For more than two decades, Ryan Adams has been a particular kind of indie-rock tastemaker. Emerging from the alt-country scene of the mid 1990s, he became a prolific and respected singer-songwriter in the 2000s. And he used his growing platform as a tool to be a vocal booster of female talent.

Behind that public front, however, was a far darker truth, a recent investigation by The New York Times revealed. According to several women, Adams used the promise of professional help as a lure for sex and emotionally abusive romantic relationships. In one case, he leveraged the adoration of an underage fan and aspiring musician into sexually explicit communications. Adams denies the claims.

The F.B.I. is now investigating Adams’s interactions with the underage fan, and since the publication of the article, the release plan for his next album, the first of three LPs planned for this year, has been put on hold.

On this week’s Popcast, the two reporters on the Ryan Adams story: