Can Robyn Teach Us To Love Again (and again and again)? w/ Jia Tolentino
The Sam Sanders Show
KCRW & Sam Sanders
4.9 • 709 Ratings
🗓️ 31 March 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Swedish pop star Robyn has just released a new album, after almost eight years since her last one. ‘Sexistential’ mixes themes of motherhood and maturity with classic club beats.
Sam breaks it all down with Jia Tolentino, staff writer at ‘The New Yorker,’ who recently profiled Robyn for the magazine. She explains what the new songs say about heartbreak, sexuality and the uncertainty of our modern times. Plus, they dive into Robyn’s origin story and how she’s managed to stay relevant after three decades in the music business.
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The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey y'all, Sam Sanders here. |
| 0:06.7 | Thank you so much for checking out my show with KCRW. |
| 0:10.6 | This episode, we are talking about Robin |
| 0:13.3 | because I'm one of those gay elder millennials |
| 0:16.4 | who never gets tired of talking about Robin. |
| 0:20.6 | Nothing's ever going to cut you last deep. who never gets tired of talking about Robin. |
| 0:34.8 | Last Friday, Robin put out a new album. |
| 0:37.2 | It's called sexistential. Yes, sexistential. And it's pure Robin, |
| 0:41.4 | as in it's full of sad songs about loss and heartbreak and longing that you can also dance to, |
| 0:48.1 | rage to. But this new album has some new and added layers as well. Robin's a single mother now, and on sex existential, she talks about breastfeeding and IVF |
| 0:59.1 | and being horny while pregnant. |
| 1:02.6 | But still, because Robin, she gives you great sad songs that you can also dance to. |
| 1:08.3 | I think she's been doing since dancing on my own, since even before that. |
| 1:25.9 | The New Yorker's Gia Tolentino dropped this big profile of Robin recently. |
| 1:30.3 | She spent time with Robin at her home in Sweden, and the biggest takeaway from this piece |
| 1:35.3 | was that Robin is not like other pop stars. |
| 1:38.3 | In fact, she's kind of an anti-pop star. |
| 1:40.3 | But as Gia revealed in her story, many, many years ago, Robin could have chosen a different |
| 1:46.5 | path and become a different kind of pop star. |
| 1:50.2 | She did not, and I think her fans are better for it. |
| 1:54.0 | Here's our chat, I love it so much. |
| 1:56.0 | Happy Robin Week to all who celebrate. |
... |
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