Chris Molanphy hosts a remote pop quiz about pop, exclusively for Slate Plus members. In this special episode of Hit Parade’s “The Bridge,” it’s like you’re sitting at the end of the bar for the ultimate pop-music pub quiz: On Tuesday night, March 30, host Chris Molanphy quizzed eight different Slate Plus listeners on trivia questions [...] Read more

Sam Cooke was a hit-maker, soul pioneer, label boss … and a social activist, well before that One Night in Miami. <iframe title="Don’t Know Much About History Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT1346097821&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%" ></iframe> <iframe title="Don’t Know Much About History Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT8149266298&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%" ></iframe> Advertisement Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to Slate’s own Jack Hamilton about misunderstood soul legend Sam Cooke. View Transcript Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. • Exclusive episodes of Slow Burn, Hang Up and Listen, and Trumpcast. • Members-only series like Dana Stevens’ Flashback and Chris Molanphy’s Hit [...] Read more

From Back in Black to Born This Way, follow-up albums often do better on the charts than more-loved classics. <iframe title="The AC/DC Rule Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT2926526396&amp;light=true" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%" ></iframe> View Transcript <iframe title="The AC/DC Rule Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT2959441166&amp;light=true" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%" ></iframe> View Transcript Quick, what was the only No. 1 album [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to hip-hop journalist Mosi Reeves about Chic, the Sugarhill Gang, and disco and rap’s parallel histories. Get More Hit Parade! Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. • Exclusive episodes of Slow Burn, Hang Up and Listen, and Trumpcast. • Members-only series like Dana Stevens’ Flashback and [...] Read more

How the sleek disco group Chic spawned hip-hop and new wave and shaped acts from Diana Ross to Duran Duran. <iframe title="These Are the Good Times Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT7951580838&amp;light=true" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%" ></iframe> View Transcript <iframe title="These Are the Good Times Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT3492624205&amp;light=true" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%" ></iframe> View Transcript How can you [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to veteran chart analyst Geoff Mayfield about the Billboard charts he oversaw in the early SoundScan era. <iframe title="The Bridge: Radio-Friendly Unit Shifters" src="" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> View Transcript Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. • Exclusive episodes of Slow Burn, [...] Read more

How Christmas brought about Nirvana’s chart victory over Michael Jackson—and invented a holiday sales strategy. <iframe title="Smells Like Christmas Spirit Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT2702552065&amp;light=true" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> <iframe title="Smells Like Christmas Spirit Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT1571457329&amp;light=true" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Advertisement Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts TuneIn Spotify Stitcher Overcast [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to Billboard’s Melinda Newman, frequent Garth Brooks interviewer, about the country king’s career. <iframe title="The Bridge: Ropin’ the Charts" src="" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> View Transcript Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. • Exclusive episodes of Slow Burn, Hang Up and [...] Read more

How Garth Brooks became the biggest-selling musician of the ’90s, making pop fans come to his side of the fence. <iframe title="Friends in Low Places Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT8832433334&amp;light=true" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> View Transcript <iframe title="Friends in Low Places Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT7780827665&amp;light=true" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> View Transcript Country music is forever wrestling with its [...] Read more