What makes a song a smash? Talent? Luck? Timing? All that—and more. Chris Molanphy, pop-chart analyst and author of Slate’s “Why Is This Song No. 1?” series, tells tales from a half-century of chart history. Through storytelling, trivia and song snippets, Chris dissects how that song you love—or hate—dominated the airwaves, made its way to the top of the charts and shaped your memories forever. Get more Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for monthly early-access episodes, bonus episodes of "The Bridge," and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Hit Parade show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/hitparadeplus to get access wherever you listen.
| Title | Date published | ||
| The Everybody Say YEAH! Edition | 2019-03-29 | ||
| The Bridge: Cover Queens and The Boy Wonder | 2019-03-15 | ||
| The Bad Moon on the Rise Edition | 2019-02-28 | ||
| The Bridge: R. Kelly and Music's #MeToo Reckoning | 2019-02-15 | ||
| The Gaga is Born Edition | 2019-01-25 | ||
| Music Trivia: Grammys and Gaga Edition | 2019-01-18 | ||
| The Christmas is All Around Edition | 2018-12-21 | ||
| Music Trivia: The Christmas Music Edition | 2018-12-14 | ||
| The Give Me a Sign Edition | 2018-11-30 | ||
| Music Trivia: ’90s Teen-Pop Edition | 2018-11-16 | ||
| The Oh. My. God. Becky Edition | 2018-10-26 | ||
| Music Trivia: The '90s Hip-Hop Edition | 2018-10-12 | ||
| The Nights on Broadway Edition | 2018-09-28 | ||
| Music Trivia: The Aretha Franklin Edition | 2018-08-31 | ||
| Madonna: The Veronica Electronica Edition (Encore) | 2018-08-16 | ||
| The Feat. Don’t Fail Me Now Edition | 2018-07-27 | ||
| The Deadbeat Club Edition, Part Two | 2018-07-13 | ||
| The Deadbeat Club Edition, Part One | 2018-06-29 | ||
| Music Trivia: The MTV and Alt-Rock Edition | 2018-06-15 | ||
| The Twerking and Chatrouletting Edition | 2018-05-25 |