Switched on Pop

A podcast all about the making and meaning of popular music. Musicologist Nate Sloan & songwriter Charlie Harding pull back the curtain on how pop hits work magic on our ears & our culture. From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Music Commentary
Music Interviews
Music History
1
Hip-hop's Sea Change at Rolling Loud
What attending the world's largest hip-hop festival revealed about the genre
41 min
2
Rhapsody in Blue, Reimagined
Pianist Lara Downes updates a George Gershwin classic on the 100th anniversary of its premiere
28 min
3
Eternal Sunshine of Ariana Grande's Mind
Ariana Grande wipes away the past through vocal virtuosity and harmonic trickery
43 min
4
How to DIY a Music Career (with Amelia Meath an...
Making It Independent in Music
35 min
5
Is Beyoncé's music #sponcon? And other mysterie...
At this year's On-Air Fest, Charlie and Nate unpacked musical mysteries about product placement in pop and new-age frequencies
43 min
6
Jacob Collier unites the world
Interviewing Jacob Collier on completing his Djesse quadrilogy with his assorted collaborators
58 min
7
Beyoncé's Country
The superstar singer trains her unerring sonic lens on the forgotten Black roots of country music
42 min
8
Adult Contemporary, but make it cool (with CHRO...
The two most maligned words in music
28 min
9
The Star Spangled Banger!
The biggest diva to ever sing the national anthem
51 min
10
Brittany Howard's Chaos Theory (with Brittany H...
Brittany Howard’s new record “What Now” furthers her artistry through genre-mashing sounds and textures.
34 min
11
The b*tch of loving musical theater (with Bridg...
An investigation into why musicals provoke such strong reactions
43 min
12
Kali Uchis takes on the world
Kali Uchis's latest record Orchídeas is a trip through the Latine diaspora – with an additional stop in South Africa.
34 min
13
Soundalikes: Lil Nas X and Ariana Grande
How "J Christ," and "Yes, And?" build off of music history and pop celebrity
36 min
14
The case of the missing vocals, and other liste...
We’re starting off 2024 the right way: with a listener call-in show!
44 min
15
Too Fast? We’re Curious: The sped-up remix phen...
Tempo-shifted songs are everywhere these days. Where did they come from?
25 min
16
Wham! Op. 84 “Last Christmas” with Chilly Gonza...
George Michael & “A Very Chilly Christmas”
46 min
17
"Did I mention that it's Christmas in this club...
The comedian tackles the tragedy and comedy of the pop star holiday album
31 min
18
Nicki Minaj's Roman Empire
To understand Nicki, you need to understand her alter-ego Roman
48 min
19
Hear the Year: The music we loved in 2023
The music the Switched On Pop team loved this year
42 min
20
Behind the Scenes of Switched on Pop on Harman ...
What makes a hit?
29 min
21
Noah Kahan’s Folk Pop Revival
How the Vermont singer-songwriter incorporates what he calls "Northern Attitude" into his indie folk music
37 min
22
Why Country Music Dominated 2023's Charts
What Nashville owes Lil Nas X according to Chris Molanphy
46 min
23
The Beatles: "Now and Then" and Forever
The Beatles final recording came from the help of AI, does it sound human?
28 min
24
Rerecording Taylor Swift's 1989, Dark Side of t...
Switched On Pop listens back to all three albums to see how they hold up to the original and to uncover new musical discoveries.
40 min
25
Chartbreakers: Mitski tops the TikTok chart
The new TikTok chart maybe the most diverse
41 min