Exploring the evolution of western popular music, and the social, cultural and technological contexts it exists within. this podcast aims to study and examine an oft-ignored but very prevalent aspect of music history: popular music. While degraded as ‘low art’, popular music, by definition, passes the test of common approval and thus is a powerful tool for understanding the characteristics of a particular society at a particular time. Join me as I dive into four of the most predominant genres of the 20th century - jazz, blues, rock, and hip-hop - and analyse what their successes mean to us.