Seven Essential Podcasts for Mastering the Craft of Songwriting

Songwriting remains the bedrock of the music industry, though the economics of the streaming era have made sustaining a career in the craft increasingly difficult. That reality hasn’t deterded a new generation of creators, evidenced by a thriving ecosystem of podcasts dedicated to the art and mechanics of song creation. These shows range from intimate conversations with household names to deep dives with the behind-the-scenes architects of modern hits.

Many of these programs are helmed by professional songwriters themselves, offering a unifying message: the path to a hit is defined by relentless work rather than glamour, but the payoff of a song connecting with an audience makes the grind worthwhile. Below are seven recommended podcasts, ordered chronologically from the longest-running to the newest.

Liverpool-based duo Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor, known professionally as Sodajerker, have helmed Sodajerker on Songwriting for 15 years. The show conducts deep excavations of the writing process with legends and contemporary stars alike, welcoming guests including Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Jimmy Webb, Todd Rundgren, Chaka Khan, and Phil Collins. Episodes typically anchor around a landmark song while shedding light on the guest’s current work. The award-winning series spawned the BBC World Service documentary The Secrets of Songwriting, and its interview archive has been housed at the British Library since 2020.

Hrishikesh Hirway’s Song Exploder serves as many listeners’ gateway into the songwriting world. Launched in 2014, the series boasts over 300 episodes, each dissecting a single track in under 30 minutes. An accomplished musician who records as The One AM Radio, Hirway turned to podcasting during a bout of writer’s block, seeking breakthroughs in his peers’ creative processes. The show evolved into his full-time pursuit, eventually spawning a Netflix companion series. Recent high-profile guests include Elvis Costello, Olivia Rodrigo, and Charli XCX.

Since 2014, musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding have co-hosted Switched on Pop, applying an academic and forensic lens to Top 40 hits to decode their commercial appeal. The duo alternates between interviewing artists like Carly Rae Jepsen, Tove Lo, and Lizzy McAlpine and conducting granular musical analyses. Their work produced the 2019 book Switched On Pop: How Popular Music Works and Why It Matters and a featured presence on Netflix.

Appearing on And the Writer Is… has become a rite of passage for professional songwriters. Host Ross Golan, a hitmaker for artists including Selena Gomez, Jason Derulo, and Celine Dion, peels back the curtain on the industry’s mechanics. The weekly show features candid, hour-plus conversations with figures like Finneas, Bebe Rexha, Ryan Tedder, and Ziggy Marley, balancing discussions of craft with the often difficult personal journeys behind the music.

Songwriters on Process distinguishes itself by focusing on the act of writing over the finished song. Host Ben Opipari, a PhD holder in English language and literature, began the project in 2010 as written interviews before launching the podcast in 2022. His outsider perspective—he is not a songwriter—yields a rigorous, literary interview style that draws insights from a diverse roster including Julia Jacklin, Rostam, Jason Newsted, Lucius, and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie.

Grammy-nominated songwriter Laura Veltz hosts Songwriter Soup, an industry-focused resource designed as an audio handbook for working writers. The podcast delivers practical insider advice on navigating the business, protecting intellectual property, and sustaining a creative career. Season five, featuring guests like Tayla Parx, Gabe Simon, and Joybeth Taylor, coincides with the show’s transition to an official nonprofit, expanding its mission toward tangible professional advocacy.

Despite a catalog of billion-stream hits—including Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” Imagine Dragons’ “Believer,” and Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!”—Justin Tranter launched Unfamous earlier this year to spotlight the collaborators behind pop culture’s biggest names. The format pairs a primary artist with the behind-the-scenes partner who helped shape their trajectory. Early episodes have dissected the careers of Katy Perry, Melanie Martinez, Troye Sivan, and Debbie Gibson.

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