The Track Star Podcast

Justin Peck joins The Track Star Podcast to talk about how music turns into movement. From the stage at Lincoln Center, the New York City Ballet choreographer in residence explains why a ballet begins with a score, how melody guides the body, and how choreography is shaped by collaboration with real dancers.

Through a playlist curated by Jack, Peck reflects on the classical canon, including Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and the Balanchine tradition, and on his work on Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, where the camera became part of the dance itself. The episode also features FKA twigs on building the world of Eusexua, and a short history of the Rite of Spring premiere and its aftershocks.

Listen to our extended playlist for this episode: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music

New episodes of The Track Star Podcast every Wednesday.

[Video available on Spotify and YouTube]

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro joins The Track Star Podcast for a conversation that uses music to get somewhere politics usually can’t.

Through a playlist curated by Jack, Shapiro reflects on how music has followed him from growing up in suburban Philadelphia to knocking 18,000 doors on his first campaign, and into the moments that have defined his time as governor. He talks about the changing identity of Pennsylvania cities, how Meek Mill’s probation case reshaped his view of the justice system, and why certain songs have stayed with him through the pressures of public life.

Along the way, he opens up about faith, bipartisanship, and the emotional side of being a parent, offering advice to a very nervous first-time dad just days before delivery.

Listen to this episode’s extended playlist: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music

New episodes of The Track Star Podcast every Wednesday.

[Video available on Spotify and YouTube]

More Track Star content:

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Lucinda Williams joins The Track Star Podcast for a conversation about the music that shaped her, from Highway 61 and Delta blues to Muscle Shoals soul and Brill Building pop.

Through voices like Bob Dylan, Howlin’ Wolf, and Aretha Franklin, Lucinda reflects on discovering songwriting as a teenager, the artists that taught her what honesty sounds like, and how instinct and feeling have guided her own records. She also reacts to hearing a cover of her song “Greenville” for the first time, and reflects on how songs travel from one voice to another.

Listen to our extended playlist for this episode: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music

New episodes of The Track Star Podcast every Wednesday!

[Video available on Spotify and YouTube]

More Track Star* content:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@track-star-show

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@trackstarshow

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trackstarshow

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trackstarshow/

Tom Freston, one of the founding executives behind MTV, joins The Track Star Podcast to talk through how the channel was built and what it became. Through a chronological run of songs and moments, he traces MTV’s evolution from a small startup into a platform that transformed how music was presented and discovered.

Along the way, he explains why Live Aid marked a turning point for the network, how Michael Jackson helped turn music video premieres into shared cultural events, and how MTV brought hip-hop into middle American living rooms. He also breaks down the move from nonstop videos into the VMAs, Unplugged, Yo! MTV Raps, Total Request Live, and reality television, and reflects on how Comedy Central grew out of the same creative environment.

Listen to our extended MTV playlist: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music

New episodes of The Track Star Podcast every Wednesday!

[Video available on Spotify and YouTube]

More Track Star* content:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@track-star-show

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@trackstarshow

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trackstarshow

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trackstarshow/

The Track Star Podcast continues our CBGB series with hardcore historian Steven Blush, tracing how the club transformed in the early 1980s from punk’s downtown art scene into the chaotic, all-ages world of New York hardcore. Blush breaks down the rise of the matinees, the birth of slam dancing and stage-diving, and the anti-fashion ethos that defined the scene, while connecting CBGB’s hardcore explosion to the wider national movement beyond Manhattan.

Listen to our extended CBGB playlist:  Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music

New episodes of The Track Star Podcast every Wednesday!

[Video available on Spotify and YouTube]

More Track Star* content:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@track-star-show

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@trackstarshow

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trackstarshow

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trackstarshow/