Music Popcast

His music was dynamic, bold and idiosyncratic, setting a high bar for composers connecting sound and vision. Guests: Jon Pareles and Joshua Rothkopf. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

A subset of passionate listeners are asking for more of their heroes than simply music. Guest: Denisha Kuhlor. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Two former editors look back at the magazine’s on-the-ground reporting following the Rodney King verdict. Guests: James Bernard and Reginald Dennis. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat and how some in the limelight bristle at social media condemnation. Guest: The Ringer's Justin Charity. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The pop star took an extremely nonlinear path to No. 1, and continues to push the boundaries of online behavior. Guest: Lakin Starling. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Thousands of miles apart, and with radically different tools, both musicians were innovating. Guests: The New York Times's Jon Pareles; and Joseph Patel. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

A conversation about everything “Fetch the Bolt Cutters” and beyond. Guests: Jenn Pelly and Lindsay Zoladz. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Children’s films lean heavily on pop, but the elementary school set has access to a whole universe of music now. Guests: The New York Times's Gilbert Cruz, Jeremy Egner, Dave Itzkoff and Dave Renard. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The English pop star has given fans an upbeat album at a very dark time. Guest: Caryn Ganz. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Both artists pulled Nashville in fresh directions, and gave the genre growing pains. Guests: Bill Friskics-Warren and Natalie Weiner. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The coronavirus pandemic has upended the world, and the arts are reeling. Pop music critics are asking (and facing) hard questions. Guests: The Ringer's Rob Harvilla, New York's Craig Jenkins and Lindsay Zoladz. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Pop critics from around the country recommend pick-me-ups: Pharrell, the Pointer Sisters, Helado Negro and more. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The ways the pandemic has already reshaped the year, and what might happen in pop next. Guests: The New York Times's Ben Sisario and Jon Pareles. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

How has Kevin Parker built and sustained his successful psych-rock project — and where will he head next? Guests: The New York Times's Jon Pareles and Pitchfork's Jillian Mapes. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The 20-year-old rapper was poised to carry the scene’s sound to the world. Guest: Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The Popcast opens its mailbag in the second of two episodes devoted to our listeners. Guests: The New York Times’s Joe Coscarelli, Caryn Ganz and Jon Pareles. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The Popcast opens its mailbag in the first of two episodes devoted to our listeners. Guests: The New York Times's Joe Coscarelli and Caryn Ganz. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.