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    Kendrick Lamar’s Never-Ending Battles

    Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicLast week, Kendrick Lamar released his sixth album, “GNX,” with no advance notice, unless you count the heavy anticipation that has been hovering around him since the apex of his battle with Drake earlier this year. A squabble over hip-hop ethics became a cultural touchstone, leaving Lamar with a No. 1 hit and Drake with spiritual and professional bruises.“GNX” extends the tension but doesn’t necessarily deepen it. Mostly, Lamar wants to get back to business as usual: making concept songs and albums that are musically complex and lyrically dense. The beef elevated him even higher into the stratosphere, but he doesn’t want it to define him or his career.On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about Lamar’s long wrestle with saviorhood, how his new album showcases both his loosest and stiffest tendencies, and the ways in which Drake is still grappling with the fallout of their battle.Guest:Joe 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.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. More

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    Chappell Roan’s Rocket-Ship Year

    Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicChappell Roan has become one of the biggest breakout pop stars of the past year, and made it happen in novel fashion: creating grand-scale, 1980s-influenced pop refracted through a queer lens; building a drag-inspired performance character; and calling into question the way that fans worship their heroes while rapidly accumulating fans online and in real life.Her debut album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” continues its rise toward the top of the album chart, more than a year after its release. And her festival performances have become wildly viral events. Roan’s ascent has tested the boundaries of contemporary pop, and also may create a template for a next generation of stars.On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about the fits and starts of Roan’s early career, the events that propelled her to fame and the ways in which she is remaking the star-fan dynamic.Guest:P. Claire Dodson, associate director of culture at Teen VogueConnect 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.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 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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    Gwen Walz, la esposa calmada y ultracompetente de Tim Walz

    [Estamos en WhatsApp. Empieza a seguirnos ahora]En 2006, durante su primera campaña para el Congreso, Tim Walz tenía previsto hablar en una cena de recaudación de fondos en Mankato, su ciudad natal en Minnesota. En ese momento, era un político desconocido que participaba en una campaña muy reñida contra un candidato titular que había ocupado el cargo durante seis mandatos. La cena le brindaba la oportunidad de hacer campaña en su distrito local del Partido Demócrata-Agrario-Laborista de Minnesota y aumentar los fondos de su campaña.Solo había un problema: Walz tenía laringitis.Mientras los invitados se servían la comida, se sorprendieron al ver que otra persona subía al escenario: Gwen Walz, la esposa de Walz.Estaba acostumbrada a hablar ante grandes grupos: al igual que su marido, Gwen Walz había sido profesora de una escuela pública durante más de una década. Los asistentes quedaron impresionados por su seguridad y claridad.“Hubo otros candidatos que hablaron, y ella fue la más elocuente del grupo”, dijo John Klaber, un residente de North Mankato que asistió a la recaudación de fondos hace casi dos décadas. “Todos miramos a nuestro alrededor y dijimos: ‘¿Por qué ella no se postula?”.La mayor parte del público estadounidense pudo ver por primera vez al gobernador Tim Walz la semana pasada en un mitin en Filadelfia junto a la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris, quien ese mismo día había anunciado que era su compañero de fórmula. Al final de su discurso, el país también pudo ver por primera vez a la mujer con la que ha estado casado durante 30 años.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. 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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    Our Society Is Losing Its Anchors

    Jillian Weinberger and In this conversation, the New York Times Opinion columnist Thomas L. Friedman speaks with the author Dov Seidman about the erosion of American norms, evinced by the recent trial and conviction of former President Donald Trump, and the difficulties the country faces because of that erosion.(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available by Monday in the audio player above.)Illustration by The New York Times; photograph by Marcia Straub/GettyThoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger and Kaari Pitkin. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Original music by Sonia Herrero and Pat McCusker.. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, X and Threads. More

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    South Africa Confronts Israel and Its Own Democracy

    Lydia Polgreen and Listen to and follow ‘Matter of Opinion’Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTubeIn a special intercontinental episode of “Matter of Opinion,” Lydia Polgreen reports from South Africa as the country challenges Israel for its attack on Rafah in southern Gaza.The post-apartheid nation has emerged as a critical leader and a moral voice in some (but not all) superpower struggles. Yet back at home, South Africa’s 30 years of multiracial democracy is undergoing major political upheaval. What does the nation’s recent election offer young nations hoping for postcolonialist democracy? Lydia opens her reporter’s notebook and explores these questions with the South African journalist William Shoki and her editor, Max Strasser.(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)Illustration by The New York Times; photograph by Kim Ludbrook/EPA, via ShutterstockMentioned in this episode:“Many voters are hooked on their abusive rulers” by William Gumede in the Sunday Times“South African election turns populist as parties play anti-foreigner card” by David Pilling and Monica Mark in the Financial Times“Neither Settler Nor Native” by Mahmoud MamdaniThoughts? Email us at matterofopinion@nytimes.com.“Matter of Opinion” is produced by Sophia Alvarez Boyd, Phoebe Lett and Derek Arthur. It is edited by Jordana Hochman. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Isaac Jones, Efim Shapiro, Carole Sabouraud, Sonia Herrero and Pat McCusker. Our fact-checking team is Kate Sinclair, Mary Marge Locker and Michelle Harris. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. Our executive producer is Annie-Rose Strasser.Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, X and Threads. More