The 10 Best Switched on Pop Podcast Episodes
1) Why lo-fi is the perfect background music
Lo-Fi hip-hop has emerged as a hugely popular genre and internet subculture. Its millions of loyal fans rely on curated lo-fi playlists and live-streams to write to, study to and even fall asleep to. ...Show More
2) Lil Nas X: Country at the Crossroads
Lil Nas X currently holds the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his surprise hit “Old Town Road.” But though the song is dripping with country twang, you won’t find it anywhere on the countr...Show More
3) What BTS's "Boy With Love" ft. Halsey Can Teach Us About K-pop
How should we listen to K-pop? This music has become a global phenomenon, charting on the Billboard Hot 100, taking over social media feeds, and touring the world. In particular, the group BTS has cap...Show More
4) Comeback Kids: The Jonas Brothers are Back
After a six year hiatus, Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas are back with a new single and the stakes couldn't be higher. With each brother attaining a higher plane of celebrity during their time off, the thr...Show More
5) Baz Luhrmann’s “Sunscreen Song” — The 90s’ Most Unlikely Hit (with Avery Trufelman)
In 1999 filmmaker Baz Luhrmann released the song “Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen,” a 7-minute-long graduation speech set to downtempo electronic music. It was a highly unlikely hit that made its w...Show More
6) Who's Afraid of the Sound of TikTok? (w Cat Zhang)
Bass distorted to the edge of audibility; voices croaking out dark and violent lyrics; a hacked-together DIY aesthetic. This isn't a fringe musical movement, this is the sound of TikTok, the video app...Show More
7) Rosie: Investigating a Crime at the Heart of the Music Industry
Listen closely to the start of the 2015 hit "Hey Mama" by David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, Afrojack, and Bebe Rexha and you'll hear voices intoning a chant: "Be my woman, girl, I'll be your man." It's sampl...Show More
8) The (murder) Ballad of Joe Exotic “Tiger King” (with Robert Moor)
Scandal and intrigue surround Joe Exotic, the central character of the new Netflix documentary Tiger King. Among the many bizarre traits of this zoo keeper, Exotic tries his hand at country music. Int...Show More
9) Rihanna Party! (with Gina Delvac)
Last year, NPR Music ran an audacious headline: "Rihanna Is The 21st Century's Most Influential Musician." Millions and millions of fans the world over agree, and while we try to avoid overt expressio...Show More
10) ICYMI: How to 'Make Me Feel' with Lizzo
"Make Me Feel," is the first hit from Janelle Monáe's 2018 album Dirty Computer, and a sensual song about the fluidity of desire. In the pre-chorus, the singer proudly expresses that she is a "sexual...Show More