A couple of generations ago, one of the only sure things about a boy band was that it would someday recede — the members would age out, or be mired in disagreement, or its passionate young fans would become less passionate older fans. Whichever way it went, the timeline was something approaching finite.

Nothing dies anymore, though. Boy bands go away, and then they stage comebacks, sometimes after not all that much time. In the last few months alone, the Backstreet Boys have released a new album, the Jonas Brothers put out a new single, New Kids on the Block released a new single and video (about boy bands, as it happens), B2K went out on reunion tour and ’N Sync was sampled on the most recent Ariana Grande album. Add to that the continued relevance of boy bands in the K-pop ecosystem, and also the emergence of a new wave of young American groups, and the boy band is as resilient as ever.

This week’s Popcast examines what’s made boy bands so central to the story of pop music, and why no matter how much they evolve, the form persists. Our guests: