About this podcast
There may be nothing more inspiring and entertaining than relaxed, candid conversations among creative people. Mark Caro, a relentlessly curious journalist and on-stage interviewer, loves digging into the creative process with artists and drawing out surprising stories that illuminate the work that has become part of our lives. The Caropopcast is for anyone who wants to dig deeper into the music, movies, food and culture that they love.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 254 episodes
- John Murphy (Shoes), Pt. 2 · 38 min · Season 1 Episode 245In Part 2 of our conversation with John Murphy, the Shoes singer-songwriter-bassist tells what happened after MTV started playing this Zion, Ill., power-pop band’s videos amid…
- John Murphy (Shoes), Pt. 1 · 51 min · Season 1 Episode 244Shoes, the now-legendary power-pop band from Zion, Ill., is the most democratic of groups, with each album presenting equal servings of smart, hooky songs from brothers John and…
- Palmyra Delran · 58 min · Season 1 Episode 243Palmyra Delran was a veteran East Coast pop-punk rocker when Stevie Van Zandt (a previous Caropop guest) offered her a hosting gig on his Little Steven’s Underground Garage…
- David Byrne · 48 min · Season 1 Episode 242How did David Byrne go from being a twitchy art-rock frontman to one of our most beloved artists? At age 74, he’s got a new book, Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and…
- Jim Babjak (The Smithereens) · 1 h 11 min · Season 1 Episode 241Smithereens guitarist Jim Babjak shared a love of the British Invasion and Beach Boys with classmate and drummer (and previous Caropop guest) Dennis Diken when they teamed up…
- Bill Wyman (Writer) · 1 h 29 min · Season 1 Episode 240Song-ranking articles can be annoying clickbait, but those written by longtime journalist Bill Wyman are endlessly provocative, entertaining and informative, with individual…
- Natalie Merchant · 1 h 8 min · Season 1 Episode 239After making widely loved music as a solo artist and, beforehand, with 10,000 Maniacs, Natalie Merchant is focusing on children with her latest project, Cabinet of Wonder…
- Susan Orlean · 1 h 6 min · Season 1 Episode 238Susan Orlean has a brilliant talent for crafting compelling narratives from idiosyncratic topics that have piqued her interest: orchid poachers in Florida for The Orchid Thief, a…
- Caropop Summer Recess 2026 · 1 min · Season 1We're going on break! We'll be back the Thursday after Labor Day! In the meantime, you can listen to this message and catch up on old Caropop episodes (no way you've heard all…
- Laura Benanti · 56 min · Season 1 Episode 237Laura Benanti is a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical star who noticed some things while looking back on her life and career. She has channeled these observations—about being a…
- Michael Hampton (Funkadelic/Parliament) · 1 h 5 min · Season 1 Episode 236Michael Hampton earned the nickname Kidd Funkadelic as the hotshot guitarist who at age 17 joined the Funkadelic/Parliament universe after wowing P-Funk leader George Clinton…
- Urge Overkill/Exit the Dragon · 1 h 8 min · Season 1 Episode 235Urge Overkill appeared to be riding high after the critical triumph of its 1993 album, Saturation, and the prominent appearance of its Neil Diamond cover, “Girl, You’ll Be a…
- Jason Ringenberg (Jason and the Scorchers/Still Standing) · 1 h 13 min · Season 1 Episode 234Jason and the Scorchers (née Jason and the Nashville Scorchers) were cowpunk trailblazers before anyone was talking about alt-country or Americana. Frontman/songwriter Jason…
- Glenn Morrow (Bar/None, Cry for Help) · 56 min · Season 1 Episode 233Glenn Morrow owned and ran Bar/None Records for decades, signing acts such as They Might Be Giants, Yo La Tengo, Freedy Johnston, Alex Chilton, Ezra Furman and the Feelies…
- Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel), Pt. 2 · 46 min · Season 1 Episode 232In Pt. 2 of this lively, insightful conversation with Liberty DeVitto’, Billy Joel’s longtime drummer revisits the challenge of drumming in the synth-driven 1980s; the making of…
- Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel), Pt. 1 · 45 min · Season 1 Episode 231Hired when Billy Joel wanted “a New York-style drummer,” Liberty DeVitto laid down indelible parts for the singer-songwriter-pianist’s music from 1976’s Turnstiles onward. In…
- Rachel Lichtman · 1 h 13 min · Season 1 Episode 230Rachel Lichtman grew up listening to 1970s AM radio and watching local TV—a world of soothing music, tacky ads, eye-grabbing graphics and reruns galore. A keen-eyed and -eared…
- Swamp Dogg · 55 min · Season 1 Episode 229Swamp Dogg turns 84 on July 12, making him 24 days younger than Paul McCartney, yet he’s still on the rise. He’s been gaining new fans through the 2024 documentary Swamp Dogg…
- Ike Reilly · 1 h 12 min · Season 1 Episode 228Singer-songwriter Ike Reilly has been reaching critical mass. He shared a microphone with Bruce Springsteen in January, has gained new fans with the 2024 documentary Don’t Turn…
- Tom "Grover" Biery (Pet Sounds) · 1 h 2 min · Season 1 Episode 227To mark the 60th anniversary of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, Interscope-Capitol has released a limited-edition Definitive Sound Series One Step version of this landmark album. Tom…
