Welcome to your all-in-one destination for every NPR Music podcast. We break down the best new albums to hit streaming each week on New Music Friday; we share the latest songs worthy of your playlists on All Songs Considered; there’s off-the-rails conversations (and chisme!) about Latin music on Alt.Latino. The NPR Music channel is your hub for new records, iconic artists and cult heroes, free of algorithms and full of surprises. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for NPR Music.
Latest episodes
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54 min
Why does everything in music feel fake?
It’s been an unprecedented year for arguing about “fake” music, and it’s not just AI. From bot-powered ticket sales and social media campaigns to manufactured artist identities and…
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42 min
New Music Friday: The best albums out Oct. 23
Anderson .Paak and Cordae. Michael Kiwanuka. Fenne Lily. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Oct. 23 with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Francesca…
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29 min
Over and Over: "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells (NPR+)
More than any song we’ve covered yet in this series about songs that persist in culture, "Crimson and Clover" is a stealth classic. Maybe you heard it in 1968 after its rough mix w…
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29 min
Alt.Latino: Los Tigres' Tiny Desk, explained
Last week we published a Tiny Desk Concert that ended up being unusual for a few reasons.First of all, it was the final production of our sixth annual El Tiny series. This was a ve…
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59 min
Elephant 6's rapturous, heartbreaking story
With the arrival of the first new Olivia Tremor Control album in nearly 30 years, we attempt to make sense of the sprawling, enigmatic collective behind it known as Elephant 6.NPR…
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44 min
New Music Friday: The best albums out Oct. 16
Fontaines D.C. Sophia Stel. The Avalanches. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Oct. 16 with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Celia Gregory from WNX…
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28 min
Alt.Latino: Every El Tiny song has a secret
The Tiny Desk’s magnetism is its intimacy. We strip back lights and a big stage and get to see artists speak honestly about who they are directly to an audience around the world.Th…
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51 min
A new canon of Halloween music
Who’s the Mariah Carey of Halloween? Labels and artists are trying to capitalize on spooky season, but these are the songs that belong in the creepy canon, from the truly terrifyin…
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48 min
Interview: Fontaines D.C.'s decadent, dystopian 'Dopamine Chamber'
At almost exactly the midpoint of our conversation about the fifth album made by his band, Fontaines D.C., Grian Chatten told me, “It's an interesting time to be a self.” We'd been…
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28 min
Interview: Troye Sivan is leaning into loneliness
Troye Sivan’s 2023 album, 'Something to Give Each Other,' marked a turning point in the Australian singer-songwriter’s career. Its choreo-driven singles “Rush” and “Got Me Started”…
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43 min
New Music Friday: The best albums out Oct. 9
Cameron Winter. Troye Sivan. Remi Wolf. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Oct. 9 with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Tshego Letsoalo from KALW i…
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34 min
Alt.Latino: Tim, The Beatles and all of Brazil
The music of Tim Bernardes fits as easily in the poetry of the cosmos as it does in the songwriting canon of his country. Brazil has a legacy of some of the greatest most intricate…
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41 min
How The Beatles made ‘Rubber Soul’ and broke up with their past
A super deluxe box set of The Beatles' legendary 1965 album Rubber Soul has just been released with brand new mixes, demos and outtakes that show The Beatles breaking up with the p…
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42 min
New Music Friday: The best albums out Oct. 2
Victoria Monét. Meshell Ndegeocello. Sons of Sevilla. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Oct. 2, with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Ayana Contre…
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34 min
Alt.Latino: Melissa Aldana and Gonzalo Rubalcaba talk jazz
Jazz has often been called America's musical gift to the world. This week's guests remind us not only of the well-documented ways that Cuba revolutionized that gift, but also how i…
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40 min
Phoebe Bridgers, Gilla Band, Wednesday, and more of the week’s best songs
We get big and loud this week with a surprise drop from Phoebe Bridgers and her song “On Video,” from the Primetime soundtrack; the monstrously disjointed “Placeholder” from Gilla…
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41 min
New Music Friday: The best albums out Sept. 25
Leon Bridges. Blondshell. Joy Oladokun. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Sept. 18 with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Erin Wolf from Radio Milw…
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36 min
Alt.Latino: YEИDRY's life in six songs
YEИDRY's music is almost as diverse she is. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Italy, the singer’s repertoire of genre and sound pulls from multiple continents, and even…
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44 min
Lizzy McAlpine, Víkingur Ólafsson plays Bach, and more of the week's best songs
Our latest mix of the week’s best new songs swings from the shoegaze rock of rising LA band untitled (halo) to Bach’s “Air on the G String” performed by pianist Víkingur Ólafsson.…
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42 min
Sylvan Esso: The NPR Music Interview
In September 2025, the electro-pop duo Sylvan Esso made headlines with the announcement that it was removing its catalog from Spotify. The world’s most popular music streamer wasn’…