Who created and hosts the music podcast Song Exploder?

Hrishikesh Hirway created and hosts the music podcast Song Exploder.

Hirway launched Song Exploder in January 2014 as a show about how individual songs are made. In each episode, a musician or band takes apart one recording, discussing songwriting, arrangement, performance, production, and the decisions behind particular sounds. The conversation is illustrated with isolated tracks from the finished song.

The program first launched on the Maximum Fun network, became independent in February 2015, and joined Radiotopia in June 2015. Those network affiliations can cause confusion: Maximum Fun and Radiotopia are distributors or podcast networks, not the person who created and hosted the show.

Hirway’s distinctive editing is also central to the format. He often removes his own questions and condenses the interview so the artist’s explanation flows almost like a guided reconstruction of the recording. Song Exploder later expanded into a Netflix documentary series in 2020, but Hirway remains identified with the original podcast.