Lilith Fair broke through music’s glass ceiling and affirmed women’s command of ’90s rock, pop and hip-hop. <audio title="Building a Herstory Edition" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT2113673264.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="Building a Herstory Edition" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/SLT2113673264?light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> For decades—literally since Woodstock—female musicians had battled music-industry perceptions that amassing too many of them, on the radio [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to OutKast expert Regina Bradley about what they meant to Southern hip-hop. <audio title="The Bridge: Many Ways to be OutKasted" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT6638412813.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="The Bridge: Many Ways to be OutKasted" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/SLT6638412813?light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and [...] Read more

How OutKast rose above the ’90s rap feud between East and West by redirecting the music South. <audio title="Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture Edition" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT9382703054.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture Edition" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/SLT9382703054?light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts TuneIn [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to special musical guest Julian Velard about Billy Joel’s singular authenticity. <audio title="The Bridge: Piano Man, Everyman" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT6234003215.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="The Bridge: Piano Man, Everyman" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/SLT6234003215?light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. • Exclusive episodes [...] Read more

The so-called Piano Man often avoided the ivories, turning a range of styles and genres into Billy Joel music. <audio title="Still Billy Joel to Me Edition" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT9742275194.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="Still Billy Joel to Me Edition" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/SLT9742275194?light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> So, sure—Billy Joel’s first Top 40 hit, way back in 1974, was [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to guest Eduardo Cepeda about Latin music’s journey to the center of American pop. <audio title="The Bridge: Hits Don’t Lie" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT1545811346.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="The Bridge: Hits Don’t Lie" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/SLT1545811346?light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> In this mini-episode of Hit Parade, originally aired on Facebook as part of Slate Live’s Q-Tip [...] Read more

How Ricky, J.Lo and Shakira changed Latin crossover—taking America from “La Bamba” to “Despacito” <audio title="La Vida Loca Edición" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT3162109488.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="La Vida Loca Edición" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/SLT3162109488?light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Hit Parade takes you back to the turn of the millennium when, for a couple of years, it seemed like a [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to guest Wesley Morris about Whitney Houston’s vocal genius and crossover means. <audio title="The Bridge: Wesley on Whitney" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT3761267886.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="The Bridge: Wesley on Whitney" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/SLT3761267886?light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> In this mini-episode of Hit Parade, host Chris Molanphy is joined by Wesley Morris, Pulitzer Prize–winning critic, New [...] Read more

Whitney Houston’s chart history helps explain why she was so unprecedented—and remains so controversial. <audio title="I’m Your Whitney Tonight Edition" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT7021953633.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="I’m Your Whitney Tonight Edition" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/SLT7021953633?light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts TuneIn Spotify Stitcher Overcast RSS Feed Get Your [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to preeminent Weird Al chronicler Nathan Rabin about Yankovic’s many phases, monocultural satire, and use of nostalgia to stay relevant over a decadeslong career. <audio title="The Bridge: Living in an Amish Paradise" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT9098919342.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="The Bridge: Living in an Amish Paradise" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/SLT9098919342?light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Listen & [...] Read more