Pop Pantheon

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ talk about Charli XCX's incoming rock era, Gracie Abram's new single, Lady Gaga's latest concert special, the why so many artists are cancelling their tours at the last minute.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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The Guardian's deputy music editor Laura Snapes returns to Pop Pantheon to unpack the work and career of one of pop’s most trenchant storytellers, Lily Allen. Louie and Laura dig into Lily's MySpace origins and scrappy 2006 debut, Alright, Still, her status as a British tabloid fixture, and her 2009 electro pop record It's Not Me, It's You. From there, they track her decline in acclaim and on the charts with 2014’s Sheezus and 2018’s No Shame, before discussing her surprise comeback with 2025’s West End Girl. Finally, they rank Lily Allen in The Official Pop Pantheon. 

Lily Allen Essentials Playlist

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, to commemorate the twenty year anniversary of Beyoncé's beloved second solo album, 2006's B'Day, Louie and Russ go track-by-track on one of Queen B's most explosive, concise, and complicated works.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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"Drop Dead?" "Dracula?" Drake? Louie and Russ make bets on what they think will be The Song of Summer for 2026.

Gorgeous Gorgeous NYC 4/8

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ ponder the latest Madonna single, "Bring Your Love" featuring Sabrina Carpenter, Zara Larsson's remix album Midnight Sun: Girls Trip, and Kacey Musgraves' latest, Middle of Nowhere.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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Louie and Russ explore the mysterious Billboard Hot 100 and unpack a sample of songs they know nothing about,

Gorgeous Gorgeous LA 4/2

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ are joined by journalist Mya Abraham to talk about the blockbuster new Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, as well as to deep-dive on R&B diva Kehlani's self titled studio album.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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Journalist, critic and host of NPR's It's Been a Minute, Brittany Luse, makes her Pop Pantheon debut as we dive into the sassy, brassy ‘90s phenom En Vogue. Brittany and Louie explore the girl group’s prefab origins and their storm onto the Billboard charts with 1990’s Born To Sing. Next they dive into their classic sophomore album, 1992’s Funky Divas, their first member shake-up, and 1997’s EV3. Then they explore the group’s post-peak work, their impact on future girl groups, and rank En Vogue in The Official Pop Pantheon.

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Pop Pantheon's En Vogue Essentials Playlist

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ discuss new music from Madonna and Olivia Rodrigo, and play a game where they predict the commercial and critical reception to a panoply of forthcoming pop girl albums.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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Louie and Russ discuss recent career developments for Harry Styles, Bruno Mars, Zara Larsson, BTS, and Robyn and whether they're currently trending upward or downward in the Pop Pantheon.

Gorgeous Gorgeous LA 4/2

Gorgeous Gorgeous NYC 4/8

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, From Sabrina and Justin to Addison, Pink Pantheress, Slayyyter, & Katseye, Louie and Russ talk some of the buzziest performances from Coachella weekend. They also dig into Lady Gaga and Doechii's "Runway" and Russ' experience seeing Lily Allen perform West End Girl live.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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Louie is joined by Vulture's Jason P. Frank, Pitchfork's Walden Green, and critic Lauren Michele Jackson to draft the 20 best Lana Del Rey songs of all time.

Check out a playlist of our best Lana songs of all time

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ are joined by The Fader's Steffanee Wang to break down new albums from Raye and Slayyyter.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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Mic The Snare returns to Pop Pantheon to unpack the career of one of the most successful bands of the century, Maroon 5. Louie and Nick dig into the M5's beginnings as a high school band called Kara’s Flowers, their pivot to funky pop rock on their 2002 blockbuster debut Songs About Jane, and the softer reception to their second and third records— as well as the start of lead singer Adam Levine’s tenure on NBC's The Voice— that lead to a commercial rebirth for the ages with the pop banger “Moves Like Jagger." Finally, Louie and Nick break down Maroon 5’s descent into the dregs of the pop machine that produced some truly unfortunate music but kept them, sometimes bafflingly, at the top of the charts through most of the 2010s and finally, rank the group in The Official Pop Pantheon.

Check out our Maroon 5 Essentials Playlist

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ talk about their experiences seeing Zara Larsson's Midnight Sun Tour before breaking down new albums from Charlie Puth and Robyn

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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Louie is joined by Shaad D'Souza and Reanna Cruz to count down their favorite pop albums of the century so far.

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Journalist and editor Crystal Bell joins Russ from Seoul, South Korea to break down BTS' big comeback. Last week, the K-pop boy band released their first studio album in six years, Arirang, following each member of the group completing South Korea's mandatory military service. Crystal and Russ break down the album, BTS' live performance comeback and their new Netflix documentary BTS: The Return. Then they discuss BLACKPINK's recent EP, Deadline, and discuss how K-Pop has changed since both groups rose to prominence and helped to popularize K-Pop around the world.

Read Crystal's cover story profile of Jung Kook in Rolling Stone

Read Crystal's review of BTS: The Return in Mashable

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Friend of the Pod Sam Murphy recently posted a TikTok positing an interesting question about whether Hot 100 #1s have the same salience as they used to have. To parse this question out further, Louie is joined by Sam and Chris to talk about the state of the #1 single, the Billboard charts, and what it all says about the music listen functions in 2026.

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Happy Oscars! To celebrate the big day and our fav prolific Oscars also-ran, we're dropping All Access early and drafting the 20 best Diane Warren songs of all time with our pals Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber of Who? Weekly. Tell us your Diane favs in the comments and enjoy this wild ride through one of the best songwriting discographies in pop history. 

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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For the conclusion of our Whitney Houston Series, Louie and Russ play clips from all three guests— Emily Lordi, Jason King, & Gerrick Kennedy— plus take listener calls to finally determine if Whitney Houston is in Tier 1 of the Pop Pantheon.

Whitney Houston Essentials Playlist

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Two of the biggest male pop stars of the day, Harry Styles and Bruno Mars, just returned with new albums after relatively long absences. What's new with these two and what do they have to say after years out of the spotlight? On this episode, Louie and Russ unpack Bruno Mars' The Romantic and Harry Styles' Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. 

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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Gerrick Kennedy, author of Didn't We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston, joins Pop Pantheon for the third in our four-part series on the pop supernova Whitney Houston. Louie and Gerrick discuss Whitney’s most consistent and idiosyncratic album, 1998’s My Love Is Your Love, and its follow-up, the defensive flop, 2002’s Just Whitney, her only without Clive Davis at the helm. They unpack Whitney’s devolving public image through the late '90s and aughts, her appearances in the 2005 reality series Being Bobby Brown, unpack her final album, 2009's I Look to You, her final days and untimely death in 2012, and her enduring legacy.

Join us next week, in which we’ll rank Whitney Houston in The Official Pop Pantheon.

Whitney Houston Essentials Playlist

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Lady Gaga's 7th studio album, Mayhem, turns one year old this week. To celebrate, Louie and Russ look back on the Grammy winner, going track-by-track on the record that had Gaga proclaiming, "my nachos are mine, I invented them, and I’m proud of them!"

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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Dean of the USC Thornton School of Music Jason King returns to Pop Pantheon for the second in our four-part series on the late, great pop Whitney Houston. Louie and Jason dissect Whitney’s unprecedented run of cultural dominance through the '90s, from her iconic Super Bowl 1991 performance to 1992's The Bodyguard, the best-selling soundtrack of all time. They then discuss Whitney’s troubled marriage to Bobby Brown, her continued run of film and soundtrack success with 1995’s Waiting to Exhale and 1996's The Preacher’s Wife, and how her pristine public image, blockbuster commercial success, and messy personal life began to conflict as the '90s wore on.

Join us next week, in which we’ll discuss Whitney’s creative peak in 1998 with My Love Is Your Love, her later era work, her untimely passing, and legacy.

Whitney Houston Essentials Playlist

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Rihanna's 8th (and last?????) studio album Anti dropped a decade (!!) ago. To celebrate ten years, Louie and Russ look back on the record, going track-by-track on RiRi's loosest, most internal, and adventurous album, both a crowning achievement and frustrating cornucopia of unfulfilled potential.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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Author of the forthcoming book Holding Lightning: The Life, Loves, and Art of Whitney Houston Emily Lordi returns to Pop Pantheon to kick off our special four-part on a pop star known as “The Voice” – perhaps the single greatest singer to ever grace the charts— Whitney Houston. Louie and Emily dig into Whitney’s origins in New Jersey, her musical family and first taste of the industry as a teenage model and session singer. Then they discuss her providential link-up with record man Clive Davis, her 1985 self-titled debut album, and first string of blockbuster singles. Next they unpack 1987’s Whitney, her infamous appearance at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, and finally, her musical pivot towards R&B on 1990’s I’m Your Baby Tonight.

Join us next week, in which we’ll discuss Whitney's 1991 Super Bowl National Anthem, The Bodyguard, and her run of smash movies and soundtracks.

Whitney Houston Essentials Playlist

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ take more listener questions on Grimes, the best solo singles from former boy banders and girl groupers, who's on their Niche Legend Mount Rushmore, and more!

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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Louie and Russ crack open the mailbag and answer listener questions about everything from the lack of buzz for Lorde post Virgin to what videos we like to put on at Gay Guy Music Video Night, our Letterboxd Top 4 and more.

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Friend of the Pod Reanna Cruz joins Louie and Russ to break down Bad Bunny's historic Super Bowl halftime show performance and Charli XCX's.... less historic new film, The Moment.

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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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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ dissect last night's Grammy Awards, from the very right (Bad Bunny takes Album of the Year :-)) to the very wrong (Billie Eilish wins Record of the Year!?!?! :-().

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From Beyoncé to Sophie, Jai Paul, Kelly Clarkson, Aaliyah, Nelly, Carly Rae Jepsen, and more, Brittany Spanos and Jason P. Frank join DJ Louie to countdown each of their Top 20 pop songs of the last quarter century .

Listen to a playlist of our picks here (Apple Music link here!)

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ make their final predictions about who will take home hardware on Sunday night at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. 

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Before Bad Bunny takes the stage at the Super Bowl, Pop Pantheon is exploring the career and work of another trailblazing Puerto Rican superstar, Ricky Martin.

Nuria Net joins Louie to dig into Ricky’s origins as a boy bander turned soap star. The two discuss the music Ricky made with Menudo, his solo debut, and his global breakthrough with 1995's “Maria.” From there, they break down how an explosive performance of “La Copa de la Vida” broke Ricky to English-speaking audiences, unpack the global phenomenon of “Livin’ la Vida Loca," and explore how Ricky's 1999 self-titled album and 2000's Sound Loaded launched the so-called "latin explosion" of the turn of the century. Finally, Louie and Nuria highlight Ricky's later period output including his continued Spanish language music, his coming out, and finally, rank Ricky Martin in the official Pop Pantheon.

Listen to Pop Pantheon's Ricky Martin Essentials Playlist

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Superstar Harry Styles just announced that his fourth studio album, Kiss Me All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, will drop on March 6. To prep, Louie and Russ returned to his last record, 2022's Harry's House, to parse out their feelings on that Grammy Winner for Album of the Year, track by track.

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Madonna Singles Draft! Louie and Russ are joined by Paper's Joan Summer and music journalist Annie Zaleski to join forces and pick the Top 20 Madonna Singles of All Time, draft style.

Listen to a Spotify playlist of our Top 20 Madonna Singles of All Time

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ talk about the lead single for Bruno Mars' forthcoming fourth studio album, "I Just Might," then break down the latest pairing from Robyn, "Talk to Me" and "Sexistential," and finally take on more of your unpopular opinions about Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Madonna, and Cyndi Lauper.

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Louie and Russ are joined by actress, comedian and Pop Pantheon listener (!) Ivy Wolk to react to all of your most unhinged unpopular opinions about Addison Rae, Janet Jackson, Sabrina Carpenter, & More!

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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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Happy New Year! We'll be back next week with brand new episodes of Pop Pantheon. In the meantime, enjoy this rerun from April 2022, our Abba A-Side with Abba scholar Carl Magnus Palm.

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ shares their picks for the worst pop of the year, discuss what's in the pipeline for 2026 then make predictions for the next year in pop music.

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Merry Christmas! We're off for the next couple weeks but as a little treat, we're re-running our episode reviewing Addison Rae's debut album, Addison, from June of this year.

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, friend of the Pod Omri Rolan returns for the 3rd annual Top of the Flops – a celebration of all the best and biggest flops in pop music this year. Louie, Russ + Omri share their picks for the best pop music that flopped this year, announce the listener-voted award for Bellyflop of the Year and, finally, give away the Sabrina Carpenter Award For Stopping Flopping to a very surprising recipient.

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Last Tuesday night in New York City, DJ Louie gathered an all-star panel— Who Weekly's Lindsey Weber, Lemme Say This' Peyton Dix, and Billboard's Jason Lipshutz— live on stage to break down of their favorite pop songs of 2025.

Hear a playlist of this year's picks

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ break down the first two episodes of Taylor Swift's new docuseries, The End of an Era, Russ shares his top albums and songs of the year, and finally, the two announce all of YOUR favorites from the past year in pop music and culture.

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Note: This full episode will be available for free on our main feed on Thursday.

In a preview from Pop Pantheon: All Access, As a special treat for our paid subscribers, we're giving you next week's main feed drop, our Best Pop Songs of 2025 live show, almost a week in advance! 

On Tuesday, DJ Louie gathered an all star panel — Who? Weekly's Lindsey Weber, Lemme Say This' Peyton Dix, and Billboard's Jason Lipshutz— to count down their favorite pop songs of the year.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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On Tuesday night in New York City, DJ Louie gathered an all-star panel— critic and best-selling author Ira Madison III, writer and critic Doreen St. Félix, and New York Times Pop Music Editor Caryn Ganz— live on stage to break down of their favorite pop albums of 2025.

Tune in next week for The Best Pop Songs of 2025!

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, From Gaga to Addison, Lorde, Beyoncé, Scissors Sisters, Mary Blige, Katy Perry, and SO many more, Louie and Russ gather to rank their favorite (and least favorite) live shows of the past year.

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Louie and Russ take listener calls about Pop Pantheon rankings they may have gotten wrong this year and throughout the podcast's run.

Fill out Pop Pantheon's 2025 Listener Survey

Grab tickets to our Best Pop of 2025 Live Show LATE SHOW in NYC on 12/9

Grab tickets to the final Gorgeous Gorgeous of 2025 in LA on 12/5

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, with a new Olivia Rodrigo album seemingly on the horizon, Louie and Russ return to her sophomore effort, 2023's Guts, to parse their differing vibes on Olivia, reflect on the album's middling commercial performance, and... uh... gut-check on how the record's held up by going track-by-track.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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