Pop Pantheon – Details, episodes &amp; analysis

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The Long Road to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl (with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd and Alana Casanova-Burgess)

Thursday, February 5, 2026 • Duration 46:38

This Sunday, Bad Bunny will make history as the first Puerto Rican born and the first Latin male artist to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Ahead of the big game, Russ is joined by Hearing Things co-founder Julianne Escobedo Shepherd and Alana Casanova-Burgess, co-creator + host of La Brega: Stories of the Puerto Rican Experience, to dig into the history of Latin performers at the Halftime Show and discuss what it means for Bad Bunny to take center stage in this moment.

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Ranking Every Taylor Swift Track 5 (Patreon Preview)

Monday, January 5, 2026 • Duration 15:09

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, for the first episode of 2026, Louie and Russ took on Taylor Swift's venerated "Track 5s," the fifth song on each of her album track lists that many fans view as the records' respective emotional cores. The boys go track by track chronologically through each Taylor album, then each share their Taylor Track 5 rankings.

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Is Katy Perry's Teenage Dream a Classic Without Its Singles? (Patreon Preview)

Monday, February 17, 2025 • Duration 09:36

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Katy Perry's second studio album Teenage Dream is deemed a classic "pop bible" by many pop fans. The album produced five number one singles and spun off a deluxe version with another couple top tens. But what about the other seven tracks from the TD era? If you listen to this record without its classic hits, does it hold together as a complete body of work? Louie and Russ dive into every one of Teenage Dream's non-singles to get answers and decide if the album is a bonafide classic, or just a great collection of smashes paired with some less great filler.

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Listener Mailbag! Olivia Rodrigo's Next Move, Cher, Gaga, the Lack of Gay Male Pop Stars & More

Thursday, February 13, 2025 • Duration 51:00

Louie and Russ are answering your questions about whether pop stars like Cher can still exist, what Olivia Rodrigo should do next, how they listen to music for the show, why gay men have trouble embracing gay male pop stars, and so much more.

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Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl (RIP Drake!) + New Music from Tate McRae, Doechii & More (Patreon Preview)

Monday, February 10, 2025 • Duration 11:01

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ break down Kendrick Lamar's explosive Super Bowl halftime performance before getting into new songs from Tate McRae, Sexxy Redd & Bruno Mars, Rose Gray & Doechii.

Check out our Kendrick Lamar Essentials Playlist on Spotify

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KENDRICK LAMAR: PART 2 (with Stephen Kearse)

Thursday, February 6, 2025 • Duration 02:06:06

Critic Stephen Kearse joins Pop Pantheon for the conclusion of our two-part series on Kendrick Lamar ahead of his Super Bowl halftime show this Sunday. Stephen and Louie tackle Kendrick’s string of hit-making guest appearances in the mid-2010s, his first solo number one, “Humble,” and 2017’s critically adored Damn. Then they discuss Black Panther and Kendrick’s final album with Top Dawg, 2022’s sprawling Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. Finally, they unpack the Kendrick/Drake beef, his recent hot streak and 2024’s GNX, before ranking Kendrick Lamar in the Official Pop Pantheon.

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Are the Grammys Good Now? Plus "Abracadabra" Reactions! (Patreon Preview)

Monday, February 3, 2025 • Duration 10:03

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, last night's Grammys featured show-stopping performances from Doechii, Chappell Roan and others, plus wins from Roan, Kendrick Lamar and, finally, a long-awaited crowning for Beyoncé in Album of the Year. Louie and Russ share their reactions before going deep on Lady Gaga's newest single, "Abracadabra", the third from her forthcoming album Mayhem and the video for which dropped during the awards ceremony.

Check out our Kendrick Lamar Essentials Playlist on Spotify

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KENDRICK LAMAR: PART 1 (with Rolling Stone's Mankaprr Conteh)

Thursday, January 30, 2025 • Duration 02:12:16

Rolling Stone’s Mankaprr Conteh returns to Pop Pantheon for part one of our two-part series on Kendrick Lamar ahead of his Super Bowl performance. Louie and Mankaprr dig into Kendrick’s origins in Compton, his teenaged mixtapes under the alias K. Dot and his independently released studio debut, 2011’s Section.80. From there, they tackle 2012's Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, a mainstream pop breakthrough immediately hailed as a masterpiece. Finally, they walk through how Kendrick weaved together musical traditions from across the Black diaspora on 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly.

Tune in next week for Part 2, covering Damn, Kendrick’s beef with Drake and Kendrick’s induction into the Official Pop Pantheon.

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