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The Bridge: Slate’s Music Club 2025
Dec 26, 2025 40 min

The Bridge: Slate’s Music Club 2025

The Slate Music Club returns, in this special year-end edition of Hit Parade’s The Bridge! Host Chris Molanphy joins New York Times pop music critic Lindsay Zoladz, and Julianne Escobedo Shepherd o...

Hooked to the Silver Screen Edition Part 2
Dec 26, 2025 52 min

Hooked to the Silver Screen Edition Part 2

If you need confirmation of Hollywood’s vast influence on mass culture, look no further than the pop charts. From the 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through this year’s KPop Demon Hun...

Hooked to the Silver Screen Edition Part 1
Dec 12, 2025 1h 6m

Hooked to the Silver Screen Edition Part 1

If you need confirmation of Hollywood’s vast influence on mass culture, look no further than the pop charts. From the 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through this year’s KPop Demon Hun...

Pour Some Sugar on Me Edition Part 2
Nov 28, 2025 53 min

Pour Some Sugar on Me Edition Part 2

When you hear the term “superproducer,” names like George Martin, Quincy Jones, Max Martin, Pharrell Williams or Missy Elliott might come to mind. But … Robert “Mutt” Lange? Probably not. Yet Lange...

Pour Some Sugar on Me Edition Part 1
Nov 15, 2025 59 min

Pour Some Sugar on Me Edition Part 1

When you hear the term “superproducer,” names like George Martin, Quincy Jones, Max Martin, Pharrell Williams or Missy Elliott might come to mind. But … Robert “Mutt” Lange? Probably not. Yet Lange...

The Slate Culture Gift Guide
Nov 12, 2025 48 min

The Slate Culture Gift Guide

Hark, the holiday season is upon us—and with it, the most solemn of festive traditions: a gift guide! In this video and podcast special, Slate hosts Dana Stevens, Chris Molanphy, and Willa Paskin b...

If You Love Sting, Set Him Free Edition Part 2
Oct 31, 2025 52 min

If You Love Sting, Set Him Free Edition Part 2

Walk into any store or flip on a radio, and you’ll probably hear the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” sooner or later. Thanks to that ubiquity, the swooning, menacing megahit’s songwriter—Sting—is ...

If You Love Sting, Set Him Free Edition Part 1
Oct 18, 2025 1h 3m

If You Love Sting, Set Him Free Edition Part 1

Walk into any store or flip on a radio, and you’ll probably hear the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” sooner or later. Thanks to that ubiquity, the swooning, menacing megahit’s songwriter—Sting—is ...

Toppermost of the Poppermost Edition Part 2
Sep 26, 2025 51 min

Toppermost of the Poppermost Edition Part 2

In the rarefied world of smash pop singles, there are No. 1s—and there are No. 1 debuts. Entering Billboard’s Hot 100 at the top is one of the hardest tricks in music. In fact, it wasn’t possible i...

Toppermost of the Poppermost Edition Part 1
Sep 13, 2025 51 min

Toppermost of the Poppermost Edition Part 1

In the rarefied world of smash pop singles, there are No. 1s—and there are No. 1 debuts. Entering Billboard’s Hot 100 at the top is one of the hardest tricks in music. In fact, it wasn’t possible i...

The White and Nerdy Edition Part 2
Aug 29, 2025 43 min

The White and Nerdy Edition Part 2

Sped-up voices. Wacky instruments. Songs about cavemen, bathtubs, bikinis, and mothers-in-law. From the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll through the 1970s—the age of streaking, CB radios, disco and King Tut—n...

The White and Nerdy Edition Part 1
Aug 15, 2025 46 min

The White and Nerdy Edition Part 1

Sped-up voices. Wacky instruments. Songs about cavemen, bathtubs, bikinis, and mothers-in-law. From the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll through the 1970s—the age of streaking, CB radios, disco and King Tut—n...

Here's The Beef Edition Part 2
Jul 25, 2025 59 min

Here's The Beef Edition Part 2

When Kendrick Lamar took the Super Bowl halftime stage in 2025 and had the stadium chanting along to “Not Like Us,” it was clear: Diss tracks had gone stratospheric.The Kendrick vs. Drake beef echo...

Here’s the Beef Edition Part 1
Jul 18, 2025 54 min

Here’s the Beef Edition Part 1

When Kendrick Lamar took the Super Bowl halftime stage in 2025 and had the stadium chanting along to “Not Like Us,” it was clear: Diss tracks had gone stratospheric.The Kendrick vs. Drake beef echo...

Mighty Real Edition Part 2
Jun 27, 2025 59 min

Mighty Real Edition Part 2

Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and G...

Mighty Real Edition Part 1
Jun 13, 2025 56 min

Mighty Real Edition Part 1

Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and G...

All Apologies Edition Part 2
May 30, 2025 57 min

All Apologies Edition Part 2

The story of Nevermind, Nirvana’s genre-defining breakthrough, is a familiar one. Less well known is the saga of Billboard’s Modern Rock chart—and how college-rock staples of the 1980s like R.E.M. ...

All Apologies Edition Part 1
May 17, 2025 1h 2m

All Apologies Edition Part 1

The story of Nevermind, Nirvana’s genre-defining breakthrough, is a familiar one. Less well known is the saga of Billboard’s Modern Rock chart—and how college-rock staples of the 1980s like R.E.M. ...

Only Girl in the World Edition Part 2
Apr 25, 2025 51 min

Only Girl in the World Edition Part 2

It’s been nearly a decade since Rihanna released a studio album—and fans and critics alike have wondered when, if ever, a follow-up to 2016’s Anti might arrive. Which is ironic, because in her heyd...

Only Girl in the World Edition Part 1
Apr 11, 2025 53 min

Only Girl in the World Edition Part 1

It’s been nearly a decade since Rihanna released a studio album—and fans and critics alike have wondered when, if ever, a follow-up to 2016’s Anti might arrive. Which is ironic, because in her heyd...