The Popcast is hosted by Jon Caramanica, a pop music critic for The New York Times. It covers the latest in pop music criticism, trends and news.

Last year was the centennial anniversary of the birth of several foundational jazz figures: Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and Buddy Rich. Even a few years ago, this confluence would have occupied prime real estate near the center of the jazz discourse.