👂 Care for a dose of pop culture critique? In The New York Times’ Cannonball, two-time Pulitzer recipient Wesley Morris zeroes in on — and drills into — all the latest hot topics dominating the cultural sphere, bringing his own cultural insight, humor, and charm to an otherwise crowded topic of discussion.

Whether it’s the latest hit show, a chart-topping album, or a culturally relevant political controversy, everything gets dissected on Cannonball. Morris leads interesting and analytical conversation, leaving little space for casual banter. What do Ryan Coogler’s Sinners and the Drake-Kendrick beef have in common? Morris has a theory on that. How is Beyoncé’s latest album a statement on the current state of America? Morris dissects that with a professor who teaches an entire class about the pop star.

One episode that caught our attention coincided with the centennial of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Given Morris wrote an introduction to one of its recently published editions, he had a lot to say alongside novelist Min Jin Lee and New York Times Book Review Editor Gilbert Cruz, picking apart the Jazz Age tragic classic and highlighting personal relationships with the novel across all different phases of their lives.

The trio broke down the re-readability of the book, the timelessness of its characters, and how Fitzgerald managed to address multiple heavy themes in one place. What could have easily been a dull conversation proved particularly riveting. Morris’ animated and friendly presence, combined with his confidence and experience, makes this episode — and every other one — all the more interesting and truly worth your time.

WHERE TO LISTEN- You can tune in on Apple Podcasts | Deezer | Podbean | Spotify | YouTube | YouTube Music | Amazon Music.

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