their lore. Guests: Jon Pareles and Pitchfork's Cat Zhang.

The pop superstar is back on tour for the first time since 2018, performing grand stadium shows that spin a narrative from her 10-album catalog. Guest: Joe Coscarelli.

A conversation about the ubiquitous Bronx rapper’s rise, and her boosts from the meme universe. Guest: Rolling Stone's Jeff Ihaza.

As the country star’s new album earns the biggest debut of the year, a conversation about the nature of his fame and the scope of his reprimand for using a racial slur. Guest: The New Yorker's Kelefa Sanneh.

A conversation about the group’s impact and legacy as its music finally arrives on streaming services, just weeks after the death of one of its rappers, Dave Jolicoeur. Guests: Questlove and Joseph Patel.

The hitmaker has been named a creative director at Louis Vuitton, building another bridge between two worlds with decades of history. Guest: Complex's Aria Hughes.

A conversation about the singer and songwriter’s chart-topping “SOS,” and the different approach to star-making that brought her there. Guest: Danyel Smith.

A conversation about the hip-hop eccentric’s experiments, and the benefits (and perils) of collaborating outside an artist’s established genre. Guests: Jayson Buford and The Ringer's Justin Charity.

Does respect from music’s premier awards show still carry weight? Guests: Joe Coscarelli, Jon Pareles and Lindsay Zoladz.

Acts with growing profiles and unique personalities are taking increasingly different paths, as the genre’s globalization opens new doors. Guest: Tamar Herman.

The concert giant has long been the target of consumer complaints and artists’ ire. Recent incidents involving Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny have renewed focus on problems in the live marketplace. Guest: Ben Sisario.

As the genre experiences a creative renaissance, has it become quietly radical to re-embrace the past? Guests: Harmony Holiday and Giovanni Russonello.

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.