Popcast
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.
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What’s Left for the Weeknd to Conquer?
“Dawn FM” suggests at least one future direction for the pop powerhouse, who’s spent a decade making careful moves. Guest: The Ringer's Rob Harvilla.
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2021 in Jazz: Intimacy and Conversation
Throughout the pandemic, the music’s flexibility has become an asset. Where will artists take it next? Guests: Giovanni Russonello and Marcus J. Moore.
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Bonus Episode: Lana Del Rey’s American Fever Dreams
As a New Year's treat, we've recovered an old episode sidelined by technical issues (thank you, Pedro!): a discussion of Lana Del Rey’s “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” and the long arc of her career. Guests: Mina Tavakoli and Lindsay Zoladz.
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What We Forgot to Talk About in 2021
A catch-up round table on a host of topics: Maneskin, Jazmine Sullivan, Kelly Clarkson, a Real Housewife’s music career and much more. Guests: Joe Coscarelli and Caryn Ganz.
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TikTok’s Music Critics Reflect on 2021
Four of the app’s voices on pop name their favorite releases of the year and discuss developing taste in the age of the algorithm. Guests: Margeaux Labat, Eric Morris, Cam Sullivan-Brown and Hunter White.
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The Best Albums of 2021? Let’s Discuss.
Our critics spar over their year-end lists (and agree on Olivia Rodrigo and Tyler, the Creator) in a wrap-up of the year in LPs. Guests: Jon Pareles and Lindsay Zoladz.
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Remembering Stephen Sondheim, Musical Theater Visionary
A conversation about his legacy, his engagements with pop music and whether he has any true inheritors. Guests: Jesse Green and Elisabeth Vincentelli.
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Adele Returns, From Beyond Space and Time
Will we ever see a star who unites audiences like this British musician again? Guests: Jon Pareles and Pitchfork's Jillian Mapes.
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The Emotional and Financial Business of Taylor Swift’s ‘All Too Well’
What does the rerecorded song from “Red” say about how power and the past have shaped her career? Guests: Joe Coscarelli, Caryn Ganz and Lindsay Zoladz.
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Remembering the Velvet Underground Through the Mirror of Film
A conversation about how the band was experienced in its time, and how Todd Haynes’s new documentary explores the world that birthed it. Guests: Jon Pareles and A.O. Scott.
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How the Mosh Pit and ‘Raging’ Came to Hip-Hop
The tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld turned attention to how rap festival performances are increasingly oriented toward the rowdy. Guest: Masked Gorilla and Masked Records' Roger Gengo.
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Popcast Mailbag! Halsey, Nicki, TikTok and, of Course, Taylor
Answering your questions about pop’s big names, the state of the music video and more. Guests: Joe Coscarelli and Caryn Ganz.
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glaive and Hyperpop’s Breakthrough Moment
A conversation about one teen’s rapid ascent, and what the future might hold for a singer and sound evolving in real time. Guest: The Fader's Alex Robert Ross.
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The Music Lost to Coronavirus, Part 3
Remembering Jacob Desvarieux, John Davis and Chucky Thompson. Guests: The New Yorker's Doreen St. Felix; Billboard's Gil Kaufman; Jeff Mao.
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The Reporters Who Covered R. Kelly on His Trial and Conviction
A conversation about the testimony, the meaning of the verdict and the long quest for proper recompense for the singer’s victims. Guests: Troy Closson and Jim DeRogatis.
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Bringing Aaliyah Into the Streaming Era
A conversation about the tug of war over her musical legacy, and how her songs — even without a digital presence — impacted the evolution of contemporary R&B. Guests: Naima Cochrane; Billboard's Gail Mitchell and Dan Rys.
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Kacey Musgraves, Country Music Chameleon
The singer and songwriter’s “Star-Crossed” documents the end of her marriage. But reports of her divorce from Nashville have been greatly exaggerated. Guests: Amanda Hess and The Guardian's Laura Snapes.
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Is Drake Tired of Drake?
“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.
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Miss the Old Kanye? Try the New Kanye.
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.
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Lorde Steals Her Sunshine Back
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.
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The Style of Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ Era
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.
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The Lox, Triumphant at Verzuz
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.
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Billie Eilish’s New Pop Perspective
How has the teenage phenomenon’s songwriting, and her relationship to the larger music machine, evolved between albums? Guests: Joe Coscarelli and Lindsay Zoladz.
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Lil Nas X in the Pop Stratosphere
A conversation about his unconventional path to success, his unconventional methods of maintaining it and his possible futures beyond it. Guest: Jazmine Hughes.
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When Pop Music Trolls Grow Up
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.
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The (Not So?) Tentative Return of Live Music
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.
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Britney Spears Takes On Her Conservatorship
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.
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In the Weeds of ‘In the Heights’
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.
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Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’ Breakthrough
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.
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J. Cole, Triumphant (at His Own Pace)
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.
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The Beatific Re-emergence of Beverly Glenn-Copeland
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.
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Where Is Country Music Making Room for Women?
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.
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The Sing-Rap Generation Branches Out
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.
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When a TikTok Influencer Dances, Who Gets Credit?
Addison Rae’s appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s show sparked conversations about appropriation and how dance has been central to the platform. Guest: Taylor Lorenz.
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The Telling of DMX’s Life Story
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.”
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Taylor, Billie, Demi, Blackpink: The Pop Star Documentary Boom
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.
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The Grammys, Improbably, Made It Work
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.
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TikTok and the Pop Music Rough Draft
The wildly popular platform has reshaped pop during the coronavirus pandemic, and changed how record labels grapple with unpredictable virality. Guest: Caryn Ganz.
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New Jazz That Agitates for Change
A conversation about strong recent debuts, and how canon and community can be in tension. Guests: Giovanni Russonello and Marcus J. Moore.
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Remembering Sophie, Architect of Future Pop
Exploring the legacy of a producer and performer who imagined an approach to music without borders. Guests: Sasha Geffen and Pitchfork's Philip Sherburne.
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The Music Lost to Coronavirus, Part 2
Remembering Fred the Godson, Adam Schlesinger and Cristina. Guests: Kurt B. Reighley; Complex's Shawn Setaro; and Ben Sisario.
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Olivia Rodrigo and ‘Drivers License’ Aren’t Going Anywhere
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.
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Inside the Bull Market for Songwriting Rights
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.
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How Zev Love X Became MF Doom
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.
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2020 Popcast Listener Mailbag: Taylor, Dua, MGK and More
Answering your questions about the year’s biggest stars, and also some of its curious flops. Guests: Joe Coscarelli and Caryn Ganz.
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Taylor Swift’s ‘Evermore’: Let’s Discuss
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.
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The Best Albums of 2020? Let’s Discuss.
An absence of live music refocused attention on records, and work by Fiona Apple, Taylor Swift and Run the Jewels spoke loudly.
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Saweetie, City Girls and the Female Rapper Renaissance
Streaming, social media and the tireless work of trailblazers have helped change the hip-hop landscape.
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Who Will Control Britney Spears’s Future?
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.
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Ariana Grande, a Pop Star for the Post-Pop Star Age
A conversation about her unique route to the top of the charts — and what’s next. Guests: Lindsay Zoladz and Shaad D’Souza.
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