Music Popcast

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. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Are artists responsible when their fan armies can be weaponized? Guests: Joe Coscarelli and Lindsay Zoladz. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The year’s most consistent new hip-hop star combines intense rhymes with online savvy. Guest: Joe Coscarelli. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Nashville has long marginalized female performers, songwriters and producers. But a wave of artists is fighting back. Guests: Jada Watson and Natalie Weiner. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

One of the year’s most unlikely breakthroughs is a duo that makes disorienting, genre-jumbling music. Guests: Eli Enis and The Fader's Larry Fitzmaurice. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Collaborations have flourished in the wake of “Despacito,” some sounding natural, some sounding forced. Guest: Remezcla's Eduardo Cepeda. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

A conversation about his rapid rise and the questions — about genre and race — glossed over along the way. Guests: Pitchfork's Jayson Greene and The New York Times Magazine's Jonah Weiner. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

One of the decade’s most copied rappers finally reached No. 1 on the album chart, years after his aesthetic rubbed off on hip-hop. Guest: Andrew Nosnitsky. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

What was once a large canvas for grand statements is now a tiny digital mark. Guest: Chips's Teddy Blanks. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Breaking down the sounds, the themes, the obscure (and not-so-hidden) messages and more on her seventh album. Guests: Joe Coscarelli, Caryn Ganz and Jon Pareles. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Conversations about his songwriting, his struggles and his striking sweetness outside of music. Guests: Jeff Johnson; The New Yorker's Amanda Petrusich; and Nick Weidenfeld. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The Hot 97 D.J. and the hip-hop disrupter shared the wildest interview of the year. Guests: Rolling Stone's Charles Holmes and Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

There’s more data about music consumption than ever before. That doesn’t mean we understand who’s the most popular. Guests: The New York Times's Joe Coscarelli and Ben Sisario. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

A look back at the Brazilian musician’s innovations as one of the genre’s primary architects. Guest: Ben Ratliff Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Critics who were writing about the band at the peak of its fame look back at how the group became so bitterly divisive. Guests: Jim DeRogatis and Danyel Smith. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The superstar complained that the powerful manager acquired her master recordings, setting off a debate that divided the industry. Guest: The New York Times's Joe Coscarelli Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

“Cracked Rear View” catapulted the band to superstardom. But the group made great music long before — and after — anyone paid attention. Guest: former A&R representative Tim Sommer Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

From “Rocketman” to “Her Smell,” “Blaze” to “Vox Lux,” the film industry seems to think all musicians have the same ups and downs. Guests: The New York Times's A.O. Scott; Vanity Fair's K. Austin Collins; Kristen Yoonsoo Kim. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.