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.

Find out how music creates a feeling of space in this three part episode.

First, we may not realize it when we listen to Madonna's new record, but the location of her music is essential. In exploring her catalogue we hear the sound of different eras by just the space evoked in a song.

Second, the same is true for Stephen Puth who uses spacial effects for brilliant creative purposes on his song "Look Away". When music is recorded in a studio with perfect acoustics, engineers manipulate that audio to place it in a 3D virtual space using reverb, delay, volume, panning and filters. Each of those effects changes our relationship to the music, and in Steven's case, the lyric.

Finally, when we get outside the studio, like with Street Studios' "Make Music Day", music can echo the geography it is made in. Take this wild journey with us and truly expand your listening.

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