“[Mixtapes were] the ultimate love letter because it’s like saying: ‘This is me looking at you and trying to understand where your taste lies and also imparting some of my taste. This is where we intersect.’ Maybe I can introduce you to new things while recognizing that I'm here in a context that I think you will appreciate.” — Hrishikesh Hirway, musician and podcaster

Being a musician led Hrishikesh Hirway on a quest to understand how songs are born, bit by bit. If he detected a cool sound or curious lyric, he wanted to know why it was there and how it was made. These excavations now form an impressive — and impeccably curated — body of work in his Song Exploder podcast and Netflix show.

Hrishikesh is also the creator, (co-)host and producer of multiple podcasts, including “The West Wing Weekly” and “Home Cooking” with Samin Nosrat. His TED Talk on how to listen to people to connect more deeply with them and their stories is a must-watch, and The New York Times called him “a devoted connoisseur of the creative process.”

What does Hrishikesh think about curation, creativity and taste? What is the right balance between imposing your own likes and catering to an audience? Is human taste still a thing? And what did we lose out on when we stopped making mixtapes?!

Other highlights, inspiration and key learnings from the conversation:

Which songs get the Song Exploder treatment (and why)
How he excavates an artist’s creative process
How any of us can cultivate our listening skills
What he’s learned about curation from being a musician and podcasting
His criteria for good curators

👋 Say "hi" to Hrishikesh.
🔎 Browse the companion Storyboard to get the episode, plus Hrishikesh’s own favorite culture picks.
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199: The Science of Tinnitus (with Jamie Loxton)