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
151
Five years later, the legacy of Nipsey Hussle's...
Exploring the late rapper's impact with author Justin Tinsley
33 min
152
“Flowers” and the art of the response song
How Miley Cyrus' hit stacks up next to Bruno Mars and the answer song canon
38 min
153
Rihanna Party! ICYMI
While we wait for R9
52 min
154
The L.A. guitar shop that reinvented indie folk
Old Style Guitar Shop and Reuben Cox’s rubber bridge guitar
34 min
155
A History of Whammies at the Grammys - Into It ...
It's Grammys weekend and Sam Sanders, host of Vulture's Into It podcast, is ready for disappointment!
23 min
156
Wonders: Bobby McFerrin
“Don’t Worry Be Happy” and why all of his work brings us joy
33 min
157
The New Wave of Paramore
Paramore is back – with a new sound and a new wave sheen.
32 min
158
Taylor Swift and the music industry's next $20
Decoder's Nilay Patel on the future of streaming
78 min
159
SZA's Endless Melody
Why SZA's latest album SOS hits different
28 min
160
Too Fast? We’re Curious: The sped-up remix phen...
Tempo-shifted songs are everywhere these days. Where did they come from?
25 min
161
ICYMI 90s Music Canon
Twenty years after the 90s, which songs are everlasting?
35 min
162
ICYMI: We *do* talk about Bruno
The mystery of Encanto’s #1 hit
24 min
163
Anitta & Rosalía on the borders of Latin pop
How do 'MOTOMAMI' and 'Versions of Me' embody the characteristics of Latin pop?
25 min
164
How Bad Bunny won 2022
'Un Verano Sin Ti' is a textbook to the sounds of Latin America
33 min
165
The soft sounds of Kali Uchis (live from Vultur...
Charlie Harding chats with Kali Uchis about how she crafted her unique sound.
30 min
166
Why do new Christmas songs fail?
In case you missed it last year: why are there no new Christmas songs?
24 min
167
The Art of Flow
Exploring what DJ Jazzy Jeff calls the "body clock" of our favorite rappers
33 min
168
Willow Smith rocks harder
Charlie and Willow chat about the making of the new record and the many multitudes of rock music.
23 min
169
The Sound of Sapphism
Where "sapphic pop" came from and how artists feel about it
30 min
170
Scary Pockets funkify pop classics (with Lizzy ...
The Bee Gees' “Staying Alive” gets new life
32 min
171
Up late with Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’
36 min
172
Steve Lacy brings bedroom pop to the Billboard top
Why "Bad Habit" is the most interesting #1 of 2022 (so far)
31 min
173
Why it hurts to release a record (with Sylvan E...
Amelia Meath asks MUNA, Maggie Rogers, Jeff Tweedy, Bartees Strange
44 min
174
Santigold sings Spirituals
The genre-defying performer walks the line between horror and beauty on her newest album
23 min
175
The future of music pt I
A conversation with The Vergecast
32 min