Darius Marder, the director of the film Sound of Metal, is on The Backstory podcast to discuss the film and its sound design with host Jason Bentley and fellow guest Ludwig Göransson, composer of the scores to Black Panther, Tenet, and The Mandalorian. You can hear their conversation here. "Early accolades for sound design, and rightly so," Bentley says of Sound of Metal. "The use of sound in this film is a powerful tool to support the storytelling. Darius wrote the screenplay with his brother Abraham, who also contributed music, and whose song 'Green' for the film has been shortlisted for an Oscar nomination."

Yola and Mavis Staples are the guests on the inaugural episode of Spotify's new Duet podcast. The two share some favorite tunes—by Dolly Parton, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Barry White, Curtis Mayfield, and Rotary Connection—and discuss the impact the music has had on them in their lives, how it has helped them in difficult times. "Yola's music exists on the border of a few different genres—country, soul, even a little disco," says host Matthew Boll, "but her voice, that's what hits you. It's unforgettable. It somehow feels both timeless and original."

Laurie Anderson and producer Bob Ezrin are guests together (remotely) on the latest episode of The Gould Standard, a new conversational podcast from the Glenn Gould Foundation about the arts, culture, and contemporary society. The two friends talk with each other and host Brian Levine about the current state of the world, life during the pandemic, and what it all might mean for the future. You can hear their conversation here.

David Byrne—whose American Utopia on Broadway, filmed by Spike Lee, is now available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and other digital platforms in the US after having premiered on HBO Max—spoke with singer/songwriter Gregory Porter on his podcast The Hang. "For me, he's a genius, trailblazer, a hero of creativity," Porter says in his introduction. You can listen to their conversation here.

Tristan Perich's Drift Multiply, for 50 violins and 50-channel 1-bit electronics, is featured on WNYC's New Sounds. "It is an album-length excursion, goes into lots of different territories," says host John Schaefer. "Some moments sound to me like Terry RIley's early keyboard improvisations. Other parts have the rhythmic patterning of Steve Reich's music. There are other moments where the notes seem to give way more to noise. And even one part where those noises kind of sound a little like the famous rhythmic kecak, or monkey chant, from the island of Bali." You can hear the episode here.