Explore every episode of the podcast Press Play

Hosts Rafael Cruvinel and Lauren Canavan are joined by Associate Editor Sammie Aguirre to talk about the songwriters behind some of your favorite hits.

Hosts Rafael Cruvinel and Lauren Canavan talk to Alexandra Bie, a board-certified music therapist at Stony Brook Hospital. They talk about her daily pursuit to bring music to those of all backgrounds and health conditions, and the role that music therapy plays in society. 

Hosts Rafael Cruvinel and Lauren Canavan are joined by Jane Montalto and Dmitry Khrabrov to talk about artists who died too soon and the impact that their careers and deaths had on the music industry. This warning: this episode mentions suicide, drug and alcohol abuse and death.

Hosts Rafael Cruvinel and Lauren Canavan join editors Sammie Aguirre, Josh Joseph, Dylan Gallo and Jane Montalto to discuss our study listening habits — lo-fi compilations, Nintendo soundtracks, film scores and more!

Listen along with us as Press and WUSB staff share some of their favorite releases from last year, hosted by music editors Rafael Cruvinel and Lauren Canavan. Guests include Ben Zimmer, Nick Lyons, Ashton Arbus, Matt Hono, Antonio Mochmann, Dylan Gallo and Jayden Feisthamel.

On this special edition of Press Play, hosts Josh Joseph and Keating Zelenke explore the CDs in our archive, playing songs from Joey Skidmore, Liquid Lobster, The Locust, Moth Music and more.

We're still alive! Editors Sarah Beckford, Josh Joseph, Emily Scott and Julio Taku sit down over Zoom to chat about pre-pandemic concert memories, virtual events, secret conservatives, and more. Enjoy and stay safe!

Press Play is back! A couple months ago, executive editor Deanna Albohn and music editor Sarah Beckford sat down (virtually) with Jen Malone, the music supervisor for shows like Euphoria, Atlanta and Umbrella Academy. She talks about her job as a music supervisor, the decisions behind Euphoria's soundtrack, and how she discovers new songs for shows.

In this episode, the ladies of Press Play got together (socially distanced, of course) to talk about the golden era of pop punk.

Did you wash your hands enough today? No? That's what we thought. First, wash them. Second, listen to us speak with activist and senior editor at Bandcamp Jes Skolnik about how the music industry is doing during the coronavirus pandemic, what Bandcamp and other services are doing to help and the content that's getting us through this rough patch.

Sorry for the break. We've been busy washing our hands and crying. In this episode, we speak with Josh Feola (RADII, Dazed, Bandcamp Daily, VICE) on the online raves and concerts popping up in China during the coronavirus pandemic, his work covering Shanghai's underground scene and being quarantined for weeks on end. Donate to WHO's COVID-19 response fund: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/donate Check out Josh's playlist series: https://a.currents.fm/current/4kKdDTNnAY4ThI0Snpwe

We finish up the second half of our 40 best albums of the decade with this episode. Listen to part 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5rjSkjZvNv92N9omYB4UQZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/press-play-best-albums-of-the-decade-2010s-pt-1/id1480048115?i=1000458208962 Our Best of the Decade Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6DFXFb3RQvrI07EiRTekJb

In a little over a month, the 2010s will be officially over. We decided to choose what we think are the best albums that came out during this very long decade. Here's part 1 going over the first 20. Our Best of the Decade Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6DFXFb3RQvrI07EiRTekJb

Michelle Kim (Them., FADER, Pitchfork and others) joins us over the phone to talk about her experience at Frank Ocean's PreP Queer Club night, LGBTQ artists balancing their identities and the need for alternative voices in media. Donate to Planned Parenthood: https://www.weareplannedparenthood.org/onlineactions/2U7UN1iNhESWUfDs4gDPNg2 Songs featured (in order): Frank Ocean - DHL King Princess - Cheap Queen

We talked with Beverly Bryan, a former Stony Brook Press alumni, and Stony Brook '03 graduate who spent a decade as a music journalist writing for places like Vice, Village Voice, Remezcla, Rolling Stone and more. We take a look back at her college years and Press memories while also going over the ins and outs of "the industry." Donate to RAICES: https://www.raicestexas.org/donate/ Catch us at the RAICES Dance Party in BK on the 26th: https://www.facebook.com/events/722431314887965/ Songs featured(in order): Emicida - Pantera Negra Vivian Girls - Memory

We discuss the hurricane that is the Tekashi69 trial, the rise of scam rap and give valuable advice on personal hygiene. Songs featured (in order): JPEGMAFIA - Beta Male Strategies Lucky Daye - Roll Some Mo

And we are back. New semester, new sound and some new voices. The new and improved Press play crew give us the songs that defined their summer and their takes on the latest releases from Post Malone and company. Songs featured (in order): George Benson - Give Me the Night joji - Sanctuary Clairo - Bags

This week's episode was a bit of a mixed bag. We talked about the wave of new music that came out last weekend including Earl Sweatshirt, Meek Mill. We also touched on the relevance of music awards and how our year-end favorites are stacking up.

Andrew Nosnitsky (known online as Noz) is one of the pioneers of DIY rap journalism on the internet. His blog, Cocaine Blunts and Hip-hop Tapes, was a go-to source for news on the underground and rising hip-hop artists. We hit him up to discuss Gucci Mane, Sicko Mode, blogging, Park Boulevard Records — his Oakland-based record store specializing in underground and popular hip-hop albums.

In this special (totally serious) episode, we go over the recent arrest and indictment of Tekashi69 on numerous federal charges. We call in a highly regarded legal specialist to examine the case. Songs featured(in order): Will Smith - Just the Two of Us Ariana Grande - Thank u, Next Empress Of - I Don't Even Smoke Weed

This week on the show we talk about that brutal takedown of Post Malone in the Washington Post and whether it was warranted or not. We also speak on whether or not we should expect more from artists or take them for face value.

This week the crew talks about what went wrong with the cancelled Ashanti appearance at this year's Back to the Brook. We also dive into what helps some artists stick around longer than others. Songs featured (in order): Altin Gün - Goca Dunya Samm Henshaw - Broke

This week we added a new member to the Press Play crew, Javier, and our music editor Sarah called in from Chicago. We talk about Sheck Wes' debut "Mudboy," what makes a good debut album and whether there's too much nostalgia in the current music space. Songs featured(in order): Prefuse 73 - Black List ft. MF DOOM & Aesop Rock Playboi Carti - R.I.P.

In a surprise second episode of the day, the crew is back in the station talking about Brockhampton's newest release "Iridescence," our go-to soundtracks for the fall and some of our favorite song covers. Songs featured (in order): Yaeji - One More Brockhampton - San Marcos The Strokes - Reptilia (Punch Brothers cover)

The Press Play crew headed out to Brooklyn to meet with writer Ezra Marcus (Vice, Interview Magazine, FADER, and others) to talk about the current state of music journalism, discovery in the age of Spotify and pros and cons of being always online.

New semester, new Press Play episode. A couple old voices and a couple new voices hop on to talk about some of our favorite music we listened to over the summer, concerts and more.

For the last podcast of the semester, a few of us got on air to talk about Gambino's music video for "This is America," the new song by Ye, Travis Scott and Uzi and what music we're looking forward to this summer. Songs featured (in order): Childish Gambino - This is America Watch - Travis Scott ft. Kanye West & Lil Uzi Vert Janelle Monae - Pynk ft. Grimes Crumb - Locket

This time around the Press play team are out of the station and in the office talking about J. Cole's "KOD," Kanye West's upcoming projects and New York's standing in the rap game.

The Press Play crew are back this week talking about Cardi B's debut "Invasion of Privacy", Brookfest 2018 and our thoughts on the current state of music journalism. Songs featured (in order): LCD Soundsystem - Big Ideas Cardi B - I Like It Voidz - We're Where We Were

Members of the Press staff are back in the studio discussing XXXTentacion's sophomore album "?", the allegations surrounding No Jumper podcast host Adam22 and how we find new music Opening track: Cornelius - Mic Check Songs featured (in order): MF DOOM - Doomsday Gus Dapperton - I'm Just Snacking

As the year comes to a close, members of the Stony Brook Press discuss some of the best music to be released in 2017.

The Stony Brook Press talks about XXXtentacion, SoundCloud rap, Smooky Margiela, New York's underground and Post Malone coming to Stony Brook.

Who is Fetty Wap? Why did his eye leave him? And how drunk will you need to be for Back to the Brook? Listen to our first Press Play of the semester to find out.