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Switched on Pop

A podcast all about the making and meaning of popular music. Musicologist Nate Sloan & songwriter Ch

Episodes

Total: 441

NPR's Sam Sanders stops by to break down the tracks that Switched On listeners have been loving. Swe

Dallas Taylor, host of the stellar sound design series Twenty Thousand Hertz, stops by to fill Nate

Jazz 1959

2019/9/24

Charlie's out on parental leave, which means no one is here to stop Nate from going off the rails. A

The pace of new music releases these days is dizzying. Sometimes it’s like watching someone do a mag

For most parents, “Baby Shark” is the nightmare that will not end. Ever since the South Korean educa

Ross Golan is no stranger to Switched on Pop. This week, the songwriter and host of the hit podcast

On this very special episode, we join forces with the hilarious podcast OFF BOOK. When our powers co

"Make Me Feel," is the first hit from Janelle Monáe's 2018 album Dirty Computer,  and a sensual song

Today we're revisiting an episode inspired by a pair of classic VH1 shows: “Behind the Music” and “W

Every year, critics and media outlets the world over put out definitive song-of-summer guides based

The sound of R&B is difficult to pin down. Since the 1950s, the label has been used both as a ge

For the live action remake of the Lion King, Beyoncé, (who voices Nala in the film), recorded and cu

Why is it that every hip restaurant plays the same music? When Eater restaurant editor Hillary Dixle

Lil Nas X licensed the beat for “Old Town Road” from an e-commerce platform. He originally bought a

Shawn Mendes’ hit song “If I Can’t Have You” is so ridiculously catchy that Charlie had it stuck in

Find out how music creates a feeling of space in this three part episode. First, we may not realize

How should we listen to K-pop? This music has become a global phenomenon, charting on the Billboard

Fans are not happy with Will Smith's update of the classic Disney song "Prince Ali" in the live-acti

Ever notice that wobbly, drunken and underwater sound common in so many contemporary pop songs? In a

Rocketman is a spectacle the size of Elton John, four films in one. It contains a biopic, jukebox mu