Today host Nate Wilcox welcomes author David Cantwell to discuss Merle Haggard and his book “The Running Kind.” Nate and David grapple with the factors that made Haggard one of the great country superstars but prevented him from crossing over to a pop audience the way Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson or Dolly Parton did. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Host Nate Wilcox talks to Bing Crosby biographer Gary Giddins about Bing Crosby's jazz credentials, his rise to fame with Paul Whiteman, his conquest of radio, early days in Hollywood and mastery of the microphone. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Host Nate Wilcox welcomes back Jeff Feuerzeig the director of “The Devil and Daniel Johnston”, to discuss the late singer-songwriter and Austin, Texas legend, the line between genius and madness, the lo-fi movement and the making of one of the all-time great rock documentaries. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Host Nate Wilcox interviews Randy Poe, the man who edited Buck Owens' autobiography. They discuss Buck's golden run of great country hits in the 1960s, his incredible business acumen, his place in the Okie diaspora and more. Part of The Pantheon Podcast Network.

Nate and Justin interview James Brown biographer R.J. Smith about his involvement in the creation of Mike Judge's Tales from the Tour Bus Check out all the great Podcasts over on Pantheon.

Host Nate Wilcox and Simon Reynolds look at "Pop Culture's Addiction to Its Own Past" almost a decade after publication of Reynolds' "Retromania." Part of The Pantheon Podcast Network.

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Justin Bankston discuss Mike Judge's brilliant Tales from the Tour Bus season 2: Funk. This episode covers Betty Davis, muse of Miles Davis and a funk queen in her own right. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Justin Bankston discuss Mike Judge's brilliant Tales from the Tour Bus season 2: Funk. This episode covers Morris Day, leader of The Time and rival to Prince himself. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Justin Bankston discuss Mike Judge's brilliant Tales from the Tour Bus season 2: Funk. This episode covers The Godfather of Funk, James Brown. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Justin Bankston discuss Mike Judge's brilliant Tales from the Tour Bus season 2: Funk. This episode covers funk bassist Bootsy Collins. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Justin Bankston discuss Mike Judge's brilliant Tales from the Tour Bus season 2: Funk. This episode covers the two-parter on punk funk king Rick James. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Justin Bankston discuss Mike Judge's brilliant Tales from the Tour Bus season 2: Funk. This episode features legendary P-Funk leader George Clinton. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Ted Gioia returns to discuss his latest book ”Music: A Subversive History.” Ted and Nate discuss the tension between the social outsiders who’ve always been the source of musical innovation and the mainstream academicians who borrow their ideas.

Host Nate Wilcox and grunge oral historian Mark Yarm discuss the incredible rise and brutal fall of grunge, the blend of punk and metal that finally put alternative rock on the top of the charts. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Forbes senior Editor Zack O’Malley Greenburg joins host Nate Wilcox to discuss his book “3 Kings: Diddy, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, and Hip-Hop's Multibillion-Dollar Rise.” They talk about how hip hop’s 90’s boom produced three of the wealthiest music entrepreneurs since Barry Gordy. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Host Nathan Wilcox speaks to cultural historian and "Can't Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America" author Jonathan Gould about the America the Beatles found in 1964 and the whys and hows of their nearly instant mass popularity. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Today, music historian David Stubbs joins Nate to discuss his book “Future Sounds: The Story of Electronic Music from Stockhausen to Skrillex.” The discussion ranges from the first conceptual beginnings of electronic music in the European avant-garde to Stevie Wonder’s pioneering use of synths in the 70s to the conquest of the music world by EDM in the 21st Century. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

The most gifted of the original generation of soul singers, covered by Elvis and the Beatles, Little Willie John couldn't get out of his own way. Host Nate Wilcox gets the tragic tale from biographer Susan Whitall. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

In our first ever two hour episode, host Nate Wilcox interviews Mick Brown to get the story of Phil Spector, a man who had reached the pinnacle of the music world by age 23, went on to produce the Beatles and is now rotting in prison. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

An interview with Andy Neill author of "Had Me A Real Good Time: The Faces Before During and After"

In this episode, host Nate Wilcox and jazz enthusiast Ted Gioia review the quintessential artists and records in American jazz music and discuss the dynamic evolution of jazz with respect to other genres.

In this episode, author Stanley Booth and Nate Wilcox discuss Booth's experience with the Rolling Stones on their 1969 tour in the U.S., including their infamous concert at Altamont.

In this episode, Nate and author Michael Azerrad discuss hardcore punk and its popularity in the U.S. despite the genre's famed indifference to mass appeal and commercial success; this and other elements of the '80s underground indie scene are detailed in Azerrad's book, "Our Band Could Be Your Life".

In this episode, Nate and author Ted Gioia discuss the rise and reign of the concept of The Cool in American music over the course of the twentieth century.

Host Nate Wilcox and author and music critic Robert Christgau discuss the development and current role of rock criticism and talk about important American musical influences, as well as the streaming-era criticism of music.