Pop music surrounds us, but how often do we really listen to what we’re hearing? Switched on Pop is the podcast that pulls back the curtain on pop music. Each episode, join musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding as they reveal the secret formulas that make pop songs so infectious. By figuring out how pop hits work their magic, you’ll fall in love with songs you didn’t even know you liked.

Nate and Charlie hand over the hosting duties to book review Constance Grady to discuss the new Switched On Pop book: Switched on Pop: How Popular Music Works and Why it Matters, and go deep on two specific concepts that haven't touched nearly enough on the show: timbre (with the help of Sia's Chandelier) and sampling (via M.I.A.'s iconic Paper Planes).

The book of course goes further, devoting a full chapter each to sixteen different concepts (think harmony, modulation, syncopation, genre), and pairing those concepts with the pop tracks that really bring them to life.

There are so many people who helped get this book from concept to paper: the Switched On Pop listeners. You all shape the show every week by suggesting incredible episode ideas and recommending songs for Nate and Charlie to break down. You also inspired this book, when you asked year in and year out for a definitive guide to the essential musical knowledge necessary to understand contemporary pop. We hope you like it, and know that your emails, tweets and analysis continue to delight and inspire us to no end.

[audio audio="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PPY8593922876.mp3" title="Paper Planes, Chandelier & What Is Timbre?" descr=""]