Switched on Pop

Musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding started Switched on Pop in 2014 with a pretty clear mission: help people actually hear what is happening inside pop songs. Not just who sang what, but the chord progressions, production techniques, and cultural currents that shape the music we consume every day. Over 500 episodes in, they have built something that genuinely makes you a better listener. The format is conversational but grounded in real analysis. Sloan brings academic music theory knowledge without making it feel like a lecture, while Harding contributes a working songwriter's perspective on craft and industry trends. They bounce off each other naturally, and their chemistry keeps episodes moving even when they get into technical territory. Episodes typically run 30 to 55 minutes. Recent shows have tackled A$AP Rocky's use of jazz samples, Robyn's album "Sexistential," and the role of humor in music with comedian Chris Duffy. They also do Grammy prediction episodes and deep examinations of specific production trends sweeping through pop. The range is impressive — one week it is a close reading of a Charli XCX track, the next it is a broader essay on how streaming has changed song structure. Now part of the Vox Media network under the Vulture banner, the show has a 4.6-star rating from over 2,600 reviews. Listeners consistently say the same thing: they cannot unhear what Sloan and Harding teach them. That is probably the best compliment a music analysis show can get. You will start noticing things in songs you have heard hundreds of times, and that shift in perception sticks with you.