Music Popcast

Pop critics from around the country recommend pick-me-ups: Pharrell, the Pointer Sisters, Helado Negro and more.

The ways the pandemic has already reshaped the year, and what might happen in pop next. Guests: The New York Times's Ben Sisario and Jon Pareles.

How has Kevin Parker built and sustained his successful psych-rock project — and where will he head next? Guests: The New York Times's Jon Pareles and Pitchfork's Jillian Mapes.

The 20-year-old rapper was poised to carry the scene’s sound to the world. Guest: Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre.

One of pop’s biggest stars returns with an album that has unexpected kinship with new music from Harry Styles and Selena Gomez. Guest: Lindsay Zoladz.

The Popcast opens its mailbag in the second of two episodes devoted to our listeners. Guests: The New York Times’s Joe Coscarelli, Caryn Ganz and Jon Pareles.

The Popcast opens its mailbag in the first of two episodes devoted to our listeners. Guests: The New York Times's Joe Coscarelli and Caryn Ganz.

A conversation about how its meaning has evolved over the last two decades. Guests: The New York Times's Elena Bergeron and The Undefeated's Soraya Nadia McDonald.

Did the deserving artists win? Was Aerosmith terrible? The debates rage on our post-awards show. Guests: Joe Coscarelli, Caryn Ganz, Wesley Morris and Jon Pareles.

Songs that work in 15-second bursts are different from tracks that succeed on the FM dial. Guests: The writer Aimee Cliff and GodMode's Nick Sylvester.

A conversation about the best jazz albums of the year, and what they tell us about the genre’s future. Guests: Martin Johnson and Giovanni Russonello.

A revealing (and hilarious) look back at our year-end lists from the past decade. Guests: The New York Times's Jon Pareles and Joe Coscarelli.

How do you measure a year in pop? Guests: The New York Times's Jon Pareles, Joe Coscarelli and Caryn Ganz.

Success is coming faster than ever for a new generation of musicians. But at what price? Guests: David Turner; the directors Ramez Silyan and Sebastian Jones.

A memoir and a deluxe edition of “1999” offer a new perspective on the meticulous artist. Guests: Jon Pareles, Naima Cochrane, Keith Murphy and Jay Smooth.

Lizzo, Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X lead the way. But has the Recording Academy’s relationship to pop changed? Guests: The full New York Times pop music team.

Are artists responsible when their fan armies can be weaponized? Guests: Joe Coscarelli and Lindsay Zoladz.

Netflix’s “Rhythm + Flow” is the most recent example of the reality-TV business trying to get into the hip-hop business. Guests: Complex's Frazier Tharpe and Stereogum's Tom Breihan.

Gospel music insiders on the rapper’s turn to religious music and how his album relates to contemporary holy hip-hop. Guests: Root's Hasan James and The Journal of Gospel Music's Robert Marovich.

The year’s most consistent new hip-hop star combines intense rhymes with online savvy. Guest: Joe Coscarelli.