Welcome to the New York Times Popcast, your lost car in a long parking lot of music news and criticism.

I'm your host, Freedom cut me loose.

Yeah, freedom, freedom, where are you?

Because I need freedom too.

I great change about myself.

Don't let my freedom ride in hell. Hey, I'm gonna keep running because the winner

don't quit on themselves. Okay, so a couple of caveats at the beginning of this episode. Number one, my old mailbox is being drilled to bits outside of the studio today. So if you catch a little bit of construction work,

that is not a commentary on our subjects today or our guests. That is just the endless march of capitalism outside of our window.

Number two, last week's episode you may have suspected was pre-taped.

And I want to be honest about that because I was traveling last week and I thought

surely with me away like what are the odds that something so crazy could happen

that I would feel we have to do a pop cast about like what

are the odds and then of course not only did one crazy thing happen but

two crazy things happen number one Beyonce I Coachella number two Kendrick Lamar and the Pulitzer Prize and here we are on a Monday an off day for a pop-gast but not an off day for John

Karamanica Pedro Rosato or my two guests who are

coming to bring that fire today. Salome Chatelet here.

She's a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, a regular writer for the Arts and Leisure

section here and very germane for this conversation teaches a class on Beyonce at

all at U Penn. Hey Salomecha. Hi, I'm excited to be here.

I'm excited to have your first podcast, not just first pop cast appearance, but your

first podcast appearance.

Yes, both, both, yeah.

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