Madison McFerrin is a singer, songwriter, and producer from New York. She’s sung with legends like Aretha Franklin, George Clinton,... more

In May 1980, the band Joy Division was devastated by the death of lead singer Ian Curtis. The three remaining... more

It’s usually hard to pin down when a genre of music starts. But people point to this one party in... more

Yaeji is a singer, songwriter, and producer from New York. During her childhood she moved between Queens, Atlanta, and Seoul.... more

Seal is a multi-Grammy-winning singer and songwriter from England. His song “Kiss from a Rose” was first released in 1994,... more

Kenny Beats is a hip-hop producer who’s been making beats and producing songs for other artists since 2010. He’s got... more

Last month, in January 2023, Kimbra put out her fourth album. I was listening to it, and it made me... more

MUNA is a trio from Los Angeles, made up of Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson. They’ve been making... more

Noah Kahan is a singer and songwriter from Strafford, Vermont. Last year, in 2022, he released Stick Season, his third... more

Sampa The Great is a songwriter, rapper, and singer from Zambia. She was based in Australia for years, but came... more

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a sci-fi comedy independent film that came out in the spring of 2022. It’s... more

Omah Lay is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and producer. He’s one of the young stars of Afrobeats, the West African... more

The final episode of Book Exploder is with author James McBride. He was born in New York City and raised... more

In 2002, Sam Beam’s first album as Iron & Wine was released on Sub Pop Records. He’d given them a... more

George Saunders has won the Booker Prize, and he’s the recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant. He won the Folio... more

Santigold is a singer, songwriter, and producer. She’s put out 4 albums since 2008, and she’s been featured as a... more

Celeste Ng is an American writer and author of three novels. Her second novel, Little Fires Everywhere, was published in... more

King Princess is the project of Mikaela Straus, a singer, songwriter, and producer from Brooklyn. She’s a platinum-selling artist, and... more

Tayari Jones is the author of four novels. She won the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction, and received a Lifetime... more

Panic! at the Disco is the Grammy-nominated project of Brendon Urie, who originally started it as a band with his... more

Carmen Maria Machado is the award-winning author of In the Dream House, a memoir where each chapter has its own... more

(This is a re-issue of Björk’s episode from December 2015.) In January 2015, Björk released Vulnicura. She described it as "a... more

Michael Cunningham is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours. He’s the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts... more

Madonna is the best-selling female recording artist of all time. She has twelve albums that have gone multi-platinum. She’s won... more

Min Jin Lee is the author of the best-selling novel Pachinko. She’s a Guggenheim Fellow, and the recipient of South... more

Kae Tempest is a songwriter, rapper, an award-winning poet, and best-selling novelist. They’ve been nominated for the UK’s Mercury Prize... more

Introducing a new miniseries: Book Exploder, where authors break down a passage from one of their books, and discuss the... more

Sudan Archives is a singer, songwriter, producer, and violinist. She grew up in Cincinnati before moving to LA. Her music... more

Maia from mxmtoon released her first EP in 2018. She was 18 years old, recorded it in her bedroom, and... more

Monica Martin is a singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. Before that, she was based in Madison, Wisconsin, where... more

Maren Morris is a Grammy-winning, multi-platinum artist. She’s also won multiple country music awards, including CMAs for Female Vocalist of... more

Rick Astley is a singer and songwriter from England, whose debut single, "Never Gonna Give You Up," became an international... more

Kevin Morby is a singer and songwriter based in Kansas City. He’s put out seven albums since 2013, including his... more

Arooj Aftab is a singer and composer based in Brooklyn. She grew up in Saudi Arabia, but her family is... more

This week, I want to introduce you to another podcast that I make, called Partners. It’s a show about partnerships... more

Peaches is a musician, producer, and performance artist. She’s released six albums and in 2015, she won the Polaris Heritage Music... more

Steve Reich is a legendary composer who was one of the pioneers of minimalism. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize... more

This week, I want to revisit one of my favorite episodes of Song Exploder, with Perfume Genius telling the story... more

Sarah Kinsley is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Her most recent release is an EP called The King, which came... more

Brandi Carlile is a singer and songwriter from Washington State. She's  released seven albums and won six Grammys. Her most... more

The band Franz Ferdinand formed in 2002, in Glasgow, Scotland. They’ve won the Mercury Prize and two BRIT Awards, they... more

Joy Oladokun is a singer and songwriter from Arizona, now based in Nashville, who’s been releasing music since 2015. Last... more

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas came out in 1993. It’s a stop-motion animated musical, with music by legendary composer... more

Halsey is an award-winning singer and songwriter from New Jersey. She's been nominated for two Grammys, and sold over a... more

The movie Dune was released on October 21. It's the most recent adaptation of Frank Herbert's epic science fiction novel... more

The War on Drugs is a band from Philadelphia who formed in 2005. They won the Grammy for Best Rock... more

Willow Smith is a singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. She’s also a member of one of the most famous... more

This summer, I gave a TED Talk at the TED Conference. My talk was about what you discover when you... more

Earlier this year, I got an amazing email—the estate of John Lennon said that they have a treasure trove of... more

Lucy Dacus is a singer and songwriter from Richmond, Virginia. She put out her first album in 2016, and in... more

Mustafa is a singer, songwriter, and poet from Toronto. He gained national recognition in Canada for his poetry. in 2016,... more

Lykke Li is a singer and songwriter from Sweden. She started releasing music in 2007, and for much of her... more

Singer, songwriter, and producer James Mercer of The Shins wrote “New Slang” when he was living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It... more

The song "Surrender" by Cheap Trick was released in 1978. Rolling Stone called it the ultimate 70s teen anthem, and... more

The story of how the song "Deep End" came into existence and became a hit is kind of wild. One... more

AURORA is a singer and songwriter from Norway, who released her first EP in 2015, when she was 19 years... more

Sparks are the brothers Ron and Russell Mael, a legendary duo from Los Angeles. Over the last 50 years, they’ve... more

Arlo Parks is a singer and songwriter from London. In January 2021, she released her debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams.... more

Imagine Dragons are a Grammy-winning band from Las Vegas. They’ve sold over 20 millions albums so far, and they were... more

Marie Ulven is a singer, songwriter, and producer from Norway, who makes music under the name girl in red. She... more

Porter Robinson is a Grammy-nominated electronic artist and DJ from North Carolina. In 2014, his first album hit #1 on... more

Lianne La Havas is a singer and songwriter from London. She’s been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit award,... more

Jon Batiste is a pianist, songwriter, and composer from New Orleans. He’s been nominated for multiple Grammys, and just won... more

Glass Animals is a band from Oxford, England. They’ve released three albums since forming back in 2010. One of their... more

Sasha Sloan is a singer and songwriter based in Nashville. She put out her debut album, Only Child, last year.... more

PJ Morton is a singer, songwriter, and producer. He’s the first artist ever to be nominated for a Grammy for... more

HAIM is a band from Los Angeles, made up of the sisters Danielle, Este, and Alana Haim. They’ve released three... more

The legendary singer/songwriter Yusuf / Cat Stevens released his first album in 1967. He’s a member of the Rock &... more

Common is a Grammy- and Oscar-winning rapper, actor, and activist from Chicago. He’s been making records since 1992, and in... more

Jewel is a singer-songwriter from Homer, Alaska, who’s received four Grammy nominations and sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Her debut... more