Popular Music, Responding, and the Potentials of Podcasting

Students in the United States discuss popular music all the time, but often outside the music classroom. How can music educators bring those conversations into the classroom in ways that students find engaging and meaningful? Podcasts offer a potential solution. By taking on the role of the popular music podcaster, students enrich their conversations by developing analytical skills that theorists, musicologists, and critics use in the process of making a tangible product. This article invites educators to consider the potential of popular music podcasts using pedagogical strategies that include listening, responding, and project-based learning.