Le Tigre originally formed in 1998. They released their self-titled debut album in October 1999. Spin Magazine called it one... more

In 1968, singer and songwriter Graham Nash joined David Crosby and Stephen Stills to form the supergroup Crosby, Stills &... more

Pharrell Williams is—well, let me just say, he’s a big reason why Song Exploder exists. He’s a singer, songwriter and... more

For the last couple weeks, I’ve been getting ready for a trip I’m going to make to Connecticut, to moderate... more

Troye Sivan is a singer and songwriter from Australia. He’s been nominated for a Golden Globe, two Grammys, and he’s... more

Beabadoobee is an award-winning singer and songwriter from England who’s been releasing music since 2017. Her third album is called... more

Remi Wolf is a singer and songwriter originally from Palo Alto, California. She’s been releasing music since 2019. She performed... more

Sam Smith is a Grammy and Oscar-winning singer and songwriter from London, England. Their first album, In the Lonely Hour,... more

Fenne Lily is a singer and songwriter from Dorset, England. She released her first album in 2018, but I didn’t... more

Last year, Vagabon released her third album, Sorry I Haven’t Called, which I’ve been listening to a lot. So I... more

Crowded House formed in 1985 in Melbourne, Australia. They’ve released eight albums, including their most recent one, Gravity Stairs, which... more

Lizzy McAlpine released her first album in 2020, and her second album in 2022. And between the two, she’s had... more

The Flaming Lips formed in Oklahoma City in 1983. Over the last four decades, they’ve put out 16 albums. In... more

One of the songs I keep coming back to is “Mohabbat” by Arooj Aftab. It’s really special to me. I... more

The band War formed in 1969, in Long Beach, California. “Low Rider” is from their 1975 album Why Can’t We... more

Shania Twain is a singer and songwriter from Ontario, Canada. She’s the only female artist to have had three consecutive... more

Danny Brown started his career in 2007 by handing out mixtapes in Detroit, where he’s from. In 2011, he put... more

Rhiannon Giddens has released five solo albums since 2015. Before that, she was a member of the Grammy-winning band, the... more

I wanted to revisit an episode about one of my favorite songs from 2021, “Black Dog” by Arlo Parks. A... more

Green Day is a punk band from the East Bay in California. Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool... more

The first episode of Song Exploder, about The Postal Service song "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight," came out 10 years... more

For the last episode of the year, I got the chance to drive up to Northridge, California, and have a... more

Raye is a singer, songwriter and producer from London. Besides being an artist in her own right, she’s also been... more

Sampha is a singer, songwriter and producer from London. His first album, Process, won the Mercury Prize in 2017. He’s... more

I think one of the hardest things there is to do in music is to write a love song that... more

Kesha is a singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. She put out her first song in 2009, and it was... more

Alvvays is from Toronto. Their first album came out in 2014, and they’ve put out two other albums since then.... more

Laufey is a singer and songwriter originally from Iceland. She studied piano and cello as a kid. When she was... more

This summer, in June 2023, Janelle Monáe put out her fourth album, The Age of Pleasure. Listening to it made... more

The "Skip Intro" button first got introduced to us through Netflix in 2017, and, I know, a lot of people... more

It can be hard to be in a band, or really, in any kind of group where there’s creative collaboration,... more

Bakar is a singer and songwriter from London. In 2018 he put out his first release, Badkid. A year later,... more

Natalie Merchant is an award-winning singer and songwriter from upstate New York. She was the lead singer of the band... more

This week, I wanted to go back and revisit an older episode. I recorded an interview with singer and songwriter... more

Feist is a singer/songwriter from Canada. She put out her first solo album in 1999. She’s won 11 Juno awards,... more

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