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    The Cases Against Sean Combs

    Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicLast month Sean Combs — the hip-hop mogul known alternately as Puff Daddy, Puffy, Diddy and Love — was arrested on federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty.The indictment was a striking fall from grace seemingly put in motion approximately a year prior, when one of his ex-girlfriends, the singer Cassie, filed a lawsuit against him, accusing him of rape and physical abuse. (That case was settled in one day.) A lawsuit filed in late September is the eighth over the past year by a woman accusing Combs of sexual assault; three other lawsuits have made allegations of sexual misconduct.On this week’s Popcast, a discussion of Combs’s criminal and civil cases, the role of the court of public opinion, and how the entertainment press covers morally complicated figures.Guests:Ben Sisario, The New York Times’s music business reporterJulia Jacobs, culture reporter for The New York TimesJoe Coscarelli, The New York Times’s pop music reporterConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica.Soon, you’ll need a subscription to keep full access to this show, and to other New York Times podcasts, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don’t miss out on exploring all of our shows, featuring everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts. More

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    Popcast: A Word With John Summit

    Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTubeThe dance music superstar John Summit has become one of the scene’s biggest forces in recent years with a big-tent approach to house music that bridges aficionados and weekend warriors.On this week’s Popcast, hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, Summit delves into his rise and the evolution of his career, from spinning at underground semi-legal parties to headlining Madison Square Garden and festivals around the world. Summit discusses his former life as an accountant, his reluctance to take EDM too far into the mainstream and what it’s like being turned away at the door of a nightclub.Connect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More

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    How Trump and Harris Are Courting Pop Stars (Very Differently)

    Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTubeOn this week’s episode of Popcast, the pop music critic Jon Caramanica and the pop music reporter Joe Coscarelli discuss how musicians, both mainstream and more obscure, have figured into the current presidential campaign, including:An endorsement of Kamala Harris from Taylor Swift, plus the role of Beyoncé’s music in the Harris campaignDonald J. Trump’s recent embrace of rappers and reggaeton stars, in addition to his support in the country music worldHow Trump is finding new audiences via podcasters like Theo Von and the Nelk Boys, as well as via the stars of livestreaming services like Twitch and Kick, including Adin RossHarris’s full dive into the meme ecosystem following her inclusion in Charli XCX’s “brat summer”Connect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More

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    Popcast: Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl, Sabrina Carpenter on Top

    Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicOn this week’s episode of Popcast, the pop music critic Jon Caramanica and the pop music reporter Joe Coscarelli discuss the week in music:The announcement that Kendrick Lamar will headline the halftime show at Super Bowl LIX, to be held in February in New Orleans, and how it extends his year of tension and musical beef with Drake.Sabrina Carpenter’s sixth album, “Short n’ Sweet,” which is No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, and has helped her break into pop’s top tier.The career of the Atlanta rapper Rich Homie Quan, who died last week at 34.Connect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More

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    Popcast (Deluxe): A Word With Action Bronson

    Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTubeThis week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the culture show hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes a rapid-fire questionnaire answered by the rapper Action Bronson, whose new album, “Johann Sebastian Bachlava The Doctor,” is out now. Topics covered include:The music of his childhoodParenting and his children’s tasteLearning to navigate successStress reliefHis lighthearted gourmand side and go-to ordersConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More

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    Who Is Eminem for in 2024?

    Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicThe 12th studio album by Eminem, “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce),” just had its debut atop the Billboard album chart, 25 years after the rapper’s major-label debut launched him into the pop stratosphere.It’s been an uneven ride — Eminem is one of the most commercially successful rappers of all time, and also an artist who has had numerous musical highs and lows, all while maintaining a durably committed fan base. He has been a flashpoint and an afterthought, sometimes all at once.On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about Eminem’s long and unlikely career, the forces that propelled him to superstardom, his stubbornness in the face of the ever-evolving sound of hip-hop, and how he toys with offense so much that he no longer truly offends.Guests:Jayson Buford, who writes for Complex, Stereogum and othersRob Markman, longtime hip-hop journalistConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More

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    Popcast (Deluxe): Ranking Every Taylor Swift Album, Worst to Best

    Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTubeThis week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes a conversation about Taylor Swift’s full catalog of albums so far, ranked worst to best. Caramanica and Coscarelli, longtime chroniclers of Swift’s career, each deliver their personal list of favorites — and least favorites — from her 11 original studio releases: “Taylor Swift,” “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red,” “1989,” “Reputation,” “Lover,” “folklore,” “evermore,” “Midnights” and “The Tortured Poets Department.”Connect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More

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    Popcast (Deluxe): Will There Ever Be Another Global Pop Icon?

    Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTubeThis week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes discussion of:The current Hot 100, which features newcomers like Tommy Richman, Shaboozey, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and othersWho has emerged, besides Taylor Swift, as a true cross-platform pop superstar in the last decade — Bad Bunny? Drake?How centrist pop has become an aggregation of several styles rather than one coherent soundHow pop superstars of the ’80s and ’90s aggregated superfans and casual fansWhether there is a path for a new star to get famous enough to play something like the Super Bowl halftime show a decade from nowConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More