The Best Songs to Feel Happy

In this episode, we’re going through the biggest updates in hip-hop from the past week and beyond. We gave our expectations for ‘Don’t Be Dumb’, predictions for 2026, Iceman hype & more.-DONT BE DUMB REACTION HERE 

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Shawn Mendes, BTS, Alicia Keys, 24kGoldn, Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber & Chance The Rapper are all in the Hot 100 with songs that attempt to cope with the state of the world. What do they tell us about the sound of popular music and our collective psyche? Charlie is joined by writer, ...  Show more

NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include genre-straddling polymaths Santigold and Sudan Archives, R&B sensation Ari Lennox and more. Featured Albums: Ari Lennox — age/sex/location Featured Songs: "Queen Space (feat. Summer Walker)," "Hoodie" Sudan Archives — Na ...  Show more

Every year, critics and media outlets the world over put out definitive song-of-summer guides based on... well, we’re not always entirely sure. Certainly popularity, as measured by streams and radio play; not to mention that bewildering feeling that creeps up some time mid-July, ...  Show more

The final episode of our Switched on Summer throwback series finds us deconstructing more early aughts bangers. Under consideration: two of the biggest hits since Y2K, Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" and the Black Eyed Peas' "I Got a Feeling." Tune in to dig how these tracks keeps the ...  Show more