Back in 2011, two pop songs dropped with the same patriotic title: "Made in America." But the similarities pretty much end there. Toby Keith's country smash and Jay Z, Kanye West and Frank Ocean's soulful hip hop anthem have little in common except a firm conviction that each song knows what it really means to be American. Five years later, these tracks have ... Show More
Jan 6
2026 Pop Predictions: big beat, animated avatars, and Bruno Mars
It’s a brand new year, and what better way to ring it in than with the second annual Switched On Pop bingo? Like last year, Charlie, Nate, and Reanna polish their crystal balls and play Popstradamus, each throwing out eight outlandish pop predictions for the coming months. This t ... Show More
58m 47s
Apr 2020
Toby Keith vs. the Dixie Chicks: Boot Battle
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, country superstar Toby Keith released “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).” Some embraced the song as the perfect rallying cry for an angry and traumatized nation. Others felt it was a crude, hateful, jingoistic anthem about ... Show More
1h 3m
Nov 2020
Afrobeats’ Global Takeover
Over the last several years, American listeners have grown more and more attuned to the sounds of West African pop music—also known as Afrobeats–whether it’s the swaggering Nigerian Afro-fusion of Burna Boy, the playfully genre-bending anthems of Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae, ... Show More
51m 9s
Nov 2023
The Chicks and Toby Keith | 21
<p>It's 2003, and Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks is about to step onto a stage in the UK. Just days before the U.S. invades Iraq, she takes the mic and drops a bombshell: 'We're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.' The country music scene erupts, and Tob ... Show More
40m 14s
Mar 2024
Beyoncé, Cowboy Carter, and Unpacking Country Music History (With Sam Sanders)
Grab your hat and saddle up! Before the release of Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter," Chelsea and Sam Sanders (co-host of the Vibe Check podcast) talk about the times Beyoncé has come closest to memoir-level vulnerability. They share insights on the history of country music, make a few p ... Show More
46m 5s
Apr 2024
'Cowboy Carter' | Every Single Album: Beyoncé
'Cowboy Carter' is here, marking Beyonce's foray into country music—or has she been here all along? Nora and Nathan talk about the breadth of this 27-song album (1:00), the array of influences that Beyoncé pulled from for this project (39:13), and some of their favorite and least ... Show More
1h 48m