Switched On Pop

2026 • 1 Season • Returning Series

Songwriter Charlie Harding and musicologist Nate Sloan, a professor at USC’s Thornton School of Music, break down musical ideas and production choices behind today’s biggest hits, pulling songs apart to understand how they work and why they matter.

Watch S1 E1

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Episodes

E1. Let's Get It Started (ft. Aaron Dessner)

38 min

Research says you judge a song in under half a second. So why write an intro at all? On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate kick off the...

E2. Justice for the Verse (ft. Audrey Hobert)

31 min

Everybody sings the chorus, but superfans quote the verse. On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate trace the verse from Shakespeare throu...

E3. Preaching to the Chorus (ft. B-Real & Trevor Horn)

47 min

The chorus was once the part of the song that brought us together, the place we gathered to sing. Now it's the most engineered thirty seconds in music...

E4. Take It to the Bridge (ft. Tayla Parx)

39 min

Bridges open up the world of a song: they're a breath of fresh air and a point of contrast, typically delivered right before the final chorus. But som...

E5. A piano lesson that will change how you listen (ft. Lang Lang)

34 min

For many people – including Charlie and Nate – studying classical piano as a child always felt like a chore. Now, as adults, there’s a newfound apprec...